NVIDIA Delivers Technology to Power Sony’s First HDMI Home Theater PC

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CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW (CES)—LAS VEGAS, NV—JANUARY 5, 2006 – NVIDIA Corporation, the worldwide leader in programmable graphics technologies, today announced that the world’s first HDMI PC from Sony Corporation, the VAIO VGX-XL1 Digital Living System, is powered by the NVIDIA GeForce® 6200 graphics processing unit (GPU) featuring NVIDIA PureVideo technology.

Over the last couple of years, the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) has emerged as the connection standard for HDTV and the consumer electronics market. HDMI is the first and only digital interface to combine uncompressed high-definition video and multi-channel audio, as well as intelligent format and command data in a single digital interface. Now, this consumer electronics standard can be utilized in PC products. The introduction of the VAIO type X Living System for the Japanese market represents the world’s first HDMI PC to support the full digital broadcast tuner specification of 1080i.

“HDMI is the only interface that can carry both uncompressed high-definition video and uncompressed multi-channel audio in all HD formats including 720p, 1080i, and even the upcoming 1080p format,” stated Scott Vouri, general manager of multimedia products for NVIDIA. “The combination of our PureVideo technology and this high-definition standard allows for a true high-definition PC experience.”

Using a single cable, an HDMI interface can connect all high-definition devices, displays and components, dramatically simplifying home theater system installation and eliminating the cable quagmire typically associated with home theater system components. Most importantly, the combination of NVIDIA PureVideo technology and HDMI offers significant advantages over other solutions, such as the ability to transmit crystal-clear high definition digital video and audio content from the PC to an HDTV. Consumers can use their PCs to maximize their home theater system and experience digital content the way it was intended.

Featured in GeForce 6 and 7 series GPUs, NVIDIA PureVideo technology allows users to experience home theater quality video from the PC with superb picture clarity and precise, vivid colors across all high-definition (HD) resolutions. This high quality HD-output is delivered by NVIDIA PureVideo technology, whose hardware acceleration engine enables smooth playback of HD video, including H.264 / MPEG4-AVC, Windows Media 9 and MPEG 2 footage, with minimal CPU overhead. NVIDIA PureVideo technology also delivers advanced video post-processing features to the PC—including spatial-temporal de-interlacing, inverse telecine, and high-quality scaling—rivaling that of high-end consumer electronics DVD players.

The VAIO® XL1 Digital Living System™ merges Sony’s industry-leading home theater expertise with the power computing performance of a VAIO® PC. With its 200-disc mega-changer and optimized Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 interface, the VAIO® XL1 Digital Living System™ transforms content management, making CDs, DVDs, photos, high-definition camcorder content, recorded TV shows and more, easily accessible and enjoyable at the touch of a remote.