HDTV on computers question

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

"snow" <dlessard1@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:uqvRd.39258$W16.25930@trndny07...
> I am curious if anyone on here has tried the HD Wonder
> TV Tuner by ATI on their computer for over the air digital stations. Is it
> worth the $150. Any information appreciated.
>

I bought mine as soon as they started taking orders. It's great hardware.
The software has been less than perfect but the current version is working
well for me. Some have had installation problems
If you already have a capable computer $150 for an HDTV PVR is hard to beat.
Even the SD pictures I get are better than the analog pictures I get from
cable TV. I'm thinking of building another computer for a second HDTV Wonder
system.

Some of the problem you may encounter:
*installation
*distance (and this is probably true of any OTA DTV):
I'm 35 miles form Xmitters and needed to add preamp to the antenna that came
with it to pick up weaker signals.
if your close you may encounter mutipath problems
*I had to add a second HD on secondary IDE channel to keep up with capture
(capture is mandatory)
*If you use it at the computer you'll need comfortable chair
*My 15" NEC LCD gives a very good picture but has a 450:1 contrast ratio so
brightness/contrast/gamma adjustment is sometimes needed like between day
and night scenes. Went to a 19" Samsung with 800:1 contrast last week and it
doesn't have that problem(nuisance)

alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati newsgroup and rage3d.com have threads about
it but keep in mind some of them are about older versions

HTH YMMV

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

"Robbie" <robbiex@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:421AAF52.5020005@bellsouth.net...
> I had a dismal experience with the HDTV Wonder. There were major
> software problems, receiver sensitivity is inadequate (We used an
> outside antenna with a pre-amp.), and, most important, the picture
> quality was poor compared with that when the Sharp 45" was receiving TV
> directly rather than from the PC. The PC's video card is a Crucial
> Radeon X800 and it is digitally connected to the Sharp via HDMI with a
> native resolution of 1920 x 1080. DVD content played on the PC's drive
> and displayed on the TV looks fine thus the problem is in the Wonder
> rather that the PC's video adapter or the digital connection to the
> Sharp. Others on the AVS forum have reported similar problems with the
> HDTV Wonder.
>
> Robbie

At what distance were you trying to receive from? I got 2 channels(viewable)
just from the antenna that came with it. I thought getting 5 channels just
from putting a preamp on "rabbit ears" wasn't too shabby. I'm in western
Ohio(flat). Much better reception than I get with OTA analog.
The only real problem I've had was stuttering and that's been cured on my
system.