ATI HDTV Tuner

[Stevai]

Hey guys,
Can anyone who has an ATI Wonder HDTV Tuner clarify something for me... it says "Over the Air" HDTV, which I assume is accessed via an antenna.
Now, if I have a DTV cable feed, will it be able to decode it? Prolly not, just checking before I plunk down $90.

 

[ejn74]

Do you subscribe to any HD programming?

 

[iceman7311]

i belive it will be able to but i am not 100% as i dont have a dtv cable feed. but hte card really isn't that good for the money don't buy it. it takes forever to start up and change channels. drivers are bad. not worth it imo, buy a tivo.

 

[Stevai]

Yes I do subscribe to HD programming. Basically, My PC puts me w/ my back to my TV. I have two LCD monitors, and I usually watch tv (if I want) on my 2nd monitor and use my PC on the main monitor.

I pretty much figured out what I wanted to do wouldn't work because w/ the solution I have now (2.4ghz wireless rca transmitter), I can watch things recorded on my cable box (which is also a dvr) on my 2nd monitor. If I did get the tuner to work, I wouldnt be able to ... eck ... oh well

 

[LeeJend]

Ahh, HDTV...

You will have to run through the DTV descrambler box. Then from the DTV box to your card using DVI, HDMI, Svideo, Cable (ch3), etc. Picture quality will vary depending on the quality/type/length of cable. Check what inputs the ATI Wonder and your TV both support. If they don't both support digital video inputs you are screwed. The audio also has to get input to the ATI card, don't forget that! It looks like the Wonder card only supports Svideo and Coax which chokes the HDTV quality.

ATI invented the word bloatware. My boot time and memory usage has been significantly affected by having an ATI tuner. Winfast was much less intrusive.

I have not been pleased with any of the under $100 Tuner cards I've had (2 ATI, 1 Winfast). There are some rants around here about my ATI X800XL AIW and ATI's refusal to take it back or change to a different model when I proved it's ch 3 reception was substandard. They did make a change to their drivers that improved quality but it still is unacceptable even with an external signal amplifier.

Now the really bad news. If you plan to record the HDTV signal be warned - ATI supports all the media protection protocols. You might be able to record right now because broadcast transmissions are not locked out from recording, that can change any day. It is just a matter of activating a signal embedded in the HD data stream. The media companies are waiting for market penetration of HDTV to reach a critical point and then they will lock out recording to protect their copyrights.

PPS Put a mirror on the wall over the PC...

 

[drz01]

Hey guys,
Can anyone who has an ATI Wonder HDTV Tuner clarify something for me... it says "Over the Air" HDTV, which I assume is accessed via an antenna.
Now, if I have a DTV cable feed, will it be able to decode it? Prolly not, just checking before I plunk down $90. [/quote]

Simple answer NO. This is a tuner only and only OTA via antenna.

Check this page out about not being able to decode cable or satellite HDTV signal

http://www.ati.com/products/hdtvwonder/specs.html

 

[iceman7311]

Now the really bad news. If you plan to record the HDTV signal be warned - ATI supports all the media protection protocols. You might be able to record right now because broadcast transmissions are not locked out from recording, that can change any day. It is just a matter of activating a signal embedded in the HD data stream. The media companies are waiting for market penetration of HDTV to reach a critical point and then they will lock out recording to protect their copyrights.

PPS Put a mirror on the wall over the PC...

would that include getting a dvr form your local tv company?

 

[lynchknot]

I have the ADS Tech Instant HDTV PCI card and it's a POS. It worked for a month. Warning: stay away from this card. Customer service will pass the buck to software and software will say it's a hardware issue.

 

[Stevai]

Ok, thanks all. Basically, I used to use my PC alot more (WoW, EQ2, etc), so I would have my TV display on my 2nd monitor while playing via a 2.4GHz transmitter (not HD, but I didnt mind cuz it wasnt my main focus).

Unfortunately, that interferes w/ my new wireless router... I'm sure I can find a channel they dont interfere with, but...like I said, after thinking about the usage it'd get ... it's just not worth it.

I liked being able to watch the recorded shows on my cable box DVR, which I couldnt do unless I ran it off the cable box ... which is fine, I could put my cable box by my PC, but then I need to run the a/v cables across to the TV lol, so... not worth it =)