VIA VT6026 Mini-ITX with 24-bit audio
Posted on March 18, 2003

In the third of our CeBIT show pictorials, we bring you images of VIA's prototype for an EPIA M based Mini-ITX board featuring the Envy24PT Audio Controller - the VT6026. The board dispenses with Firewire connectors and instead has two optical TOS-Link connectors and additional 3.5mm analogue audio connectors for high quality 24bit/96Khz 7.1 surround sound.

Preliminary specifications: Embedded VIA Nehemiah C3 / Eden ESP 6000 Processor, LVDS, VIA Apollo CLE266 North Bridge featuring internal UniChrome 8X 2D/3D graphics & MPEG2 decoder, 1 x DDR266DIMM, 2 x IDE Ports (ATA 133/100), VT8235 South Bridge, 1 PCI Slot, VIA Envy24PT 24/96 Audio Controller, VIA Six-TRAC Codec, AKM Codec, S/PDIF, 7.1 Audio Connections, USB 2.0, 10/100 Ethernet, VGA and TV-Out.

The VT6026 appears to be only one of the three "Future" Mini-ITX boards shown at CeBIT with LVDS. The M2 has its Type II Card Bus + CF Slot arrangement (seemingly aimed at providing Wi-Fi support, but we can think of lots of other uses), and the CL has twin Ethernet ports making it ideal in a firewall setting. There wasn't any sign of the alleged EPIA P4.. :(

The board can be seen mounted inside VIA's protoype "Infotainment" PC reference design, together with an MPEG4 Decoder and Encoder giving DVR capabilities on a PCI expansion card, and additional audio connectors.