The Arcadia AU10 is an audio card aimed squarely at users wishing to use their PC as a DVD player with full Dolby Digital credentials. The chipset that powers Arcadia is the ForteMedia FM801. This is primarily of interest to home cinema enthusiasts with appropriate 5.1 amplified speaker setups, though a number of other configurations are viable. Without this, the six-channel output would be of little use. The physical bundle consists of the sound card itself, a short breakout cable for additional audio connections, and an infra-red sensor unit paired with a rather dinky remote control.
Audio connections use stereo mini-jacks.
The card spine carries the main front stereo output, along with a line level stereo input and mono microphone input for recording. Installation is painless. The card was tested under Windows 98 SE with no problems whatsoever, allocating resources happily in a PC stuffed with other peripherals. WDM drivers are available for Windows 2000 users. Gaming performance is more of a mixed bag.