HDTV Wonder Discussion
- Thread starter Sulik
- Start date
I have done so.
Very good package for those who want a all-in-one solution.
The J. River Product works fine with both the analog and digital sections of the ATI HDTV WONDER card.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=520786
Greg
Very good package for those who want a all-in-one solution.
The J. River Product works fine with both the analog and digital sections of the ATI HDTV WONDER card.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=520786
Greg
ttriplett said:
ArcCoyote
New member
We need better HDTV Wonder drivers.
We need better HDTV Wonder drivers.
I wonder when we're going to see some newer HDTV wonder drivers? The T550P is being actively updated, and it doesn't even have any major issues. Unfortunately, the HDTV Wonder seems to be plagued with them. It's been almost 4 months since we've seen a driver!
All MMC DTV issues aside, this card doesn't work 100% in MCE either. After about 10-15 minutes of DTV viewing, I'll start to get dropouts: Constant one-second stalls in the audio and video for a few minutes and then it just goes away. The nVidia decoder bitrate monitor shows the bitrate is falling to zero when this happens.
I might get one or two blips in an hour-long show, or it might be completely unwatchable after the first few minutes. Unfortunately it's ususally more the latter than the former. It doesn't seem to matter what I'm doing with the computer at the same time: other tasks' CPU and disk usage just doesn't affect this for better or worse.
It seems as if the HDTV Wonder is actually losing the tuning lock or having problems with keeping the data stream going: If I change DTV stations and change back, it will go away immediately but come back after a couple of minutes. If I switch to an analog station or close MCE to shut down the HDTV Wonder, and then switch back to DTV, it goes away for a bit longer, but still comes back. As far as I can tell the HDTV Wonder has plenty of ventilation top and bottom, I'm sure it's not overheating.
It might be signal strength, but it happens on every station and MCE is showing green (5 or 6 bars) for every station. Usually a weak signal causes longer dropouts, and when the stutters start, no amount of antenna fiddling will stop them. FWIW, the HDTV Wonder has absolutely horrible performance with weaker signals: I get nothing at all when the DTV signal is below 90% (or 3-4 bars in MCE)!
Is anyone using this card in MCE with the drivers from Windows Update? Those are the only set I haven't tried, and I think they are the same as the ATI v2026 drivers anyway.
We need better HDTV Wonder drivers.
I wonder when we're going to see some newer HDTV wonder drivers? The T550P is being actively updated, and it doesn't even have any major issues. Unfortunately, the HDTV Wonder seems to be plagued with them. It's been almost 4 months since we've seen a driver!
All MMC DTV issues aside, this card doesn't work 100% in MCE either. After about 10-15 minutes of DTV viewing, I'll start to get dropouts: Constant one-second stalls in the audio and video for a few minutes and then it just goes away. The nVidia decoder bitrate monitor shows the bitrate is falling to zero when this happens.
I might get one or two blips in an hour-long show, or it might be completely unwatchable after the first few minutes. Unfortunately it's ususally more the latter than the former. It doesn't seem to matter what I'm doing with the computer at the same time: other tasks' CPU and disk usage just doesn't affect this for better or worse.
It seems as if the HDTV Wonder is actually losing the tuning lock or having problems with keeping the data stream going: If I change DTV stations and change back, it will go away immediately but come back after a couple of minutes. If I switch to an analog station or close MCE to shut down the HDTV Wonder, and then switch back to DTV, it goes away for a bit longer, but still comes back. As far as I can tell the HDTV Wonder has plenty of ventilation top and bottom, I'm sure it's not overheating.
It might be signal strength, but it happens on every station and MCE is showing green (5 or 6 bars) for every station. Usually a weak signal causes longer dropouts, and when the stutters start, no amount of antenna fiddling will stop them. FWIW, the HDTV Wonder has absolutely horrible performance with weaker signals: I get nothing at all when the DTV signal is below 90% (or 3-4 bars in MCE)!
Is anyone using this card in MCE with the drivers from Windows Update? Those are the only set I haven't tried, and I think they are the same as the ATI v2026 drivers anyway.
Last edited:
SVideo input qualty check? Hey guys I bought a pvr150 card but during motion it hurts my eyes. check out ticker on CNBC compared to regular tv set.
