The Adobe Image Foundation (AIF) Toolkit preview release includes a high-performance graphics programming language that Adobe is developing for image processing, codenamed Hydra, and an application to create, compile and preview Hydra filters and effects. The toolkit contains a specification for the Hydra language, several sample filters, and sample images provided by AIF team members. The AIF technology delivers a common image and video processing infrastructure which provides automatic runtime optimization on heterogeneous hardware. It currently ships in After Effects CS3 and will be used in other Adobe products in the future. The next release of Flash Player, codenamed Astro, will leverage Hydra to enable developers to create custom filters, effects and blend modes.
Hydra is a programming language used to implement image processing algorithms in a hardware-independent manner. Some benefits of Hydra include:
- Familiar syntax that is based on GLSL, which is C-based
- Allows the same filter to run efficiently on different GPU and CPU architectures, including multi-core and multiprocessor systems in a future update
- Abstracts out the complexity of executing on heterogeneous hardware
- Supports 3rd party creation and sharing of filters and effects
- Delivers excellent image processing performance in Adobe products
For more details, please see the Hydra language specification that is included as part of the AIF Toolkit.
If you would like to see the AIF presentation from the 2007 Adobe Max Conference, it is available for download as PDF from hereVideo Card Support
The following table lists the video cards supported by the AIF Toolkit.
Note: This version of the AIF Toolkit only supports filter execution on the GPU. However, support for software-based rendering is expected in a future update.
| Manufacturer | Series | Model Numbers |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA | QuadroFX Series | FX 5500 SDI, FX 4500 SDI, FX 5600, FX 5500, FX 4600, FX 4500 X2, FX 4500, FX 4400 (discontinued, replaced by the FX 4500), FX 4000 SDI, FX 3500, FX 3450, FX 1700, FX 1500, FX GO 1400, FX 1400, FX 1300, FX 570, FX 560, FX 550, FX 540, FX 370, FX 350 |
| 8 Series | GeForce 8800 GTS/GTX/Ultra, GeForce 8600M GT, GeForce 8500 GT | |
| 7 Series | GeForce 7950 GT/GS, GeForce 7900, GeForce 7800, GeForce 7600, GeForce 7300, GeForce 7200 GS, GeForce 7100 | |
| 6 Series | 6800 Ultra, 6800 GT, 6800 GS, 6800, 6800 XT, 6600, 6500, 6200, 6200 TurboCache, 6200 LE, 6100, 6150 | |
| AMD/ATI | Radeon HD2000 Series | HD2900, HD2600, HD2400 |
| Radeon X1000 Series | X1950, X1900, X1800, X1650, X1600, X1300, "All In Wonder" X1900 (X1900 GPU), "All In Wonder" 2006 PCI Express cards (Based on X1300 GPU) | |
| FireGL | Avivo PCI Express, V8650, V8600, V7600, V5600, V3600, V3300, V3400, V5200, V7200, V7300, V7350 |
Note: The AIF Toolkit does not run on MacBook systems. MacBooks use the Intel integrated graphics subsystem which does not provide sufficient OpenGL support in hardware. This AIF Toolkit release will run on MacBook Pro systems, though.
A tutorial describing how to write a simple Hydra filter is available as HTML or PDF.Download the Setup EXE file
Download the Setup ZIP file.