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Adobe

Pixel Bender

Toolkit 2.5 ReadMe

The Pixel Bender Toolkit includes:
Overview
The Pixel Bender kernel language, a high-performance graphics programming language intended
for image processing.
The Pixel Bender graph language, an XML-based language for combining individual pixel-
processing operations (kernels) into more complex filters.
The Pixel Bender Toolkit IDE, an interactive development environment in which to create,
compile and preview Pixel Bender kernels and graphs.
The Pixel Bender Utility, a command-line utility that converts a Pixel Bender kernel (PBK) file
into a byte-code (PBJ ) file that can be used in FlashPlayer 10 or later.
Sample filters, sample images, and documentation.
The Pixel Bender Toolkit IDE allows you to edit and execute programs that use the Pixel Bender image-
processing engine. The Pixel Bender run-time engine is integrated into a number of Adobe applications,
allowing you to add your Pixel Bender filters and effects to those already offered in those applications.
The Pixel Bender Toolkit now includes both a text-based Graph Editor, which works in the same
way as the Kernel Editor and allows you to edit the code directly, and a new visual Graph Editor
that shows and allows you to manipulate the graph structure.
Whats New in Version 2.5
This update to the Pixel Bender Toolkit addresses many bug fixes especially in the areas of user
interface, Flash preview, and Pixel Bender kernel and graph processing and rendering.
The minimum system requirements for the Pixel Bender Toolkit IDE and the Pixel Bender Utility are:
System Requirements
Windows:
Pentium 4 or greater Processor
512 MB of Memory
50 MB of Disk Space
Windows XP SP2 or greater
Mac OS:
G4/G5/Intel Processor
512 MB of Memory
80 MB of Disk Space
OS X 10.4.10 or greater
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Video cards that support processing of Pixel Bender filters
The following table lists the video cards supported by the Pixel Bender Toolkit IDE. The IDE
supports filter execution on the GPU and the CPU. For correct GPU processing, check the NVidia or
ATI website for the latest graphics card drivers.

NOTE: You may experience problems launching the Pixel Bender Toolkit application on some Windows
XP systems without a supported GPU.



Manufacturer Series Model Numbers
AMD/ATI Radeon HD 5000
Series
HD 5970, HD 5870, HD 5850, HD 5770, HD 5750,
HD 5670, HD 5570, HD 5450
Radeon HD 4000
Series
HD 4890, HD 4870 X2, HD 4870, HD 4850, HD
4830, HD 4770, HD 4670, HD 4650, HD 4550, HD
4350, HD 4200
Radeon HD 3000
Series
HD 3870 X2, HD 3870, HD 3850, HD 3650, HD
3470, HD 3450
Radeon HD 2000
Series
HD 2900 XT, HD 2900, HD 2600 X2, HD 2600
XT, HD 2600 PRO, HD 2600, HD 2400 XT, HD
2400 PRO, HD 2400
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 Series Avivo PCI Express, V8650, V8600, V7700, V7600,
V7350, V7300, V7200, V5600, V5200, V3600,
V3300, V3400
FirePro Series V8750, V8700, V7750, V5700, V3750, V3700
NVIDIA




Quadro FX 5000
Series
FX 5800, FX 5600, FX 5500 SDI, FX 4500 SDI,
FX 5600, FX 5500
Quadro FX 4000
Series
FX 4800, FX 4600, FX 4500 X2, FX 4500, FX
4000 SDI
Quadro FX 3000
Series
FX 3800, FX3700, FX 3500, FX 3450
Quadro FX 1000
Series
FX 1800, FX 1700, FX 1500, FX GO 1400, FX
1400, FX 1300
Quadro FX 500 FX 580, FX 570, FX 560, FX 550, FX 540
Quadro FX 300 FX 380, FX 380 LP, FX 370, FX 370 LP, FX 350
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Series
GeForce 300
Series
GT 340, GT 330, GT 320, GT 315, 310
GeForce 200
Series
GTX 295, GTX 285, GTX 280, GTX 275, GTX
260, GTS 250, 240 (All models), GT 220, 210, 205
GeForce 100
Series
GTS 150, GT 130, GT 120, G100
GeForce 9 Series 9800 (All Models), 9600 (All Models), 9500 GT,
9400 GT, 9400M, 9300
GeForce 8 Series 8800 (All Models), 8600 (All Models), 8500 GT,
8400 GS
GeForce 7 Series 7950 GT/GS, 7900, 7800, 7600, 7300, 7200 GS,
7100
GeForce 6 Series 6800 Ultra, 6800 GT, 6800 GS, 6800, 6800 XT,
6600, 6500, 6200, 6200 Turbo Cache, 6200 LE,
6100, 6150
1. Download and install the Pixel Bender Toolkit from the Pixel Bender Technology Center:
Getting Started
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/pixelbender/
2. Launch the Pixel Bender Toolkit IDE:
In Windows: Launch from the Start menu >Adobe >Adobe Pixel Bender Toolkit 2.
In Mac OS: Launch from the Applications Folder:
/ Appl i cat i ons/ Ut i l i t i es/ Adobe Ut i l i t i es - CS5/ Pi xel Bender Tool ki t 2/
3. To load a Pixel Bender file into the Pixel Bender Toolkit IDE, choose File >Open Filter, or press
Ctrl-O.
4. To try the filter, click Build and Run, in the bottom right corner of the Pixel Bender Toolkit IDE,
beneath the code editor window.
5. If the filter requires an image for processing, you will be prompted to open an image file. If the filter
has parameters, you will see editing controls in the panel on the right edge of the application.
You may experience problems launching the Pixel Bender Toolkit application on some Windows XP
systems without a supported GPU.
Known Issues
In the Pixel Bender Toolkit 2.1 release, the behavior of the Flash Preview when running filters using
two inputs has changed. Previously, the Pixel Bender kernel was applied as an ActionScript
BlendShader. For this release, it works instead as a FilterShader where the second input is set directly.
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This change was made because it matches the more typical use case for Flash Pixel Bender
developers and the behavior in the toolkit when previewing filters on the CPU or GPU. After making
this change, an issue with Flash was discovered when using images of different sizes with a Filter
with two inputs. In this case, the data is clamped when sampling off the image instead of providing
the background color. This behavior was kept to accurately show how the kernel will run in Flash.
When a kernel is running, if a channel mismatch error dialog is shown, it is recommended that users
enable the "Attempt to fix input image channel mismatch" preference to prevent further errors.
On a Mac system with certain NVIDIA cards, you cannot generate texture output in the IDE when the
region size is less than 8x32.
Workaround: Use the CPU to generate the desired texture output.
When pixel aspect ratio (PAR) is set to a ratio other than 1:1, the image saved from the IDE does not
reflect the PAR setting.
Workaround: None.
. exr files cannot be loaded in the Toolkit.
Workaround: None. This issue will be addressed in a subsequent release.
Notices, Terms and Conditions pertaining to third party software are located at
Third Party Legal Notices
http://www.adobe.com/go/thirdparty.