Microsoft Corp. has chosen ATI Technologies' H.264 decoder for the Xbox 360 HD DVD player, bringing users sharper,
more true-to-life visuals, and smoother playback of high-definition content. HD DVDs encoded using one of three approved codecs deliver up to six times the resolution of traditional DVDs all on a single disc. The decoder is built on ATI's Avivo technology.
The ATI decoder technology makes use of the Xbox 360's graphics processing unit (GPU) to accelerate video processing. The unified shader design of the GPU enables high-end processing techniques such as comb filtering and automatic gain control to ensure that video artifacts such as blockiness or color bands don't disrupt playback.
For more information about ATI's decoder technology, please visit
www.ati.com/technology/avivo. For more information about Microsoft's new HD DVD player for the Xbox360, please visit www.xbox.com/hddvd.