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The H.264 codec is an advanced codec that is proving popular with the HD DVD format and requires considerable processing power to decode. This is where ATI comes in, building on its AvivoT technology to provide smooth video playback, utilising the Xbox 360’s GPU to accelerate the process. ATI says that the “unified shader design of the GPU enables high-end processing techniques such as comb filtering and automatic gain control to ensure that video artefacts such as blockiness or colour bands don’t disrupt playback.“
“With the new Xbox 360 HD DVD player using ATI’s decoder technology, we’re giving consumers the choice to playback the latest in high-definition movies,” commented Todd Holmdahl, corporate vice president of Xbox 360 hardware development. “HD DVD brings new meaning to the term home theatre. When people see the visual clarity and realism that Microsoft and ATI are delivering through the Xbox 360 this holiday, they will be blown away.“
Speculation that an internal HD DVD drive will make its way into future iterations of the Xbox 360 continues, but enquiries made by IGN in this regard were met with the following statement from ATI: “The only HD-DVD drive for the Xbox 360 is the external model for which ATI is providing its H.264 decode technology.“
There’s still no word on a specific date on which the HD-DVD add-on will launch, or at what price the device will retail.
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