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Multimedia

So far, we have been looking at performance and quite honestly, it is the wrong angle we have taken. As we mentioned earlier, performance benchmarks were only shown as a reference that the EPIA-M is, in fact capable of handling the kind of workload we threw at it and that there are no hidden limitations. On the other hand, the emphasis of the EPIA-M is not on high performance computing but on what is called "rich multimedia expereience" in marketing palance.

Multimedia, that is, primarily audio-visual applications are, indeed, handled with bravado by the EPIA-M. Video decoding works admirably well, courtesy of the built-in CastleRock graphics designed for handling exactly this kind of application. Another issue altogether is sound based on the same combination of VT8235 South Bridge and VT1616 AC97 that is also found on KT400A mainboard running under the name Vinyl Audio

A new generation of audio CODEC comes in 48 pin LQFP package.

VIA is using the new VT1616 AC'07 audio CODEC featuring an impressive list of capabilities such as: AC'97 2.2 S/PDIF extension compliant CODEC 20-bit, 6 channel DAC outputs 1 Hz resolution VSR (Variable Sampling Rate) on all channels Integrated IEC958 line driver for S/PDIF S/PDIF compressed digital or LPCM audio out Hardware downmix option to 2 channels 3D stereo expansion for simulated surround 20-bit independent rate stereo ADC 4 stereo, 2 mono analog line-level inputs Second line-level output with volume control External Audio Amplifier Control Low Power consumption mode Exceeds Microsoft® WHQL logo requirements 3.3V digital, 3.3 or 5V analog power supply 48-pin LQFP small footprint package

Specs are specs but what do they mean? Leaving some of the acronyms like LPCM (line per channel modulation or so) out of the picture, the really important issues for sound quality are the sampling rate that is 48 KHz at default but can be increased or decreased in 1Hz steps by enabling VSR (variable sampling rate) to adjust to the specific demands of any audio application.

The real killer, though is what is described with the lapidary term Hardware downmix to 2 channels. What that means is that the positional audio used in either gaming or DVD to generate true 5.1 3D sound can be recompiled in hardware to generate similar effects on a two channel setup. The most common scenario where this may be applied is the use of headphones but also standard stereo speaker setups can be used to generate 3D effects.

Other impressive specs comprise the 32 levels each for output attenuation / input gain per channel (except microphone) which makes for 1024 volume adjustments total per channel, an almost linear frequency range from 20Hz to 20kHz (+1dB) as well as interchannel isolation of 80dB. Combine this with a signal-to noise ratio of 97 dB on standalone cards and 90 dB in mainboard implementations and you can see where the VT1616 could offer new dimensions in the AC'97 CODEC world.

Coincidentally, the VT1616 / VT8235 combination is the same as offered with the KT400A chipset. Keep in mind that the gaming capabilities of the KT400A platform require additional capabilities on the audio front as well, that is, decoding of the standard gaming APIs such as DirectSound3D, EAX 1.0/2.0, A3D 1.0, and I3DL2 that are enabled by Sensaura's "VinylAudio. To make a long story short, since the EPIA has hardly any gaming prowess worth mentioning it does not need those specific drivers / decoders either. Suffice it to say, though, that the sound quality, especially the 3D enhancements are way beyond what we are used to from standard AC'97 configurations.

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