AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced that starting next month, the company plans to release for download a free ATI Catalyst™ driver update that instantly unlocks new ATI Stream acceleration capabilities already built into millions of ATI Radeon™ graphics cards.

ATI Stream is a set of advanced hardware and software technologies that enable AMD graphics processors (GPU), working in concert with the system's central processor (CPU), to accelerate applications beyond just graphics. This results in better balanced platforms capable of running demanding computing tasks faster than ever.(1)

ATI Stream-enabled software titles for entertainment, gaming and productivity are being released or are under development by a growing list of independent software vendors (ISVs) including ArcSoft and CyberLink.

To give users immediate benefit from ATI Stream, AMD also plans to release in December a free downloadable version of its ATI Avivo™ Video Converter utility. This intuitive, easy-to-use application enables transcoding of HD video up to 17 times faster(1) than with the CPU alone, in tests performed using an ATI Radeon™ HD 4850 graphics card.

"ATI Stream is one of the best examples of the power of Fusion, and today's announcement is the first major step in taking this important new technology mainstream," said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, Graphics Products Group, AMD. "For the millions of people that have already purchased an ATI Radeon HD 4000 series graphics card, this is one more way we're saying thank you and helping them get more out of their investment. For those who haven't yet, it's one more reason for them to go online right now and buy one."

ATI Radeon graphics processors from AMD are already found in millions of PCs around the world, each running the ATI Catalyst software driver. In the past 12 months, the various ATI Catalyst driver packages have been downloaded 48 million times, averaging nearly four million downloads each month.

The next ATI Catalyst release is version 8.12. AMD has begun distributing a beta version to its hardware and software technology partners for testing, with the final version scheduled to be released for download on or around December 10.

Once installed, the driver package automatically turns on the ATI Stream acceleration capabilities within ATI Radeon™ HD 4000 series graphics cards. This will have the immediate effect of allowing any ATI Stream-enabled application to run faster, with no special effort required by consumers to enable this technology. As always, expert users will have the ability to customize their ATI Catalyst driver install options.

Users can then download and install the free ATI Avivo Video Converter. In tests performed using this utility, AMD was able to convert an hour of video to a portable player format in about 12 minutes.(1) Combined with one of the recent ATI Radeon HD 4000 series graphics card offerings, the ATI Avivo Video Converter helps deliver video conversion at up to twice the speed of competing solutions, at just over half of the suggested retail price.(2)

A growing number of ISVs are also lining up to provide ATI Stream-enabled applications, including ArcSoft, a leading provider of innovative digital imaging technologies and multimedia solutions. The company plans to provide an update in December to its TotalMedia Theatre application that will includes ArcSoft SimHD™, a new type of post processing technology that allows consumers to experience close-to-HD viewing of standard definition content thanks to ATI Stream.

Another is CyberLink, an innovative software developer for digital media creation, playback, sharing, and enjoyment applications, has optimized its award-winning video editing software, PowerDirector 7. PowerDirector provides a robust set of features and functionality for capturing, editing and distributing HD video. The updated version, which is scheduled to be released in Q1 2009 will include ATI Stream accelerated video conversion, featuring performance and functionality exceeding that of the Avivo Video Converter.

To ensure easier development of ATI Stream enabled applications capable of running on platforms from multiple vendors, AMD is a member of the Khronos working group defining the OpenCL standard, and is evolving the ATI Stream SDK to be fully OpenCL compliant.

ATI CrossFireX™ Enhancements

This release of ATI Catalyst™ enables users to verify whether an application is running in ATI CrossFireX™ mode. The new option found in the ATI Catalyst™ Control Center system tray, will allow users to verify whether a Direct3D or OpenGL application is running in ATI CrossFireX™ mode. (The “ATI Cross-FireX” logo will be shown on screen when the application is running).

ATI Catalyst™ Release Note 5
HydraVision Support for Windows XP
This release of ATI Catalyst™ introduces HydraVision support for the ATI Catalyst ™ Control Center under Windows XP. HydraVision enables users to more efficiently organize multiple applications across single or multiple displays. Highlights
include:
• HydraGrid – A new feature found in HydraVision that divides the Windows desktop into user definable areas. This helps users to more easily move and organize multiple applications.
• HydraVision Hotkeys – The ATI Catalyst™ Control Center Hotkey Manager can assist users to quickly setup and define their HydraVision specific hotkey commands.
• HydraVision Virtual Desktops – Users can configure up to 9 different virtual desktops. This enables users to manage and group multiple applications across each user defined desktop. Application positions, desktop associations and display settings can be saved for every virtual desktop.
• HydraVision Wizard – Using the ATI Catalyst™ Control Center Wizard, users can configure their HyrdaVision settings with ease.

