Auzentech Home Theater 7.1 HDMI thread

[ROBSCIX]

Hey guys, the new Auzentech X-fi Home Theater 7.1 HDMI 1.3 card is slated for release very soon and I figured it was about time to get a thread going
devoted to this card and information related to it. This way we can keep all relavent information compiled to one thread
instead of spread across many.

Specifications

Audio Interface Creative PCI Express X-Fi audio processor
HDMI Inteface Silicon Image HDMI 1.3 chipset
PC Interface PCI Express 1.1 Compliant Interface
Supported audio resolution 16/24-bit / up to 192kHz (Stereo playback)
and sampling rate 16/24-bit / up to 96.0khz (Multi channel playback)
16/24-bit / up to 96kHz (Recording)
OS Supports Microsoft® Windows Vista™ or Windows XP
Audio
Level 3.0Vrms, +12.0dBu max, deviation +/- 0.1dB
Dynamic Range 114.0 dB A-weighted (1kHz @ -60dBFS, 24-bit/48kHz) for Analog outputs
102.0 dB A-weighted (1kHz @ -60dBFS, 24-bit/48kHz) for Analog inputs
Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise 0.001% A-weighted (@ -3dBFS) for Analog outputs
0.003% A-weighted (@ -3dBFS) for Analog inputs
Frequency Response 10Hz to 22kHz, +/- 0.02 dB @ 48kHz
10Hz to 42kHz, +/- 0.02 dB @ 96kHz
10Hz to 94kHz, +/- 3dB @ 192kHz, Stereo
Impedance Headphone load impedance 16Ω~ 600Ω
Line output impedance 330Ω
Line/Aux input impedance 10KΩ
Microphone Supports Stereo and Balanced Mode
Connectivity
HDMI 1 x HDMI Type A output connector
1 x HDMI Type A input connector
1 x Internal Video connection
Analog Multi I/O Cable 4 x 1/8" Stereo mini phone jack for Line outputs
(D-SUB) 1 x 1/8" TRS mini phone jack for MIC input
1 x 1/8" Stereo mini phone jack for Line input
Headphone 1 x 1/8" Stereo mini Phone jack for Headphone output
Front Audio1 x 10-pin (5x2) Header with Intel HD Audio Compatible
Digital I/O 1 x RCA/TOSLINK Combo jack for S/PDIF transmission
1 x 2-pin S/PDIF input connector
Extension40-pin Extension Header (for certain Creative product extension)
HDMI
HDMI HDMI 1.3, HDCP1.1
VIDEO- Supports deep color 30/36-bit color depth
- Resolutions up to 1080p @ 60Hz or 720p/1080i @ 120Hz
- Color space conversion between RGB, YCbCr 4:4:4 and 4:2:2
- CEA-861D video resolutions
- Standard PC resolutions
AUDIO- Supports IEC60958 2-channel PCM or IEC61937 compressed audio
(Dolby® Digital, DTS, etc.)
- Supports 8 channels, 192 kHz PCM or High bit rate audio
(Dolby® Digital Plus, Dolby® Digital TrueHD, DTS-HD)

Atleast these are the current reported specifications but with any product, they can change.

[eggman51]

I believe it has been confirmed that this card replaces the HDMI daughter card for the Prelude that is no longer going to ship.

I have read there will be an upgrade program of sorts for owners of the Prelude to purchase these cards.

As an owner of the Prelude who bought it for no reason other than to have the HDMI daughter card in May of this year (when it was supposed to ship) I will not be purchasing this card nor any other product from Auzentech in the future.

egg

[Favelle]

Originally Posted by eggman51

As an owner of the Prelude who bought it for no reason other than to have the HDMI daughter card in May of this year (when it was supposed to ship) I will not be purchasing this card nor any other product from Auzentech in the future.

egg

Why would you be buying an Auzentech sound card anyways? I thought you said you "gave up" on HTPC's????




