CES 2012 | Intel "real-time" DX11 demonstration turns out to be pre-recorded video

In an attempt to demonstrate the DirectX 11 capabilities of the upcoming Ivy Bridge chipset, Intel played F1 2011 during their press conference with an Ivy Bridge-equipped Ultrabook. Gameplay appeared to be smooth and intact.

Unfortunately, by “played” we mean “played with VLC”. The video below by NetworkWorld shows exactly what happened during this section of the conference. The demonstration was supposedly meant to be in real-time, as Mooly Eden was holding a connected wheel to control the gameplay onscreen. But, right before the “gameplay” started, the VLC menu bar can be clearly seen on the bottom of the screen. Eden continued the demonstration as if nobody saw the blatant video menu bar, but conceded at the end by walking off stage and claiming that the gameplay was all controlled “from [the] backstage”.

Intel’s official response, sourced from semiaccurate.com, is provided here:

“We used a video in the DX11 Ivy Bridge-based Ultrabook demo simply for expediency at today’s Intel press event at CES. We were extremely limited for time and didn’t want to lose any time by getting in and out of the game. And Mooly told the audience this at the end of the demo… a couple of people have posted video of the demo on YouTube and you can hear Mooly say that the demo was driven by the folks behind the stage because he was limited for time and then went on to explain the DX11 support in Ivy Bridge.

We first demonstrated the Dx11 feature of Ivy Bridge at IDF last September. It runs extremely well. The demo can easily be reproduced live for anyone who wants to see it. We’d be happy to show it to you and let you play DX11 games the next time you are in Santa Clara.”

Still, the entire demonstration is an outright embarrassment for Intel and the upcoming Ivy Bridge chipset. The fact that Intel attempted to pass pre-recorded video as live gameplay to an uninformed audience, and then was subsequently caught onstage, may just go down as one of the top “face palm moments” in CES history.

Source(s)