AMD has released Catalyst 8.12 set of drivers/software, adding support for ATI Stream - AMD's implementation of general purpose GPU acceleration.
The ATI Catalyst 8.12 driver update unlocks new ATI Stream acceleration capabilities already built into ATI Radeon graphics cards. ATI Stream is a set of hardware and software technologies that enable AMD graphics processors (GPU), working in concert with the system's central processor (CPU), to accelerate applications beyond just graphics.
The software package also includes the ATI Avivo Video Converter utility. According to AMD, this application enables transcoding of HD video up to 17 times faster than with the CPU alone, in tests performed using an ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics card.
This release of Catalyst also introduces a new video quality control: Noise Reduction for progressive video content, which removes ghosting artifacts while preserving details of the original video. The slider control can be found in the All Settings page of the Avivo Video tab found in the Catalyst Control Center
Catalyst 8.12 is available for Windows XP/Vista/Media Center Edition 2005. For a complete breakdown of what Catalyst 8.12 has to offer, including all the resolved issues, refer to the official release notes at game.amd.com. Downloads are also available at the same web page.
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