AMD Releases ATI All-In-Wonder HD Card

 

Sunnyvale (CA) - It has been a while since ATI offered a new version of its All-in-Wonder graphics/TV tuner card combination. AMD revived the product series with the ATI All-In-Wonder HD, which replaces the still offered AiW X1900 with a faster graphics core a much improved TV tuner chip and HDTV capabilities.

I had to think a bit about the last AiW card and ATI’s struggles with HDTV at the time. Just for the record, the X1900 version was released in January 2006, a few months before the ATI’s acquisition through AMD was announced. 30 months later, there is a new generation that hopes to build on successful AiW cards and maybe not so much on the lukewarm reception the X1900 received back then.

The All-In-Wonder HD has been updated with a PCIe 2.0 interface and upgraded to deal with the high-definition era. The card is now based on the Theater Pro 650 chip (the X1900 was based on the 200 version) and supports free over-the-air HDTV playback as well as HDTV and analog TV recording.

Also included is ClearQAM, a hardware MPEG-2 encoder (as well as VC-1 and H.264 acceleration), an adaptive 3D comb filter as well as a native HDMI interface. Blu-ray can be played back in full 1080p resolution.

The graphics chip is based on the previous generation 600-series 55 nm graphics core, clocked at 725 MHz (memory: 600 MHz). AMD claims that the graphics performance of the card will beat a Radeon HD 3650 by 5 to 15% in popular games.

The MSRP of the ATI All-In-Wonder HD is $199.

  • Atlhough my AIW is old - I'm still stinging from their decision to not help us owners out when Vista came on scene. I think I'll stick with separate PCI or USB items to handle this feature - at least that way, if my computer is still running well, I can upgrade the G-Card without worrying about losing the TV aspect.
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  • cyborg28
    I also got burned by the whole not going to support vista thing... But I am a Torontonian and ATI Fanboy to the core. DO WANT!!!
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  • rick_h
    I've owned a few AIW cards, but can't recall the company ever releasing one with a mediocre video chip. I sure hope the fixed all the bugs with the theater pro 650. BTW- they could have hit the ball out of the park by offering HD Radio.
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  • velocityg4
    It says you can record HDTV. Does this mean I can finally hook up my HD cable box and record at 1080i/p through HDMI? Or is it still the regular over the air HD recording BS?

    I found one company that actually makes true HD recording cards but do not recall the name at the moment.
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  • johnbilicki
    The 3600 series uses a 128-bit memory interface, great choice if you like to blunder a rerelease!

    Vista support? Only noobs can be tricked in to thinking newer is somehow automatically better.
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  • mr roboto
    Yeah I know quite a few people who loved their AIW and were hoping for a new version, but re-releasing this card using old tech is well...stupid. If ATI would have used the 4850 as a base it could have been something special.
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  • vagetaqtd
    Still bitter that they haven't release drivers for my Remote Wonder II remote for Vista.
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  • turbolover22
    vagetaqtdStill bitter that they haven't release drivers for my Remote Wonder II remote for Vista.
    As am I that they haven't released all of the software for 64bit XP so that I can use my card.
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  • So I picked one of these up at circuit city for the bargain price of 149.99, so far it's a pretty solid card, but amd doesn't have catalysts for it online yet, and there is not a single review posted anywhere... anyone else try one out yet?
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  • I installed this card, actually, the card was the driving force behind a complete rebuild (system needed it anyway, 4 years old, no SATA, no PCI-E, heck, no USB2.0).

    Anyways, a bit disappointed as it does not "see" my cable (comcast) as being digital even though I'm a digital subscriber! Only option for cable is "Analog Cable". It does give me an option for atsc antenna, but that does not pick up any channels with the cable as the input.
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