Catalyst 9.9 For Linux Released, Still XvBA Lacking

A day after they had some press event where they showed off a 24 monitor setup running Linux (we weren't there), AMD has today released the Catalyst 9.9 driver for Linux. This driver, which is still behind the Ubuntu-Catalyst 9.10 driver that has support for the Linux 2.6.31 kernel and other improvements, has just one new feature: support for new Linux operating systems.

The new operating system support? OpenSuSE 11.1 and SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (SLED) and SuSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 10 SP3 early look support, although these packaging scripts have been worked on for some months. Besides the new Novell support, bug-fixes in Catalyst 9.9 for Linux include RandR 1.2 fixes and proper support for CrossFire properties within the AMD Catalyst Control Center Linux Edition (AMDCCCLE).

Missing from the Catalyst 9.9 package are any specifications or patches for media players to provide XvBA support, the X-Video Bitstream Acceleration API that should have been exposed a year ago.

Those not already running the Catalyst 9.10 driver can download Catalyst 9.9 for Linux at AMD.com.