I've been given the task of creating an opening animation for an upcoming satellite tv broadcast. Now I have both Bryce and 3DS MAX on my computer and I'm debating which program will produce the better quality for tv. I've used Bryce for several years now and am comfortable with it while I've only barely scratched the surface of MAX. If I can get TV quality animation out of Bryce, I'd prefer using it. Any advice out there?

Bob

This is a no-brainer: use Bryce!!

I like Bryce. I also have Lightwave. If I could ever figure it out, I might prefer it, esp. for TV. But I don't know max, so illuminate us, Joke, why is Bryce the "No-Brainer"?

If you know Bryce, and know texturing and animating in Bryce, then go with Bryce. If you know Max, and can texture and animate in Max, than go with it. I recently had to do a 30-second animation in Max... It wasn't fun, mainly from the fact that I had limited experience in Max. It did, however, render fairly quickly. It may depend upon the timeframe. Bryce takes a long time to render, whereas Max renders are often quicker. It also depends upon which package you are more comfortable in. Good luck.

I appreciate your input, Joke. It's true Bryce will take forever to render the final animation and time is not exactly a luxury here when it comes to our satellite broadcasts. MAX will certainly do a faster job and it seems to be the standard for animations here. I don't think they've ever considered using anything else. I also need to learn how to use MAX. I've had it on my computer for 4 years now and only now have I had a chance to really use it. I wonder...can you bring Bryce constructs into MAX?

So the choice is one app you can work in efficiently but the renders will be slow vs one app with fast renders but you will have to learn stuff. There are tips in the forum for speeding up slow renders. As for learning MAX, try making models for your bryce pictures.

You can bring bryce terrains into make via export.