Pixel Bender release notes

The minimum system requirements for the Pixel Bender Toolkit and Pixel Bender Utility are as follows:

These release notes document the hardware requirements, installation, and setup for the Adobe Pixel Bender Toolkit and the Pixel Bender Plug-in for Adobe Photoshop CS4.

The Adobe Pixel Bender technology delivers a common image and video processing infrastructure which provides automatic runtime optimization on heterogeneous hardware. You can use the Pixel Bender kernel language to implement image processing algorithms (filters or effects) in a hardware-independent manner.

The Pixel Bender Toolkit includes the Pixel Bender kernel language and graph language, the Pixel Bender Toolkit IDE (an integrated development environment for Pixel Bender), sample filters, and documentation.

Installation instructions are detailed below.

The following table lists the graphics cards supported by the Pixel Bender Toolkit. The Pixel Bender Toolkit supports filter execution on the GPU, the CPU, and within Flash Player. For correct GPU processing, check the NVIDIA or ATI website for the latest graphics card drivers.

Pixel Bender Toolkit

Important note: Users who downloaded and installed Pixel Bender Toolkit 2.1 from the Pixel Bender Technology Center must follow the steps in the Pixel Bender Toolkit 2.1 Installer Fix Readme (PDF, 26 KB) before downloading and installing Pixel Bender Toolkit 2.5.

The following links are referred to in the above ReadMe PDF file:

• Pixel Bender Toolkit 2.1 Installer HotFix for Macintosh (DMG, 324 KB)
• Pixel Bender Toolkit 2.1 Installer HotFix for Windows (ZIP, 332 KB)

Users who received the Pixel Bender Toolkit 2.1 via the Adobe Application Manager, or who never installed Pixel Bender Toolkit 2.1, can proceed with the installation of Pixel Bender Toolkit 2.5, as described below. For any questions or problems related to these instructions, please visit the Pixel Bender forum.

To install the Pixel Bender Toolkit in Windows:

1. Download the Pixel Bender Toolkit ZIP file.
2. Unzip the package, navigate to the unzipped location, and run Setup.exe. The Pixel Bender Toolkit files are installed into your Program Files folder under Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Utilities - CS5\Pixel Bender Toolkit 2.
3. Launch the Adobe Pixel Bender Toolkit IDE from the Start > All Programs menu.
4. Load a Pixel Bender file into the IDE by choosing the File > Open Filter menu or by pressing Ctrl+O.
5. To try the filter, click on the Run button on the bottom right corner, underneath the code editor window.
6. 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.

To install the Pixel Bender Toolkit in Mac OS:

1. Download the Pixel Bender Toolkit DMG file.
2. Double-click on the DMG item to mount the installer virtual disk.
3. In that virtual disk, double-click to launch the Setup application. The Pixel Bender Toolkit files are installed into your Applications folder under /Applications/Utilities/Adobe Utilities - CS5\Pixel Bender Toolkit 2.
4. Launch the Pixel Bender Toolkit IDE from the Applications Folder: /Applications/Utilities/Adobe Utilities - CS5\Pixel Bender Toolkit 2.
5. Load a Pixel Bender file into the IDE by choosing the File > Open Filter menu or by pressing Cmd+O.
6. To try the filter, click on the Run button on the bottom right corner underneath the code editor window.
7. 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.

Pixel Bender Plug-in for Photoshop CS4

The Pixel Bender Plug-in installer is provided as an Extension Manager CS4 installer; Extension Manager CS4 is required for proper installation.

Note: This version of the Pixel Bender Plug-in will work with Photoshop CS4. To download the Pixel Bender Plug-in for Photoshop CS5, please visit Adobe Labs.

To install the Pixel Bender Plug-in in Windows and Mac OS:

1. Download the Pixel Bender Plug-in MXP file.
   

   Note: If you are running on a 64-bit Windows system, download the 64-bit installer.

2. Navigate to the download location and double-click on the MXP file. Extension Manager CS4 is launched and the Pixel Bender Plug-in is installed once you accept the licensing terms.
   

   Note: The Pixel Bender Plug-in requires Extension Manager CS4. If Extension Manager CS3 is launched when you double-click the MXP file, you need to launch Extension Manager CS4 from the Start > All Programs menu on Windows and Applications/Adobe Extension Manager CS4 on the Mac OS. Select the File > Install Extension menu and navigate to the location of the MXP file.

   Note: If you are installing on Windows Vista you'll need to run the Extension Manager as an Administrator.

3. Close Extension Manager CS4 once the installation is completed.
4. Review the Pixel Bender Plug-in ReadMe located in the Photoshop CS4 install folder.
5. Launch Photoshop CS4.
6. Open an image.
7. Choose Filter > Pixel Bender > Pixel Bender Gallery. The Pixel Bender Gallery is initially populated with Pixel Bender filters that are installed with the Plug-in. If you would like to add other filters, close the plug-in dialog and copy the filter files into the folder \Adobe Photoshop CS4\Pixel Bender Files\. The new filters will then appear in the Pixel Bender Gallery the next time the Plug-in is opened in Photoshop.

The Plug-in supports non-destructive rendering on Smart Objects. To create a Smart Object:

1. Open an image.
2. Select a layer.
3. From the Layer fly-out menu, choose Convert to Smart Object.

The rendering of the filter is stored in a layer separate from the original image, and can be subsequently modified if the filter is available.

To uninstall the Pixel Bender Toolkit:

• Windows: Use the Add or Remove Programs helper from the Control Panel.
• Mac OS: Use the uninstaller application for the Pixel Bender Toolkit under /Applications/Utilities/Adobe Installers.

To uninstall the Pixel Bender Plug-in on Windows:

1. Launch Extension Manager CS4 from Start > All Programs.
2. Select Remove button next to Adobe Photoshop CS4 Pixel Bender Plugin.
3. Select Yes to continue with uninstall or No to cancel.
4. Close Extension Manager CS4 once the un-installation is completed.

To uninstall the Pixel Bender Plug-in on Mac OS:

1. Launch Extension Manager CS4 from Applications/Adobe Extension Manager CS4.
2. Select Remove button next Adobe Photoshop CS4 Pixel Bender Plugin.
3. Select Yes to continue with uninstall or No to cancel.
4. Close Extension Manager CS4 once the un-installation is completed.