From the press release:

The Auzen X-Fi HomeTheater 7.1 accepts video from either an internal or external connection, mixes it with digital audio, and outputs the combined video and lossless multichannel audio via a single HDMIâ„¢ 1.3 port. Moreover, the internal connection will exclusively support upcoming NVIDIA products, to create the ultimate in audio and visual entertainment

Basically, you will be able to connect your video card to your sound card and have one cable going to your receiver that will support everything you could possibly need for a HTPC. No price has been announced and do not expect it to be cheap. The release date is September 2008, which might be a little late to the party, considering that Asus should be releasing a similar sound card shortly.

This week, Auzentech updated their X-FI Prelude drivers for improved Dolby Digital Live support. Why is this important? This proves that Auzentech is a company that is willing to increase the performance of their product through timely release of driver updates, something Creative is notoriously bad at doing.

While somewhat pricey, the X-Fi Prelude appears to be the best audio solution right now for home theater PCs. From the Auzentech website:

With Dolby Digital Live, your PC or game console can be hooked up to your Dolby Digital-equipped audio/video receiver or digital speaker system via a single digital connection, eliminating the confusion of multiple cables and ensuring the integrity of the audio signal.

Basically this means you can pass 5.1 sounds to a receiver from you computer using a digital connection. Look for a HDMI extension board soon.

The Home Theater designation includes the following features as part of its specifications:

• Sound Space Expander is a sound stage enhancer that produces a wide stereo image and in the process improves the separation of instruments without diminishing the center of the mix.
• Natural Bass is a bass enhancement system for speaker and headphones that provides up to an octave of downward extension in the bass response of most speakers.
• Dolby Pro Logic(R) IIx creates a vivid 7.1-channel surround sound experience from any stereo (two-channel), 5.1, or 6.1 movie, music, TV, or game audio source.
• Dolby Digital Live converts any audio signal from a PC or game console into Dolby Digital for easy connection to home theater systems through a single digital cable.
• Dolby Headphone technology creates a personal surround sound experience using any set of headphones and makes listeners feel like the action is happening all around them.

Hopefully, Dolby can infuse some excitement into the audio portion of the home theater pc. Besides DRM, audio processing is one of the weakest areas of an HTPC. One coherent certification can help simplify the market for the average HTPC enthusiast.

• A single HDMI cable can be connected with External devices like Digital TV or Receiver
• High compatibility with various external/internal devices by multi-Input selection (4 input).
• Compatibility with Desktop/HTPC/Slim PC (with Standard/LP bracket)
• Supports the next generation of Audio format (Dolby True HD/DTS HD)
• Swift and stable hardware installation without any installation of related software.
• Wide connectivity using the SPDIF Combo Output port.*
• Support for HDMI 1.3 and earlier receivers

The HDMI X-Tension is expected to be released in the first half of 2008 and might actually be a compelling reason not to use a media center extender in your home theater.

So why is this a big deal? Computer audio, especially for media centers, has been stagnant. Auzentech is known for developing great cards for media centers. Creative’s X-Fi is a great card for gaming. Auzen X-Fi Prelude should be a good combination of both feature sets. Dolby Digital Live and DTS Interactive will be supported with future driver updates expected by the end of the year or early 2008.

Dolby Digital Live converts any audio signal into a Dolby Digital bitstream for transport and playback through a home theater system. With it, your PC or game console can be hooked up to your Dolby Digital-equipped audio/video receiver or digital speaker system via a single digital connection, eliminating the confusion of multiple cables.

While a step in the right direction, the Auzen is not the HDMI solution everyone has been hoping for their media centers. For the time being, it should be the hardware of choice for media centers.

It will fully support EAX 5.0 and have the same expandability as the Auzen X-Meridian™ 7.1. Support for Dolby® Digital Live real time encoding for Vista is scheduled for Q4 of this year.
The Auzen X-Fi™ Prelude marks the first time Creative has permitted a third-party sound card vendor to use the Creative X-FI™ chipset in its own sound card design.

One thing to note is that the Auzen X-Fi™ Prelude marks the first time Creative has permitted a third-party soundcard vendor to use the Creative X-FI™ chipset in its own sound card design. Sound cards for home theater users usually meant picking between Dolby Digital Live or DTS and gaming features.  I think this new card will be a very popular soundcard for media center computers, offering audiophile sound quality with fantastic performance for games.  If this card is reasonably priced, there would be no reason to buy a Creative-manufactured sound card.
(Via Missingremote.com)