New Display Enhancements
This release of ATI Catalyst™ Linux introduces support for display scaling to resize the display devices that support TV timings (480i/p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p) through either digital (DVI or HDMI) or analog (component) interfaces.

Performance Improvements
The following performance gains are noticed with this release of Catalyst™ FarCry 2 – performance gains of 3 to 10% for Single card mode and 8 to 14% in Crossfire mode, with some specific configurations showing even greater improvements. Performance gains were noticed on all Radeon HD4xxx and Radeon HD3xxx products.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky – performance gains of 6 to 18% in single card settings and 10 to 30% in CrossfireX mode. Performance gains were noticed on all Radeon HD04xxx and Radeon HD3xxx products.

Resolved Issues for the Windows Vista Operating System
This section provides information on resolved issues in this release of the ATI Catalyst™ Software Suite for Windows Vista. These include:

• During game play for “Age of Conan”, DirectX 10 may cause the screen to blank

ATI Catalyst™ Release Note 6
• Resizing video during playback may intermittently cause desktop video corruption
• Video playback tearing may occur under Windows Vista 32 or XP
• Hardware acceleration is not enabled when playing HD content using Cyberlink
• Catalyst Control Center, Overdrive options missing under Graphics settings
• Some OpenGL content may not align to the Hydravision preset grid
• Catalyst Control Center 'ShowGrid' does not display the correct grid settings for the attached displays
• “Gratitude{EF25BC.....}” or HydraGrid.exe executables will be shown under process tab after launching Hydragrid

Resolved Issues for the Windows XP Operating System

This section provides information on resolved issues in this release of the ATI Catalyst™ Software Suite for Windows XP. These include:
• “Lower Resolution” message displayed when attempting to play HD content using winDVD
• Running certain OpenGL applications may intermittently cause the system to stop responding
• Some desktop corruption may be noticed when playing standard definition video while exiting full screen DOS
• Overlay rotation failing under Windows XP
• Hot unplugging the secondary device with Clone Mode enabled may cause video playback instability
• With Clone Mode and Overlay Theater Mode enabled some video playback may fail to render properly
• Some corruption may be noticed during video playback on Cyberlink winDVD7 and rotate desktop
• Midway “Stranglehold” may become unstable when run in 800x600 and Dynamic Shadows is turned off

Known Issues Under the Windows Vista Operating System

This section provides information on known issues that may be experienced under the Windows Vista operating system with the latest version of Catalyst™. These include:
• Some screen corruption may be noticed after enabling 1080p HDMI support and adjusting the scaling options from Catalyst Control Center
• “Age of Conan” DirectX 10, may intermittently become unresponsive during gameplay
• Full screen OpenGL applications may cause a system with CrossFire enabled to become unresponsive
• Video corruption may occur when playing back 1080i MPEG2 content
ATI Catalyst™ Release Note 7
• Display driver “Configuration Change” warning message is not displayed after removing secondary CrossFire adapter
• Video corruption may occur when playing HD/SD content while concurrently running a Direct 3D application
• Mode switching during gameplay may cause system to stop responding while “Show CrossFireXtm Status Icon” and CrossFire are enabled
• Restoring to factory default, Catalyst Control Center may become unresponsive when multidesktop is enabled
• Playing back MPEG2 files may fail to respond when task switching between virtual desktops in extended desktop mode

Known Issues Under the Windows XP Operating System
The following section provides a summary of open issues that may be experienced under the Windows XP operating system in the latest version of Catalyst™. These include:
• Protection message is displayed when playing DVD using WINDVD v9.609
• No overlay when playing MPEG2 DVD after rotating display
• Video corruption may be noticed when playing back certain MPEG2 files
• Codemasters' RaceDriver GRID: some video corruption may be noticed during game play after a task switch while Crossfire is enabled
• Task switching to the desktop and running a Direct 3D game may cause the game to become unresponsive
• Exiting some games may intermittently cause the following error message “Display Driver stopped working” when 8x Anti Alias edge detection is enabled
• Users may notice intermittent flickering on the TV out display when playing a DVD using Cyberlink PowerDVD