AMD hardware, ATI Catalyst 10.6 and Adobe Flash Player 10.1
enable superior image quality for video playback and streaming online
video
Every minute, more than 24 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube
indicating that image quality is an increasingly important part of the
PC experience. With this in mind, AMD today
announced improvements to its ATI Catalyst
10.6 driver suite that further strengthen the company’s leadership
position in image quality as measured by the HQV Benchmark, Version 2.0.
AMD scored 48 percent better than the competition in discrete graphics
and up to 87 percent better than the competition in integrated graphics.
In addition, AMD supports the newly released Adobe
Flash Player 10.1 technology for more seamless video playback from
popular online video sites.
"Through advancements in AMD hardware and software, we are helping
people have a richer online experience," said Matt Skynner, corporate
vice president and general manager, AMD Graphics Division. "Whether you
plan to stream games during the world soccer event, watch last night’s
episode of your favorite show or play online video games, having the
right hardware and software can make a big difference in achieving the
best possible image quality."
HQV Benchmark, Version 2.0
HQV Benchmark, Version 2.0, is a collection of short videos, each
presenting a hardware-intensive video playback scenario. The reviewer is
prompted to evaluate the success with which the video processor under
load handles various video artifacts which may appear in the scene.
Unlike 3D performance, where frame rate is the benchmark, video
performance in HQV 2.0 is focused on gauging image quality and how often
that quality is degraded by visual artifacts or other issues. HQV
Benchmark version 2.0 provides a useful means to closely evaluate
Blu-ray and DVD performance.
In HQV Benchmark, Version 2.0, AMD graphics hardware achieved
significantly higher scores relative to graphics hardware from
competitors. Additionally, features introduced in the newly released ATI
Catalyst 10.6 driver further enhanced the image quality of AMD graphics
products and increased the overall score of AMD discrete and integrated
graphics products in HQV Benchmark, Version 2.0.
ATI Catalyst 10.6
ATI
Catalyst 10.6 drivers build upon AMD’s leadership in video quality
through improved cadence detection, dynamic contrast, and skin tone
correction. In addition, new video post-processing features help with
some of the issues, commonly called artifacts, which can occur when
watching video that has been compressed onto a Blu-Ray or standard
definition DVD disc. In particular, ATI Catalyst 10.6 helps reduce
mosquito noise, the shimmering artifacts that appear near edges in
videos, as well as deblocking, or smoothing out images that have become
distorted by the compression process.
Adobe Flash Player 10.1
Adobe Flash Player 10.1 takes advantage of both CPU and GPU
hardware acceleration for more seamless video playback. Adobe Flash
Player 10.1 is the first consistent runtime release of the Adobe Open
Screen Project that enables uncompromised Web browsing of expressive
applications, content and HD videos across devices. Leveraging graphics
acceleration allows the PC to offload tasks from the CPU to reduce
resource utilization.
Arcsoft TotalMedia Theater 3
For a limited time and while quantities last, ArcSoft is offering
users 50% off the retail purchase of ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre 3 Gold
or ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre 3 Platinum editions when they purchase an
ATI Radeon HD 5550 graphics card, unlocking even sharper, more vivid
digital media. The Arcsoft TotalMedia Theater 3 suite includes SimHD,
helping to enable seamless upscaling of standard definition DVDs and
MPEG video files. In addition, SimHD utilizes ATI Stream technology to
further enhance playback performance, ensuring smooth playback of media
files with amazingly high bitrates.
