SIGGRAPH 2013: Autodesk Releases FBX Review
At SIGGRAPH 2013 Autodesk announced the availability of FBX review, a new application for reviewing 3D assets on most Windows 7 and Windows 8 devices, without having a full-blown installation of a 3D application on the system.
Despite its name, FBX Review is not limited to only FBX files. It allows .fbx, .3ds, .obj, .dxf, .dae, .bvh, .htr, .trc, .asf, .amc, .c3d, .aoa, and .mcd files to be imported, covering several of the major import/export and interchange formats including several CAD formats.
Once motion data has been baked from the application used to generate the animation, FBX review can also be used to play back animations, switching camera views, and scrub the timeline for the animation. This makes it an extremely useful tool for previewing animation work someone has done on another machine, looking at models without loading them into a 3D application, and even (thanks to its ability to import .bvh files) previewing motion capture data outside of a 3D application.
Autodesk FBX review is available now for Windows 7 and Windows 8 devices, requiring at least a Surface Pro in mobile devices. IT uses DirectX 11 for most of its 3D display functionality. Therefore, systems not fully DirectX 11-compliant may be feature limited. Autodesk is investigating the possibility of expanding FBX Review to other platforms like iOS and Android. You can download the app via The Windows Store or directly from Autodesk Exchange in the Autodesk Maya or Autodesk 3ds Max store.
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