Germany’s exclusive macOS-only 3D professional software solution, Cheetah3D, has now reached version 7.2. The new upgrade includes several big changes
New in Cheetah3D 7
Version 7.2 features a complete rewrite of its movie code handling import and export. The developer has tapped the power of Apple’s new AVFoundation, a developer framework that provides an Objective-C interface for developers to work with time-based media integration in their apps.
AVFoundation framework provides superior move export, speeding up animation production for Cheetah3D users. There is also new support for the state-of-the-art codecs like HEVC. “Professionals users will enjoy the added ProRes workflow,” says the developer.
01 – The new Cheetah3D 7.2 features big new changes in the media category, tapping Apple’s new AVFoundation framework.
Also, a new update to Cheetah3D’s unbiased render engine, Falcon (probably the coolest name for a render engine we can think of…), adds support for IES lights and Filmic tone mapping.
Other key information in the upgrade includes support for the new iMac Pro with up to 18 CPU cores (36 threads), making Cheetah3D 7.2 a rendering monster on the top-of-the-line model. A (.gif) file exporter to Render Manager has also been added, along with many other smaller features and bug fixes.
Cheetah3d 7.2 runs exclusively on macOS and requires version 10.8.5 or newer. For the HEVC support, it requires High Sierra. To learn more visit them here.
Architosh Analysis and Commentary
It looks like Cheetah3D upgraded out of the older QTKit framework to AVFoundation framework. Architosh has written in the past about how Mac developers were starting to discuss that QuickTime had been deprecated as a technology stack and something new would replace it.
This is a subject that likely deserves more attention here on Architosh. It also begs the question: what Mac CAD/3D apps are still using the QTKit framework and which ones have begun to embrace the very latest AVFoundation framework? And what is the quality difference and other features?
Just to add a bit more on this subject. The modern codecs supported in AVFoundation include JPEG, H264, HEVC (only on High Sierra), ProRes422, and ProRes4444.
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