Asus today added a new member to its HDAV family: the Asus Xonar HDAV1.3 Slim sound card. The CES-award winning Xonar HDAV1.3 Series of audio cards has been credited for revolutionizing the world of HTPC by offering the world's first and only solution to bitstream true Blu-ray audio on the PC platform, and this new offering is no different. The Asus Xonar HDAV1.3 features Protected Audio Playback Systems (PAPS) and full Advanced Access Content System (AACS) certification. Without both certifications, typical PCs must down-sample Blu-ray audio into DVD quality (48K/16bit).

The Asus Xonar HDAV1.3 Slim is equipped with an essential digital HDMI1.3 interface, which bitstreams next-generation Blu-ray quality audio formats such as Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD Master and Dolby Digital Plus via the ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre application to the user's AV receiver. This powerful playback ability, combined with a low-profile design and bundled low-profile bracket, makes the Asus HDAV1.3 Slim perfect for next-generation HTPCs right out of the box.