AMD smells a comeback with ATI All-in-Wonder HD

And you thought Microsoft bringing back the SideWinder was gnarly. Announced today, AMD is resurrecting the long-standing AIW line with its first-ever high-definition variant: the $199 ATI All-in-Wonder HD. The PCI Express 2.0 card attempts to handle both PC gaming and HDTV duties by boasting specs like DirectX 10.1 support, a 725MHz engine clock, 600MHz memory clock and MPEG2 / VC-1 / H.264 video decoder acceleration. You'll also find Vista and AMD LIVE! certification badges to go along with the dual-link DVI port, HDMI jack (which supports 5.1 Dolby Digital transmission) and optional component video connectivity. As expected, users can capture live programs (as well as pause / rewind) in SD or HD over-the-air, and there's even support for ClearQAM. For those looking to take their clips elsewhere, the bundled Avivo software converts it for viewing on some of today's most popular handhelds (yes, including the iPod). Look for models from Diamond Multimedia and VisionTek to hit retailers in North America late next month. Full release after the jump.

Gallery: AMD smells a comeback with ATI All-in-Wonder HD

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AMD Expands The Ultimate Visual Experience™ Combining Exceptional HD Graphics, HDTV, and HD Video for PCs
One-of-a-kind ATI All-In-Wonder™ HD takes the home theater PC to new levels of TV enjoyment and graphics quality

Sunnyvale, Calif. - June 26 , 2008 -AMD (NYSE: AMD) today expanded The Ultimate Visual Experience™ for North America with the ATI All-In-Wonder™ HD, combining award-winning ATI Radeon™ Premium graphics and ATI TV Wonder™ HD tuner technology card in one PCI Express® 2.0 solution. As the newest multimedia powerhouse to join the long line of All-In-Wonder offerings, ATI All-in-Wonder HD transforms the PC into a highly immersive digital video recorder for HDTV and analog TV, plus expands the realm of exceptional gaming with cinematic HD graphics for mainstream PCs. Blu-ray™ disc playback can be enjoyed in full HD glory (1080p) thanks to ATI All-in-Wonder HD's unified video decoder (UVD) technology, ensuring movies play back smoothly and with incredible detail2.

AMD LIVE!™ Ready and Certified for Windows Vista®, ATI All-In-Wonder HD has a manufacturers suggested retail price (MSRP) of $199, includes capabilities to watch and record free-to-air HDTV, unencrypted digital cable programming3, and superb analog TV reception powered by ATI Theater™ 650 Pro hardware MPEG-2 encoding technology. All-In-Wonder HD merges the best of the ATI TV Wonder™ product line with ATI Radeon Premium Graphics to deliver The Ultimate Visual Experience.

"Never before has this level of HDTV and graphics performance been seen in an all-in-one PC multimedia solution," said Matt Skynner, vice president of marketing, Graphics Products Group, AMD. "The award-winning ATI All-In-Wonder lineage is built on long-standing leadership in TV and video on the PC. For the hundreds of thousands of owners of previous ATI All-In-Wonder models and for those hungry to realize the full potential of their PC, we're excited and proud to introduce the newest addition to AMD's PCTV product family."

ATI All-in-Wonder HD prepares you for brilliant TV, sharp images and smooth playback on a wide variety of HDTVs and displays. With support for Microsoft DirectX® 10.1, gamers can play the top HD games with life-like 3D graphics, stunning realism, and great shading effects. Full support for PCI Express 2.0 technology allows for twice the throughput of current PCI Express 1.0 cards, which means gamers will be ready for demanding graphic applications.

ATI All-in-Wonder HD further expands TV viewing capabilities with support for Windows® Media Center bundled with Windows Vista® Home Premium and Windows Vista® Ultimate editions, as well as Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005. The ATI All-in-Wonder HD complements media-rich AMD LIVE! PCs.

Featured with ATI All-in-Wonder HD is ATI Catalyst Media Center™ software that provides an easy path to view TV programs in a variety of entertainment environments and mobile video devices. Recorded TV programs and home videos can be quickly converted into the most popular formats for viewing video on portable media devices4. Digitize and preserve priceless moments and start building your video library. ATI Catalyst Media Center software includes a scalable TV interface with integrated TV programming info, DVD video authoring and movie playback, and video conversion technologies5. A second bundled AMD LIVE!™ Entertainment Suite CD includes AMD LIVE!™ On Demand to access the DVR from any computer with broadband connectivity and AMD LIVE!™ Explorer that provides an immersive way of managing and interacting with your entertainment library. Explore your complete digital collections of music, photos, and videos in a single window, in full 3D6.

With Home Theater environments in mind, ATI All-in-Wonder HD provides expanded connectivity with built-in support for six channel (5.1) Dolby Digital® surround audio transmission through HDMI, native dual-link DVI-I for high resolution panels, and optional component video connectivity.


Available through Diamond Multimedia and VisionTek at leading computer retailers and etailers across North America by late July, ATI All-In-Wonder HD is designed to take home theater PCs to the next level of multimedia performance.