So i need new card and the HDTV Wonder will be it if it does a good job with motion and svideo. Try 120hz refresh or 60 on lcd when viewing motion.
Also can you sharpen up the picture well? Had to do registry edits and more to get full potential out of the 150. Sharp till something moves, then worse then poor lcd monitor.
Svideo and motion good?
Thanks
Ed
So i need new card and the HDTV Wonder will be it if it does a good job with motion and svideo. Try 120hz refresh or 60 on lcd when viewing motion.
Also can you sharpen up the picture well? Had to do registry edits and more to get full potential out of the 150. Sharp till something moves, then worse then poor lcd monitor.
Svideo and motion good?
Thanks
Ed
im trying to get my directv box to work through the svideo useing MCE but it tells me I need IR hardware to be able to change channels. Does anyone know a way to not use IR hardware and just have svideo come out of the box reciever right to the ati wonder card? When I set up signal in settings useing mce it gets a signal through svideo and sets up untill i get to the point where it asks to install IR hardware to be able to change channel. If I dont have this hardware it wont let me continue setup. Is there a way around this? I just want to be able to record my shows when im not home. Thanks.
doubledeucelaw
New member
16:9 HD recording exports in 4:3
16:9 HD recording exports in 4:3
Just upgraded to MMC 9.08. Tried to export an HD program (720p) in DVD high format (using default settings) - resulting video aspect was in 4:3, not 16:9. Worked just fine in MMC 9.06 but I don't want to lose my .vcr files by unintall / reinstall. Anybody got advice for the 9.08 problem or a work around?
16:9 HD recording exports in 4:3
Just upgraded to MMC 9.08. Tried to export an HD program (720p) in DVD high format (using default settings) - resulting video aspect was in 4:3, not 16:9. Worked just fine in MMC 9.06 but I don't want to lose my .vcr files by unintall / reinstall. Anybody got advice for the 9.08 problem or a work around?
Last edited:
You are correct.
When taking ATI HDTV 720P or 1080i content and converting it to DVD-HIGH format the output is 4:3. Really we should be able to select from 16:9, 4:3 or automatic.
So what are we to do.
I know... let's let Nero do it.
We are going to use Nero to burn the movie anyway!
Nero 6 is used for this example with NeroVision 3.0
Nero saves the day
Click on thumbnail for full view
Picture frame #1 shows what we know. 720P in 4:3 out.
Picture frame #2 shows how we export 720P to MPEG2-HD format.
Picture frame #3 shows the file information for our exported file (GSPOT)
Picture frame #4 shows how to import the MPEG2-HD file into Nero's NeroVision program.
Picture frame #5 and #6 shows that our target will be 720x480 (16:9) when using the automatic settings.
Picture frame #7 shows the actual exporting taking place.
Picture frame #8 shows that (GSPOT) likes our new video. 720x480 (16:9) format was maintained.
You can now burn your new image with Nero directly to DVD using the DVD video mode.
Yes it would be good if ATI added more control over the exported video.
But with Nero I can't complain. We can add bookmarks and other features with Nero so it makes up for what the ATI software can't do well.
Direct Link to Image
http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/3285/dvd4sy.jpg
Greg
When taking ATI HDTV 720P or 1080i content and converting it to DVD-HIGH format the output is 4:3. Really we should be able to select from 16:9, 4:3 or automatic.
So what are we to do.
I know... let's let Nero do it.
We are going to use Nero to burn the movie anyway!
Nero 6 is used for this example with NeroVision 3.0
Nero saves the day
Click on thumbnail for full view
Picture frame #1 shows what we know. 720P in 4:3 out.
Picture frame #2 shows how we export 720P to MPEG2-HD format.
Picture frame #3 shows the file information for our exported file (GSPOT)
Picture frame #4 shows how to import the MPEG2-HD file into Nero's NeroVision program.
Picture frame #5 and #6 shows that our target will be 720x480 (16:9) when using the automatic settings.
Picture frame #7 shows the actual exporting taking place.
Picture frame #8 shows that (GSPOT) likes our new video. 720x480 (16:9) format was maintained.
You can now burn your new image with Nero directly to DVD using the DVD video mode.
Yes it would be good if ATI added more control over the exported video.
But with Nero I can't complain. We can add bookmarks and other features with Nero so it makes up for what the ATI software can't do well.
