AMD/ATI resurrects All-In-Wonder

[Dr Mordrid]

AIW-HD


AIW Daughter Card


Link....

AMD Revives All-In-Wonder Video Card Line

All-In-Wonder HD can record unprotected cable programs and HDTV over-the-air shows

ATI announced today an all-new ATI All-In-Wonder HD video card that promises Radeon gaming performance combined with ATI TV Wonder HD tuning in one PCIe card. ATI says that the one All-In-Wonder HD solution will allow for PC gaming as well as tuning and recording of digital HDTV and analog TV programming.

The ATI All-In-Wonder HD can play full 1080p films from Blu-ray discs using the ATI unified video decoder. The video card is AMD LIVE! Ready and is certified for Windows Vista. The video acceleration and recording functionality for the card is powered by ATI Theater 650 Pro hardware MPEG-2 encoding technology. On the gaming side the card supports DirectX 10.1 and fully supports PCI Express 2.0.

Bundled with the card is the ATI Catalyst Media Center software that allows for easy viewing and recording of live TV programming from over-the-air HD broadcasts and unprotected cable streams. The card also features built-in support for Dolby 5.1 Digital surround sound sent through an integrated HDMI port and a dual-link DVI port is integrated as well.

Techgage reports that the GPU is based on the older RV635 PRO technology used in the HD 3650. Clock speed for the GPU is 725MHz and the memory clock is 600MHz. A small daughter card connects to the main video card by way of a cable and secures in a PCI slot on the case, but doesn’t actually connect to the PCI bus of the mainboard. When added the daughter card allows for S-Video, stereo in and out and component video.

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

This is the first new ATI All-In-Wonder card we have seen in a long time. The All-In-Wonder line was killed off back in 2006.

[Hulk]

Saw this a few days ago. I think I'm going to give it a try once it hits the market.

The big question for me is if it will pass multichannel bitstream audio for HTPC use.

[wkulecz]

Doc, you selling the NObama'08 bumper stickers

I want one!

--wally.

[KRSESQ]

Saw this a few days ago. I think I'm going to give it a try once it hits the market.

Be forewarned, the Catalyst Media Center software is the biggest pile of junk I've ever encountered. Buggy and unstable as hell. Like early beta stage software that got pushed into production way too early.

Kevin

[Hulk]

Perhaps I shall wait...

[Belwarrior]

hmm.. seems like their drivers are getting better now.. of course i'll see if i can use other software than the CMC. but i hope they release a version based on HD 4850.

[traveller]

Be forewarned, the Catalyst Media Center software is the biggest pile of junk I've ever encountered. Buggy and unstable as hell. Like early beta stage software that got pushed into production way too early.

Kevin

Yeah, anyway it is not needed to be installed. Display drivers are enough.

[KRSESQ]

Yeah. Unfortunately I haven't yet found a satisfactory replacement program for the Catalyst Media Center. I've tried a lot of them: BeyondTV, ChrisTV, Sage, GBPVR, Myth, and a few others whose names I've forgotten and none of them do it for me. Maze-like setup screens, inscrutable settings, limited customizability, are all frustrating common features.

ALL I WANT is a SIMPLE TV interface with good, old-fashioned drop-down menus which allow me to select my MPEG capture settings, select or create a destination folder, and then simply hit the record button and start recording without having to go through a bunch of scheduling rigamarole or navigate through a labyrith of setup screens.

DAMMIT, I WANT VIDEOTOOLS 1.52!

If I knew any programming I'd build the damned thing myself!

Kevin