ASRock Shows Off HDMI-in Feature for Haswell Motherboards

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By Niels Broekhuijsen
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ASRock shows off the HDMI-In feature as part of its A-Style feature set.

ASRock is showing off many features for its next generation of motherboards for the Haswell CPUs, all part of ASRock's A-Style feature set. These features include Purity Sound, HDMI-In, 802.11ac WiFi, Waterproof by Conformal Coating and Home Cloud. Now, we have a direct demo video of ASRock illustrating the HDMI-In feature.

The video shows an iPad connected through the HDMI-In port of an ASRock motherboard and the image appearing on the monitor. Using a hotkey, users can switch between the image from the device connected to the HDMI-In port and the computer's image. No cable changes will be needed. The most notable bit, though, is that the feature works even when the computer is powered down. Presumably, when the system is powered down, the video from the HDMI-In port will automatically be passed through. The big question that remains is if any of these features will still work if the monitor is connected to a display output on a discrete graphics card. We'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, enjoy the video below.

Niels Broekhuijsen
Niels Broekhuijsen

Niels Broekhuijsen is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He reviews cases, water cooling and pc builds.

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23 Comments Comment from the forums
  • rolli59
    "The big question that remains is if any of these features will still work if the monitor is connected to a display output on a discrete graphics card."
    I guess the card would have to have HDMI in port and all the circuitry for that to work
    Reply
  • InvalidError
    The HDMI-in feature likely is nothing more than a HDMI multiplexer chip picking between IGP output and HDMI-In to present to the HDMI output, controlled by a spare pin on the system management IC.

    Since this feature also works when the CPU is "off", this means the multiplexer is either operated on 5VSB or uses reed switches or relays. In any case, using the GPU output would require powering up the GPU and the 5VSB supply would be a rather tight fit for that even if you have absolutely nothing else using it. Not to mention that the HDMI-In chip would need to pipe video through PCIe to the IO Hub, the IO Hub pipe that to the CPU and then the CPU to the GPU over the x16 interface... that's a lot of power.

    I agree with rolli, almost certainly only works with IGP. No physical path between the GPU's HDMI out and HDMI-In makes it effectively impossible on 5VSB's ~5W budget.
    Reply
  • twelch82
    If this supports Lucid Virtu, you don't have to have the monitor/TV connected to the discrete graphics card. I prefer that setup for my HTPC so that the graphics card can be powered down when doing other things with it besides gaming.
    Reply
  • zyky
    802.11ac, waterproof coating, and they provide some gimmicky HDMI switch instead of a actual digital capture port.. because reaching behind your PC is easier than pushing the source button on your monitor.
    Reply
  • TheMentalist
    Wow, not bad at all. I think the motherboard will have the HDMI-in support and send the data to a discrete card HDMI-out. Well at least it saves some $$ on a display switch device
    Reply
  • warezme
    I have an Alienware M17X R3 that has HDMI in and out. I find it useful since my stereo that I use for music only in my computer room requires an HDMI screen for menu option management, I can just plut it into my laptop and change the settings when I need without needing a dedicated screen.
    This feature would be most useful on tablets you could for example use a high quality screen on a tablet to preview images from a DSLR camera without buying those ridiculously overpriced low quality bulky monitors.
    Reply
  • jaber2
    correct me if I am wrong, but why not just bypass the PC and go direct to the disply?
    Reply
  • TheMentalist
    10801668 said:
    correct me if I am wrong, but why not just bypass the PC and go direct to the disply?

    I believe the PC will function as a 'super switch' between other devices and the screen. Maybe ASRock wiil be adding more features based on this technology in the (near) future
    Reply
  • TeraMedia
    It's too bad they didn't do something like PiP. That would require the CPU to be running, but it would have been a nice feature to allow a connected tablet or similar to have a window on the monitor.
    Reply
  • lp231
    10801668 said:
    correct me if I am wrong, but why not just bypass the PC and go direct to the disply?

    Same here, I though you can hook up a tablet or mobile phone via HDMI adapter and use it directly to the HDTV without a computer. Maybe this is only useful for monitors with HDMI since computer monitors are different from HDTV?
    Reply