PipelineFX Introduces Metered Licensing to Qube! Render Farm Manager

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - July 11, 2024) - Today, PipelineFX announces metered licensing for Qube!, a new usage-based option. Licenses are dynamically provided as needed, and billed on a per-minute basis, so customers never have to pre-pay. Only 10 cents/hour, metered licensing can be used for all Cloud and on-premise projects, giving render wranglers and IT managers supreme flexibility when planning tasks and future expenditures.

"You don't want to pre-pay your electricity bill or your cell phone bill, so why would you want to buy minutes ahead of time?" said Richard Lewis, CEO of PipelineFX. "Metered licensing is the best model to take full advantage of the Cloud, preserve cash flow and matches industry-standard utility billing practices."

For a long time, metered licensing has been a missing link for studios considering Cloud rendering. The Cloud can be a life-saver for accepting last-minute change orders and extra projects, but if it's not affordable due to software licensing costs, or inconvenient to acquire licenses at the last minute, then it's a tough sell. Now Qube! enables access to the full power of the Cloud.

Additional Benefits Include:

• Maximum Bursting Potential --All artist desktops can be used (when available), but will only be billed for the time they spend rendering.
• Cloud Rendering Made Simple -- The new metered Supervisor provides Qube! Worker licenses needed to render on cloud instances on-demand.
• License Utilization Optimization -- Perpetual or subscription licenses are counted before metered licenses, so users only pay a per-minute charge when they use up all other types of Qube! Worker licenses.

DHX Media, the world's leading independent, pure-play content company for kids, has been testing metered licensing for months. "At DHX Media we see metered licensing and Qube! as key pieces of a modern, agile and affordable pipeline," said Troy Brooks, VP of Technology at DHX Media Ltd. "With metered licensing, we can put in place the optimal mix of rendering resources, including dedicated render nodes, desktops, short-term rentals, and cloud instances. This approach produces the lowest overall cost with the most flexibility and scalability."

As part of their continuing focus on the Cloud, PipelineFX has organized a Birds of a Feather event at SIGGRAPH 2024. Titled "The State of Cloud Rendering for VFX", this panel will cover the most pressing Cloud topics to VFX studios, including Cloud licensing, and will feature representatives from VFX studios, Cloud vendors, and industry veterans. The panel will be held at 3 p.m. on Monday, July 25 in Room 213D at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Pricing/Availability

Metered licensing is available now and billed by the minute at the equivalent rate of 10 cents/hour. Users are billed at the end of the month and only charged for what they use. Interested parties can sign up for a metered license account by contacting sales@pipelinefx.com. This is the third licensing option available to Qube! users, complementing perpetual and subscription licensing.

About Qube!™

Qube! is an intelligent, mature and highly scalable render management solution that can be quickly integrated into any production workflow, and is backed by world-class technical support. Qube! delivers intelligence to production pipelines by providing business-critical insight into render pipelines, maximizing investment in rendering infrastructure and automating manual processes. Qube! works out of the box with all leading content creation applications and is truly cross-platform with all software components available on Windows®, Linux®, and Mac OS®X operating systems.

About PipelineFX

As the leading provider of intelligent render farm management solutions for digital content creation, PipelineFX provides software, support, consulting and training services worldwide. Qube! runs on more than 35,000 render nodes at over 750 customers in 51 countries and is used to render film and visual effects, post production, broadcast, design, games and education media. Clients include Arc Productions, Base FX, BBC, Cisco, Cutting Edge Sydney, Deluxe, DHX Media, Dyson, Efilm, Electronic Arts, Ford, HBO, Hasbro, Image Engine, L.M.U., L'Atelier Animation, Lockheed Martin, Mackevision, Method Studios, Marvel Studios, MPC, NBC Sports, Next Media Animation, NHK, NYU, Original Force, Pratt Institute, Procter & Gamble, RedHat, ReelFX, RodeoFX, South Park Studios, SVA, Target, Technicolor, Toyota, WWE and many others. PipelineFX is headquartered in Honolulu, HI, and has resources located in the Continental US, Canada, Australia, and Bulgaria.

http://www.pipelinefx.com

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