Graphics card maker GeCube this week announced it as started shipping ATI Radeon X1300- and X16090-based boards with full HDCP support to ensure HDMI-connected HD TVs will display content at the maximum resolution.

Both HV series boards ship with 256MB of GDDR 2graphics memory - they can grab a further 256MB of system memory using ATI's HyperMemory system. The X1300 part has four pixel pipelines, the X1600 has 12.

GeCube said both products are fitted with the encryption keys required to validate the link to an HDMI-equipped HD TV using the HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Copy Protection) scheme. HD content on HD DVD or Blu-ray Discs may be set to require an HDCP-guarded connection to the display. If no such link exists, the player may, at the content provider's whim, output the material at a sub-standard definition resolution.

GeCube's boards both ship with dual-link DVI ports on the back, but the company said it was bundling the products with a DVI-to-HDMI dongle. ®