- AMD Live!
AMD LIVE! is the name of Advanced Micro Devices' initiative in
2005 aimed at gathering the support of professional musicians and other media producers behind its hardware products. The primary focus of this initiative was theOpteron server- and workstation-classcentral processing unit s (CPUs).AMD subsequently extended AMD LIVE! into a platform
marketing initiative focusing theconsumer electronics segment in 2006 and focused on performance segment desktop-class processors. AMD LIVE! for consumer electronics segment was announced onJanuary 4 2006 officially through press release.The AMD LIVE! is an initiative, which can be divided into two parts, one in terms of software and the other, computer hardware. The software portion focuses on users' internet and multimedia experiences, while the hardware sector focuses on the ability of a system to handle multimedia files and the convergence of
consumer electronics (CE) and personal computing (PC) into onecomputer chassis .Features
AMD LIVE! features away mode (as supported by motherboards), the system hibernates when user is not using, and powers up quickly when needed. The AMD LIVE! also includes a selection of software aimed to enhance the digital entertainment experience named as AMD LIVE! Entertainment Suite, see software section for details.
Hardware configurations
AMD LIVE! PC
According to AMD, the minimum requirements of an AMD LIVE! PC platform are as follows:
Processors:Dual-core and Quad-core AMD processors
*Athlon 64 X2 /Athlon X2 4200+ or above
*Athlon 64 FX except FX-70 series
* Phenom line processors* PSU with cooling fan and heatsink
* 1GB DDR2 RAM
*SATA Hard Disks with recommended NCQ support
** For FX processor series based systems,RAID array of 2 or more SATA Harddisks is required
* DVD+/-RW optical disc drive
* Graphic card supporting Aero graphics
** For FX series processors based systems, dual or multi graphics card configuration is required (SLI or CrossFire)
* Display output:VGA ,DVI ,HDMI with optionalHDCP
* Up to 7.1Surround Sound output (optional:S/PDIF output)
* MicrosoftWindows XP Media Center Edition orWindows Vista Home Premium or UltimateRecommendations:
* Wireless keyboard and pointer device (mouse)
* TV tuner (ATI HDTV Wonder/TV Wonder,OpenCable )Optional Implementations:
* Remote Control
* GbE
* Wireless network connectivity:802.11 g or a combination of 802.11a/gAMD announced the AMD LIVE! will feature support for
Blu-ray disc s andHD DVD s in third quarter of 2007. [ [http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=36603 The Inquirer report] ] [ [http://digitimes.com/mobos/a20061228PD208.html DigiTimes report] ]AMD LIVE! Notebook PC
Announced in CES 2007, the AMD LIVE! Notebook PC requires:
* AMDTurion 64 X2 CPU
* Other system components follow the guidelines of subsequent AMD mobile platforms starting from codenamed "Kite" platform, systems with the platform will be qualified for a better by design sticker as the shown on the right.AMD LIVE! Home Cinema System
Also launched at CES in 2007, AMD LIVE! Home Cinema is a platform that combines the functionality of a PC with that of a Home Theater system that integrates a high performance amplifier (up to 7.1 channels) allowing owners to access and store high definition content such as movies and broadcasts, along with DVR/PVR functionality, photos and slide slows, music and internet content out of a single device.
AMD has also pushed an MCE system design named "AMD Home Cinema B media center", which is a collaorated project with MCE system builders, including AMD hardwares (AMD processors, ATI Radeon graphics with hardware
High-definition video decoding) and pre-installed with Windows Vista Home Premium, and AMD branded chassis (manufactured by [http://www.acecomputers.com/ ACE computers] ), to be released in 2007. [ [http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=41387 The Inquirer report] , retrieved August 1, 2007]The AMD LIVE! Home Cinema system has the following specifications:
* AMDAthlon 64 X2 CPU
* ATITV Wonder Digital CableTuner [ [http://techreport.com/onearticle.x/11569 TechReport report] ]
* Integrated 5-channelsurround sound class-D amplifier system (with at least 100Watt s output/channel)
* Mandatory requirement for an infra-red remote controlSystems including the
MSI Media LIVE BVI reference design,Alienware [http://www.alienware.com/product_detail_pages/hangar18/hangar18_overview.aspx Hanger18 system] , andASUS [http://asus.com/products.aspx?l1=20&l2=115&l3=0&l4=0&model=1708&modelmenu=1 DAV Center A33 system] .AMD LIVE! Media Server
Another item announced in CES 2007 is the AMD LIVE! Media Server, systems including the HP MediaSmart Media server.
Specifications including:
* Running onMicrosoft Windows Home Server
* AMDSempron processors
* DTX form factor motherboard
*RAID functionalityAMD LIVE! Ultra PC/AMD LIVE! Ultra notebook PC
Announced in CES 2008, the AMD LIVE! Ultra PC and the AMD LIVE! Ultra notebook PC utilizes a complete high-end AMD platform which complies with the codenamed "Spider"/"Cartwheel" desktop platform or the codenamed "Puma" mobile platform, what differs from the previous systems is that the requirement for in-house graphics products became mandatory while the system requires more high-end and more powerful products, but the other requirements of the AMD LIVE! Ultra PC remained the same as the others. A new better by design sticker for AMD LIVE! Ultra PC was also released.
