We almost miss this big news yesterday, ATI Technologies announced that Microsoft Corp. chooses ATI's H.264 video decoder for their XBox 360 HD DVD player. The HD DVDs encoded using one of three approved codec’s deliver up to six times the resolutions of traditional DVDs all on a single disc. That promises you a sharper and more true-to-life high-definition visuals and smoother playback content. How does it actually works? The ATI decoder technology makes use of the XBox 360's graphic processing unit (GPU) to accelerate video processing. It will enables the high-end processing techniques such as comb filtering and automatic gain control to ensure the video artifacts such as blockiness or color bands don't disrupt playback. So what's the suggested price for the Xbox 360 HD DVD player? We are not sure about it yet.
"The momentum is with HD DVD. Eventually, we feel all the studios will support HD DVD, perhaps not exclusively. But the studios are too savvy to leave money on the table," said Penello.
[via ATI]
