*Official* Asus XONAR HDAV Slim Thread

[xgecko]

Updates at end of post

I am rather surprised no one has started this thread yet so I thought I would give it a go.

The Card

A low profile, PCI interface version of the Xonar HDAV 1.3 with no analog support. It has a set of HDMI ports and a coax/Toslink SPDIF port. TMT OEM version with support for Bistreaming and full-res LPCM is included.

http://www.asus.com/News.aspx?N_ID=5KqyuL93cmEFZF0w

My Thoughts

I am awaiting this card in the hope that it will be a reasonably priced option with just the features I need, an OEM copy of TMT (Hopefully TMT 3) and nothing more. I assume it will have the complete set of HDMI related features that the HDAV 1.3 has and perhaps will eventually be offered in PCIe as well as PCI flavors.

I am hoping also that myAV will participate in this thread as I have seen how valuable his input has been to the original HDAV thread.

Once this version of the card comes out we can all share our experiences with it; unless I hear that the card is a disaster I am hoping to be one of those that enjoys full resolution output with this card.

With the imminent arrival of TMT 3 I sincerely hope we do not have much longer to wait for this card to be released.

Enjoy!

Edit: Here is a link to the original HDAV 1.3 thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1065232

And thanks to renethx who found this image:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...9#post15764129




4/4/09:

myAV has had an opportunity to work with an actual card and reports on it later in the thread. He has been told that it will be available at the end of April for an estimated price of $140 to $150 and it will include an OEM version of TMT which can be upgraded to TMT3. TMT3 will support this card.

7/22/09
Newegg has carried the cards for several weeks now and they are widely available. The card works very much like the standard HDAV, so different people have different results. I am writing this as I install the card so will document my experience.


System:
Windows Vista 32 SP1
Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H Nvidia 9400 MB
Integra DTC-9.8 Pre/Pro
Panasonic PT-AE500U Projector


My Experience:
First, I decided to just put the card in and install without reinstalling Windows Vista 32 SP1. I want to see what happens when I install the card into a system that has had many codecs installed, both TMT3 and PDVD9 trials as well as a broken installation of WinDVD that I own and which has no sound. I have FFDShow tryout on the system and some other codecs. Things have been messed up for some time now; for instance, VMC has no audio and has video issues so I have been using various other players for some time now. If all goes well the magical HDAV 1.3 Slim card will no doubt fix all my woes and in the process will replace the hair on my head that seems to have gone missing...

Drivers installed from the CD without a hitch and I rebooted. At this time the CD is up to date so it is simple to install drivers. Now I will install TMT2...

While I am waiting I am looking at the box. It has all sorts of good stuff on it much like you see in the image above. It definitely was designed well before release as it refers to the need for an update to get Dolby TrueHD decoding/bitstreaming which as we all know has long been included. Has some nice examples of bad English: "You may not know that generic PC can output BD audio at DVD quality (48K/16bit) for the most, because none of them have built up the Protected Audio Path System (PAPS) compliant with AACS (Advanced Access Control System)."

Ah! Finished installing TMT2 and rebooting...

One thing I notice is that my Integra DTC-9.8 still says No Signal just as it always has with my Gigabyte 9400 based motherboard HDMI output. Hmm.. this must have been due to my swapping the HDMI cables around without rebooting as it cleared up once I rebooted. Nice! The 9400 always had issues with this even though it really was no big deal.

Without touching a thing I figured I would try a movie (Hey, gotta act like a typical ignorant non-AVSForum member type user to see what they would experience...)

Imagine that. I put in Street Fighter - The Legend of Chun Li and it just worked. Well, almost. For my initial run I could not figure out how to enable bitstreaming but I was able, with a small amount of fiddling, to get multichannel sound via LPCM. We watched the movie this way as I did not want to fiddle any more at the moment and it sounded great - although it is not much of a showcase movie as the soundtrack is 5.1. Once the movie was over I figured out that all I needed to do for bitstreaming joy was choose HDMI as the output in TMT2 - this option had not been visible at some earlier point.

So my overall experience was very smooth. Having read all the postings from people having trouble I was expecting much more hassle especially given that I did not reinstall Windows or anything. While I have yet to experiment with other audio sources I can say that BR playback was the simplest I have seen yet and worked very well right out of the box with a minimum of hassle. I feel very much (at this point) that the board was well worth the investment. We shall see if that stands up to time...

However, for all that audio joy, the hair on my head is still nowhere in sight. I guess you can't have it all...

[Andy o]

I am also waiting for this, I'll hold off on getting TMT3 until this one comes out.

[Davinleeds]

Reserve a post or two to allow space for update inclusions unless you choose to do it in your first. The HDAV 1.3 thread would be better for that.

I don't know the rules, but starting a thread seems to be when it's released. But I don't see it as a problem, but that may be why no one else has jumped on it.

I for one see its use of pci verses pcie slot very enticing. Also c/v the post by renethx-photo and other info in the Xonar thread.

[mpgxsvcd]

Until the card is released it doesn't exist. Auzentech has proven that.

