View source for ATI Technologies

{{short description|Canadian technology corporation}}
{{For|the company named ATI Inc.|Allegheny Technologies}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2018}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox company
| name = ATI Technologies Inc.
| logo = ATI-Logo.svg
| logo_upright = 0.6
| image = AMDMarkham10.jpg
| image_caption = The former ATI headquarters in [[Markham, Ontario]]
| former_name = Array Technology Inc. (Aug.–Sept. 1985)<br />Array Technologies Inc. (Sept.–Dec. 1985)
| type = [[Public company|Public]]
| traded_as = {{TSX was|ATY}}<br>{{NASDAQ was|ATYT}}
| founders = {{ubl|K.Y. Ho|Benny Lau|Lee Ka Lau|Francis Lau}}
| defunct = {{End date|2006|10|25}}
| fate = Acquired by [[AMD]] in 2006, brand phased out in 2010
| key_people = {{ubl
|K.Y. Ho ([[Chief executive officer|CEO]])
|Lee Ka Lau ([[President (corporate title)|president]])
}}
| industry = [[Semiconductor industry|Semiconductors]]
| revenue = {{US$|2.2 billion|link=yes}} (2005)
| net_income = {{US$|16.9 million}} (2005)
| homepage = {{web archive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061008230707/http://www.ati.com/|title=ati.com}}
| foundation = {{Start date and age|1985|08}}
| hq_location_city = [[Markham, Ontario]]
| hq_location_country = Canada
}}

'''ATI Technologies Inc.''' was a Canadian [[semiconductor industry|semiconductor technology]] corporation based in [[Markham, Ontario]], that specialized in the development of [[graphics processing unit]]s and [[chipset]]s. Founded in 1985, the company listed publicly in 1993 and was acquired by [[AMD]] in 2006. As a major [[fabless semiconductor company]], ATI conducted [[research and development]] in-house and [[outsourcing|outsourced]] the [[manufacturing]] and assembly of its products. With the decline and eventual bankruptcy of [[3dfx]] in 2000, ATI and its chief rival [[Nvidia]] emerged as the two dominant players in the graphics processors industry, eventually forcing other manufacturers into niche roles.

The acquisition of ATI in 2006 was important to AMD's strategic development of its [[AMD Accelerated Processing Unit|Fusion]] series of [[computer processor]]s, which integrated general processing abilities with graphics processing functions within a single chip, which would become a popular option on computers in the following years, especially lower cost models.

In 2010, AMD ceased using the ATI brand name, renaming its flagship [[Radeon]] graphics processor products with its branding instead.<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/358774/ati_re-branded_amd/ |title=ATI to be re-branded as AMD – branding, ATI Radeon, ati, amd – ARN |publisher=Arnnet.com.au |date=August 30, 2010 |access-date=February 19, 2011}}</ref>

==History==
<noinclude>[[File:Early ATI logo.svg|thumb|ATI Technologies logo until 2003]]</noinclude>
Lee Ka Lau,<ref>[http://www.giving.utoronto.ca/chairs/showchairs.asp?ID=19 University of Toronto Division of University Advancement page] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210144420/http://www.giving.utoronto.ca/chairs/showchairs.asp?ID=19 |date=December 10, 2008 }}. Retrieved February 28, 2008.</ref> Francis Lau, Benny Lau, and Kwok Yuen Ho<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ati.com/designpartners/media/bios/kyho.html |title=Partner Resources |publisher=Ati.com |date=February 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021103215930/http://www.ati.com/designpartners/media/bios/kyho.html |access-date=23 November 2019 |archive-date=November 3, 2002}}</ref> founded ATI in 1985 as Array Technology Inc.<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.businessweek.com/it100/2005/company/ATYT.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051211204408/http://www.businessweek.com/it100/2005/company/ATYT.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 11, 2005 |title=The Information Technology 100: 90: ATI Technologies |year=2005 |website=BusinessWeek |access-date=2014-08-19 |quote=The company was incorporated in August 1985 as Array Technology Inc. and changed its name to Array Technologies Inc. in September 1985. Further, it changed its name to ATI Technologies Inc. in December 1985.}}
</ref>
Working primarily in the [[original equipment manufacturer|OEM]] field, ATI produced integrated graphics cards for PC manufacturers such as [[IBM]] and [[Commodore International|Commodore]]. By 1987, ATI had grown into an independent graphics-card retailer, introducing EGA Wonder and VGA Wonder card product lines that year.<ref>[https://www.amd.com/us-en/Weblets/0,,7832_10554,00.html?redir=AAMD04#1980 History of AMD at AMD.com]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012174217/http://www.amd.com/us-en/Weblets/0%2C%2C7832_10554%2C00.html?redir=AAMD04|date=October 12, 2007}}.</ref> In the early nineties, they released products able to process graphics without the CPU: in May 1991, the Mach8, in 1992 the Mach32, which offered improved memory bandwidth and [[graphical user interface|GUI]] acceleration. ATI Technologies Inc. went public in 1993, with shares listed on [[NASDAQ]] and on the [[Toronto Stock Exchange]].

