|
etBIOS Version M
**click to enlarge**
Soyo
is the first motherboard manufacturer to introduce this new BIOS technology
that allows complete multi-media playback without boot delay or the need for an
operating system. Soyo claims it will load the menu in under 10 seconds.
We timed it, and it took only 8 seconds to get to the main menu. When you
boot the system for the first time, the main menu will appear and icons appear
shortly after it automatically detects all compatible hardware. You have
access to multi-media functions such as AUDIO/MP3 CD playback, VCD playback,
DVD playback and TV Tuner support. Clicking on the PC button will load
the operating system, if one is installed. The remote control can also
be used to navigate the menu as well as all functions of the available
players.
**click to enlarge**
Our
first tests were to see how well it would playback Audio & MP3 CD's.
This worked flawlessly. No need to click an icon on the main menu.
If you load a CD, it will automatically load the correct player and begin playback.
Above the player is a bar style VU Meter. The player itself has all the
typical features of a CD player including playback options such as repeat and
shuffle.
|
**click to enlarge** |
**click to enlarge** |
Next,
we tested VCD and DVD playback. Again, no issues and both played
flawlessly and loaded very quickly. We tried various VCD's, including some
formatted in both PAL and NTSC. You can show the player by simply
clicking anywhere on the screen when the movie is playing. By default,
it loads the movies in full screen and hides the player but you can also
choose to play movies in a smaller window.
TV
Tuner Support
Soyo
plans to bundle the board with a 100% compatible TV Tuner that includes a
remote control and remote receiver. This is excellent news as I was
unable to get this feature working using a Compro VideoMate TV Gold+ or ATI
AIW 7500 AGP card.
|
**click to enlarge** |
**click to enlarge** |
Using
the sample TV Tuner card that Soyo provided, this feature worked quite well.
We connected it to a cable signal and because there really isn't any software
to play with, I was unable to figure out how to make the tuner do an autoscan
to catch all the channels.
With the remote, we were able to easily gain access to common TV functions
such as brightness, contrast and volume control. While I was unable to
use the remote's power button to turn on the PC, it does allow you to turn it
off instantly. There is even an Esc button which allows you to go back
to the main etBIOS menu! What I found really impressive was that there
was absolutely no delays in initializing the TV Tuner. This is something
that most users deal with in a windows environment.
Switching to and from TV mode was instant.
**click to enlarge**
As we showed you earlier, the Whizpro
BIOS has a etBIOS configuration menu that will allow you to either disable
the etBIOS menu, choose to display the main menu for a
pre-determined amount of time, or simply wait for user action.
Overall, we were quite impressed with this new BIOS feature and it does indeed
function just as advertised.
|
