ATi TV Wonder 650

[AmberClad]

I'm looking to get an HDTV tuner and I found these:

ATi TV Wonder 650
VisionTek TV Wonder 650

Has anyone used one of these and would recommend it? I'm not sure how I feel about having both Forceware and Catalyst drivers on one machine. I assume there wouldn't be any issues with it.

Any recommendations for HD tuners other than those two are welcome too. I suppose I just picked that one because I felt a little compelled to send some money AMD/ATi's way ...

 

[Bateluer]

I'm also interested in a good HD tuner. My last ATI tuner, the HDTV Wonder was an exercise in frustration that ATI never properly supported. It also didn't play very nice with the 6800GT I had then.

Its the USB external version of the 650s I'm more interested in though. I want the ability to move it from my notebook to my desktop or to my next desktop at will.

Edit - I should also mention that solid Vista64 drivers are an absolute must.

 

[AmberClad]

Boo . So it sounds like Forceware + Catalyst could lead to trouble after all.

I need Vista 64 support too. The NewEgg description does say "ATI Certified - Windows Vista Premium Ready", but I'd be interested to hear if anyone has any first-hand experience here.

EDIT: I found the Vista x64 drivers on AMD's website. Whether they're "solid", I have no idea. Still the open question of whether the TV Wonder and my GTS are going to get into some sort of turf battle :laugh:.

 

[AmberClad]

@ Bateluer -

Here's an update. I did end up getting the ATI tuner. I went with the VisionTek bundle that comes with the remote.

The bad news is that the Catalyst drivers for Vista x64 are very raw. I had consistent lockups and the software would stop responding every time I tried to scan for ATSC channels.

The good news is that the tuner card and the software work like a champ in XP Pro. The analog receiver can flawlessly pick up some NTSC channels that even my LCD TV has trouble with. Same Conexant chipset that many of the Hauppauge cards use.

 

[imported_MadHatter]

I have two 650s in my Vista 32bit media center and I couldn't be happier. I didn't bother installing the ATI's drivers since Vista installed working drivers for me.

 

[nullpointerus]

I ordered the 650 PCI-E version and put it in my own PC as a test for later installation my SageTV-based PVR/server.

The card itself worked fine in Vista x64 with analog tuning, except for some random, temporary audio/video distortion when changing channels. But I only had it in my PC for a few hours, and I didn't try ATSC tuning (because I have no antenna). However, between all the restarting I did (to test having 4 GB RAM enabled), the tuner worked just fine.

I bought the 650 PCI-E for HD ClearQAM support, but apparently that only works in ATI's Catalyst Media Center. BeyondTV and SageTV crashed and burned no matter what I did, and Vista Media Center only detected ATSC/NTSC capabilities (i.e. no ClearQAM) because Microsoft does not yet support QAM on a general basis.

On a side note, placement of PCI-E slots on the GA-P35-DS3R is really stupid...

Originally posted by: AmberClad
The bad news is that the Catalyst drivers for Vista x64 are very raw. I had consistent lockups and the software would stop responding every time I tried to scan for ATSC channels.

The good news is that the tuner card and the software work like a champ in XP Pro. The analog receiver can flawlessly pick up some NTSC channels that even my LCD TV has trouble with. Same Conexant chipset that many of the Hauppauge cards use.

If you still have Vista x64 installed on that PC (dual-booting?), you might want to try it again with the recent 7.11 driver release. In any case, reporting your issue to AMD/ATI support would help them to make improvements to future driver releases.

Glad to hear it's working fine for you in XP Pro!

 

[AmberClad]

Yeah, I've read that people using the Media Center versions of XP and Vista have had good success using Windows Media Center with the 650. Unfortunately in my case, the Windows versions I use (XP Pro and Vista Business x64) are not really geared towards HTPC use, so I have to use either CMC or some third party media center software. I plan on trying out MythTV at some point (if I can ever figure out where I put my Linux drive...), but at least in the past, ATI's Linux drivers have been less than impressive.

 

[AmberClad]

Originally posted by: nullpointerus
If you still have Vista x64 installed on that PC (dual-booting?), you might want to try it again with the recent 7.11 driver release. In any case, reporting your issue to AMD/ATI support would help them to make improvements to future driver releases.

Yep, I did download yesterday's Catalyst 7.11 release. It didn't fix the ATSC issue, unfortunately .

I'll probably drop AMD-ATI an e-mail letting them know about the problems. I'd also like an answer from them as far as what's on the CD labeled "AMD Live!" that was included in the box, and why it locks up my Core 2 Duo system when I try to run it .

As far as the antenna, I was originally under the perception that you need to go out and buy a specialized HD antenna. Apparently, that's not the case, and my old rooftop mounted antenna with a coax cable running into the house works just fine for HD reception.

 

[nullpointerus]

Originally posted by: AmberClad

Originally posted by: nullpointerus
If you still have Vista x64 installed on that PC (dual-booting?), you might want to try it again with the recent 7.11 driver release. In any case, reporting your issue to AMD/ATI support would help them to make improvements to future driver releases.

Yep, I did download yesterday's Catalyst 7.11 release. It didn't fix the ATSC issue, unfortunately .

Aww, sorry to hear that.

If you have drive partioning software or an old drive lying around, doing a fresh install of Vista x64 (no need to enter product key or enable auto-activation during setup) could help eliminate all other factors except the 64-bit drivers.

But I tend to spend way too much time troubleshooting problems; perhaps just enjoying the configuration that is already working is the best option.

I'll probably drop AMD-ATI an e-mail letting them know about the problems. I'd also like an answer from them as far as what's on the CD labeled "AMD Live!" that was included in the box, and why it locks up my Core 2 Duo system when I try to run it .

The Live! CD ran fine on my computer, but my initial reaction was, why was this CD included with the TV Wonder 650 (specifically). The software seemed like a random collection of free trials and odd application for various Internet services like digital file lockers and other proprietary applications. Corporate "integrated digital lifestyle" mumbo-jumbo, methinks -- you know, the stuff advertised in commercials where these abstract graphics fly around, magically transforming everyone's life into the digital era -- but, seriously, I could get you a screenshot if you really want to know.

As far as the antenna, I was originally under the perception that you need to go out and buy a specialized HD antenna. Apparently, that's not the case, and my old rooftop mounted antenna with a coax cable running into the house works just fine for HD reception.

Yeah, I heard that, too, but we're on the edge of effective service (i.e. 40 miles) and I did not really want to invest in an antenna at this point. I think antennaweb.org is a very good resource if you live in the U.S.A. want to see what is available in your area. Whether the site covers other countries, I don't know.

 

[AmberClad]

Sound like Live! is just some marketing nonsense, like Viiv and vPro. Don't trouble yourself with capping a screenshot, it honestly doesn't sound all that useful :laugh:.

Dual-booting is fine for now. I have a few older games that don't seem to like Vista, so I don't have any plans to scrap my XP install any time soon.

I think I may have just lucked out as far as the HD reception -- I live in suburban DC, and from checking antennaweb.org, the HD stations in my area are either 7 miles or less from my house, or they're all the way in Baltimore.

 

[tjaisv]

Get the VisionTek PCI-e version. It's newer than the ATI offering, comes with a remote, and a $20 rebate to boot.