[[File:Atitechnologiessiliconvalley.jpg|thumb|right|ATI's former Silicon Valley office at 4555 Great America Pkwy, Santa Clara, CA]]
[[File:ATI Hercules Card 1986.xcf|thumb|right|ATI "Graphics Solution Rev 3" from 1985/1986, supporting [[Hercules Graphics Card|Hercules]] graphics. As the [[Printed circuit board|PCB]] reveals, the layout dates from 1985, whereas the marking on the central chip ''CW16800-A'' says "8639"—meaning that chip was manufactured in week 39, 1986. Notice [[Motorola 6845|UM6845E CRT controller]]. This card uses the [[Industry Standard Architecture|ISA 8-bit interface]].]]

[[File:ATI Wonder.jpg|thumb|ATI VGA Wonder with 256 KB RAM]]

In 1994, the Mach64 accelerator debuted, powering the Graphics Xpression and Graphics Pro Turbo, offering hardware support for [[YUV]]-to-[[RGB]] [[colour space]] conversion in addition to hardware zoom; early techniques of hardware-based video acceleration.

ATI introduced its first combination of 2D and [[3D computer graphics|3D]] accelerator under the name [[ATI Rage|3D Rage]]. This chip was based on the Mach 64, but it featured elemental 3D acceleration. The ATI Rage line powered almost the entire range of ATI graphics products. In particular, the [[ATI Rage|Rage Pro]] was one of the first viable 2D-plus-3D alternatives to [[3dfx Interactive|3dfx]]'s 3D-only Voodoo chipset. 3D acceleration in the Rage line advanced from the basic functionality within the initial 3D Rage to a more advanced [[DirectX|DirectX 6.0]] accelerator in 1999 [[ATI Rage|Rage 128]].

The [[All-in-Wonder]] product line, introduced in 1996, was the first combination of integrated graphics chip with [[TV tuner card]] and the first chip that enabled display of computer graphics on a TV set.<ref>[https://www.amd.com/us-en/Weblets/0,,7832_10554,00.html?redir=AAMD04#1990 History of AMD – 1996 at AMD.com]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012174217/http://www.amd.com/us-en/Weblets/0%2C%2C7832_10554%2C00.html?redir=AAMD04|date=October 12, 2007}}.</ref> The cards featured 3D acceleration powered by ATI's 3D Rage '''II''', 64-bit 2D performance, TV-quality video acceleration, analogue video capture, TV tuner functionality, flicker-free TV-out and stereo TV audio reception.

ATI entered the mobile computing sector by introducing 3D-graphics acceleration to laptops in 1996. The Mobility product line had to meet requirements different from those of desktop PCs, such as minimized power usage, reduced heat output, [[Transition Minimized Differential Signaling|TMDS]] output capabilities for laptop screens, and maximized integration. In 1997, ATI acquired [[Tseng Labs]]'s graphics assets, which included 40 engineers.

The [[Radeon]] line of graphics products was unveiled in 2000. The initial Radeon [[graphics processing unit]] offered an all-new design with DirectX 7.0 3D acceleration, video acceleration, and 2D acceleration. Technology developed for a specific Radeon generation could be built in varying levels of features and performance in order to provide products suited for the entire market range, from high-end to budget to mobile versions.