For the 4th time in about 12 years I have given up on HTPC. I think possibly for good this time. It's a huge amount of hassle and much more expensive than a PS3. Granted the PS3 has a tone of issues if trying to use it as an HD movie client for streamed movies, but so do HTPCs.

[ROBSCIX]

Whe reading the specifications I found it rather interesting that the 40 Pin header will be compatible with newer Creative Bay Products.

[mpgxsvcd]

I wouldn't hold your breath for this card to come out! I am pretty fed up with Auzentech as well. However, if they can get this card out and WORKING perfectly next month and they can discount it by more than $100 because I already bought the prelude then I might consider purchasing it.

Otherwise, I wouldn't touch one of their products again with a 10 foot pole!

[ROBSCIX]

The card is set for release this month but if there are other issues that need adressing it may be delayed again. I would rather wait and have a solid card. If you want to post Negative opinions about Auzentech please go and make another thread. This thread is for info about this card for people who are looking for it.

[lilohtpc]

Auzentech card with Creative connector? so has Creative merged Auzentech?
maybe not so but looks so...

not entirely a good news for lots of people I guess...

[ROBSCIX]

No, Auzentech is still it's own entity as far as I know. They may create there own Drive bay in the future Perhaps but it is compatible with some of the Creative Drive bay Products. I am unsure exactly which ones though. Maybe I will see if I can find a list of compatible bays...

[renethx]

So what is the estimated price of the card? Any idea?

[eggman51]

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX

The card is set for release this month but if there are other issues that need adressing it may be delayed again. I would rather wait and have a solid card. If you want to post Negative opinions about Auzentech please go and make another thread. This thread is for info about this card for people who are looking for it.

Generally Rob I agree that threads that are less cluttered are better. However quite frankly I believe companies like Auzentech that announce and cancel products need to feel some punishment in the marketplace as a result of those actions.

Auzen clearly knew that an HDMI daughtercard would drive sales of the Prelude cards.. that is the main reason I and others bought Prelude cards. I could have grabbed an old $20 bit perfect capable SPDIF card off my shelf while I waited for a capable HDMI alternative to come to market. Instead I spent $200 knowing that I'd need to spend another $100 for HDMI capabilities.

I've taken my HTPC out of the living room and one of the many issues contributing to that decision has been poor HD audio support. At this stage for my system configuration I'd need to spend another estimated $300 on the Asus card, landing me at a $500 investment for HD audio support.. $200 of that sunk into Auzentech because when they showed the card at CES and made press releases I believed their May ship date.

If this were a larger marketplace they would certainly suffer lawsuits, but the volume of people who are affected by this is so small that there will likely not be the critical mass to make it appealing to lawyers. I believe Auzen is taking advantage of that in a way that drove sales of their products based on promises they have not fulfilled and arguably had no intent to fulfill.

As a result they do not deserve "clean" threads about their products.. they deserve consumers to look at them with some skepticism and ensure that folks evaluating their products have a balanced view of the company and it's products (particularly those that are not in the market yet and may affect people purchasing other competitive products based on speculation).

egg

[ROBSCIX]

@Egg, well that is great but that has little to do with this new card. There is already a thread about the HDMI 1.3 X-Tension card, maybe you should put your thoughts there as it would be on topic for that thread. As info like that just clutters up this thread and they are different products. The is a thread about the Auzen Home Theater 7.1 HDMI 1.3

[ROBSCIX]

Originally Posted by renethx

So what is the estimated price of the card? Any idea?

No, there has been no announced price point as of yet. I would think very similar to the price point of the Prelude when first launched, most cards released lately have had that same price point of around $200-$250.

[doinmybestatlast]

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX

No, Auzentech is still it's own entity as far as I know.

Sorry Rob, but somehow/someway these two companies are related. Auzentech is not a buff player in the marketplace. We're talking a few thousand cards shipped. How else can they get Creative semiconductors unless they are sleeping together?

I have extended my "Do not Buy" list to Creative as well. I am so angry at Auzentech/Creative that I purchased an Asus Xonar and put the Prelude on ebay. I will have nothing to do with these companies again.

