Auzen HDMI 1.3 Board PIC's

Fantastic!
Now one of the things that concerns me is that the cost of the sound card and Xtension board together is more than a lot of stand-alone HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players, which can decode the new sound formats etc., etc. We're talking $250-$300 are we not?
Couple that with the cost of an internal drive ~$250, and you're talking about a VERY expensive HTPC solution.
That's craziness! If they delay too long in bringing this technology out, perhaps we'll see more capable motherboards released a short time after with these abilities on board?
This is becoming a very expensive way of doing things, but I'll probably continue to play!

It's expensive, but I think you'll find that sound quality will far exceed any onboard audio solutions for a long time. I have yet to see any motherboard audio solution be anything other than crap.

Keep in mind that this gives you more than just HDMI support. It essentially gives you top notch quality audio (this will most likely match their Forte in terms of sound quality) as well as full support for games via the X-Fi chip, Alchemy (for Vista) and of course EAX.

If you want a complete HTPC that can deliver the best of all worlds this will quite possibly be the card that delivers. We'll see, my X-Fi Elite Pro is tired and due for a replacement!

Awesome, those are great shots from LAST YEAR! That is about the time this card would have needed to come out to be profitable.

So what is the latest word on when I will be able to purchase this Phantom card?

Wasn't the future wonderful !!

Yawn....