In 2000, ATI acquired [[ArtX]], which engineered the [[GameCube#Graphics Processing Unit and System Chipset|Flipper]] graphics chip used in the [[GameCube]] video game console. They also created a modified version of the chip (codenamed [[Hollywood (graphics chip)|Hollywood]]) for the successor of the GameCube, the [[Wii]]. [[Microsoft]] contracted ATI to design the graphics core (codenamed [[Xenos (graphics chip)|Xenos]]) for the [[Xbox 360]]. Later in 2005, ATI acquired [[Terayon's]] cable modem [[silicon intellectual property]], strengthening their lead in the consumer digital television market.<ref>[http://apps.ati.com/ir/PressReleaseText.asp?compid=105421&releaseID=671557 press release] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050313181259/http://apps.ati.com/ir/PressReleaseText.asp?compid=105421&releaseID=671557 |date=March 13, 2005 }}</ref> K. Y. Ho remained as Chairman of the Board until he retired in November 2005. [[David E. Orton|Dave Orton]] replaced him as the President and CEO of the organization.

On July 24, 2006, a joint announcement revealed that [[AMD]] would [[mergers and acquisitions|acquire]] ATI in a deal valued at $5.6 billion.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2488/000119312509036235/d10k.htm |publisher=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission |title=AMD 2008 10-K SEC Filling. Pg 105 |date=24 February 2009 |access-date=26 November 2011}}</ref> The acquisition consideration closed on October 25, 2006,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ir.ati.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=105421&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=921365&highlight= |title=Press Release |publisher=Ir.ati.com |access-date=February 19, 2011 |archive-date=December 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081226134908/http://ir.ati.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=105421&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=921365&highlight= |url-status=dead}}</ref> and included over $2 billion financed from a loan and 56 million shares of AMD stock.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543~113656,00.html |title=AMD page |publisher=Amd.com |date=February 10, 2011 |access-date=February 19, 2011}}</ref> ATI's operations became part of the AMD Graphics Product Group (GPG),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/InvestorRelations/0,,51_306_15086,00.html |title=AMD 2007 Analyst Day page |publisher=Amd.com |access-date=February 19, 2011}}</ref> and ATI's CEO Dave Orton became the Executive Vice President of Visual and Media Businesses at AMD until his resignation in 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/InvestorRelations/0,,51_306_14668,00.html |title=AMD 2006 December Analyst Day page |publisher=Amd.com |access-date=February 19, 2011}}</ref> The top-level management was reorganized with the Senior Vice President and General Manager, and the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Consumer Electronics Group, both of whom would report to the CEO of AMD.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/AboutAMD/0,,51_52_570,00.html |title=Corporate Information – Executive Biographies at |publisher=Amd.com |date=February 14, 2011 |access-date=February 19, 2011}}</ref> On 30 August 2010, John Trikola announced that AMD would retire the ATI brand for its graphics chipsets in favour of the AMD name.<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://news.softpedia.com/news/AMD-Really-Dropping-the-ATI-Brand-154168.shtml |title=AMD Decides to Drop the ATI Brand – Softpedia |publisher=News.softpedia.com |access-date=February 19, 2011}}</ref>

==Products==
[[File:Ruby (virtual character by ATI).jpg|right|thumb|ATI's fictional character & mascot Ruby]]

In addition to developing high-end [[graphics processing unit|GPU]]s (originally called a VPU, visual processing unit, by ATI) for PCs and Apple Macs, ATI also designed embedded versions for laptops (Mobility Radeon), [[Personal Digital Assistant|PDA]]s and mobile phones ([[Imageon]]), integrated motherboards (Radeon IGP), and others.

"Ruby", a fictional female character described as a "mercenary for hire", was created by ATI to promote some of its products.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ati.de/ruby/index.html |title=Ruby's Headquarters at |publisher=Ati.de |date=January 15, 2011 |access-date=February 19, 2011}}</ref> Computer-animated videos produced by RhinoFX about Ruby on a mission (being a sniper, saboteur, hacker and so on) appeared at large technology shows such as ''CeBIT'' and ''[[Consumer Electronics Show|CES]]''.