As soon as the Xonar HDMI card is readily available, yup yup, you know where my $$$ are going.

[mpgxsvcd]

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX

@Egg, well that is great but that has little to do with this new card. There is already a thread about the HDMI 1.3 X-Tension card, maybe you should put your thoughts there as it would be on topic for that thread. As info like that just clutters up this thread and they are different products. The is a thread about the Auzen Home Theater 7.1 HDMI 1.3

Actually it has everything to do with this card! They are notorious for saying that they are going to produce something and then never quite delivering on their promise.

I have serious doubts that this product will work when it is released if it is ever released. That is my opinion, take it or leave it.

I suggest you wait for some first impressions before even considering throwing any more money towards Auzentech.

[ROBSCIX]

No, it has nothing to do with this card. Do you have any information actually related to this product? -Seems like all you have is opinion and useless speculation. I have never had any trouble with my Auzentech Products. They all work great for me. Looking forward to checking out the new card.

[ROBSCIX]

Originally Posted by doinmybestatlast

Sorry Rob, but somehow/someway these two companies are related. Auzentech is not a buff player in the marketplace. We're talking a few thousand cards shipped. How else can they get Creative semiconductors unless they are sleeping together?

I have extended my "Do not Buy" list to Creative as well. I am so angry at Auzentech/Creative that I purchased an Asus Xonar and put the Prelude on ebay. I will have nothing to do with these companies again.

As soon as the Xonar HDMI card is readily available, yup yup, you know where my $$$ are going.

Good luck with it.
They don't own Auzentech. They make deals to use the DSP chips. Other then that teh PRelude has nothing in common with a Creative card. Alll supporting parts are different, DAC, opamps etc. Totally different cards, you would know that if you actually had any experience with a Prelude 7.1.
Similar to the way ASUS uses the C-Media chips.

[eggman51]

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX

No, it has nothing to do with this card. Do you have any information actually related to this product? -Seems like all you have is opinion and useless speculation. I have never had any trouble with my Auzentech Products. They all work great for me. Looking forward to checking out the new card.

I disagree it has nothing to do with this card. This card is the one that replaces the one they never shipped. Some people will want to know that this is a replacement for the Xtension card for the Prelude and that there is supposed to be some sort of "upgrade path" for Prelude owners (not sure if that's true).

Other people should be informed that speculation about Auzentech products should be regarded with skepticism based on their past history. It's entirely possible that they will not meet the expected capabilities. Certainly that applies to any product, but my personal experience with Auzentech is that they are NOT a scrupulous company and they WILL make false claims about product capabilities in order to hinder people from purchasing other alternatives.

egg

[ROBSCIX]

To clarify another detail, there is a internal Video connector on the card that is for use with NVIDIA cards only as they are Project partners. Some think that this means ATI custeomrs are out of luck. There is also a external connector which accepts ATi or NVIDIA cards.

[ROBSCIX]

Originally Posted by eggman51

I disagree it has nothing to do with this card. This card is the one that replaces the one they never shipped. Some people will want to know that this is a replacement for the Xtension card for the Prelude and that there is supposed to be some sort of "upgrade path" for Prelude owners (not sure if that's true).

Other people should be informed that speculation about Auzentech products should be regarded with skepticism based on their past history. It's entirely possible that they will not meet the expected capabilities. Certainly that applies to any product, but my personal experience with Auzentech is that they are NOT a scrupulous company and they WILL make false claims about product capabilities in order to hinder people from purchasing other alternatives.

egg

Didn't you just say the same thing above, Seriously why are you ruing the thread? The X-Tension board has it's own thread and all that info you just posted has been mentioned in that thread.
Sorry about your personal experience. Other people have had a very experience and have a very different opinion of the company. Please quite ruining the thread.

