• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

All in Wonders

H

hiimlarry

Senior member
Hey right now i've got a 9600xt. I was just wondering if I were to get an All In Wonder card, would I be able to play my PS2 on my monitor? Also, how is the quality of the picture if I were to plug in an antenna or my cable cord into here (assuming my comcast cable will reach this far)? What other capabilities and what is the real purpose of the All-in-Wonder cards? Do I really need a good one if I wanted to play my PS2 on here?

Thanks!
 
I might be mistaken here, but to play PS2 you will need an S-Video input on your monitor, which very few monitors currently have (Dell's 2001FP is the only one that comes to my mind). The difference between a regular ATI card and an "All in Wonder" card is that the AIW card has an integrated TV tuner. AIW cards are a bad deal in my opinion, once they become outdated and you replace it, you have to replace the card AND the TV tuner (or buy another AIW card at a premium price). If you want to watch TV on your monitor, buy a video card and a separate TV tuner.
 
there arent ports for you to plug in the audio and video of a ps2 on the tv tuner? or could i just get a rf? adapter and use that to plug that into the tv tuner?
 
Originally posted by: hiimlarry
there arent ports for you to plug in the audio and video of a ps2 on the tv tuner? or could i just get a rf? adapter and use that to plug that into the tv tuner?
Click to expand...

There is a breakout box with both S-video and Composite (A/V) inputs, and you can plug your PS2 right in. They have generally similar "capture" performance, however I would get a model using Theater200 or newer (AIW9000pro) if I were buying one.

The AIW actually can be a good value if you use the features. My AIW9700pro was only ~$30 more than a standard 9700pro when I purchased it more than 2 years ago now. With native YPbPr output for my Widescreen and advanced features like hardware filtering, 12bit ADC's and s/pdif output along with good software like Pinnacle Studio bundled....You couldn't touch that with a seperate TV card + a seperate graphics card. Now there are more options, and better tuners with better software available.

It all depends on your use and the pricepoint. In your case, a seperate tuner makes sense if your card is fast enough for gaming. If you want to upgrade your graphics card, a VIVO card might be a good choice also.

Before you buy anything, make sure you get feedback on users who are actually connecting their consoles to their PC's with the hardware and what software they are using before you pull the trigger.
 
Originally posted by: hiimlarry
Hey right now i've got a 9600xt. I was just wondering if I were to get an All In Wonder card, would I be able to play my PS2 on my monitor? Also, how is the quality of the picture if I were to plug in an antenna or my cable cord into here (assuming my comcast cable will reach this far)? What other capabilities and what is the real purpose of the All-in-Wonder cards? Do I really need a good one if I wanted to play my PS2 on here?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I have an AIW 9600 Pro and I regularly play my PS2 on my monitor using an S-Video connection, and it's great. Clear image, no problems. Watching cable TV, the quality of the picture I would say isn't spectacular. It's fine if you're not picky, but it doesn't seem to look as good as either of my TVs. I'm guessing that's mainly due to the fact that PC monitors with their clarity aren't meant for displaying the comparatively blurry TV signals. The real purpose of All in Wonder cards is to do a bunch of stuff in one card. I don't know what you mean by whether you need a good one to play PS2, but I'm finding my card to be just fine, as long as you use the S-Video input (Composite looks like crap anywhere.)
 
im kinda in the same boat here but not planning on using it for PS2. I want to use my computer to watch TV, and it looks like I might have an excuse to upgrade my vid card to. I currently have a GF3 but I don't plan PC games that often, but it looks like I will need to upgrade my card soon for games that I will want to play in the near future, i.e. Age of Empires 3, and others. So I think I want to get an AIW 9600 Pro. Affordable, but seems to be able to get the job done on a good majority of PC games. I won't need extreme capturing software, but if the software packaged with the AIW is good I will definately use it. So is it a better idea to get a 9600 Pro + a seperate moderate tv tuner for ~$140 or get the AIW which I've been searching thats priced around $160? Where are my pitfalls with either decision?

edit: oh also, if going with the 1st option, seperate vid card and tv tuner, I might think about upgrading to 9600 Pro or higher, is there that much of a difference between the standard, Pro, XT, etc.? Keep in mind I'll mainly be playing games like AoE and WoW.
 
In my opinion, in hindsight after having owned this AIW for about a year and a half, I should have bought a seperate (good) TV tuner because once this 9600 Pro gets too slow to run games well, I'll be stuck with having to either buy a TV tuner or another AIW. I did get a good deal on this thing though. When I got it, it was the card, Remote Wonder I, Remote Wonder II, and Half-Life 2 all in the same box. And the AIW 9600 Pro doesn't have DVI output, only dual VGA.

Sorry, I can't tell you whether a cheaper aiw will work well, but I know that most if not all of the AIWs before have the old Rage Theater chip, not the new Rage Theater 200 chip which is supposed to be better. I'm not sure in what way, but I assume image quality...
I won't need extreme capturing software, but if the software packaged with the AIW is good I will definately use it.
Click to expand...
In my opinion, the ATI software is crap. It has some glitches, sometimes fails. Once, the recording feature just refused to work, even after uninstalling and reinstalling, and I ended up not using it until I reformatted my computer. The remote wonder drivers in particular are very hard to install, at least it was for me.
 
Don't you just need a card with VIVO to play your PS2 on your monitor, rather than an expensive AIW card?

 
Originally posted by: LTC8K6
Don't you just need a card with VIVO to play your PS2 on your monitor, rather than an expensive AIW card?
Click to expand...
That is true. Do most VIVO cards have S-Video in? Obviously I am not a big expert on VIVO, does it have RCA audio in as well?
what is vivo?
Click to expand...
It lets you output/input a video signal from/to your card, usually using one of those yellow RCA cables.
 
well can someone link me to a cheap but one that will work well for me to play my ps2 on my monitor? preferably a tv pci card....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top