Yes, I was trying to use the Spin modifier (simple and easy!). I'll try and do it with a keyframe as soon as I get a chance. My Quad G5 Mac came in last night (drool), need to get that thing up and running before I get back to this little project. I'll try and post a small movie if get it to work. Thanks!

Dual 1.25 G4, 2GB RAM, OSX it rendered in 2:25. Not bad considering the G4 (and G4 RAM) are dirt cheap compared to the G5's. I just got this machine a few months ago, saved myself a boatload of coin over going with the hi-end G5 with same amount of RAM. I ordered it with the GForce 4 Titanium graphics card, and it absolutely screams in interactive render. Hi-poly models like the DAZ mil dragon or V3 don't even phase it.

Unfortunately, adding ambient lighting negates the whole point of using HDRI. I'm not sure, but I think the deal with the reflective objects working inside a transparent object is the reflective object isn't actually recieveing any light from the HDRI, it's just reflecting the HDRI. If you put 2 identical objects in a scene, shade one chrome and one plastic, set HDRI as your only light source, and turn Sky Light off in render options, the chrome object will look look bright and shiny (odd), and the plastic one will be left in the dark (as expected). Turn Sky Light on, the chrome object looks just like it did in the previous render, and now the plastic one will be illuminated (as expected). Again, I could be totally off base here. If any of you guys that understand the underlying physics of this stuff have any ideas as to what might be going on, would appreciate the input. P.S. I also tried turning off "cast shadows" on the tranparent object, made no difference in the final renders.