Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati (
More info?)
"J. Clarke" <jclarke.usenet@snet.net.invalid> wrote in message
news:d2erbf01g9e@news4.newsguy.com...
> John Peterson wrote:
>
>> "J. Clarke" <jclarke.usenet@snet.net.invalid> wrote in message
>> news:d2drn1023j1@news1.newsguy.com...
>>> Augustus wrote:
>>>
>>>>>> Not yet available in PCI-E versions unfortunately.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks Augustus. That's what I was afraid of. :-(
>>>>>
>>>>> Any rumors to when/if such a thing will be manufactured?
>>>>>
>>>>> What, then, are my alternatives if I'm looking for a PCI Express-based
>>>>> All-In-Wonder card? The X600 Pro?
>>>>
>>>> ATI currently has the AIW X600 Pro 256Mb PCI-E card available. That's
>>>> basically it. It's a decent card, but definitely not in X800XT
>>>> territory. If all you need is the TV capability, consider a separate ATI
>>>> TV Wonder or HDTV Wonder card (they're regular PCI) and get an X800XT
>>>> PCI-E.
>>>
>>> The new TV Wonder Elite has a newer video processing chip than any of the
>>> AIWs, however it apparently doesn't work with ATI's multimedia center.
>>>
>>> Regardless, after several AIWs I went to a separate tuner card and found
>>> that it's all around a more satisfactory solution.
>>
>> Thanks Augustus/John!
>>
>> Understood about the X600 Pro versus the X800 XT. I would assume,
>> however, that the X600 Pro represents an upgrade over my current AIW
>> 8500DV in my previous computer?
>>
>> I like the AIW for the other multimedia capabilities, but I *do* mainly
>> just watch TV with
>> it. And, since I have a FireWire input separate from the card on the new
>> computer (before, I was using FireWire from the 8500DV, and notice that
>> the X800 doesn't have native FireWire support), most of my digital video
>> editing should be able to be managed that way.
>>
>> John, what combination of video card/TV tuner did you wind up with, and
>> why is it a more satisfactory solution in your opinion?
>
> Right now I'm using a Dvico Fusion HDTV II and a Hauppauge PVR-USB2 with a
> 9800Pro. I was surprised to find that the analog portion of the Fusion
> worked reliably under ATI Multimedia Center.
>
> The major advantage for me is HD. Can't get that with any AIW unless you
> use a second tuner. With HD it's very nice to have two monitors, which
> most AIWs do not allow unless one of them is a standard-definition
> television. It's very nice to be able to check email or whatever on the
> main screen while watching HD on a projector.
>
> I got the PVR-USB2 to allow me to use Media Center Edition 2005, which I was
> curious about--turns out that MCE is very, very nice, the closest PC-based
> solution to a Tivo that I've seen yet--it _requires_ hardware-based analog
> compression, which one couldn't get from any ATI board at the time except
> the e-home wonder that works _only_ with MCE. I figured that if I didn't
> like MCE I could still use the PVR on my laptop, which is another benefit
> of having a separate tuner--it can be moved to a different machine should
> the need arise.
>
> I was surprised at how much workload the PVR took off the CPU (Athlon 3200)
> during analog recording--no dropped frames at any quality level and IIRC
> something under 10% utilization, with quality as high as I've ever gotten
> off of any ATI product--I haven't seen a 550-based board yet though.
Thanks John!
Your setup sounds very intriguing! I'm not really familiar with any of the non-ATI
products you cite, and wondered what kind of bus interfaces the various cards use, and
whether there are concerns with conflicts with a similar configuration (like if I were to
use an X850 instead of a 9800Pro)?