AMD smells a comeback with ATI All-in-Wonder HD
And you thought Microsoft bringing back the SideWinder was gnarly. Announced today, AMD is resurrecting the long-standing AIW line with its first-ever high-definition variant: the $199 ATI All-in-Wonder HD. The PCI Express 2.0 card attempts to handle both PC gaming and HDTV duties by boasting specs like DirectX 10.1 support, a 725MHz engine clock, 600MHz memory clock and MPEG2 / VC-1 / H.264 video decoder acceleration. You'll also find Vista and AMD LIVE! certification badges to go along with the dual-link DVI port, HDMI jack (which supports 5.1 Dolby Digital transmission) and optional component video connectivity. As expected, users can capture live programs (as well as pause / rewind) in SD or HD over-the-air, and there's even support for ClearQAM. For those looking to take their clips elsewhere, the bundled Avivo software converts it for viewing on some of today's most popular handhelds (yes, including the iPod). Look for models from Diamond Multimedia and VisionTek to hit retailers in North America late next month. Full release after the jump.
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AMD Expands The Ultimate Visual Experience™ Combining Exceptional HD Graphics, HDTV, and HD Video for PCs
One-of-a-kind ATI All-In-Wonder™ HD takes the home theater PC to new levels of TV enjoyment and graphics quality
Sunnyvale, Calif. - June 26 , 2008 -AMD (NYSE: AMD) today expanded The Ultimate Visual Experience™ for North America with the ATI All-In-Wonder™ HD, combining award-winning ATI Radeon™ Premium graphics and ATI TV Wonder™ HD tuner technology card in one PCI Express® 2.0 solution. As the newest multimedia powerhouse to join the long line of All-In-Wonder offerings, ATI All-in-Wonder HD transforms the PC into a highly immersive digital video recorder for HDTV and analog TV, plus expands the realm of exceptional gaming with cinematic HD graphics for mainstream PCs. Blu-ray™ disc playback can be enjoyed in full HD glory (1080p) thanks to ATI All-in-Wonder HD's unified video decoder (UVD) technology, ensuring movies play back smoothly and with incredible detail2.
AMD LIVE!™ Ready and Certified for Windows Vista®, ATI All-In-Wonder HD has a manufacturers suggested retail price (MSRP) of $199, includes capabilities to watch and record free-to-air HDTV, unencrypted digital cable programming3, and superb analog TV reception powered by ATI Theater™ 650 Pro hardware MPEG-2 encoding technology. All-In-Wonder HD merges the best of the ATI TV Wonder™ product line with ATI Radeon Premium Graphics to deliver The Ultimate Visual Experience.
"Never before has this level of HDTV and graphics performance been seen in an all-in-one PC multimedia solution," said Matt Skynner, vice president of marketing, Graphics Products Group, AMD. "The award-winning ATI All-In-Wonder lineage is built on long-standing leadership in TV and video on the PC. For the hundreds of thousands of owners of previous ATI All-In-Wonder models and for those hungry to realize the full potential of their PC, we're excited and proud to introduce the newest addition to AMD's PCTV product family."
ATI All-in-Wonder HD prepares you for brilliant TV, sharp images and smooth playback on a wide variety of HDTVs and displays. With support for Microsoft DirectX® 10.1, gamers can play the top HD games with life-like 3D graphics, stunning realism, and great shading effects. Full support for PCI Express 2.0 technology allows for twice the throughput of current PCI Express 1.0 cards, which means gamers will be ready for demanding graphic applications.
ATI All-in-Wonder HD further expands TV viewing capabilities with support for Windows® Media Center bundled with Windows Vista® Home Premium and Windows Vista® Ultimate editions, as well as Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005. The ATI All-in-Wonder HD complements media-rich AMD LIVE! PCs.
Featured with ATI All-in-Wonder HD is ATI Catalyst Media Center™ software that provides an easy path to view TV programs in a variety of entertainment environments and mobile video devices. Recorded TV programs and home videos can be quickly converted into the most popular formats for viewing video on portable media devices4. Digitize and preserve priceless moments and start building your video library. ATI Catalyst Media Center software includes a scalable TV interface with integrated TV programming info, DVD video authoring and movie playback, and video conversion technologies5. A second bundled AMD LIVE!™ Entertainment Suite CD includes AMD LIVE!™ On Demand to access the DVR from any computer with broadband connectivity and AMD LIVE!™ Explorer that provides an immersive way of managing and interacting with your entertainment library. Explore your complete digital collections of music, photos, and videos in a single window, in full 3D6.
With Home Theater environments in mind, ATI All-in-Wonder HD provides expanded connectivity with built-in support for six channel (5.1) Dolby Digital® surround audio transmission through HDMI, native dual-link DVI-I for high resolution panels, and optional component video connectivity.
Available through Diamond Multimedia and VisionTek at leading computer retailers and etailers across North America by late July, ATI All-In-Wonder HD is designed to take home theater PCs to the next level of multimedia performance.
About AMD
Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is a leading global provider of innovative processing solutions in the computing, graphics and consumer electronics markets. AMD is dedicated to driving open innovation, choice and industry growth by delivering superior customer-centric solutions that empower consumers and businesses worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.amd.com.