[xgecko]

Originally Posted by Davinleeds

Reserve a post or two to allow space for update inclusions unless you choose to do it in your first. The HDAV 1.3 thread would be better for that.

I don't know the rules, but starting a thread seems to be when it's released. But I don't see it as a problem, but that may be why no one else has jumped on it.

I for one see its use of pci verses pcie slot very enticing. Also c/v the post by renethx-photo and other info in the Xonar thread.

This being the first time I set one up I did not have the wit to do as you said however I do recognize that I should update my original post as new information comes out. I will make a point of doing so as it happens.

Feel free to point me to the info you mentioned. I did assume that everyone already knows about the other thread but it might well be worth mentioning so I will do my first edit now.

I patterned this after a number of other threads that came out prior to the release of the product in question - the now infamous Auzentech card comes to mind...

And I do agree that given my switch to the Gigabyte m9400 based motherboard I now have two empty PCI slots I too am actually quite comfortable with the interface of the Slim card.

I hope this thread becomes a valuable forum for us to learn more about the Slim card.

[xgecko]

Originally Posted by mpgxsvcd

Until the card is released it doesn't exist. Auzentech has proven that.

'sfunny you should say that while I was writing something very similar...

However, given myAV's comments and the images of an actual card at a show we have seen I am much more hopeful here. Your comment notwithstanding I have a much better feeling here. Nonetheless, you are for all intents and purposes quite correct (and quite cynical for good reason )

[Andy o]

MyAV said it was ready, and they were waiting for TMT to be ready. Perhaps now with the announcement of TMT3 something will happen. Fact is that contrary to Auzentech, Asus has not had their customers waiting for what, over a year? Nor it has promised an add-on so people wouldn't worry about buying an older card only to yank it later. Also, Asus for better or for worse, is relying on TMT, a software that currently works with another Asus card.

[Axel]

Originally Posted by Andy o

I am also waiting for this, I'll hold off on getting TMT3 until this one comes out.

Same here. I have very high hopes for this card/player combo to meet my needs: VMC integration, 24p, bitstream, Win7 compatible, HD-DVD/BR, more affordable than the current one, stable software, .....we'll see - one can dream....
____
Axel

[myAV]

Originally Posted by mpgxsvcd

Until the card is released it doesn't exist. Auzentech has proven that.

First of all, nice to see an official thread for the slim version. Thanks Xgecko, I am sure this thread will grow up longer than the other Xonar thread.

@mpgxsvcd,
I am serious. This card will show up soon. I would like you to have a look at the following e-maill received a few days ago from the product manager of Asus Taiwan.
My Q.
Dear Sean,
What is the current status of the slim card? A lot of people keep asking me. Any release date etc...???? Thank you.
Regards,
Ricky


PM's answer
Hi Ricky,
Thanks for asking.

We are still waiting for TMT to finish final round of testing and debugging in Arcsoft, just like the process needed for all SW.

Basically, all hardware is ready and waiting for SW only now.

It’s coming soon… J



Best regards,
Sean Lai
Product Manager, Multimedia Business Dept. ASUS Computer Inc.

[xgecko]

Originally Posted by myAV

First of all, nice to see an official thread for the slim version. Thanks Xgecko, I am sure this thread will grow up longer than the other Xonar thread.

@mpgxsvcd,
I am serious. This card will show up soon. I would like you to have a look at the following e-maill received a few days ago from the product manager of Asus Taiwan.
My Q.
Dear Sean,
What is the current status of the slim card? A lot of people keep asking me. Any release date etc...???? Thank you.
Regards,
Ricky


PM's answer
Hi Ricky,
Thanks for asking.

We are still waiting for TMT to finish final round of testing and debugging in Arcsoft, just like the process needed for all SW.

Basically, all hardware is ready and waiting for SW only now.

It’s coming soon… J



Best regards,
Sean Lai
Product Manager, Multimedia Business Dept. ASUS Computer Inc.

Hi myAV,

You are quite welcome. It is good to hear from you on this thread!

I felt pretty certain that this card is not another vaporware product based upon your comments and I feel it is most likely to suit my needs. Having further confirmation from you is very good; I look forward to seeing how the card will perform.

Have you been given any pricing information yet? I am really hoping that they can get it down to somewhere around $150 US.

Keep us posted!

[lilohtpc]

oh man.. myAV.. you're exposing the private number lines of that man, hope you won't get into trouble for that..

[lilohtpc]

The new TMT 3 will support the glorious ASUS Xonar HDAV1.3!

http://www.arcsoft.com/public/softwa...t=LANG_FEATURE

[myAV]

Originally Posted by lilohtpc

oh man.. myAV.. you're exposing the private number lines of that man, hope you won't get into trouble for that..

Thanks for reminding. I didn't pay much attention to that. But later realized that I shouldn't have posted those numbers.

[xgecko]

Originally Posted by myAV

Thanks for reminding. I didn't pay much attention to that. But later realized that I shouldn't have posted those numbers.

myAV, I cleaned up my quote as requested. Glad to help out on that.

