Hardware (5183)

BenQ nettop all-in-ones to offer Full HD video playback

Broadcom's Crystal HD brings the 1080p

17 July 2009 15:47 GMT / By Lars-Göran Nilsson

BenQ's new range of all-in-one desktop PCs will soon feature new Broadcom tech, that will see full 1080p video playback possible on a budget set-up.

Thanks to Broadcom's recently announced Crystal HD, an HD video decoder solution for netbooks (and now also nettops) as with the new BenQ machines, the tech could see otherwise basic systems capable of decent HD.

BenQ is offering two all-in-one systems, the nScreen i221 and the nScreen i91. The main difference between the two models is the screen size and resolution. The i221 features a 21.5-inch display with 1920 x 1080 resolution while the i91 has a 18.5-inch display with 1366 x 768 resolution.

Unlike most competitor models that use Intel's Atom processor, BenQ is using AMD's Sempron 210U processor with the main benefit being the improved graphics performance from AMD's
integrated graphics solution, although it still needs the Crystal HD add-on for the video decoding.

We expect to see the Broadcom Crystal HD and similar solutions in a lot of other types of systems in the near future, as Intel is touting this as a HD video playback solution for its next generation Atom platform codenamed Pine Trail.