Autodesk 3ds Max (and VIZ) allows to start rendering also from the command line, e.g. from batch files.
If you want to invoke the render procedure in a non-interactive, line mode, use the tool 3dsmaxcmd.exe (resp. 3dsvizcmd in VIZ) from the 3ds Max application folder.
3dsmaxcmd offers a number of parameters which can control the rendering options. Some examples (enter as a single line):
"c:\program files\autodesk\3dsmax9\3dsmaxcmd" -outputName:"c:\myOutput\myPicture.jpg" -w 1024 -h 768 "c:\program files\autodesk\3dsmax9\scenes\myScene.max"
"c:\program files\viz2008\3dsvizcmd.exe" @c:\parameters\finalrender.txt -o=c:\myOutput\scene1.jpg "c:\program files\viz2008\scenes\scene1.max"
"c:\program files\autodesk\3dsmax2009\3dsmaxcmd" -submit "c:\program files\autodesk\3dsmax2009\scenes\scene2.max"