ATI releases 32MB All-in-Wonder(TM) 128 Board with the powerful Merlin VR
- ATI announces the 32MB All-in-Wonder 128, the most versatile
combination TV, video and graphics board on the market
- Features advanced dbx(TM) stereo TV tuner, Digital VCR, Video Capture,
Real-time video compression and DTV readiness
TORONTO, Oct. 14 /CNW/ - 1999- ATI Technologies Inc. (TSE:ATY,
NASDAQ:ATYT) today announced that the All-in-Wonder 128 32MB combination TV,
video and graphics board is now shipping, bundled with Digital Immersion
Software's Merlin VR for interactive 3D content creation. With the 32MB
All-in-Wonder 128 and Merlin VR, home and office users can create animations,
architectural walk throughs and even interactive web content.
The All-in-Wonder 128 32 MB version is the ideal PC upgrade that turns
the PC into an intelligent TV, providing TV tuning, graphics that support all
the most popular games, such as Quake III Arena, video capture, closed
captioning save-to-file and TV display for large screen viewing.
''The All-in-Wonder 128 32MB board is both the gamer's dream and the
content creator's best friend, offering a combination of the best in 3D
acceleration and real time rendering that can't be beat on the market today,'
says Alan McCann, director of visual products group, ATI. ''With Merlin VR,
All-in-Wonder 128 32MB represents incredible value at $279. To go out and buy
a TV card, a graphics card, a video card and top rated creation software would
set you back several times the price.'
In addition to allowing users to watch TV through their PCs, its advanced
technology also allows for such applications as still and motion video capture
and capturing closed caption transcripts. These functions have been combined
to produce the TV Magazine feature, where closed captioning transcripts, along
with periodic images from the screen can be saved to file to produce a
printed, magazine-format version of the television broadcast.
''Digital Immersion Software's Merlin VR has been designed to deliver
incredible speed in rendering, so creators don't have to wait to see how the
scenes they create interact,' said Mark Jewell, President and CFO, Digital
Immersion Software. ''With the hardware graphics acceleration ATI's
All-in-Wonder 128 32MB board provides, home and business users will be able to
take advantage of the benefits of Merlin VR.'
Hot Words feature lets the PC monitor TV for desired programming. The
ability to use the closed captioning stream means the All-in-Wonder 128 can
monitor TV for desired programs and content. When the content is broadcast and
a pre-programmed Hot Word is detected, All-in- Wonder 128 notifies the user
the program is on.
An additional feature of the TV tuner features is scheduled viewing,
where the PC turns on the TV for designated programming. Channel Surf gives
users the ability to use live TV programming as video wall paper. The
All-in-Wonder 128 also supports North America's DBXT stereo TV audio with
hardware detection and software notification that the channel is in stereo.
All-in-Wonder 128 includes Digital VCR functionality, where a PC can be
programmed to record favorite TV shows just like a regular VCR. Digital VCR
leverages the ability of modern CPUs to compress video spontaneously, as it's
viewed, rendering dedicated hardware for video compression and decompression
obsolete. Also, digitized video from camcorders or VHS tape can be affordably
saved to today's recordable CDs and recordable DVD-RAM.
About Merlin VR
Merlin VR is a powerful tool for web designers and digital content
designers to create interactive 3D. It provides unmatched real-time speed and
performance along with a very intuitive interface intended to cut down lengthy
development time.
Merlin VR incorporates the most advanced features:
- Create high quality, optimized objects and VRML worlds that are
Internet ready
- Create animated objects or camera paths easily.
- Accelerated real-time preview offers the ability to watch fully
textured animated scenes at high frame rates without rendering.
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