Kerkythea Echo Boost (Release Candidate 2.5.2)

Post by **giannis** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 8:23 am

Dear friends,

while we are still testing this edition, we believe that it would be nice if you have the application in your hands already, without waiting further. Here you can find a link for the Windows installer of the new version. Linux and MacOSX builds are not available yet.

The new installer installs data in a separate folder (than Program Files) to allow saving of user data without the need for administrator privileges (Vista/7). It will install both 32 and 64-bit versions on 64-bit OS.

If you are already a KT user and want to switch to the new version, then you will need to backup your data (typically found in C:/Program Files/Kerkythea Rendering System) and uninstall Kerkythea (although uninstallation is not mandatory). Then, run the new installer. You will need now to locate the data folder and copy your data inside there (C:/ProgramData/Kerkythea on Win7).

So, without waiting any further, here is the link for the installer:
http://www.solidiris.com/kerkythea/Kerkythea-v2.5.2.exe

best wishes

benzjie · Post by **benzjie** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 1:45 pm

thank you for this release. I have 1 question however....i can't seem to find the render presets in the x64 version. Did i miss something ?

Post by **giannis** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 4:22 pm

I think this is an installation issue... the 64-bit registry has to be tweaked as well besides the 32-bit. Going to fix it in 2.5.3.

Post by **giannis** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 4:31 pm

Btw, the splash screen still shows Echo 2008 but we are going to replace it soon.

This version is primarily intended to get quick installation bugs (like the one above).

best wishes

benzjie · Post by **benzjie** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 8:23 pm

tx for the reply...and many thanx for the new version

tallguy · Post by **tallguy** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 1:08 pm

Thanks for the new version!

It looks like (for now) you have to keep your globals/rendersettings/ etc folders in the same location c:\programfiles\Kerkythea Rendering System, instead of the programdata folder?

Although it seemed to point to the programdata folder on my laptop but not on my desktop?

If this is true it is fine with me, because I can easily load it on a portable drive, if everything is in the same folder.

Thanks again!

negh · Post by **negh** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:30 pm

U made my day! Can´t wait to try!
Thank you!

Post by **giannis** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 8:34 am

tallguy wrote: It looks like (for now) you have to keep your globals/rendersettings/ etc folders in the same location c:\programfiles\Kerkythea Rendering System, instead of the programdata folder?

Although it seemed to point to the programdata folder on my laptop but not on my desktop?

If this is true it is fine with me, because I can easily load it on a portable drive, if everything is in the same folder.

It should load all the data from ProgramData\Kerkythea (on Win7). Have you tried 32 or 64-bit version?

tallguy · Post by **tallguy** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 11:05 am

Hi giannis

Yes I tried the 64x version. I compared the rendering times, using MLT, between the new and old versions. I found an increase in speed of 33% with the new 64x version.

On my laptop everything loaded perfectly. (win 64)

On my desktop I changed the folder name on old KT folder so that it would not be overwritten with the new version. I then used the installer and it created the new "Kerkythea Rendering system" folder and the "programdata\kerkythea" folder with all the appropriate subfolders.

But when I ran the 64x version it did not see the rendering presets. So I placed the render presets in the same folder as the program (Kerkythea Rendering System) and the presets were visible. (?)

Everything looks and works exactly the same except the 64x version is faster. Will I see different rendering speeds using different modes of rendering?

Thanks again for the new version! KT is great.

Stuart

Post by **giannis** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 11:20 am

hi,

the problem must be again a registry setting for the 64-bit version. It will be solved.

About render speeds, it really depends on the render mode. But the speed gain is between 32 & 64-bit versions of Boost edition? Or between Echo 32-bit and Boost 64-bit?

greetings

Sergio · Post by **Sergio** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 2:40 pm

Just wanted to post first render test result from my laptop. I'm not only impressed by the time saving but also the quality of the render. I think the images speak by themselves.

tallguy · Post by **tallguy** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 3:15 pm

Nice!

Looking at your images for two passes about a 20% increase in speed? But the quality is much different. So I am not sure how you calculate the differences in quality and add them into the time equation...

I was just going by the amount of time necessary to do a number of MLT passes.

I ran the old 32 bit (echo)against the new 64 bit (boost) version, both on my win 7 desktop.

Both MLT 100 passes.

32bit 66 min.
64bit 45 min.

Looked about the same quality wise.

I have an old system....

GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
MD Phenom 9850 Black Edition 2.5GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

8 GB ram

I really appreciate all the work you guys put into Kerkythea!

Stuart

Sergio · Post by **Sergio** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 4:24 pm

Well my point is that using the same machine and settings not only it takes less time to do the same number of passes but also you get a clearer picture with the boost release, which in my opinion is an added benefit

Fletch · Post by **Fletch** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 5:53 pm

In internal testing, biased rendering has a consistend 25%-35% speed boost depending on the scene.
With unbiased modes it is difficult to quantify, but at least a 33% speed boost seems certain.

PaulC327 · Post by **PaulC327** » Mon Jun 06, 2011 9:23 pm

This is all great news! I can't thank the team enough for all their hard work and generosity in keeping this excellent program robust yet free. Looking forward to getting my "hands dirty" with the new version and exploring its improvements.