ATI's Avivo mark 2 - a preview

Avivo and Viiv

For me, all this video playback stuff starts to become really interesting when you begin to think about how it will all interact with the next generation of media devices from the guys at Intel and Apple.

You will have heard us talk about Intel's Viiv initiative in the past - it's the platform they are going to unveil in the new year for consumer living room PC devices. The Viiv specification requires that a PC be shipped with a number of things. There's the obligatory wireless and Intel processors, but it's also a functionality specification as well as a component specification.

In terms of functionality, a Viiv PC must be able to play back video with good quality, and it must be able to transcode video into different formats to pass to different devices. Intel want to make sure that it's easy to move video from your main PC to all kinds of different Intel devices around your home, so this video conversion is absolutely critical.

What is interesting is that Avivo fits right into this strategy. By accelerating both standard definition and high definition video, as well as offering a transcoding tool, ATI is lining itself up to be the obvious graphics choice for Avivo systems. When system builders start to put together the first Viiv systems at the beginning of next year, a passively cooled X1600 is going to be an obvious choice for inclusion, since it will accelerate 720p video, be nigh-on silent and provide access to the awesome transcoding tool that ATI have bundled. Assuming we see an All-In-Wonder version, it could also take care of the TV tuning facilities that most companies will want to build in.

Of course, there's the Apple factor. ATI have long collaborated with the Cupertinians on products, with the Apple PowerBook I'm typing on now containing a Radeon 9700. When we quizzed ATI about what involvement they have had in Apple's rumoured living room product, they coyly admitted that Apple were very interested in the video work they were doing, and that discussions between the firms were ongoing.

With Apple using Intel chips from next year, the rumours are that the first living room machines from Apple will, in fact, be Viiv certified. If this is the case, then it could mean that ATI score a double whammy and get their chips in these machines too - the 9200 is already used in the Mac mini, and a X1300 or X1600 would be an obvious choice for the souped-up model.

One thing is for sure. Video is going to be an increasingly important sector of the graphics wars battleground, and you can expect ATI and NVIDIA to be duking it out next year to become the graphics provider of choice for Viiv systems. There'll still be plenty of 3D action as both companies fight to be the first Xbox 360-beater, but you can expect to see us talking more about video and media in 2006.

What's clear from this round of Avivo improvements is that ATI really has their eye on the ball when it comes to video, and we hear from them that this isn't it - there will be more improvements to Avivo over the coming months, in subsequent Catalyst releases. Seeing ATI give this technology away to X1000 buyers is definitely a nice thing for end users and really makes us ask questions about NVIDIA. What are they up to? We don't know yet, but we will sure as heck be working to find out. In the meantime, grab the 5.13 release on Thursday and give us your opinions on the technology.