ATI HDTV Wonder High Definition PCI TV Tuner $53.99 AR

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Skiguy411

Platinum Member
Dec 4, 2002
2,093
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I have an HD wonder. It works pretty good if you are near a station. And yes, its only OTA digital and a.nalog cable in.

The price is probably so low because ATI is just about to release the 650 pro which has a digital tuner.
 
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QuixoticOne

Golden Member
Nov 4, 2005
1,855
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0
It does HDTV OTA. It has an analog Tuner / digitizer that will accept
analog RF NTSC standard TV broadcasts. It has S-Video and composite inputs too.
I'm not sure if it can do PAL instead of NTSC analog.

It specifically does NOT (to my pretty certain recollection) claim compatibility
with digital cable QAM format HD or QAM non-HD for that matter.

It also comes with very cra**y bad software applications for PVR functions, though
if you run windows MCE or a third party freeware PVR application instead of ATI's
software you'll probably be happy.

ATI has no LINUX drivers but I think I saw some notes that some people are getting
it working in LINUX using open source drivers that've experimentally been developed
for this card. Interestingly, I think I saw someone claim that they even had digital
cable working with these linux drivers, which would be interesting since ATI's software
and specs for the card don't indicate QAM compatibility. I haven't verified the
status of that, though.

Check the avsforum site for more threads about this card as well as
googling for dvb "hdtv wonder" linux etc. for info about the linux status if you're
interested.

 
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RBC

Senior member
Jul 27, 2001
982
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0
Anyone know how this one compares to the K-World ATSC-110 that Buy.com had for $45 AR a couple of weeks ago? (which I bought on impulse after I saw that it came with Beyond TV 3.8).
 
Fenixgoon

Fenixgoon

Lifer
Jun 30, 2003
33,500
13,146
136
is the HD wonder a good tvtuner to pick up? i'm interested in buying a TVtuner (as i have no tv), but i don't want to get a crappy one
 
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chazzzer

Member
Nov 1, 2005
110
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0
Originally posted by: RBC
Anyone know how this one compares to the K-World ATSC-110 that Buy.com had for $45 AR a couple of weeks ago? (which I bought on impulse after I saw that it came with Beyond TV 3.8).
Click to expand...

I don't know about that K-World...but you got a steal with the BeyondTV bundle. The ATI is great, but the bundled software leaves a lot to be desired (like with most any card). Match it up with SageTV or BeyondTV or something similar and it's fantastic. Plus it comes with the RF remote (about $30) and the best indoor HD antenna out there (the Zenith ZHDTV1 in an OEM version, $20 on Amazon) for free.

You know, you really need a second tuner anyway. All the good HTPC software supports at least two tuners, and those network bastards love to put two shows that you want to watch both of in the same timeslot. Two tuners lets you watch them both.

Wait...don't you have to have BeyondTV 4 to do HD recording (or is my brain just defective tonight)? Even if you do, I think it's a cheap upgrade.

 
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KF

Golden Member
Dec 3, 1999
1,371
0
0
Originally posted by: skljohnson
Do you need a special antenna or will a standard TV antenna receive the HD signal?
Click to expand...

HD uses exactly the same antenna as regular TV. Almost all re on UHF currently. When people do have problems, it is likely multipath and needs a more directional antenna.

 
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Onefastdak02

Member
Apr 30, 2005
119
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0
I'm a little confused... what channels does this actually get? Can you plug regular cable into it? I've never heard of wireless HD channels.. I have comcast with HD would that work too?
 
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nole1fan

Senior member
Nov 2, 2005
223
0
0
If you plug analog cable in, you will get the Cable Channel. If you plug the HD Antena, you may be able to get over the air HD TV channels.
 
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LOUISSSSS

Diamond Member
Dec 5, 2005
8,771
58
91
hey everyone, i'm a TV tuner noob, my exact system is in my Signature, if i were to get this would i be able to watch tv on my vx2025? can anyone give me a general idea of how good the quality will be? thanks
 
videopho

videopho

Diamond Member
Apr 8, 2005
4,185
29
91
I was the early adaptor of this card in early 2005. It should have been named HDTV-NO WONDER due to it was a real dog trying to get it installed and worked properly. But it was then and it is now and there have been so many different drivers may have passed.
avsforum/ati-hdtv
 
luv2liv

luv2liv

Diamond Member
Dec 27, 2001
3,506
95
91
i have this card and loving it (when it works). the picture quality is stunning!!! so much better than dvd. the rf remote is so cool! i can use it as a mouse

things i hate about it:
1. two second audio delay when the channel first comes on
2. cant disable the tivo feature of pausing live tv. i just want to watch, i dont want record anything
3. sometimes when changing to another channel, the previous and the new channel froze with two audio coming in simultaneously. i would have to change to the next and then back again.

maybe its just my computer :(
 
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darkswordsman17

Lifer
Mar 11, 2004
23,444
5,852
146
Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
hey everyone, i'm a TV tuner noob, my exact system is in my Signature, if i were to get this would i be able to watch tv on my vx2025? can anyone give me a general idea of how good the quality will be? thanks
Click to expand...

Yeah, you would be able to.

Analog wouldn't be a problem at all, you could use a cable or get it over the air. For digital, all you can do is over the air. If you're close to a tower, it'll be good, otherwise you probably won't be able to get anything. Analog quality won't be terribly great, due to the poor quality signal you'd get and the fact that your display would be a much higher resolution. In my experience its not horribly bad, just don't expect it to look as good as on a normal TV. If you can get some HD channels, they'll look stupdendous.

You've got plenty enough power that recording won't be an issue (I doubt it'd be over 50% CPU usage at any time on your system). Hard drive space can fill up fast though, so its something to consider. Nice system by the way.
 
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Staples

Diamond Member
Oct 28, 2001
4,953
119
106
Forgive me for being a lazy bastard and not looking at the ATI page.

But does this card have component in? And if so, can it take and display a 720p or 1080i signal?
 
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GreenMonkey

Member
Sep 22, 2004
106
0
0
Good deal if you are in range for OTA HDTV. I am just a bit too far out to get most channels without crazy amounts of antenna aiming for getting a rooftop antenna. Too bad it doesn't do QAM :(
 
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