Via Technologies on Monday launched the Via eH1 graphics card, which is aimed at bringing DX 10 graphics and multiscreen HD video technology to embedded devices. Via, a chipmaker that specializes in power efficient x86 processors, says the eH1 is the first graphics card dedicated specifically to embedded applications.
The Via eH1 is a low-profile PCI Express add-in-board product which offers multistream 1080p HD video decoding and stereoscopic 3D rendering capability. Applications that can run the Via eH1 include digital signage, advertising, POS, POI, gaming and multi-display viewing.
The Via eH1 features the power-efficient S3 Chrome 5400E GPU, a 64-bit discrete graphics solution that comes with 512MB of DDR3 memory. Samples of the Via eH1 are now available on request from Via's Web site, and the card comes with a three-year product guarantee.
In addition to being DX10.1 compliant, the Via eH1 is compatible with any system with a PCI Express slot. The card is also compatible with a number of Via EPIA board products.
"The Via eH1 hits a real sweet spot for the embedded industry as a whole," said Daniel Wu, vice president of Via Technologies' Embedded Platform Division, in a statement. "Offering technologies like DX10.1, OpenGL/CL, plus multi-channel HD video playback on an extremely low power AIB will excite system integrators who want to bring the latest features to existing platforms."
Last week, Via Technologies announced that Simmtronics Semiconductors is now Via's exclusive manufacturing and distribution partner for Via pc-1 mainboards in several countries, including India.
