ATI HDTV Wonder Remote Control Edition 149.99$ at Compusa

[ttown]

thanks psxjunky... I mis-read the product title, cuz it was linked in the middle of a HDTV Wonder review

still researching....

 

[huesmann]

Bought one tonight. Got it home and discovered someone stole the antenna out of it. Any suggestions? If I go back to CrapUSA will they exchange it?

 

[psxjunky]

That sucks You should definitely take it back to CompUSA and exchange it for a sealed box ... and this time make sure that the box in indeed sealed.

 

[kindest]

Originally posted by: huesmann
Bought one tonight. Got it home and discovered someone stole the antenna out of it. Any suggestions? If I go back to CrapUSA will they exchange it?

oh man how crappy. even tho the antenna is worth about 5 dollars your paying for it so you better get it with the package.

 

[psxjunky]

Originally posted by: kindest

Originally posted by: huesmann
Bought one tonight. Got it home and discovered someone stole the antenna out of it. Any suggestions? If I go back to CrapUSA will they exchange it?

oh man how crappy. even tho the antenna is worth about 5 dollars your paying for it so you better get it with the package.

Actually the antenna is not that bad ... I'd even venture to say that it is a rather good one, if you are not too far from HD transmission towers. This antenna is a clone of the Zenith SilverSensor UHF indoor antenna (model ZHDTVI), which is widely considered to be one of the best (if not THE best) indoor UHF antennas.

The Zenith SilverSensor sells for about $40 in Sears ... so even if this antenna is about half as good as the one it imitates (it is probably better than just half) ... it still would be worth $20

[EDIT]
Google for ZHDTVI to see what I am talking about.

 

[aceO07]

Originally posted by: ttown
OK... I'm really confused.... Can I use this thing to watch hdtv (ota) with my AIW 8500 --> regular TV or not? (I realize not "full hi-def").

Specs at ATI imply directx 9 is REQUIRED -- which the AIW 8500 does not support --, but THIS implies complete functionality between the HDTV Wonder and the AIW 8500 Radeon.

Can anyone say for sure?? This little trivia would be a deal-MAKER for me.

I'm confused.. It needs a DX9 card to work?? I still have an old old ATI AIW Radeon 32MB

 

[kindest]

the antenna doesnt work good at all for me. im in a bad spot in the basement tho.
im going to hook up a roof or an attic big antenna soon. upstairs i can get mostly everything.

 

[v1rtuoso]

I am using this card with a geforce ti4200 (not native dx9) and things are working ok.

 

[ttown]

Originally posted by: aceO07

Originally posted by: ttown
OK... I'm really confused.... Can I use this thing to watch hdtv (ota) with my AIW 8500 --> regular TV or not? (I realize not "full hi-def").

Specs at ATI imply directx 9 is REQUIRED -- which the AIW 8500 does not support --, but THIS implies complete functionality between the HDTV Wonder and the AIW 8500 Radeon.

Can anyone say for sure?? This little trivia would be a deal-MAKER for me.

I'm confused.. It needs a DX9 card to work?? I still have an old old ATI AIW Radeon 32MB

The specs at ATI say that it needs a dx9 card for hdtv playback. I could have swore a couple days ago the ATI site specified specific cards -- Radeon 9600 and up. NOW -- HERE are the specs -- with an implication that a (any) dx9 card is needed. However, I read through the avsforums site and several people report getting the HDTV Wonder working with a Radeon 9200 -- which is not a dx9 card. There was only one person mentioning using it with a AIW 8500 -- and they asked the forum (in mid-late 2004) about a specific windows error -- but said that it works ok after clicking OK on the error a few times.
I googled the error message, and it appeared to me that it was a problem with Windows Update -- NOT the AIW 8500 or its lack of dx9. If it WAS due to the lack of dx9, clearing the error message would make automated recording impossible.
Bottom line is: I'm still confused as ever. The AIW 8500 (mine) is discontinued, so ATI's site is no help. I know cutting-edge technology is cool, but I wish buying a tv capture card didn't require that I also (re)purchase leading-edge technology to use it. They must be in the video-card selling business....

 

[huesmann]

Well, I have two possible PCs that I will be using this with. One has a Ti4200 outputting to a plasma HDTV thru DVI, the other has a R9700p outputting to a 20" LCD monitor thru DVI. Will I be able to get HD with either, or both?

psxjunky, maybe you can answer this question: i've read that most HD signals are broadcast on UHF. Most of the stations in my area (that have HD broadcasts) broadcast their SD signal in the VHF range. Will their HD signal still be VHF or would they have separate frequencies in UHF?

 

[aceO07]

What's the Compusa return policy? Is there a restocking fee? I can go buy it and try it if there's no hassle involved with fees.

