VIA producing a console? welcome DISCOVERCONSOLE

[jandar]

Component out....
DVI out....

HDTV Support in the DeltaChrome Series:
http://www.s3graphics.com/DeltaChromeFeatureDescription.html

5.1 sound, USB, Built in Network, etc...



Id buy this thing to hook up to my widescreen HDTV and enjoy gaming on that. To be able to play PC games on my HDTV is nice without having to setup a dedicated HTPC (which ended up being a glorified gaming computer anyway), plus it could just take the place of my DVD player anyway.

I see all the excitement by XBox and GC and PS2 owners (as well as the DC stragglers) over HDTV gaming, or at least 480p on a big TV, why all the fuss over this setup?

Price is as high as the XBox and PS2 were when released.

 

[Fox5]

Component out....
DVI out....

HDTV Support in the DeltaChrome Series:
http://www.s3graphics.com/DeltaChromeFeatureDescription.html

5.1 sound, USB, Built in Network, etc...



Id buy this thing to hook up to my widescreen HDTV and enjoy gaming on that. To be able to play PC games on my HDTV is nice without having to setup a dedicated HTPC (which ended up being a glorified gaming computer anyway), plus it could just take the place of my DVD player anyway.

I see all the excitement by XBox and GC and PS2 owners (as well as the DC stragglers) over HDTV gaming, or at least 480p on a big TV, why all the fuss over this setup?

Price is as high as the XBox and PS2 were when released.

If you get the bare minimum, what are the specs on it?(I don't know) But I doubt you'd be getting HDTV gaming on the basic model, at least not for newer games.
And is the 5.1 sound analog, or does it use cpu time to compress to dolby digital?

The idea of a PC as a game console sounds nice, but I just can't see it working out as well as they say. Even in that video they showed, if they somehow do get around entering serial keys and such, I don't wanna see installation screens rapidly having next clicked, I'd rather just see like a progress bar and then the game starts.(Btw, how come PC games aren't made to play off the disc like console games? most of them require the disc to be in the drive anyhow, and PCs have faster drives than consoles)

 

[LisaJoy]

I scoffed as usual when I heard about it, but in watching that, I am suddenly taking it very seriously, I personally love the idea and plan to get one(if for nothing more than a cheap way to play Divx videos)

 

[vrecan]

Why do some of you have this crazy idea that you can't use a mouse and keyboard with this? Christ, it's supposed to be used for web-browsing too, what do you think they're planning on using for that?

The point is this is suppose to be a console so it suppose to be on the tv! I dont know about you but when I sit on the couch I generally dont want a keyboard on my lap and a mouse sitting next to me... kinda takes away the point of it being a "console". Can you imagine trying to play a fps with a mouse sitting on the couch?

 

[jandar]

If you get the bare minimum, what are the specs on it?(I don't know) But I doubt you'd be getting HDTV gaming on the basic model, at least not for newer games.
And is the 5.1 sound analog, or does it use cpu time to compress to dolby digital?

The idea of a PC as a game console sounds nice, but I just can't see it working out as well as they say. Even in that video they showed, if they somehow do get around entering serial keys and such, I don't wanna see installation screens rapidly having next clicked, I'd rather just see like a progress bar and then the game starts.(Btw, how come PC games aren't made to play off the disc like console games? most of them require the disc to be in the drive anyhow, and PCs have faster drives than consoles)

VIA 1.4Ghz, 40GB HDD, DVD-ROM, DeltaChrome Graphics, 5.1 Sound.

The 5.1 Sound is http://www.via.com.tw/en/multimedia/vinyl.jsp . So you get true 5.1 not CPU encoded 5.1. Is has optical and coax for reciever hookups. Component, Composite, SVideo out.

If this is done even halfway nicely, Ill buy it. If DIvx Support isnt there, Im sure some quick hack will allow it. Making it a great multimedia machine with decent gaming ability.

 

[Fox5]

If you get the bare minimum, what are the specs on it?(I don't know) But I doubt you'd be getting HDTV gaming on the basic model, at least not for newer games.
And is the 5.1 sound analog, or does it use cpu time to compress to dolby digital?

The idea of a PC as a game console sounds nice, but I just can't see it working out as well as they say. Even in that video they showed, if they somehow do get around entering serial keys and such, I don't wanna see installation screens rapidly having next clicked, I'd rather just see like a progress bar and then the game starts.(Btw, how come PC games aren't made to play off the disc like console games? most of them require the disc to be in the drive anyhow, and PCs have faster drives than consoles)

VIA 1.4Ghz, 40GB HDD, DVD-ROM, DeltaChrome Graphics, 5.1 Sound.

The 5.1 Sound is http://www.via.com.tw/en/multimedia/vinyl.jsp . So you get true 5.1 not CPU encoded 5.1. Is has optical and coax for reciever hookups. Component, Composite, SVideo out.

If this is done even halfway nicely, Ill buy it. If DIvx Support isnt there, Im sure some quick hack will allow it. Making it a great multimedia machine with decent gaming ability.