[briinthesky]

Just seen this on the Auzen site, maybe they will look after those who bought the prelude ?
The home theater card sounds a better option anyway



• Press Release - 09.17.2008

AUZENTECH Revises HDMI Product Line

Auzen X-Tension HDMI 1.3 Board Superseded by Auzen X-Fi HomeTheater HD

Santa Clara, CA - September 17, 2008: Auzentech, Inc.(www.auzentech.com) announces today that the Auzen X-Tension HDMI 1.3 board demonstrated at CES 2008 will not come to market. Instead, Auzentech will focus its HDMI efforts on the forthcoming HDMI 1.3-native PCI Express card, the Auzen X-Fi HomeTheater HD.

According to Stephane Bae, President of Auzentech, the Auzen X-Tension HDMI 1.3 board had been developed as an extension board for use with selected previous and present Auzentech soundcards. It was developed without the participation of the major technology owners, and therefore would have had limited capabilities that were acceptable based on research performed at that time.

The Auzen X-Fi HomeTheater HD, on the other hand, has broad support for audio technologies in the marketplace because it was developed in partnership with Creative, Cyberlink and Silicon Image. The Auzen X-Fi HomeTheater HD outputs a bitstream of high-definition, multichannel audio from Blu-ray Discs with no downsampling, to take full advantage of lossless digital audio formats such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio.

"We developed the Auzen X-Tension HDMI 1.3 board before entering into agreements with Creative, Cyberlink and Silicon Image. These agreements have made the impossible, possible -- by uniting the technologies necessary to fully support HDMI 1.3 in compliance with HDCP and AACS," said Stephane Bae.

Although the Auzen X-Tension HDMI 1.3 board will not be manufactured, Stephane Bae describes it as "an important step in the development of the Auzen X-Fi HomeTheater HD."

The Auzen X-Fi HomeTheater HD is scheduled for release in Oct. 2008. An upgrade and pre-order promotion is planned shortly before the release date.



Bc.

[ROBSCIX]

Thx for the info briinthesky.

[doinmybestatlast]

Originally Posted by doinmybestatlast

Sorry Rob, but somehow/someway these two companies are related. Auzentech is not a buff player in the marketplace. We're talking a few thousand cards shipped. How else can they get Creative semiconductors unless they are sleeping together?

I have extended my "Do not Buy" list to Creative as well. I am so angry at Auzentech/Creative that I purchased an Asus Xonar and put the Prelude on ebay. I will have nothing to do with these companies again.

As soon as the Xonar HDMI card is readily available, yup yup, you know where my $$$ are going.

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX

Good luck with it.
They don't own Auzentech. They make deals to use the DSP chips. Other then that teh PRelude has nothing in common with a Creative card. Alll supporting parts are different, DAC, opamps etc. Totally different cards, you would know that if you actually had any experience with a Prelude 7.1.
Similar to the way ASUS uses the C-Media chips.

No need to get prissy. You seem quite the Homer for Auzentech. I am a not so proud owner of this card who has it posted on ebay.

I really like to know where you get your information. You are telling me they are not owned by Creative? You are a party to their ownership position?

Creative and EAX. Creative does not let anyone else use their gaming audio. A shrimp of a company like Auzentech is able to sell their card with this technology and use portions of Creative drivers?

There are many more of us who have a problem with Auzentech. I want any prospective future owners to understand what I [we] went through. I wish I could sue them. I really do.

[mpgxsvcd]

Originally Posted by briinthesky

Just seen this on the Auzen site, maybe they will look after those who bought the prelude ?
The home theater card sounds a better option anyway



• Press Release - 09.17.2008

AUZENTECH Revises HDMI Product Line

Auzen X-Tension HDMI 1.3 Board Superseded by Auzen X-Fi HomeTheater HD

Santa Clara, CA - September 17, 2008: Auzentech, Inc.(www.auzentech.com) announces today that the Auzen X-Tension HDMI 1.3 board demonstrated at CES 2008 will not come to market. Instead, Auzentech will focus its HDMI efforts on the forthcoming HDMI 1.3-native PCI Express card, the Auzen X-Fi HomeTheater HD.

