Asus Intros Xonar HDAV1.3 Slim Sound Card

Two sound cards in a week -- could it be true? Believe it or not, yes. Just days after Asus introduced its Audiophile Xonar DS 7.1 7.1, the company has unveiled its Xonar HDAV1.3 Slim Sound Card. Described as the planet's first HDMI 1.3 audio card with true Blu-ray audio playback designed to fit HTPCs of all sizes, the card can actually bitstream true Blu-ray audio from one's PC -- something that BD enthusiasts have been clamoring for.


The card features Protected Audio Playback Systems (PAPS) and full Advanced Access Content System (AACS) certification, both of which join to enable true Blu-ray audio output without downsampling. Utilizing ArcSoft's Total Media Theater, the Asus Xonar HDAV1.3 is capable of decoding Blu-ray movies and taking full advantage of lossless digital audio formats such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Asus has added in an AV200 audio processor and HDMI 1.3a connector, which is capable of delivering 7.1-channel, 192k linear pulse code modulation (LPCM) audio. Per usual, Asus has yet to reveal a price and release date.

Key Features at a Glance

The Xonar HDAV1.3 Slim:

• Supports DTS-HD, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus, up to 192Khz, 24bit, and 7.1 channel LPCM audio formats
• Delivers bit-to-bit exact lossless audio output without Blu-ray audio downsampling
• Supports 24p frame rate video playback
• Transmits both video and audio through a single HDMI cable