Direct Link to Image
http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/3285/dvd4sy.jpg
Greg
doubledeucelaw said:
ArcCoyote
New member
Nero and HD content
Nero and HD content
My experience with Nerovision Express 3 and HD content has been different as of late.
NVE 3.1.0.16 (the latest) seems to have a problem with 720p and 1080i MPEG-2. I'm using MPEG-2 exported from DVR-MS, but because it is an ATSC transport stream it should be the same regardless of the source. I can't do anything with HD in Nero. Trying to edit hangs or gives audio but no video. Exporting and burning fails. The Nerovision log indicates unknown audio and video formats. Strangely enough, it will still detect scenes and make tumbnails, so I know it can decode the streams.
I have both the ATI/Cyberlink and Nvidia Purevideo MPEG-2 decoders and have tried with each and both installed.
The problem is in Nero. Previous versions of NVE (3.1.0.7 i think was the last good one) worked fine with HD MPEG2 and even HD DVR-MS. The last version of Nero I remember working with HD had a bug where it would often crash when you imported DVR-MS. When they fixed that, they completely broke HD.
It's been two months since an update to Nero. Despite what Ahead has stated, there will be probably be no more free updates to Nero 6 or NVE 3. Get ready to shell out for Nero 7 if you want this fixed.
Nero and HD content
My experience with Nerovision Express 3 and HD content has been different as of late.
NVE 3.1.0.16 (the latest) seems to have a problem with 720p and 1080i MPEG-2. I'm using MPEG-2 exported from DVR-MS, but because it is an ATSC transport stream it should be the same regardless of the source. I can't do anything with HD in Nero. Trying to edit hangs or gives audio but no video. Exporting and burning fails. The Nerovision log indicates unknown audio and video formats. Strangely enough, it will still detect scenes and make tumbnails, so I know it can decode the streams.
I have both the ATI/Cyberlink and Nvidia Purevideo MPEG-2 decoders and have tried with each and both installed.
The problem is in Nero. Previous versions of NVE (3.1.0.7 i think was the last good one) worked fine with HD MPEG2 and even HD DVR-MS. The last version of Nero I remember working with HD had a bug where it would often crash when you imported DVR-MS. When they fixed that, they completely broke HD.
It's been two months since an update to Nero. Despite what Ahead has stated, there will be probably be no more free updates to Nero 6 or NVE 3. Get ready to shell out for Nero 7 if you want this fixed.
Last edited:
Not good to hear this. My NeroVision is 3.0.1.34.
Was not that long ago that I download it.
ummm
I do wonder if problems with Nero you are having could also be a prefered filter issue. If so then GSPOT can fix this.
All I know is the version I have right now of Nero is working great for me.
I am not sure if I want to update Nero for a long while now!
Greg
Was not that long ago that I download it.
ummm
I do wonder if problems with Nero you are having could also be a prefered filter issue. If so then GSPOT can fix this.
All I know is the version I have right now of Nero is working great for me.
I am not sure if I want to update Nero for a long while now!
Greg
ArcCoyote said:
Installing HDTV on machine with AIW 9600XT
Installing HDTV on machine with AIW 9600XT
I have an AIW 9600XT using MMC 9.06 and I want to install the HDTV on the machine. I don't want to install any software that will conflict with my AIW. Do I just folow the instructions and install all the software on the cd or just what is needed for the HDTV. I already have the TV remote Wonder 2 installed as well. Will it work with both cards and how do I choose which one to work with?
Bobs
Installing HDTV on machine with AIW 9600XT
I have an AIW 9600XT using MMC 9.06 and I want to install the HDTV on the machine. I don't want to install any software that will conflict with my AIW. Do I just folow the instructions and install all the software on the cd or just what is needed for the HDTV. I already have the TV remote Wonder 2 installed as well. Will it work with both cards and how do I choose which one to work with?
Bobs
Andrew 1961
New member
Simply install the latest HDTV drivers from ATI's site, THEN the card and you'll be set! After you power up, WinXP will detect the new hardware -- be ready to BROWSE and point to the driver in case WinXP doesn't. The RW operated with MMC... TV and DTV are applications under MMC. In the MMC configuration you'll have to select one or the other NTSC tuners for the TV application. IF you pick the HDTV-Wonder's tuner then the FM Tuner on the 9600XT will not operate. Your choice, but I feel using the HDTVW's NTSC tuner is a cleaner interface to the s/w -- but either will work and the FM Tuner works if you select the AIW's tuner. OH, and the PIP feature does NOT work under MMC -- apparently they don't recognize this combination. Seems you have to use one of their PCI tuners to integrate with the HDTV-Wonder for PIP.