About AMD
Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is a leading global provider of innovative processing solutions in the computing, graphics and consumer electronics markets. AMD is dedicated to driving open innovation, choice and industry growth by delivering superior customer-centric solutions that empower consumers and businesses worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.amd.com.

[SneAKz @ Jun 26th 2008 12:09AM]

What card is it based off of? Looks like it could be the HD 3650.

[JohnTitor @ Jun 26th 2008 12:42AM]

most likely, its not a bad mainstream card, but when I saw the headline in my thunderbird I so thought it was a 4850, as if the standard version wasn't killer enough...

[OneLove @ Jun 26th 2008 11:10AM]

i actually thought it was a motherboard with a giant built in video card.

[HomiesOverHoes @ Jun 26th 2008 12:11AM]

And it will stay empty as this bad boy is only for PC's.

[maveric101 @ Jun 26th 2008 2:30PM]

btw, it's "bro's before hoes"

[Jeremy K. @ Jun 26th 2008 12:17AM]

I wish we could block users. I've had enough of clak's comments.

[z0phi3l @ Jun 26th 2008 12:21AM]

Now make something like this that can handle Comcast Cable broadcasts, and I just might give ATI another shot

[Richard Pound @ Jun 26th 2008 12:23AM]

Finally.
Too bad it doesn't with video in port and cables like how my X800 AIW did.

[michael.dekmetzian @ Jun 26th 2008 1:20AM]

Yeah, it does. Check the daughterboard.

[Alex Keen @ Jun 26th 2008 12:25AM]

This is exactly what ATI needed. I remember my old all in wonder card and I loved it. This might make me stay with ATI, as I was thinking it was time to switch

[pathogen @ Jun 26th 2008 12:32AM]

probably still doesn't work in VMC

[pathogen @ Jun 26th 2008 12:34AM]

And yes, I know it says it does but they also said that about previous cards. And lets not forget the shaders debacle.

[ethana2 @ Jun 26th 2008 12:42AM]

I think it's best to keep such things discrete... but whatever.

Go AMD! Crush nVidia and their undocumented hardware with proprietary drivers!

[Ghen @ Jun 26th 2008 7:29AM]

So proprietary that Omegadrivers.net makes better ones?

[ethana2 @ Jun 26th 2008 12:46AM]

You're in luck! Because macs are just pc's now, you can slap windows or ubuntu on that sucker and enjoy all the goodness of AMD's latest AIW offering!

I'm afraid however, that OSX, well, just can't handle it. But hey, what else is new?

[scott @ Jun 26th 2008 12:57AM]

@Abuzar,

you also sell cars?


or is it your dad's ebay account that you happen to sell off of?

[tumnasgt @ Jun 26th 2008 1:05AM]

If it supports DVB-T MPEG4 (damn New Zealand TV), I'll buy 2.

[Ferfinand @ Jun 26th 2008 1:05AM]

I think it is very telling that they do not mention what GPU core.

I would like a AIw type card that has 4850, but this clearly does not otherwise AMD might have been loud about it.

[Spyvie @ Jun 26th 2008 2:01AM]

They'll probably come out with a "Pro" model eventually.

They did before...

[El Taco @ Jun 26th 2008 1:10AM]

I'm likeing the flames. Too bad it's is inside the computer, where you can't see it

[sparknotes @ Jun 26th 2008 1:11AM]

is anyone else tired of this flirting between clak and abuzar?

[ByronGman @ Jun 26th 2008 1:14AM]

@ Clak

"as long as you boot in Windows using boot camp to play your games"


Heh heh, Clak you must feel like a pretty big whore having Windows on your Mac.

Funny how you need to use Windows to play all those games "on a Mac".

Wait, doesn't that just make a Mac a PC?

Oh right, it does. Haha.

The funniest thing about Clak is that he still has to use Windows to do all these awesome things!

[RichardBronosky @ Jun 26th 2008 1:51AM]

Is anyone else noticing how HD is somehow vicariously a MSFT product? In order to do HD on a MythTV, you need an insane amount of CPU power, because your GPU and all of its hardware decoders are basically worthless. The end user experience for home media is terrible, and it will remain that way as long as this insane "treat your customers like criminals" business model continues.

[Blanka @ Jun 26th 2008 1:54AM]

What is the UVD? Does that mean it tunes DVB-C, DBV-T, DVB-S, ATS and crappy goo-ol analog cable?

[futurepastnow @ Jun 26th 2008 2:03AM]

This is the test, now we find out just how committed AMD is to Linux support on its video cards, or if they're all talk. The old AIW Radeons don't work at all on Linux.

It's probably a 3650, not a bad GPU for an home theater.

[Schwinn @ Jun 26th 2008 8:29AM]

Yeah, does anyone know if this will work on Linux... or more importantly, MythTV?

[Bufsabre @ Jun 26th 2008 2:06AM]

since ati's new commitment to linux does that mean this will have linux capabilities? if its linux capable i will order one NOW

[ethana2 @ Jun 26th 2008 11:36AM]

Yes. And eventually we won't even need their drivers, because they give us specs to write our own.