===Computer graphics chipsets===
* '''[[ATI Wonder series|Graphics Solution / "Small Wonder"]]''' – Series of 8-bit [[Industry Standard Architecture|ISA]] cards with [[Monochrome Display Adapter|MDA]], [[Hercules Graphics Card|Hercules]], [[Color Graphics Adapter|CGA]] and [[Plantronics Colorplus|Plantronics Color+]] compatibility using the United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) [[Motorola 6845|UM6845E CRT controller]]. Later versions added [[Enhanced Graphics Adapter|EGA]] support.
* '''[[ATI Wonder series|EGA / VGA Wonder]]''' – [[IBM]] "[[Enhanced Graphics Adapter|EGA]]/[[Video Graphics Array|VGA]]-compatible" display adapters (1987)
* '''[[ATI Mach|Mach]] Series''' – Introduced ATI's first [[2D computer graphics|2D]] [[graphical user interface|GUI]] "Windows Accelerator". As the series evolved, GUI acceleration improved dramatically and early video acceleration appeared.
* '''[[ATI Rage|Rage]] Series''' – ATI's first 2D and [[3D accelerator]] chips. The series evolved from rudimentary 3D with 2D GUI acceleration and [[MPEG-1]] capability, to a highly competitive [[Direct3D]] 6 accelerator with then "best-in-class" DVD ([[MPEG2]]) acceleration. The various chips were very popular with [[Original equipment manufacturer|OEM]]s of the time. The Rage II was used in the first ATI [[All-In-Wonder]] multi-function video card, and more advanced All-In-Wonders based on Rage series GPUs followed. (1995–2004)
** '''[[ATI Rage#Mobility|Rage Mobility]]''' – Designed for use in low-power environments, such as notebooks. These chips were functionally similar to their desktop counterparts but had additions such as advanced [[power management]], [[Liquid crystal display|LCD]] interfaces, and [[Multi monitor|dual monitor]] functionality.
* '''[[Radeon]] Series''' – ATI launched the Radeon line in 2000, as their consumer 3D accelerator add-in cards, its flagship product line and the direct competitor to Nvidia's [[GeForce]]. The original ''Radeon DDR'' was ATI's first DirectX 7 3D accelerator, introducing their first hardware [[transform and lighting|T&L]] engine. ATI often produced 'Pro' versions with higher clock speeds, and sometimes an extreme 'XT' version, and even more recently 'XT Platinum Edition (PE)' and 'XTX' versions. The Radeon series was the basis for many ATI All-In-Wonder boards.
** '''[[Radeon|Mobility Radeon]]''' – A series of power-optimized versions of Radeon graphics chips for use in laptops. They introduced innovations such as modularized RAM chips, DVD (MPEG2) acceleration, notebook GPU card sockets, and "[[ATI PowerPlay|PowerPlay]]" power management technology. AMD recently announced DirectX 11-compatible versions of its mobile processors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.techworld.com/mobile-wireless/3209713/amd-launches-directx-11-graphics-chips-for-laptops/ |title=AMD launches DirectX 11 graphics chips for laptops |date=January 8, 2010 |publisher=techworld.com |access-date=January 8, 2010 |archive-date=August 20, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140820020107/http://news.techworld.com/mobile-wireless/3209713/amd-launches-directx-11-graphics-chips-for-laptops/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>
** '''[[ATI CrossFire]]''' – This technology was ATI's response to [[NVIDIA]]'s [[Scalable Link Interface|SLI]] platform. It allowed, by using a secondary video card and a dual PCI-E motherboard based on an ATI Crossfire compatible chipset, the ability to combine the power of the two, three or four video cards to increase performance through a variety of different rendering options. There is an option for additional PCI-E video card plugging into the third PCI-E slot for gaming physics, or another option to do physics on the second video card.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=5634 |title=DailyTech report |publisher=Dailytech.com |access-date=February 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810024126/http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=5634 |archive-date=August 10, 2011 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref>
* '''[[FireGL]]/FirePro''' – Launched in 2001, following ATI's acquisition of FireGL Graphics from [[Diamond Multimedia]]. Workstation CAD/CAM video card, based on the Radeon series.
* '''[[FireMV]]''' – For workstations, featuring "multi-view", for multiple displays with 2D acceleration only, usually based on low-end products of the Radeon series (now integrated into FirePro series).

Although AMD strongly considered making the functional part of the ATI drivers "open source",<ref>{{cite web |last=Yager |first=Tom |url=http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/08/02/32OPcurve_1.html |title='AMD talks about ATI' at |publisher=Infoworld.com |date=August 2, 2006 |access-date=February 19, 2011}}</ref> before the merger with AMD, ATI had no plans to release their graphics drivers as free software:
{{Blockquote|Proprietary, patented optimizations are part of the value we provide to our customers and we have no plans to release these drivers to open source. In addition, multimedia elements such as content protection must not, by their very nature, be allowed to go open source.|[http://news.cnet.com/2061-10791_3-6104655.html ATI statement, August 2006]}}

