HP’s first VR-ready mobile workstation: ZBook 17

 While most people still think about VR as being about the hardware – like Samsung Gear VR or Oculus – it’s the content that will really matter in the long run.

That means that game designers, animators, filmmakers and graphics professionals need to be ready with powerful tools in their back pocket to meet what’s projected to be a $41 billion market for global VR content creation.

HP, the leader in the fast-growing professional workstation market, recognizes the unique needs of digital creators who rely on powerful mobile workstations to support today’s graphically intense content creation projects.  

At NAB Show this week during the launch of HP’s 4^th generation ZBook Mobile Workstations family, HP unleashed its first Virtual Reality (VR)-ready mobile workstation: the HP ZBook 17, which aims to help designers meet rapidly growing demand for VR content.

Last year, the number of global downloads of VR games and apps from Google Play and the App Stores totaled 226 million, representing a 276 percent year-over-year explosion from 2015, according to recent Sensor Tower Store Intelligence data. In the first quarter of 2017 alone, mobile VR software downloads across both platforms totaled more than 85 million worldwide, a 205 percent year-over-year increase.  

The entertainment industry has been warming up to VR lately, too. This year’s Tribeca Film Festival was reportedly set to include VR projects tied to director Kathryn Bigelow, musicians John Legend and Pharrell Williams and producer Megan Ellison. And last year, an Oculus VR film called “Henry” managed to take home an Emmy.

For its part, HP is delivering the tools to help digital designers pursue that opportunity – now. Creators can configure the ZBook 17 with optimal horsepower, select one of two NVDIA graphics cards (the P4000 or P5000) and be assured of an ultra-smooth 90 FPS (frames per second) experience.

Beyond its VR capabilities, the ZBook 17 shares numerous important innovations found in the other 4^th generation mobile workstations, including: HP ZBook 14u and 15u models; HP ZBook 15; and the top-of-the-line HP ZBook Studio.

For example, because client security continues to (or should) be a major concern for digital creators everywhere, HP re-invented its 4^th generation lineup to be the industry’s most secure and manageable workstations. Each workstation offers unique security features, such as: HP Sure Start Gen3, the industry’s first-self healing PC BIOS with comprehensive encryption, strong authentication, malware protection, data protection, identity assurance and threat detection and response.

ZBook Mobile Workstations also come preloaded with HP Remote Graphics Software for remote collaboration HP Performance Advisor for optimal performance and HP Velocity for reliable and fast network performance.

 With HP taking the lead, workstations have undergone a complete change and emerged as tools that many industries use to produce mind-blowing visual content.

The entertainment industry is at the forefront of this trend, and HP workstations have played a central role in creating some of the most magical scenes in memorable Hollywood blockbusters, such as, "Hugo,” “Shrek,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” Spider-Man 3” and all “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies.

This year at NAB, the HP ZBook 17 was awarded the "Best of NAB" by Videomaker magazine. 

To learn more about HP ZBook Mobile Workstations, visit HP's website. The NAB show continues through April 27th in Las Vegas.