[Haikibutsu @ Jun 26th 2008 2:10AM]

HEY CLAK

I knew it.

Remember during the Dell E thread.

You said that if anyone says "Windows superiority is a superstition and Bill Gates is a false prophet.", you would leave engadget, forever?

Well, instead, you tueed abu-whatever's thing around and used it against everyone.

You ass. Not just do you suck at life, you also are a stinky little weasel doing that.

If anyone wants the proof: http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/12/dell-e-and-e-slim-revealed-taking-on-eee-and-air-in-one-fell-sw/

[snotvoid @ Jun 26th 2008 2:11AM]

I'm interested to know if this is compatible with the new hybrid crossfire, or even crossfire at all. All I could find was this http://forums.overclockersclub.com/?showtopic=81778 which is this article with a couple of comments asking the same thing I am. AMD's site doesn't even acknowledge the existence of this card yet.

[JMonkeYJ @ Jun 26th 2008 2:41AM]

any word on if it will support crossfire? that would make it very interesting, indeed.

[Jeremy K. @ Jun 26th 2008 3:38AM]

signs point to no

[Zorque @ Jun 26th 2008 2:43AM]

I think I may have just found the card I'm going to build my PC with.
... or one of them, at least.

[mexican_dragons @ Jun 26th 2008 3:55AM]

I'm not really a fanboy of either apple or MS, i like both OS's, i have a MBA and a hackintosh that runs windows aswell. but Goddamnit clak you are so annoying! just STFU! Abuzar, ur comments made me laugh... engadgetfight.com will be next...

[ethana2 @ Jun 26th 2008 11:40AM]

I dislike 'both' OSes severely, but what I hate more is when people assume that they're the only viable ones out there, because they're not-- and until OSX works on non-Apple hardware it doesn't even /count/ and as a real operating system in my eyes.
--I haven't used windows in about a year now.

[Abuzar @ Jun 26th 2008 2:19PM]

Engadgetfight.com

That would be great.

[NeiroAtOpelCC @ Jun 26th 2008 6:52AM]

God I love this comments thread! It's people like Clak that make the world go round. Facing infantile teenies every day, knowing he's right and they're ... well kids. He has my support that guy - I even bother adding a comment solely to express my support for guys like him. Without people like him, all of the world will end up looking like the unreliable american goverment. And we don't want that do we?

@ Thread ; Card would be awesome if it'd sport a remote and a fast graphics chip with 1gb memory, and a feature to underclock it heavily in 2d 'idle' mode like the new nvidia cards.

[ethana2 @ Jun 26th 2008 11:43AM]

Clak is misguided. Apple is anticompetitive. Ubuntu is better than OSX in many, many ways. ...and once we add ZFS support, Adobe gets their heads on straight, and nvidia and lexmark open up, Apple will really have nothing on us at all.

[Jon Doe. @ Jun 26th 2008 7:01AM]

Screw the hardware...how about the software and drivers? The last time I tried an all-in-blunder the drivers sucks my right ass cheek, and the provided software sucked the left one.

[slarity @ Jun 26th 2008 8:30AM]

Didnt AMD/ATI do open source for their drivers? Or was that just for linux? Reguardless if its open source you might see some vast improvements on HTPCs.

[ethana2 @ Jun 26th 2008 11:37AM]

Windows users don't care about freedom, and there is no point to giving them open source drivers. Linux on the other hand, is where openness means /everything/.

[craig#2 @ Jun 26th 2008 7:13AM]

Engadget needs to ban this guy. He spoils the site for me, personally. I just get so aggrivated.

[zargon @ Jun 26th 2008 8:27AM]

John, it is actually pretty easy, just need to know a little javascript and learn about XMLDOM and you are on your way.

[zargon @ Jun 26th 2008 3:16PM]

I actually have a mostly working Firefox extension for blocking users here at Engadget.

With a little more work this weekend, I think I will be able to release a beta version of the extension that I am thinking of calling Egnore.

I am probably going to put up a website at http://www.electroburn.org/Egnore shortly.

[Schfelzerberg @ Jun 26th 2008 8:49AM]

Ahh!!! The All-In-Wonder Radeon! It's baaaccckkk!!! I just miss these things! I had an All-In-Wonder Radeon 9700 back then and I used it to capture videos and do other things besides playing games. Perfect timing since it's going to use the RV770 chips aka the HD 4850/4870 cards.

Awesome ATI, just awesome!

[Ian @ Jun 26th 2008 9:34AM]

No CableCard. Sigh...

[marc @ Jun 26th 2008 10:40AM]

After dealing with all the driver/ software problems in the AIW X800XT AGP, I'll pass on this one.

[Danakin @ Jun 26th 2008 10:41AM]

as long as the fan is quiet and this mother stays cool...it's got everything I want.

[OneLove @ Jun 26th 2008 11:03AM]

You know, you all could choose to just ignore clak instead of replying to his comments. (He has a right to say what he wants and we have a right to ignore him)

[wud_e @ Jun 26th 2008 11:08AM]

Ima Need one of these! :p