ONE more thing... you will need the Sonic something-or-another from the hardware CD to get the MLibrary's Export feature to work.
ONE more thing... you will need the Sonic something-or-another from the hardware CD to get the MLibrary's Export feature to work.
ArcCoyote
New member
Nero 7 is also broken
Nero 7 is also broken
Well, I tried Nero 7. No go. "Nero Vision 4" has the same bugs as Nero 6's NVE 3.1.0.16, and in fact refers to itself "Nerovision Express 3" everywhere but on the initial splash screen!
I found Nerovision 3.1.0.0d on a site and tried that. It works with ATSC, and has DD5.1 processing (w/ the multichannel plugin)
Nero 7 is also broken
grog said:
Well, I tried Nero 7. No go. "Nero Vision 4" has the same bugs as Nero 6's NVE 3.1.0.16, and in fact refers to itself "Nerovision Express 3" everywhere but on the initial splash screen!
I found Nerovision 3.1.0.0d on a site and tried that. It works with ATSC, and has DD5.1 processing (w/ the multichannel plugin)
I've seen the blackout bug mentioned a few times in this thread. What exactly is it? I think I may be experiencing it. Regardless of the signal strength or channel occasionally the video will go blank briefly and when it returns the channel and video format indicator comes up.
I've got an open help ticket at ATI for my audio clicking/stuttering problem where I also mentioned this. They blame it on signal irregularities. In the course of failing to fix the audio stuttering I've tried MMC 9.04 (from my HDTV wonder CD), 9.06, and 9.08 all with the latest driver from June and decoder from May. I also tried 9.03 but DTV wouldn't start. It just gives me the cannot start message.
I'm willing to try any ideas to fix either of these problems.
I've got an open help ticket at ATI for my audio clicking/stuttering problem where I also mentioned this. They blame it on signal irregularities. In the course of failing to fix the audio stuttering I've tried MMC 9.04 (from my HDTV wonder CD), 9.06, and 9.08 all with the latest driver from June and decoder from May. I also tried 9.03 but DTV wouldn't start. It just gives me the cannot start message.
I'm willing to try any ideas to fix either of these problems.
jmscott42
New member
That would be it. As far as I can tell, the only 'fix' is to use WatchHDTV; which is an excellent app, but has a bit of a learning curve. It's quite powerful and the user interface is a bit quirky, but it'll do almost everything the ATI MMC will do, and better (only very, very VERY occasional hiccoughs and those are usually signal related)
ATI will basically tell you there's no such thing as a blackout bug; they apparently are the only people with computers that DON'T experience it. :/
ATI will basically tell you there's no such thing as a blackout bug; they apparently are the only people with computers that DON'T experience it. :/
AIWNow said:
I've been using WatchHDTV 1.6 and recently upgraded to 1.8. It works great but the UI is just not as nice for operating while sitting on the couch.
I have hopes that the next version of Media Portal will work well with the HDTV Wonder. It suposed to be full featured like MCE.
I have hopes that the next version of Media Portal will work well with the HDTV Wonder. It suposed to be full featured like MCE.
Windows Media Encoder and the HDTV Wonder analog...
Windows Media Encoder and the HDTV Wonder analog...
Hi...
Has anyone ever gotten audio capture to work properly when using the analog video input on the HDTV Wonder and WME ( or any other audio/video capture app)?
With WME, you have the option to choose the "ATI DTV Analog Capture Device" for the video... but the only option I ever see for audio capture is my sound card ports. In ATI's other TV cards this is not usually a problem as there's a dongle to output sound from the TV card into the sound cards input... but with the HDTV Wonder the audio is instead sent over the PCI bus.
Is there any audio capture device driver I'm missing? Or is everyone using WME and thier HDTV Wonder just going without sound?
Any help would be appreciated... thanks!
Windows Media Encoder and the HDTV Wonder analog...
Hi...
Has anyone ever gotten audio capture to work properly when using the analog video input on the HDTV Wonder and WME ( or any other audio/video capture app)?