The specifications of the system including:
* Multi-core AMD Phenom processor or Turion Ultra processor
* ATI Radeon HD 2000/3000 family of graphics products (including Mobility Radeon HD 2000/3000 series)
** May also include integrated graphics
** (Optional)ATI CrossFire technology
* AMD chipsets
* Other requirements of the AMD LIVE! PCoftware
AMD LIVE! Entertainment Suite
A selection of software to provide additional features to enhance online multimedia experiences, listed as follows:
* On Demand by Orb Networks software - TV recording and sharing software
* Compress - Video Compression Software that compress videos up to one tenth of the original size
* Network Magic - Network surveillance and management software
* LogMeIn - Remote Access software
* Media Vault - 25GB of free online storage
* Communicator powered bySightSpeed - Instant messaging software
* Games powered byWildTangent
* KidRocket -Web browser for kids which filters inappropriate materials.Several additional software and services were announced in CES 2007, listed below:
*
PodShow TV
* MyTV ToGo powered byRoxio
* Fusion Tunes powered byProxure
* MCE Backup powered byProxure
* TV Genie powered byProxure
* Digital Courier powered byYouSendIt AMD LIVE! Explorer
Back in AMD Technology Analyst Day 2007, AMD had show a prototype of a centralized GUI for AMD LIVE! for easy control and managament of AMD LIVE! exclusive contents. The software was later named as AMD LIVE! Explorer and the beta testing version was released during CES 2008 and available for download. [ [http://experience.amdlive.com/GetFile.aspx?aliaspath=%2fus-en%2fHome-Page%2fAMD-LIVE-Explorer%2fBETA-EVALUATION-AGREEMENT AMD LIVE! Explorer beta download page] , retrieved January 11, 2008] The software features a centralized "Live! mode" 3D
panorama interface called "Carousel " for browsing images, albums and videos as thumbnails. The application also includes an embedded browser, with picture-in-picture mode for watching videos while surfing the web at the same time.Related initiatives
AMD LIVE! Ready
Prior to the beginning of
CeBIT 2007 in Hannover, Germany onMarch 15 ,2007 , AMD has announced the "AMD LIVE! ready" program, for otherperipheral s or system components, items which are certified for AMD Live! systems can include the AMD LIVE! Ready program logo (shown on the right) on the package to allow customers to identify the products recommened for AMD LIVE! systems.Some of the supporting companies including
Gigabyte Technology ,Buffalo Technology ,Corel Corporation ,Creative Technology ,D-Link Systems ,Nero AG ,Netgear ,NVIDIA , Orb Networks,Seagate ,TerraTec , andZyXEL . [ [http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543~116469,00.html AMD press release] ]Product categories in the AMD LIVE! Ready program include:
*Set-top box es
*Portable media player s
*Music Devices, such asMP3 player s
*Network Devices
*TV tuner s
*Storage Devices, such asharddisk s andoptical disc drive s
*Webcam s orweb camera s
*Software application s forWindows Vista Active TV initiative
The announcement of Active TV initiative has also taken place prior to CeBIT 2007, the initiative allows online video watching such as
YouTube , ROO,Veoh and VMIX, allowing users to create customized "TV-web channels", and provide to hardware developers a "value-added" solution as software that is embedded on networked entertainment devices, such asHDTV s, set-top-boxes, andgame consoles . Active TV software (provided by software companies such asMediaMall Technologies ) can for example be loaded on a game CD for a game console, such as the home network connectedPS2 (provided by BroadQ). The console then pulls video, music, and image content from the Internet, via a networked PC running Active TV software [http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=21637&hed=AMD+Enlists+TV+Device+Makers§or=Industries&subsector=Computing RedHerring report] ] [ [http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/31228/98/ TGDaily report] ] . The support of such functions forXbox 360 andWii platforms is projected at a later time.AMD has started a webpage about the initiative and provided a simulator for Windows XP and Vista download. ( [http://www.amd.com/activetv Active-TV page] )
References
External links
AMD LIVE! Official Homepages
* [http://www.amdlive.com/ AMD LIVE! homepage]
* [http://amdlive.amd.com/ AMD LIVE! homepage for professionals]Official Press Releases
* [http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543_13744~103717,00.html "AMD Unveils Digital Media Vision To Deliver Enhanced Entertainment Experiences"]
* [http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543~115234,00.html "AMD Ignites Consumer Passions With New AMD LIVE! Notebook PC, Home Cinema And Media Server"]
* [http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543~116469,00.html "Digital Entertainment Experiences Made Simpler with New AMD LIVE! Ready Program"]
* [http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543~123184,00.html "AMD Equips OEMs To Deliver The Ultimate Visual Experience With Forthcoming AMD LIVE! Ultra Desktop and Notebook PCs"]Media Discussion
* [http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/320/ Hardware Secrets: Intel ViiV vs. AMD LIVE!]
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