===Personal computer platforms and chipsets===
{{See also|Comparison of ATI chipsets}}

* '''[[Radeon R100|IGP 3x0]], [[Radeon R100|Mobility Radeon 7000 IGP]]''' – ATI's first chipsets. Included a DirectX 7-level 3D graphics processor.
* '''[[Radeon R200|9100 IGP]]''' – 2nd generation system chipset. IXP250 southbridge. It was notable for being ATI's first complete motherboard chipset, including an ATI-built southbridge. It included an updated DirectX 8.1 class graphics processor<ref>Gavrichenkov, Ilya. [http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/chipsets/display/ati-igp9100.html ATI RADEON 9100 IGP Integrated Chipset Review] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303203837/http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/chipsets/display/ati-igp9100.html |date=March 3, 2016 }}, X-bit Labs, December 1, 2003.</ref>
* '''[[Xpress 200|Xpress 200/200P]]''' – [[PCI Express]]-based [[Athlon 64]] and [[Pentium 4]] chipset. Supports [[SATA]] as well as integrated graphics with [[DirectX]] 9.0 support, the first integrated graphics chipset to do so<ref>Wasson, Scott. [http://techreport.com/reviews/2004q4/radeon-xpress200/index.x?pg=1 ATI's Radeon Xpress 200 chipset] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070510231758/http://techreport.com/reviews/2004q4/radeon-xpress200/index.x?pg=1 |date=May 10, 2007 }}, Tech Report, November 8, 2004.</ref>
* '''[[Xpress 3200]]''' – similar to ''[[Xpress 200]]'', but designed for optimal [[ATI CrossFire|CrossFire]] performance.

In addition to the above chipset, ATI struck a deal in 2005, with [[CPU]] and [[motherboard]] manufacturers, particularly [[Asus]] and [[Intel]], to create onboard 3D Graphics solutions for [[Intel]]'s range of motherboards released with their range of [[Intel]] [[Pentium M]]-based desktop processors, the [[Intel Core]] and [[Intel Core 2]] processors, the D101GGC and D101GGC2 chipset (codenamed "''Grand County''"<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070116213811/http://cache-www.intel.com/cd/00/00/32/94/329441_329441.pdf Intel Boxed Desktop Board Quick Guide (December 2006)]</ref>) based on the [[Xpress 200|Radeon Xpress 200]] chipset. However, high-end boards with integrated graphics processor (IGP) still used [[Intel GMA]] [[graphics processing unit|integrated graphics processor]]s. The deal with Intel ended with the purchase of ATI by AMD in 2006, with Intel announcing [[Silicon Integrated Systems|SiS]] IGP chipset (D201GLY chipset, codenamed "''Little Valley''") for entry-level desktop platform, replacing the "''Grand County''" series chipsets.

===Multimedia and digital TV products===
* '''[[All-in-Wonder]]''' series – A series of multimedia graphics cards which incorporating TV tuner and [[Radeon]] family [[video card|graphics card]]s onto one add-in card,<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2024-03-12 |date=2003-08-05 |title=ATI Revolutionizes the Multimedia PC Experience with ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 PRO |publisher=hartware.de |url=https://www.hartware.de/2003/08/05/ati-revolutionizes-the-multimedia-pc-experience-with-all-in-wonder-9600-pro/}}</ref> which, after being seemingly discontinued was relaunched as All-in-Wonder HD on June 26, 2008.
* TV tuners
** '''TV Wonder''' and '''HDTV Wonder''' – a chipset family providing TV reception of various analogue TV and digital TV signals ([[PAL]], [[NTSC]], [[ATSC]], [[DVB-T]] and so on) with first generation [[AVIVO]] technology, also supporting [[CableCARD]], and [[QAM tuner|Clear QAM]] technologies.
** '''Theater''' – a family of [[QAM]] and [[Single-sideband modulation|VSB]] demodulators for the Digital Cable ready and [[ATSC Standards|ATSC]] environments.
* '''Remote Wonder''', wireless remote control series for ATI multimedia products. Operates using radio frequency, away from mainstream implementations using [[Infrared communication|infrared]].

