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Introduction:

Computers are versatile and allow you to accomplish many tasks. There are several set-top-box type devices out there to allow you to accomplish specific things for digital media. For example, there are Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) available for your TV. There are some very well known DVR devices that you have probably heard of before such as TiVo and ReplayTV systems. These specialized systems let you encode and decode digital video from your TV signal onto a hard disk in the device. They let you pause live broadcasts and record programs for later viewing. While these things have revolutionized the way we can watch TV, a computer can allow possibly offer you even more flexibility than a DVR device.

Home Theater PCs (HTPCs) are becoming increasingly popular these days. A HTPC is nothing more than a simple computer combined with the multimedia hardware to connect to your TV that lets you accomplish tasks that you can’t accomplish with most DVR set-top boxes alone. Usually these computers are located close to your TV as part of your home entertainment center, but they can also simply be your primary desktop computer located in another room. With a HTPC, not only are you are able to customize the hardware components that fit your needs, but you also have software features such as video editing software available to you. This hardware and software flexibility combined makes computers the most versatile multimedia solution for whatever your needs are.

In the drive to push computers as the ultimate multimedia machines, ATI has created a new processor for add-in cards to accelerate multimedia functionality. VisionTek is one Add-In-Board (AIB) manufacturer who has picked up on this technology and is offering an add-in-card based around this chip.
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Read More/Source: HardOCP

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