PowerColor X1600 HDMI is expected to show up sometime after Computex next month as a reply to the growing demand for HDMI capable video cards for PCs. The fact that ATI has been sued over advertising support for HDCP just might’ve something to do with it, but anyhow HDCP and HDMI are something video card manufacturers needs to take a closer at for the future. Most LCD/Plasma TVs use an HDMI input and to be able to play back HDCP protected material the video card has to support this. Considering the growing HTPC and Media Center markets it is no surprsise that support for HDCP will arrive soon.
PowerColor X1600 HDMI will have this support and also use the interface most flatscreen TVs are equipped with, all to make the connection between computer and TV as convenient as possible. At The Inquirer they’ve tested a prototype of PowerColor’s card that can send out both digital picture and sound to a HDMI capable TV. The card works just the way it should and right now we’re just waiting for it to arrive on the shelves.