According to Stephane Bae, President of Auzentech, the Auzen X-Tension HDMI 1.3 board had been developed as an extension board for use with selected previous and present Auzentech soundcards. It was developed without the participation of the major technology owners, and therefore would have had limited capabilities that were acceptable based on research performed at that time.

The Auzen X-Fi HomeTheater HD, on the other hand, has broad support for audio technologies in the marketplace because it was developed in partnership with Creative, Cyberlink and Silicon Image. The Auzen X-Fi HomeTheater HD outputs a bitstream of high-definition, multichannel audio from Blu-ray Discs with no downsampling, to take full advantage of lossless digital audio formats such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio.

"We developed the Auzen X-Tension HDMI 1.3 board before entering into agreements with Creative, Cyberlink and Silicon Image. These agreements have made the impossible, possible -- by uniting the technologies necessary to fully support HDMI 1.3 in compliance with HDCP and AACS," said Stephane Bae.

Although the Auzen X-Tension HDMI 1.3 board will not be manufactured, Stephane Bae describes it as "an important step in the development of the Auzen X-Fi HomeTheater HD."

The Auzen X-Fi HomeTheater HD is scheduled for release in Oct. 2008. An upgrade and pre-order promotion is planned shortly before the release date.



Bc.

Now that is some good concrete evidence that Auzentech is trying to mend their reputation. If they follow through on it I will reconsider. Until then I am skeptical.

[lilohtpc]

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX

To clarify another detail, there is a internal Video connector on the card that is for use with NVIDIA cards only as they are Project partners. Some think that this means ATI custeomrs are out of luck. There is also a external connector which accepts ATi or NVIDIA cards.

I doubt this internal link thing will ever to happen.
I will bet my online reputation (ha.. if there is any ;-)), that this will be another bogus things like the X-tension for Prelude.

We'll soon find that no VGA card maker ever comes up with any VGA card with such connector.

Well.. unless Auzen is going to make their own brand VGA, then that's another story. For me brands who make sound card and VGA card are in better position to come up with such internal solution... what?!! Asus is the only one?!

[SlackerX]

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX

To clarify another detail, there is a internal Video connector on the card that is for use with NVIDIA cards only as they are Project partners. Some think that this means ATI custeomrs are out of luck. There is also a external connector which accepts ATi or NVIDIA cards.

This could be yet another disasterous miscalculation on their part based on a misreading of the current and future trends of the industry...

[AngelEyes]

After just wading through numerous unecessary posts here, I thought I might ask a question.

The Specifications don't mention 24p passthrough and I know it has been a stumbling block for us Asus HDAV owners (albeit on beta software/drivers).

Do you know if 24p will be supported and why it should be any harder to do that any other resolution?

Thanks,

Adam

[ROBSCIX]

Originally Posted by AngelEyes

After just wading through numerous unecessary posts here, I thought I might ask a question.

The Specifications don't mention 24p passthrough and I know it has been a stumbling block for us Asus HDAV owners (albeit on beta software/drivers).

Do you know if 24p will be supported and why it should be any harder to do that any other resolution?

Thanks,

Adam

Those are th only released specifications Angel, If I receive any more information about this card I will post it.

[ROBSCIX]

Originally Posted by SlackerX

This could be yet another disasterous miscalculation on their part based on a misreading of the current and future trends of the industry...

How?
Nvidia is part of the project team for the card according to earlier information. They stated certin newer NVidia cards will be outfitted with an internal GFX connector for use with this card.
The Auzen card already has the connector on it.

[magnusr]

Ill wait for the Auzen X-Fi HomeTheater HD since greedy Asus charges 460 USD including shipping in Norway for their Xonar HDav. I bet this will be 1/2 or 2/3 the price.

Besides Asus dosent have their Vista driver in order.

[ROBSCIX]

The X-fi HT HD 7.1 is slated for release this month if your looking for it. Although release dates with any product are subject to change.