With WME, you have the option to choose the "ATI DTV Analog Capture Device" for the video... but the only option I ever see for audio capture is my sound card ports. In ATI's other TV cards this is not usually a problem as there's a dongle to output sound from the TV card into the sound cards input... but with the HDTV Wonder the audio is instead sent over the PCI bus.
Is there any audio capture device driver I'm missing? Or is everyone using WME and thier HDTV Wonder just going without sound?
Any help would be appreciated... thanks!
You can always use MMC/TV+ application for analog TV from the HDTV Wonder. Just need to make sure the default capture device in the MMC configuration is set to HDTV Analog Wonder.
If you look at the GraphEdit page you could build you own graphs to record. But as you may have noticed many applications do not understand how to do it. Now the program J. River Media Center will record correctly but it will cost you for the program.
http://www.jrmediacenter.com/
Now that I said that let me show you how you can record with Windows Media Encoder using the ATI HDTV WONDER Analog side. I know.. I just said it won't work.. Well no I did not.. it will work but not fully.
You can not record from the ATI HDTV WONDER Analog TV-Tuner and get sound with Windows Media Encoder....
BUT... you can record from S-VIDEO or Composite on the ATI HDTV WONDER card and get sound.
Simply connect your audio source to your sound card. In my case I set the video source to S-VIDEO and the sound to analog/mix.
Here is a few seconds of FOXNews recorded with the ATI HDTV WONDER card using Windows Media Encoder.
Please allow time for video to load!
Click here to watch HDTV-WONDER---Analog-Test
So yes it can work...but.. MMC/TV is better at doing it.
Still if you want to broadcast live TV feed it may be worth knowing that it can work. Just no analog tuner path for this setup...
Greg
If you look at the GraphEdit page you could build you own graphs to record. But as you may have noticed many applications do not understand how to do it. Now the program J. River Media Center will record correctly but it will cost you for the program.
http://www.jrmediacenter.com/
Now that I said that let me show you how you can record with Windows Media Encoder using the ATI HDTV WONDER Analog side. I know.. I just said it won't work.. Well no I did not.. it will work but not fully.
You can not record from the ATI HDTV WONDER Analog TV-Tuner and get sound with Windows Media Encoder....
BUT... you can record from S-VIDEO or Composite on the ATI HDTV WONDER card and get sound.
Simply connect your audio source to your sound card. In my case I set the video source to S-VIDEO and the sound to analog/mix.
Here is a few seconds of FOXNews recorded with the ATI HDTV WONDER card using Windows Media Encoder.
Please allow time for video to load!
Click here to watch HDTV-WONDER---Analog-Test
So yes it can work...but.. MMC/TV is better at doing it.
Still if you want to broadcast live TV feed it may be worth knowing that it can work. Just no analog tuner path for this setup...
Greg
sohr said:
grog said:
Thanks... that's pretty much what I figured.
There are a lot of solutions out there to capture and record-- even the ATI MMC does a good job of this.
But I was looking to use WME to broadcast a live TV feed, as it appears to be one of the better solutions (Eazyshare doesn't work on XP SP2 and all clients need a Radeon card). My goal is to be able to watch TV (at home) from my laptop when I'm on the road.
I knew I could hook a video input into the S-video in... but then I would need an external video tuner box... not that big of a deal. But changing the channel remotely would be difficult-- I'd probably have to get some sort of IR setup.
Using graphedit I can get video and audio from HDTV Wonder analog (of course, using some the charts you've posted here as reference)...
Just curious... is there some reason why WME (and nearly every other video capture/streaming apps) don't show the HDTV Wonder Analog Audio Capture device? It obviously is an available capture device (as it shows up in Graphedit)... is it bad coding on WME's part? Heck, even the TV plugin for Winamp can find and use both the video and audio portion of the HDTV Wonder Analog device....
With all that said... does anyone know of perhaps another AV streaming app that supports the HDTV Wonder analog device?
Thanks!
I
AHeights said:Thanks for the help, I've figured out the problem.QUOTE]
Care to share the solution?
I searched this whole thread but still can't find a solution.
Problem: When I click the TV tab, I would get the tv splash screen but then it would open the video player (no error message).
system: winxp pro, ati x850 pro,1gig ram, latest drivers.
Any help please, before i ship this wonder back.
Last edited: