Santa Rosa to Offer High-Def Decoding Chip On Select Models

Ars Technica is reporting that revisions of Santa Rosa later this year will include a decoder for next-gen formats with their integrated graphics processors. This will be great for consumers who don’t wish to purchase an expensive laptop for the sake of the beefed up graphics card. With a built-in decoder, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD content will run smoothly, even with that gaming-impared IGP.

Not surprisingly, the support will exist for Windows Vista only, but by the time this decoder sees the light of day, Vista should be more reliable than it is now. Hopefully.

When next-generation DVD playback finally arives, the Intel graphics solution will be optimized for Vista. Currently, Vista loses some of the Aero effects during HD playback on some non-Intel systems, but Intel’s optimizations will let users have the full Aero experience simultaneous with HD-DVD or Blu-Ray.

Source: Ars Technica