Mini, fanless PC delivers 1080p video and 7.1-channel sound

Dan Warne
21 January 2010, 3:37 PM

It’s the size of a few decks of cards, but inside there’s an entire full-functional PC capable of playing 1080p video and home-theatre sound.

Via Technologies may well be hoping so. Its latest embedded-systems reference design, the AMOS-3001, is just 15cm wide x 10.8cm deep x 4.5cm high, yet features COM, USB, Ethernet, USB, speaker, mic-in, and HDMI ports – everything you need to stick it behind your HDTV and have a full-featured media centre.

Home-theatre enthusiasts will be most excited about what’s inside the box, however: hardware-accelerated H.264 decoding provides HD 1080p, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and WMV9 video playback. There’s HD audio via the embedded VIA VT1708B, which supports 8-channel, 192KHz audio and native support for DTS multi-channel sound.

Those are strong specs for the traditional embedded systems market, where durability and reliability are more important than whiz-bang features; VIA is clearly thinking of the AMOS 3001 as the kind of thing a digital signage specialist would buy for in-store displays – or that a consumer electronics giant might buy to embed inside (or behind) its TVs.

The AMOS-3001 utilises VIA’s Pico-ITX motherboard form factor, a 100x72mm board that was introduced in 2007 as a new platform for tiny computers. Because it’s silent and lacks a fan, the system requires a novel way to dissipate heat – in this case, the fins jutting out of the aluminium chassis, which provides physical protection for the PC as well as acting as a giant heat sink. The design also allows for a high degree of durability, with VIA claiming it will sustain shocks of up to 70G.

At the heart of the system is a 1.0GHz or 1.2GHz Eden ULV processor, VIA’s low-powered CPU for embedded devices, and there are expansion options for 1GB or 2GB of SDRAM and a 2.5” 250GB Fujitsu SATA hard drive. The box can also be equipped with 1GB, 2GB, or 4GB of industrial-grade RAM, capable of withstanding temperatures of -40 to 85 degrees C – although if ambient temperatures in your lounge room tend towards either of those extremes, you’ve got bigger problems than simply lacking 1080p playback.

The full data sheet for the system is available here.

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BrownieBoy (User):

Any word on cost and/or Oz release dates?

21 January 2010, 5:24 PM (3 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Ausman (New user):

Wonder why the fins aren't on the bottom also to raise it off the table and cool it better...

22 January 2010, 4:19 AM (3 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

CCCMikey (New user):

Why on earth would anyone need three RS232 (serial COM) ports?

23 January 2010, 1:30 PM (3 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Raindog (New user):

Quoting CCCMikey:
Why on earth would anyone need three RS232 (serial COM) ports?

Given a good proportion of the market for this thing will be for embedded and OEM markets, then you'd soon discover that "you can never have enough serial ports". (Or USB Ports)

One port to communicate to PLCs or other controllers, another for a display and MMI, an third serial mapped as the system console to allow service and programming via a notebook. There is three ports used up in a hurry, what if you want to add a bar-code scanner, ticket printer or GPRS/3G) modem?

Sure all of these could conceivably be USB devices, but the practical reality is that there is still a lot of RS232 required and that's before we get to the need for RS485 ports. RS-232 can be run a lot further than USB with ease and at a whole lot lower cost. Most specialist peripheral are still RS232 and are a lot slower to migrate (with good reason) than than click and giggle shoot-em-up style add ons.

And lets face it a VIA processor isn't going to cut it with the home shooter set despite how cool it would look screwed to the back of an LCD monitor.

The feature set may not match typical home needs but they are definitely killer features for other established market sectors.

The VIA site lists these machines as Industrial computers, I think that gives a clue to the intended marketplace, that said they can still be the ideal choice for any in-vehicle or specialist small form factor PC application.

This little box gets it pretty right for a lot of applications and in satisfying the needs of many product and system developers.

Those looking for supply channel information can find Australian telephone numbers on the VT website, which should be able to identify current wholesalers. Anyone looking for a retail purchase could start their search from there.

24 January 2010, 9:51 AM (3 years ago)report abuse Send to a friend

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