Well true 5.1 sound is basically a given, but is it dolby digital?
And a 1.4 gig computer probably wouldn't be able to attain even 30 fps in many newer games, even with graphical options lowered to the bottom. It certainly wouldn't in halo or need for speed underground, yet you could get an xbox which can. Now, if xbox can be hacked to have Divx support(I believe dreamcast could, so why not xbox?) then the basic model doesn't seem very appealing, outside of being small. Well it automatically configure graphics options based on your system configuration?

 

[LisaJoy]

When I hear people who dont like PC gaming, there are several things we hear

1. too expensive
2. I like the comfort of my living room
3. too hard to keep up with updates/upgrades

I think this addresses all of the major problems, it is a brilliant move.. its very hard for a nobody console maker to get games to support it, they are coming in with a huge selection of games already available, and its my hopes it will strengthen the PC market with its existance.

They know how to market this thing already, I think people are going to take notice when they are told this is a console that will let you play Silent Hill 3, Halo,Vice City, Armed and Dangerous and Fable all on the same console(well, word is Fable is coming to PC, no real proof, so lets leave that out for now)

 

[Fox5]

When I hear people who dont like PC gaming, there are several things we hear

1. too expensive
2. I like the comfort of my living room
3. too hard to keep up with updates/upgrades

I think this addresses all of the major problems, it is a brilliant move.. its very hard for a nobody console maker to get games to support it, they are coming in with a huge selection of games already available, and its my hopes it will strengthen the PC market with its existance.

They know how to market this thing already, I think people are going to take notice when they are told this is a console that will let you play Silent Hill 3, Halo,Vice City, Armed and Dangerous and Fable all on the same console(well, word is Fable is coming to PC, no real proof, so lets leave that out for now)

Can't you play all those games on xbox? If silent hill 3 isn't on xbox, it may come eventually(silent hill 2 did), halo is, vice city is, fable will be, and I think armed and dangerous is....
Even if it's not, the base model for this thing costs are much as a ps2 and xbox combined, and the more expensive models will at least allow you to throw in a gamecube, though you wouldn't get it all in one box.
I think what hurts this most is that a lot of PC games(especially the ones that might actually run on the low end model) are also on xbox, microsoft beat them to it and did it better.

 

[OVERLORD]

More info:-

http://www.via.com.tw/en/VInternet/gloryplatform.jsp

http://www.via.com.tw/en/VInternet/WPApeXtreme-VIAGloryPGC Jan04.pdf

http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1944

 

[cthellis42]

No update in a while, but a random CNN dude weighed in, so I figure I should mention it.

 

[mustrum]

If you get the bare minimum, what are the specs on it?(I don't know) But I doubt you'd be getting HDTV gaming on the basic model, at least not for newer games.
And is the 5.1 sound analog, or does it use cpu time to compress to dolby digital?

The idea of a PC as a game console sounds nice, but I just can't see it working out as well as they say. Even in that video they showed, if they somehow do get around entering serial keys and such, I don't wanna see installation screens rapidly having next clicked, I'd rather just see like a progress bar and then the game starts.(Btw, how come PC games aren't made to play off the disc like console games? most of them require the disc to be in the drive anyhow, and PCs have faster drives than consoles)

VIA 1.4Ghz, 40GB HDD, DVD-ROM, DeltaChrome Graphics, 5.1 Sound.

The 5.1 Sound is http://www.via.com.tw/en/multimedia/vinyl.jsp . So you get true 5.1 not CPU encoded 5.1. Is has optical and coax for reciever hookups. Component, Composite, SVideo out.

If this is done even halfway nicely, Ill buy it. If DIvx Support isnt there, Im sure some quick hack will allow it. Making it a great multimedia machine with decent gaming ability.

Well true 5.1 sound is basically a given, but is it dolby digital?
And a 1.4 gig computer probably wouldn't be able to attain even 30 fps in many newer games, even with graphical options lowered to the bottom. It certainly wouldn't in halo or need for speed underground, yet you could get an xbox which can. Now, if xbox can be hacked to have Divx support(I believe dreamcast could, so why not xbox?) then the basic model doesn't seem very appealing, outside of being small. Well it automatically configure graphics options based on your system configuration?

My xbox is playing divX of any sort for like forever now. Welcome to today!

This VIA console seems to be nice for non tech ppl. Not everyone knows much about computers and that's the market this thing is heading for.
I really think this thing has a lot to offer for the price.
If a 1.4gig CPU can play actual games... i dunno. Never tried 640x480 in last 4 years or so so maybe you don't need a good CPU at that resolution but somehow i doubt it.....
Is this 1.4 CPU one of those horrible VIA made ones?
If so then we'll be playing good old classics on this thing. Monkey Island anyone?

 

[Fox5]

I believe the cpu is either an Athlon or a Pentium 4.

And I don't think 640x480 reduces the load on the cpu, just on the graphics card. Ah well, people played perfect dark on n64, they can play modern PC games on a 1.4 gig processor.

 

[_phil_]

Lisa :

4 / patching and gamefixes...

:?