AMD Launches Elite Software for APU Based Systems

AMD has launched the new and free Elite Experiences software to enhance the functionality of their APU series. Sadly these function are limited to the mobile version, so desktop users will lose out this time. The logic behind it is however clear as most stationary systems don’t have the extra hardware needed for it to work. I still hope that it’ll be made available on a ‘use at your own risk’ basis for the desktop users who do own a webcam.

The new system brings a row of new functionality to the mobile hybrids with Face Login, Gesture Control, Quick Stream Technology, Perfect Picture and Wireless Display. These are functions that for the most part already exists, but in the past they usually were custom-created software by the hardware-manufacturers. Now there is a unified experience for all mobile AMD APU users with A10, A8 and A6 APUs from 2013 or newer.

AMD Face Login is a software that uses your webcam and enhanced image processing to recognize if the face in front of the camera matches one stored in the database. This way the software allows access to Windows and certain websites without requiring keying of passwords. AMD Face Login is designed as a convenient tool to help you log into Windows and many popular websites quickly and should not be used to protect your computer and personal information from unwanted access. However, it isn’t just some simple image matching algorithm and it won’t work to just hold a photo of someone up to the webcam. For extra security, you can let the system automatically lock your windows session or put the computer it into sleep when you leave the work area. The software can store up to 40 different images for the facial recognition.

AMD Gesture Control is a software that utilizes advanced real-time image processing and machine vision algorithms to track a user’s hand gestures and convert them into commands. These commands are then used to control functions and software within the device, creating a more natural user interaction.

Supported gestures are waving left and right and swiping your hand upwards. It also recognizes the mute gesture when you put a finger in front of your mouth to go “Shh”. Virtual mouse controls are performed by holding up an index finger and you can grab objects by making a fist. Clicking sounds tricky as you’ll have to keep the hand steady while quickly dipping the standing finger from vertical to a horizontal position and back up. The mapping of the gesture movements can be customized to any standard windows short-key.

AMD Wireless Display allows a computer to send up to 1080p HD video and 5.1 surround sound to a Miracast-compatible TV, projector or streaming media player. The protocol uses a direct Wi-Fi connection between two devices without involvement of a wireless router and cannot be used to stream to a router access point. AMD Wireless Display is already built into Windows 8.1 and is available from the Devices screen. Just click “Add a wireless display” and follow the instructions on the screen. The option will only be available if your hardware supports it. If you’re worried about DRM protected content, AMD Wireless Display can handle that as well.

The last two parts aren’t really that new, but still useful to have around. AMD Quick Stream was created to make video viewing experiences better. The application helps prioritize and manage software in a bandwidth-constrained environment to prevent stream-stuttering. AMD Quick Stream is essentially a Quality of service (QoS) that prioritises media streams over the rest.

The final part mentioned is the AMD Perfect Picture that is a set of optimizations and settings designed to improve and provide controls for video quality. It has options available for basic and advanced colour, video quality, AMD Steady Wide, Global video quality and accelerated video conversion. This is however a familiar function to all of us that have used AMD cards.

Thank you AMD for providing us with this information

Images courtesy of AMD