===Console graphics products===
* '''[[GameCube technical specifications|Flipper]]''' – The [[GameCube]] (codenamed "dolphin" during production) contains a 3D accelerator developed by ''ArtX, Inc'', a company acquired by ATI during the development of the GPU.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2024-03-12 |date=2001-12-07 |title=Hardware Behind the Consoles - Part II: Nintendo's GameCube Page 3 |publisher=anandtech.com |url=https://www.anandtech.com/show/858/3}}</ref> Flipper was similar in capability to a [[Direct3D]] 7 accelerator chip. It consisted of four rendering pipelines, with hardware [[transform and lighting|T&L]], and some limited pixel [[shader]] support. Innovatively the chip has 3&nbsp;[[megabyte|MB]] of embedded [[1T-SRAM]] for use as ultra-fast low-latency (6.2&nbsp;[[nanosecond|ns]]) texture and [[framebuffer]]/[[Z-buffer]] storage allowing 10.4 [[gigabytes|GB]]/second bandwidth (extremely fast for the time).<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2024-03-12 |date=2001-12-07 |title=Hardware Behind the Consoles - Part II: Nintendo's GameCube Page 5 |publisher=anandtech.com |url=https://www.anandtech.com/show/858/5}}</ref> Flipper was designed by members of the [[Nintendo 64]] Reality Coprocessor team who moved from SGI. The Flipper team went on to have a major hand in the development of the [[Radeon 9700]].
* '''[[Xenos (graphics chip)|Xenos]]''' – [[Microsoft]]'s [[Xbox 360]] video game console contains a custom graphics chip produced by ATI, known as "R400", "C1", internally as "Crayola",<ref>{{cite web |title=Ex. 2050 - R400 Document Library FH - folder_history (PROTECTIVE ORDER) — IPR2015-00325 - LG Electronics, Inc. v. ATI Technologies ULC |url=https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/ptab/case/IPR2015-00325 |website=Unified Patents |access-date=10 December 2021 |date=9 September 2015}}</ref> or more often as ''Xenos''. Some of these features include the embedded DRAM ([[eDRAM]]). The Xenos also features the “True Unified Shader Architecture” which dynamically loads and balances pixel and vertex processing amongst a bank of identically capable processing units.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2024-03-12 |date=2005-06-24 |title=Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PS3 - A Hardware Discussion |publisher=anandtech.com |url=https://www.anandtech.com/show/1719/7}}</ref> This differs greatly from PC graphics chips of previous generations that have separate banks of processors designed for their individual task (vertex/fragment). Another feature presented in Xenos is the hardware [[tessellation#Tessellations and computer graphics|surface tessellation]] to divide a surface into smaller triangles,<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2024-03-12 |date=2022-01-26 |title=ATI's Radeon 8500: First GPU With Hardware Tessellation |publisher=electronicdesign.com |url=https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/embedded/article/21213985/jon-peddie-research-atis-radeon-8500-first-gpu-with-hardware-tessellation}}</ref> similar to [[TruForm]] in terms of functionality, which is an advanced feature as it is not presented even in the [[Direct3D#Direct3D 10|DirectX 10]] specification. The recent generation [[Radeon R600]] GPU core inherited most of the features presented in Xenos, except [[eDRAM]].
* '''[[Hollywood (graphics chip)|Hollywood]]''' – Successor to Flipper. Part of [[Nintendo]]'s gaming console, [[Wii]].<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2024-03-12 |date=2009-03-11 |title=AMD Ships 50 Millionth 'Hollywood' GPU In Wii |publisher=hothardware.com |url=https://hothardware.com/news/amd-ships-50-millionth-hollywood-gpu-in-wii}}</ref>

===Handheld chipsets===
* '''[[Imageon]]''' – [[System-on-a-chip]] (SoC) design introduced in 2002, to bring integrated [[2D computer graphics|2D]] and [[3D computer graphics|3D]] graphics to handhelds devices, mobile phones and [[Tablet computer|Tablet PC]]s. The Imageon 2298 included DVD quality recording and playback, TV output, and supported up to a 12-[[megapixel]] camera, with another line of Imageon products, the 2300 series supporting [[OpenGL]] ES 1.1+ extensions. The Imageon line was rebranded under AMD as [[Adreno]], and sold to [[Qualcomm]] in 2009.
* '''[[Imageon|Imageon TV]]''' – Announced in February 2006, allowing handhelds devices to receive digital broadcast TV ([[DVB-H]]) signals and enables watching TV programs on these devices, the chipset includes tuner, demodulator, decoder, and a full software stack, operates alongside the [[Imageon]] chip.

