ATI HDTV Wonder $150 @CompUSA no rebate

[VaG]

Link

 

[npohnl]

Figures, I just bought it friday from newegg for $180. Newegg had a $30 MIR to make it $150 but I waited too long and when I checked Friday it was $199 - 50 MIR at compusa but I didn't want to wait for the rebate.

Best price for this card if you want one, not an impulse buy though.

For those needing to know what hdtv ota is available in their area: Antenna Web

 

[Zim]

Microcenter had it last week for $150 w/$50 MIR = $100. Even then I let it pass. With only software encoding this thing needs a hefty PC and will tie it up while in use. Also it's only suitable for OTA HD channels, and not for those derived from cable, satellite, etc. Reviews aren't good either.

 

[npohnl]

Absolutely need a high end machine to run it but but smooth playback of transport stream requires a hefty cpu and good video card anyway. I'm running a dell 3gig with the stock fx5200 (new drivers are great) and I run around 10% cpu playing back transport stream (720p or 1080i) with 5.1 out from a chaintech av710.

As far as reviews, I think you have to consider that the reviews on amazon, pricegrabber, etc were mainly people who had weak signals, the early drivers were poor, system conflicts, etc. If you take the time to read this thread (AVSForums) you will see that many people have stuck with it and got it to work on their systems.

On the other hand, I don't think the ATI is the best card, the MyHD is very nice and has great support on AVS. AccessHD has good user reviews as well but for my needs this is the least expensive card. I currently pay $40+ for just HD on cable and only get 2 locals (ABC and NBC), I was getting all the majors and UPN plus some duplicates with voom but couldn't record. Atleast I can watch football in HD (if it's on in HD) on Sunday now.

I never saw the card for $100 at microcenter although some people reported success pricematching compusa from $199 to microcenters $149 price and then using the $50 compusa rebate. Unfortunately the closest microcenter is in GA and I'm in southern FL.

 

[gman2819]

Microcenter's everyday price is $150.

 

[VaG]

Originally posted by: gman2819
Microcenter's everyday price is $150.

That sounds like a nice option for people living in 1 of the 20 cities in the US where a Microcenter is located or people that like paying for shipping and playing the waiting game.

 

[tryanasaurus]

Does this integrate with XP media center edition 2005?

 

[BlackPear1]

Originally posted by: VaG
That sounds like a nice option for people living in 1 of the 20 cities in the US where a Microcenter is located or people that like paying for shipping and playing the waiting game.

2 day shipping is $9 (about half what the sales tax would be). From my experience, the two days of waiting for delivery is nothing compared to the time and aggravation spent getting it working with my Nvidia graphics card. It all worked out in the end though and I'm satisfied w/performance.

 

[FearoftheNight]

so how do i get the signal to my comp?

 

[ironcrotch]

Originally posted by: FearoftheNight
so how do i get the signal to my comp?

HDTV off-air antenna

 

[VaG]

Originally posted by: BlackPear1

2 day shipping is $9 (about half what the sales tax would be). From my experience, the two days of waiting for delivery is nothing compared to the time and aggravation spent getting it working with my Nvidia graphics card. It all worked out in the end though and I'm satisfied w/performance.

You must be living in Alabama if you're paying about 12% sales tax since the highest state sales tax is around 7%. The highest state and local sales tax levied in the nation is 11% in some funky Alabama jurisdiction. Tennessee crushes every other state in the nation with the highest combined average city, county, & state rate of 9.4%. If you're paying over 6% sales tax and are not computer savvy then I guess the only benefit of purchasing at a BM would be to get the grief out of your life a minimum of 2 days earlier.

 

[Granorense]

Originally posted by: tryanasaurus
Does this integrate with XP media center edition 2005?

I would like to know also!

 

[BlackPear1]

I'm not in AL, but here in my corner of Peckerwood Country sales tax is 8.25% which would be $12.38 on a $150 purchase. So sales tax here is actually about 38% more than 2 day shipping. Thanks for pointing out the error in my off-the-cuff estimate.

 

[BlackPear1]

Originally posted by: Granorense

Originally posted by: tryanasaurus
Does this integrate with XP media center edition 2005?

I would like to know also!

The AVSForums thread linked above has some interesting posts by users who are using MCE with the HDTV Wonder. I gather from those comments that the short answer to your question is yes, but configuration may not be easy in every installation.

 

[npohnl]

After spending a good part of the day installing and tweaking, I will echo other avsforum members: "The hardware is nice, the software leaves alot to be desired."

Currently I am running my fourth or fifth configuration and now can only display 720p channels and get a black screen with audio on the 1080i channels. I'm going to tweak some more and might try and find a cheap copy of MCE2005 since it seems the built in control is much better than the ati mmc software.

Honestly, I think it all comes down to software and I find it funny that the company that produced the MyHD card actively talks to members on AVS and releases new software and the most people can get out of ATI tech support is: Have you tried reinstalling you operating system?

Fun card is you like troubleshooting, if you want something that is plug and play, keep looking.

Oh, and Zim, you were right. It was $99 at MC on BF.

**EDIT: I backtracked my nvidia fx5200 drivers to 61.77 and it works perfect now. Funny how I tried every possible ati driver combination and it came down to my nvidia drivers (the latest from their site) being the conflict). **

 

[sapiens74]

I didn't see this thread, but the sign today at Compusa read 149 so they had to honor it