ASUS Unveils New Xonar HDAV1.3 Slim Sound Card
Written by Andreas G 19 May 2009 19:27

ASUS seems to have little stopping them from coming up with new features for its series of sound cards with the risk of confusing us consumers it has launched a new model. ASUS Xonar HDAV1.3 is, unlike the last creation, built for HTPCs. The sound card is of a slim format and should slide nicely into smaller cases. The sound card use the regular PCI connector and like the remaining cards of the HDAV1.3 series it supports bit streaming of Blu-ray audio. The eight channel audio can be sent out through the HDMI port and to play Blu-ray moves the card ships with ArcSoft Total Media Theatre.

Check out ASUS' press release for more information;

ASUS Unveils New Xonar HDAV1.3 Slim Sound Card

The World's First HDMI1.3 Audio Card with True Blu-ray Audio Playback Designed to Fit Home Theater PCs of All Sizes

Taipei, Taiwan, May 18, 2009 – ASUS, a leading producer of home theater PC (HTPC) solutions, today added a new member to its HDAV family: the ASUS Xonar HDAV1.3 Slim sound card. The CES-award winning Xonar HDAV1.3 Series of audio cards has been credited for revolutionizing the world of HTPC by offering the world's first and only solution to bitstream true Blu-ray audio on the PC platform, and this new offering is no different.

Uncompromising HD Digital Audio and Video with World's Only True Blu-ray Audio Bitstreaming

The Xonar HDAV1.3 features Protected Audio Playback Systems (PAPS) and full Advanced Access Content System (AACS) certification. Without both certifications, typical PCs must down-sample Blu-ray audio into DVD quality (48K/16bit). Utilizing ArcSoft's Total Media Theater, the ASUS Xonar HDAV1.3 is capable of decoding Blu-ray movies and takes full advantage of lossless digital audio formats such as Dolby® TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio™ for professional, high-fidelity sound at 24bit, 96–192Khz. The PCI-based Xonar HDAV1.3 Slim is also designed from the ground up, and is built for next generation HTPCs. Equipped with the proprietary AV200 audio processor and certified HDMI1.3a connect, it is capable of delivering the highest quality 7.1 channel 192K linear pulse code modulation (LPCM) audio and high definition video through the HDMI port.

Perfectly Designed for Next-gen HTPCs

The Xonar HDAV1.3 Slim is equipped with an essential digital HDMI1.3 interface, which bitstreams next-generation Blu-ray quality audio formats such as Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD Master and Dolby Digital Plus via the ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre application to the user's AV receiver. This powerful playback ability, combined with a low-profile design and bundled low-profile bracket, makes the HDAV1.3 Slim perfect for next-generation HTPCs right out of the box.

True Cinematic Video Enjoyment

The Xonar HDAV1.3 Slim offers bit-to-bit exact lossless audio output, eliminating the need for Blu-ray audio downsampling that would result in poor quality audio output. It also transmits both video and audio through a single HDMI cable, helping to eliminate cable clutter. Furthermore, most motion picture cameras used for Hollywood movies capture video at 24 frames per second. Content recorded on Blu-ray media are also based on 24p. With the Xonar HDAV1.3 Slim's support for 24p video via HDMI, users with a 1080/24p compatible LCD monitor and a 1080/24p player will be able to bring cinema-like visuals out of their HTPCs and fully experience digital videos the way they were produced in Hollywood studios.

Key Features at a Glance

• Supports DTS-HD, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus, up to 192Khz, 24bit, and 7.1 channel LPCM audio formats
• Delivers bit-to-bit exact lossless audio output without Blu-ray audio downsampling
• Supports 24p frame rate video playback
• Transmits both video and audio through a single HDMI cable

Specifications

Specifications are subject to change without prior notice.

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