Advanced Micro Devices is promising nothing short of the freedom of exploring the ultimate digital entertainment experience via a new software product made available for download exclusively for Windows Vista. And not only this, but the AMD LIVE! Explorer is designed to integrate exclusively with the Home Premium and Ultimate SKUs of Vista. The remaining limitation is the fact that the application will only run on ADM processors. AMD plans to deliver free access to the software for all the customers that buy an AMD LIVE! PC. According to the CPU maker, the AMD Phenom 9000 Series quad–core processor will be synonymous with a top experience of the explorer.

"The AMD LIVE! family includes products, applications, and services designed to work together for the ultimate entertainment experience—virtually anytime, anywhere. AMD LIVE! PCs use superior technologies, including multi-core processing power and cutting-edge graphics, to bring you The Ultimate Visual Experience. From your computer monitor, to the 50-inch plasma screen in your living room, to the 2-inch LCD on your cell phone. AMD LIVE! systems provide a simple and secure way to create, access, and share entertainment. Video, music, TV shows, and more," AMD promised.

Essentially, the AMD LIVE! Explorer will permit the end users to browse photo and music collections in 3D, but also explore their video library in full-motion 3D, as well as watch video and TV content while simultaneously surfing the web. But users also have to be ready for the AMD LIVE! Explorer's system requirements that are even more steep than Windows Vista's with a recommended configuration containing an AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor 5200+, 2GB DDR2 RAM, DirectX10 GPU (ATI 2400HD or NVIDIA 8300), Windows Vista Ultimate or Home Premium and SATA2 7200 RPM HDD with 16+ MB cache and NCQ.

"AMD LIVE! Explorer is being released as a Beta product in order to get feedback from the community on key features, functionality, and usability prior to the final release. The Beta product utilizes advanced features that require high performance hardware. The product may not run smoothly and the user experience may be impaired if run on systems with non-optimal hardware configurations. The following Windows Vista components must be installed and configured correctly prior to using the Beta product: Windows Media Player 11; Windows Desktop Search; Internet Explorer 7 and Windows Media Center (Media Center is required only for TV tuning functions)," AMD added.

AMD LIVE! Explorer 1.0.0 Beta is available for download here.