 

[BlackPear1]

Originally posted by: huesmann
Well, I have two possible PCs that I will be using this with. One has a Ti4200 outputting to a plasma HDTV thru DVI, the other has a R9700p outputting to a 20" LCD monitor thru DVI. Will I be able to get HD with either, or both?

psxjunky, maybe you can answer this question: i've read that most HD signals are broadcast on UHF. Most of the stations in my area (that have HD broadcasts) broadcast their SD signal in the VHF range. Will their HD signal still be VHF or would they have separate frequencies in UHF?

Either of your displays should be fine to display HDTV, but I don't know about the 4200 card because of the DX9 issue discussed above. You will find that 16:9 format material (most HD programs) is letterboxed on the 20" monitor if it's not widescreen. I was very impressed with the picture quality of HDTV broadcasts displayed on my 30" LCD.

HD and non-HD digital TV signals are transmitted in the UHF band. I get good reception with this inexpensive outdoor antenna: http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=15-2160
The antenna provided with the HDTV Wonder is good, but many of my stations are beyond its range.

 

[PuvMan]

does this card also to analog tv? can i hook up a cable feed for analog, and an antenna for HD??

 

[Mr. Lennon]

Originally posted by: aceO07
What's the Compusa return policy? Is there a restocking fee? I can go buy it and try it if there's no hassle involved with fees.

no more restocking fees.

With this tuner, can you plug regular cable tv into this as well? Im thinking of picking up media center edition as well too, would I be using the remote that comes with the ATI or the actual windows media center controller?

 

[BaNzaiDags]

I have been using ATI AIW 9600xt on a HTPC connected to 46" HDTV.
been running ati software and it works fine just don't like the GUI from ati. I'm planning on getting MCE but tried media portal. media portal has a nice gui but had problems with the recordings (recordings stopped in middle of show and were poor quality) so i went back to ATI MultiMediaCenter software and using that till i get MCE.

I was planning on getting a HDTV receiver but i guess , from what im reading here, i should just get this HDTV card and run it with MCE 2005 (which i was planning) and then i could get the HDTV on my TV.

So to restate the questions from last two ppl. If i got the HDTV card does it receive an analog signal also? i was planning on taking out the AIW ati 9600xt and installing my ti4200 with DVI out. I just want to make sure that the HDTV will take in regular cable as well.

also, second question is: for the users of an aiw card and MCE are you using the MCE remote or the remote wonder from AIT. I'm sure you could use both (play with plug in if there not already in the software) but what is easier to use (i have a girlfriend who will be using this set and would like to keep it simple)

thanks!

 

[kindest]

i ordered that antenna and talked to the city
i can mount it up to 30ft high from the street level.

http://www.solidsignal.com/
Channel Master 4228 8-Bay Bowtie UHF Antenna (CM4228)
total after shipping $ 59.94

 

[the FooL]

Question:

I'm new to the home theatre PC idea, as the only reason I have a tuner card was to play my consoles on my PC.

I understand this card allows you to view HDTV on your PC as well as HD recording.

Do I need anything special to be able to output it to an HD television set?

I'm trying to see if I can use this as an OTA HD tuner (I understand it's useless for HD signals over cable)

Currently, I'm using a Leadtek Winfast 2000 XP dlx, so decided that I can ditch the FM tuner for HD capability.

-- d

 

[psxjunky]

Originally posted by: BaNzaiDags
So to restate the questions from last two ppl. If i got the HDTV card does it receive an analog signal also? i was planning on taking out the AIW ati 9600xt and installing my ti4200 with DVI out. I just want to make sure that the HDTV will take in regular cable as well.

The ATI HDTV Wonder card has an analog tuner onboard as well that will allow you to do SD recording, but this analog tuner is NOT hardware based, so the SD recording quality will be much poorer compared to what you will get from a hardware encoder based SD tuner (like Hauppauge WinTV PVR 150/250).

Also, keep in mind that MCE 2005 does NOT support the analog tuner on the ATI HDTV Wonder (it only supports the digital tuner on the ATI card).

Also, keep in mind that you can not have *just* the HD card in an MCE machine; you have to have an SD card in the same machine before MCE will recognize the ATI HD card. There are some hacked drivers that allow MCE to work without a SD tuner, but I am not sure how well those work.

also, second question is: for the users of an aiw card and MCE are you using the MCE remote or the remote wonder from AIT. I'm sure you could use both (play with plug in if there not already in the software) but what is easier to use (i have a girlfriend who will be using this set and would like to keep it simple)

thanks!

It will be MUCH easier to use the MCE remote with MCE.

 

[kindest]

Originally posted by: the FooL
Question:

I'm new to the home theatre PC idea, as the only reason I have a tuner card was to play my consoles on my PC.

I understand this card allows you to view HDTV on your PC as well as HD recording.

Do I need anything special to be able to output it to an HD television set?

