Thursday, June 26,2008 @ 8:20am
AMD unveils All-in-Wonder HD tuner/graphics combo
AMD finished off its latest round of graphics updates on Thursday with the introduction of the All-in-Wonder HD. The card blends both a modern (though unspecified) Radeon HD video card with a Theater 650 Pro tuner that lets it both play modern 3D games and other titles while also picking up HDTV through either over-the-air antenna and cable signals. Both software from AMD itself and Microsoft's Windows Media Center automatically recognize the tuner and can use it to play live shows and record them, turning the PC into a makeshift DVR; the AMD software can also convert captured videos into formats usable by iPods and other handhelds.
While the card sits behind the Radeon HD 4800 series in performance with just 120 stream processors versus 800, the card is one of AMD's only reference models to include an HDMI output and routes 5.1-channel Dolby Digital surround audio from the main system through the connector, giving home theater PCs a one-cable link for both the image and sound.
Cards will be available from AMD itself under the ATI label as well as Diamond and VisionTek. All ship in July with an estimated price tag of $199.
