ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner: AMD and Dell Bring CableCARD to PCs
by Anand Lal Shimpi on April 3, 2007 11:37 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Vista media center also changes the way recorded shows are displayed. By default, if you have a small number of recordings, they are displayed horizontally with accompanying graphics and text:
If you've got a lot recorded, Vista media center will recommend that you reorganize your recorded shows library into a bunch of columns of text. It's not nearly as pretty, but it's necessary if you record a lot of content.
The problem with both approaches is that while Vista tells you what program you recorded, the day it aired and how long it lasted, it does not immediately tell you when the program originally aired. You have to click on the item once more in order to find out that information. This is in stark contrast to other DVR solutions that make the time the program aired far more visible, which in our opinion is a useful thing to know.
The system Dell shipped also had Blu-ray support, which appeared as an option in the media center interface. Unfortunately launching it simply brought us to a poorly made front end for PowerDVD that looked a lot like MCE 2005 and nothing like Vista's media center.
Making its return once more is the Movies section in media center. The movie guide gives you a rental store experience without actually having to pay for anything: it lists all movies that are going to be on TV in the near future.
The movies are listed according to title, not channel, which makes sense but it means that you may unfortunately get your hopes up and try to watch a movie on a channel that you don't subscribe to.
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DigitalFreak - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - link
Uh.. I don't think you understand how these things work. The only inputs on the 650 & AIW are composite and S-video. Neither is going to allow you to record anything in HD from your cable box. The HD support on the 650 is only for OTA.BPB - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - link
You know, until now I thought the AIW X1900 had YPrPb input. Man, I need to wake up!TheTerl - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - link
I was amused by the choice in movies. After all, who wouldn't want to check out "Boinking in the Dorm Room" at work? With a title like that, I'm sure it's a cinematic masterpiece.Aside from that, very interesting article.
DigitalFreak - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - link
Thing is, it may show up in the guide, but you can't actually order it... :0)WileCoyote - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - link
Only Anand can turn an article I would normally ingore into a fun and interesting read. Good stuff!MercenaryForHire - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - link
Agreed. While I have nothing but distaste for this hardware, its related metric assload of DRM tie-ins, and lack of DIY support, I enjoyed reading the review of it immensely.pjladyfox - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - link
"why on earth would you go through this when you can just rent an HD-DVR from us for $9 a month?"I think this pretty much sums up the entire system to begin with. It really does make me wonder if the unholy alliance (read: MPAA/RIAA/Cable/Telco) is making the use of CableCard-based devices more difficult than it needs to be. The number of people that were called on-site just to resolve the multiple issues is a rather telling statement that while the tech may be great it is being set up to fail in the marketplace.
And why was there no provision for HDMI input? I mean, it was designed with HDCP encryption in mind so I would have thought this would have been a no-brainer but if I had to guess I would say the unholy alliance shot that idea down real quick. -_-
DigitalFreak - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - link
Cable companies are required by the FCC to provide cable cards upon request. However, it's pretty obvious they make it as difficult as possible to get them up and running ($42.95 install fee?).tuteja1986 - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - link
I hope the person incharge of this project reads this because he needs to get up his lazy ass and start sloving these issue by getting the right dude to slove this problems. Then ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner + VISTA MCE will succeed or Hollywood could just kill DRM which would make life easier on their loyal customer.