I'm trying to see if I can use this as an OTA HD tuner (I understand it's useless for HD signals over cable)

Currently, I'm using a Leadtek Winfast 2000 XP dlx, so decided that I can ditch the FM tuner for HD capability.

-- d

well the best way to hook up to the tv would be via a dvi cable from your dx9 video card to dvi input on back of the tv
and using like powerstrip to setup custom ratio and refresh rate that matches your hd tv.

 

[psxjunky]

Originally posted by: the FooL
Question:

I'm new to the home theatre PC idea, as the only reason I have a tuner card was to play my consoles on my PC.

I understand this card allows you to view HDTV on your PC as well as HD recording.

Correct.

Do I need anything special to be able to output it to an HD television set?

Well, that depends on what type of outputs your video card has (DVI and/or VGA) and, more importantly, what types of inputs your TV supports (DVI/VGA/Component/S-Video)

The possible connections are as follows (from best to worst, video card -> TV)

DVI -> DVI
DVI (video card) -> Component Breakout Cable -> Component (TV)
VGA -> VGA
VGA (video card) -> VGA-to-Component Transcoder (separate box) -> Component (TV)
S-Video (video card) -> S-Video (TV)

I'm trying to see if I can use this as an OTA HD tuner (I understand it's useless for HD signals over cable)

Correct. The ATI HDTV Wonder is for ATSC signals only so it only works for OTA HD reception. For HDTV over cable, you need a card that can capture QAM signals (e.g. Fusion HD, MyHD 130 etc). However, note that even with these cards, you will ONLY get the unencrypted cable channels, which are usually limited to re-broadcast of the OTA channels.

For getting encrypted as well as unencrypted cable, you need a card that supports CableCard. No such beast exists yet, and even when they do, your provider needs to support them.

 

[GoSharks]

the newer drivers for the hdtv wonder support lower-end cards. the system reqs on the box are outdated. i was running the hdtv wonder on my 8500, and it was working fine. the correct requirements are listed on this page:
http://www.ati.com/products/hdtvwonder/specs.html

(Graphics card with 64MB or greater of frame buffer and Microsoft DirectX 9.0 support)

if you have dx9 installed, and have 64mb+ vram, you can use the hdtv wonder.

 

[huesmann]

I exchanged the card today and installed it, but when I try to run DTV from the launcher it shows the splash screen and then just goes to desktop. Analog TV works fine, although as psxjunky stated, the quality sucks compared to the Hauppauge cards.

Any idea why DTV won't run?

 

[the FooL]

If I have a TV hooked up via S-Video, it won't be at HD quality correct.
If not, will it still be better than watching the SD broadcast?

If I hook it up via DVI, will it be just like watching the original HD broadcast, or is there a lost of quality as well?

Guess I'm asking if the HD quality is still conserved when outputting to a TV and via which output.
How about recorded broadcasts, is the quality also conserved (I'm assuming the recording is just a straight digital feed and the quality is only based on how I'm outputing it to the TV)

Yeah, I'm assuming there won't be any cable card ready equipment before the July 1st deadline.
That's one reason I'm looking at getting the PC HDTV tuner card right now.

-- d

 

[kindest]

Originally posted by: the FooL
If I have a TV hooked up via S-Video, it won't be at HD quality correct.
If not, will it still be better than watching the SD broadcast?

If I hook it up via DVI, will it be just like watching the original HD broadcast, or is there a lost of quality as well?

Guess I'm asking if the HD quality is still conserved when outputting to a TV and via which output.
How about recorded broadcasts, is the quality also conserved (I'm assuming the recording is just a straight digital feed and the quality is only based on how I'm outputing it to the TV)

Yeah, I'm assuming there won't be any cable card ready equipment before the July 1st deadline.
That's one reason I'm looking at getting the PC HDTV tuner card right now.

-- d

if you do a dvi to dvi connection there will be a very slight quality degrade but for the most part its digital to digital.
the slight quality you will lose is because of the dx9 overlay but it will look 10x better then regular tv.

if you use s-video it wont be high def but analog. not sure how it would look in comparsion to standard cable.

 

[kindest]

Originally posted by: ttown
any word on if it has the dreaded "broadcast flag" implemented yet?

There's a July 1 deadline for mfg's to incorporate it, and I'm hoping mfg's are waiting till the last minute.
I haven't been able to find any authoritative word on if this ati card has it or not

edit: nevermind... straight from ATI:
Information regarding Broadcast Flag legislation ? According to FCC?s Broadcast Flag Order (MB Docket 02-230) adopted November 4, 2003, Digital TV receiver products (like the HDTV WONDER) built on and after July 1, 2005 are required to protect certain digital TV broadcasts. The legislation does not affect HDTV receiver products manufactured before July 1, 2005 (or sold any time after). As such, the HDTV WONDER will continue to function exactly in the same manner it does today past the July 1, 2005 legislation date.

i must be stupid, what does it imply? that it has the flag allready or it doesnt.