[William]

Why make a standard PCI card in 2009? Do that many still use and have legacy MB's able to play HD? Will it be available at launch in PCI Express? Is there any differences and/or improvements in the Slim over the original?

[rkgriffin]

Luckily in my current motherboard (Asus P5Q Pro) PCI is better for me since I am using up most PCI-E slots. But I could make a PCI-E version work if that is what they came out with. Though I assume by the time I had a motherboard with no PCI slots there would be many other sound cards to compete with the Xonar.

I really hope that the Slim is shipped with TMT 3. I bought TMT 2 about 6 months ago and don't want to have to buy TMT 3 also.

[myAV]

Originally Posted by xgecko

myAV, I cleaned up my quote as requested. Glad to help out on that.

Thanks for the help. As for the pricing, it will be between $140-150 range. Stay tuned, I will most probably be the first one to have this card here in Taipei as soon as the SW is ready.

[myAV]

Originally Posted by William

Why make a standard PCI card in 2009? Do that many still use and have legacy MB's able to play HD? Will it be available at launch in PCI Express? Is there any differences and/or improvements in the Slim over the original?

It will be PCI just for now, except for the price, the only other difference is the missing analog part.

[myAV]

Originally Posted by rkgriffin

I really hope that the Slim is shipped with TMT 3. I bought TMT 2 about 6 months ago and don't want to have to buy TMT 3 also.

The slim will not be shipped with TMT 3. You can upgrade to TMT 3 with a discount since there will be at least three upgrade options available.

[Andy o]

Originally Posted by myAV

It will be PCI just for now, except for the price, the only other difference is the missing analog part.

It still seems to have a front panel connector, so I'd think there's some analog stuff going on. Do you know if Dolby Headphone and the other typically (but not necessarily) analog features work through the HDMI port? Do they work with the HDAV 1.3 in the first place?

Thanks for all the info.

[mpgxsvcd]

Originally Posted by myAV

@mpgxsvcd,
I am serious. This card will show up soon. I would like you to have a look at the following e-maill received a few days ago from the product manager of Asus Taiwan.

MyAV, yea I know this card is coming out. I just said that to be fair to Auzentech. Unlike ASUS I don't believe Auzentech will ever come out with their card. However, until the card hits the shelves it doesn't truly exist.

I am confident based on your info that this card will exist shortly though.

Thanks for all of the great info. I have several friends waiting anxiously for the slimline card.

[rkgriffin]

Originally Posted by myAV

The slim will not be shipped with TMT 3. You can upgrade to TMT 3 with a discount since there will be at least three upgrade options available.

That is a shame I already own the retail version of TMT 2 so I guess I will see what they upgrade options are from that and not have to wait until i can get this card delivered.

[benbell]

Will this card ship with a regular size backplane, in addition to the slim one, for use in a regular ATX case?

[jojoxl]

Originally Posted by William

Why make a standard PCI card in 2009? Do that many still use and have legacy MB's able to play HD? Will it be available at launch in PCI Express? Is there any differences and/or improvements in the Slim over the original?

The audio chip used on both this board and the PCI-E HDAV 1.3 is native PCI. The HDAV 1.3 uses a PCI to PCI-E bridge chip, which I imagine would have been too big to include on this slim card, judging by the layout. I too wish this was PCI-E, but it's not going to happen right now.

[jojoxl]

Originally Posted by myAV

Thanks for the help. As for the pricing, it will be between $140-150 range. Stay tuned, I will most probably be the first one to have this card here in Taipei as soon as the SW is ready.

Do you know if they are discontinuing the non-Deluxe HDAV 1.3? It's hard to find anyone around here that stocks it.

[UObean]

I'm waiting for this card along with the Lian-Li PC-C39 or PC-C34F for my HTPC. Hopefully both will arrive within the next couple months. Until then I'm stuck with a regular case and an Xfi

[rickcfer]

Does this come with a bracket for regular sized PCI cases?

[William]

Will the Slim be under $200 street like the Standard 1.3 is now?

[myAV]

I will be meeting the product manager this Thursday. Anything you guys want to ask please don't hesitate. I will be forwarding him all your questions. I was told today that the delay was SOLELY due to the release of TMT 3.

BTW, I will be receiving the slim on the same day and I will post some nice pictures around the weekend.

[xgecko]

Originally Posted by myAV

I will be meeting the product manager this Thursday. Anything you guys want to ask please don't hesitate. I will be forwarding him all your questions. I was told today that the delay was SOLELY due to the release of TMT 3.

BTW, I will be receiving the slim on the same day and I will post some nice pictures around the weekend.

Hi myAV, something you said on one of the other threads does not exactly jibe with this... if the Slim is going to be released with TMT 2 then why does TMT 3 release have anything to do with it?

You previously mentioned pricing in the $140-$150 US, can you confirm this? A hard release date would also be nice.

Confirmation of the VMC integration issue would be nice too.

Maybe you could ask if I could get a review sample as the author of this thread? I promise to give it an honest, thorough review...

Presumably it will have all the fixes associated with the original HDAV, confirmation of this would also be good.

That is all I can think of for now. Thanks again for your efforts!