ATI Technologies TV Wonder Pro Remote Control PCI NTSC (100-703147) | List Price: $182.84
|
Brand: ATI
Binding: Electronics
Warranty: 3 years warranty
Features: - Stereo TV for your PC
- Feature-rich Digital VCR
- Bolstered Business/Education Presentation Tool
- Wireless remote that works through walls
- Create a “TV magazine” with saved images and text from selected TV programs
Works well, the remote does need to be improved [Posted on 2005-04-05]
Compatibility:
I already have a ATI x300 PCI Express Graphics card installed on my PC. My PC detected the ATI TV Wonder on the first try. There were no conflicts or detection problems. Installation of the drivers followed, I had the software working in under 30 minutes.
The ATI TV Wonder:
I watch TV regularly, no issues with the TV signal capturing and rendering technology. The Images are clear and get 4 stars. However, the sound is piped from the TV Tuner to the onboard sound-card via the mic-input. Apart from the fact that it uses up my mic-in port, I wonder if this is an optimal solution for assuring the best sound output. There isn't an alternative setup that I can try to test out my theory. I still have to test the card for general video capture. I appreciate the ability to pre-set recordings.
Software:
The Software that came on the disk had some conflict with the ATI software that I already had on my desktop. After a little digging around, I discovered that the software I wanted to install - "ATI Control Panel", was used by both my ATI cards and that there was a newer version installed on my Desktop. This was preventing the installation of the package that came on the CD. To the best of my understanding, this was the root of the problem.
I then uninstalled all ATI software from my PC. Downloaded the latest from the ATI website, then proceeded to install them on my PC. Within minutes of downloading them, I had everything up and running.
The ATI TV application has some features worth mentioning. The Auto-Tuning is a snap, there are facilities for retrieving TV schedules over the internet. There is also a feature to help channel-surf the 125 channels at a go.
The Remote:
I have stopped using the remote since I have my cable-box tune into the various channels. However, the remote is a good add-on if your planning to use the tuner on the card. I would give the remote 3 stars, because the buttons feel and appear cheap. The layout of the remote is easy to navigate.
Overall:
The strengths of the TV Tuner card in core functionality merits 4 stars.
Junk [Posted on 2005-04-06]
This card is a complete disappointment.When I first installed this card, the video capture would not work. Everything else was fine. We had a power outage and my comp was shut down w\o saving anything. On reboot, nothing ATI worked. I also have a 9250 and there are no problems with that, but the tv tuner card refuses to work. I have spent hours on the support telephone line, and have achieved nothing but a huge phone bill.(support is NOT "free")The tech finally gave up, and hung up. The support is terrible, along with this tuner card. I suggest not to waste any money on this trash, as the software lacks quite abit, is difficult to work with, hard to understand, (except for those who are "an ATI professional" as one poster mentioned). If you love to solve problems\puzzles, and like being angry and frustrated, then this is the card for you!
Great TV Card, Terrible Customer Service [Posted on 2005-09-05]
I purchased the ATI TV Wonder Pro despite the bad reviews because I already had an ATI graphics card installed in my computer. I had been warned by IT professionals that it was best not to mix up TV cards and graphics cards from different manufacturers. If you don't already have a graphics card in your computer, consider the ATI All In Wonder which is more cost effective than buying separate TV and graphics cards.
Thanks to the advice from other reviewers on Amazon, the installation went very smoothly. I am running Windows XP Pro and I have a ATI Radeon Graphics card.
Key points about the installation. I did not use the included CD to install the TV Pro. Instead, I went to the ATI website and downloaded the newest versions of the drivers for the TV Pro. The downloaded files were executables and they installed drivers onto my computer. I also followed a link on the ATI website to get the latest version of Flash from Microsoft. I then installed the card into my computer and once I turned the computer on, XP recognized the new hardware and installed the drivers for me. I had expected to spend hours on the setup. Instead, it was incredibly easy.
One problem that I did have, however was a delay in the audio. Again thanks to another reviewer, I found that I had set up the TV Pro wrong. The TV Pro connects to your sound card through an external connection. An internal connection is possible, but ATI does not provide a cable to do so. The initial configuration of the TV Pro occurs when you first use the program. It is important that when you setup the audio connection that you choose line-in instead of microphone. If you do choose microphone, you will hear an annoying echo.
The other problem that I have had is channels being displayed in black & white rather than color. I originally had the cable connecting to my computer connected to the output from my VCR. The connection of the cables is actually key to good reception. If the connections between cables are not good and tight then bad reception and black & white images will occur. Turn off the TV Pro and the VCR and try again. Sometimes this works for me, but one channel refused to show in color. However, if I connect the computer directly to the cable and bypass the VCR, all channels come in just fine.
Lastly, don't expect any support from ATI if you do have problems. The FAQ and knowledge base are sparse at best. TV Pro has an option to run a self diagnosis and even though it is working fine, the diagnosis told me that it was missing a driver. I went to the ATI website and after a long search, I contacted ATI support for help. That was two weeks ago and I have not yet gotten a response.
In conclusion, taking some time to download the drivers before you install the card will save you a lot of the headaches described by others. The card works well and does exactly as advertised. However, I gave the card a rating of only three stars due to the poor customer support by ATI.
Good hardware, bad software and support [Posted on 2006-02-03]
ATI makes excellent hardware. That is what they do. They are not software designers. I have been having problems with their software ever since I bought the card. The newest version of their multimedia center (currently 9.13) is very buggy, and does not integrate with their online TV guide program; the best current version of their software is 9.06.1, available on their support webpage, but even this version has some problems.
I decided to find a software manufacturer that makes software for TV cards, and decided on SnapStream's Beyond TV.
ATI TV Wonder Pro [Posted on 2006-02-21]
I purchased my ATI TV Wonder Pro using a gift card I received from Best Buy. I was truly excited about being able to watch TV and record TV to my computer. I soon became quite disappointed with this product.
Upon opeining the box and before installing the PCI card I did as requested in the instructions; made sure I had latest drivers installed on my computer. I confirmed I did. I also made sure Windows XP was up to date with all patches while I was at it. I then installed the product with ease and began watching TV. After about 15 minutes the screen froze. I checked ATI's online support. Unistalled the software. Reinstalled the software. Problem remained. I checked on their web site again and submitted an online help ticket. I then upgraded the software (version 8) with version 9, which was on ATI's web site. Problem remain with new problems on top. What happens now is the product freezes, usually about 15 minutes in to viewing something, as it did before. Now the product also freezes while recording a program, which automatically stops the recording process. Plus now when I try to minimize the TV screen instead of minimizing, the program maximizes and shows all the desktop icons on top of the TV display. Maximizing does work properly in that the TV consumes the entire monitor and one can't see the desktop icons.
As for my help ticket submitted a week ago. I received one canned email message suggesting I update my drivers. So thanks to the lousy software and the lousy tech support I'm returning this turkey tonight. Now my search continues for a quality product like this that works.
Click here for more details and discount information...
|
){kind=link}