Besides full products, ATI also supplied 3D and 2D graphics components to other vendors, specifically the [[Qualcomm]]<ref>[http://brew.qualcomm.com/bnry_brew/pdf/brew_2007/Tech-303_Ligon.pdf page 10 and 15]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926060251/http://brew.qualcomm.com/bnry_brew/pdf/brew_2007/Tech-303_Ligon.pdf|date=September 26, 2007}}.</ref> [[MSM7000]] series SoC chips of handheld and upcoming [[Freescale]] i. MX processors<ref>[http://www.dailytech.com/Freescale+Licenses+AMD+Technologies/article8909.htm DailyTech report]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819220324/http://www.dailytech.com/Freescale%2BLicenses%2BAMD%2BTechnologies/article8909.htm|date=August 19, 2016}}. Retrieved September 17, 2007.</ref> ATI claimed in May 2006, that it had sold over 100 million<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=31938 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814093327/http://theinquirer.net/?article=31938 |url-status=unfit |archive-date=August 14, 2007 |title=The Inquirer report |publisher=Theinquirer.net |access-date=February 19, 2011}}</ref> 'cell phone media co-processors', significantly more than ATI's rival NVIDIA, and announced in February 2007, that the firm had shipped a total of 200 million of Imageon products since 2003.<ref>[https://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543~115795,00.html AMD press release]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090315093128/http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0%2C%2C51_104_543~115795%2C00.html|date=March 15, 2009}}. Retrieved July 27, 2007.</ref>

After the AMD acquisition, the Imageon and Xilleon were sold off to Qualcomm and [[Broadcom]], respectively.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2024-03-12 |date=2011-10-18 |title=NVIDIA and Qualcomm ARM Up Against Competitors |publisher=bdti.com |url=https://www.bdti.com/InsideDSP/2011/10/20/NvidiaQualcomm}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=2024-03-12 |date=2011-01-10 |title=Coup at AMD: Why was Dirk Meyer Pushed Out? |publisher=brightsideofnews.com |url=https://brightsideofnews.com/blog/coup-at-amd-why-was-dirk-meyer-pushed-out/}}</ref>

===High-performance computing===
* ATI Firestream, using the [[stream processing]] concept, together with [[Close to Metal]] (CTM) hardware interface. After the AMD acquisition, it was succeeded by [[AMD FireStream]] in 2006, rebranded as AMD Stream Processor until 2012.<ref name="=AMD Delivers First Stream Processor">{{cite news |url=https://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/VirtualPressRoom/0,,51_104_543~121775,00.html |publisher=AMD |title=AMD Delivers First Stream Processor with Double Precision Floating Point Technology |date=8 November 2007 |access-date=12 February 2015}}</ref><ref name="R.I.P: FireStream (2006 - 2012)">{{cite news |url=http://www.anandtech.com/show/6137/the-amd-firepro-w9000-w8000-review-part-1/7 |publisher=AnandTech |title=R.I.P: FireStream (2006 - 2012) |date=14 August 2012 |access-date=12 February 2015}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Companies}}
* [[Comparison of ATI chipsets]]
* [[Comparison of ATI graphics processing units]]
* [[Fglrx]] – Linux display driver used for ATI video cards
* [[Radeon]]
* [[Video card]]
* [[Video In Video Out|Video-in video-out (VIVO)]]

===Competing companies===
* [[Nvidia]]
* [[Matrox]]
* [[3dfx Interactive]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{web archive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061008230707/http://www.ati.com/|title=Oficial website}}

{{ATI}}
{{AMD}}
{{Home theater PC (application software)}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ati Technologies}}
[[Category:ATI Technologies| ]]
[[Category:Semiconductor companies of Canada]]
[[Category:Fabless semiconductor companies]]
[[Category:Graphics hardware companies]]
[[Category:Companies based in Markham, Ontario]]
[[Category:Electronics companies established in 1985]]
[[Category:Computer companies established in 1985]]
[[Category:1993 initial public offerings]]
[[Category:Computer companies disestablished in 2006]]
[[Category:1985 establishments in Ontario]]
[[Category:2006 disestablishments in Ontario]]
[[Category:Companies formerly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange]]
[[Category: Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq]]
[[Category:Defunct companies of Ontario]]
[[Category:AMD]]
[[Category:2006 mergers and acquisitions]]
[[Category:Defunct computer companies of Canada]]
[[Category:Defunct computer hardware companies]]