TvWonder
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ATI Theater 750 HD chip can bring OTA HD to PCs around the world
No matter what country one finds themselves in, a PC equipped with a TV tuner powered by one of ATI's new Theater HD 750 chips should be able to tune into any over the air TV broadcasts available. These give a step up over the hardware in the company's old TV Wonder 650 line by adding PAL, SECAM and DVB-T support to NTSC, ATSC and ClearQAM access. Of course Media Center PC owners can set up all manner of DVR features, and for that all-ATI feel combines with ATI Stream software and videocards to transcode video into a variety of formats. Expect the new tuners to come out in PCI Express, USB stick and other flavors later this year, if you can't wait, try a glimpse of the preview trailer embedded after the break.
Cannon PC starts offering internal CableCARD tuners for sale separately
If you're like some people we know - - yes Zatz, we're talking about you -- the idea of adding yet another box to your home theater setup isn't anywhere near consideration. Up until now, this meant that if you wanted to add an ATI Digital Cable Tuner to your Vista Media Center PC, you either had to hold your nose or spend the big bucks on one of the top tier OEMs that offered the internal version -- which is actually the same device sans a case, and yes it still connects via USB. Our friend Chris Lanier discovered today that Cannon PC started selling both the external and internal versions of the ATI TV Wonder DCT separately, so that finally those with CableCARD ready Vista Media Center PCs -- you know the OEM only ones -- can either add additional tuner, or opt to swap out the external variety for the internal type the takes less space, all for about $300 each. [Via The Digital Lifestyle]
Diamond Multimedia puts its spin on ATI's HD 600 / HD 650 TV Wonders
Yeah, ATI's 600 / 650 TV Wonders have been around the block a time or two before, but it looks like Diamond Multimedia has chosen today to unveil its versions of the aforementioned products. Available now all across the web, the firm is cranking out seven models between the two flavors, and as expected, each supports ATSC / NTSC, while just a few play nice with Clear-QAM. So far as we can tell, you'll receive the exact same kit with a snazzy Diamond badge, but we suppose there's nothing wrong with that, eh?
Sony selling the ATI TV Wonder CableCARD tuner all by its lonesome
Although Vista Media Center supports up to four CableCARDs, we haven't actually seen the required ATI TV Wonder breakout box for sale by itself yet -- it usually only comes bundled with a CableLABS-certified Vista Media Center PC. (In fact, from what we hear, OEMs are strictly forbidden from selling them without a PC.) It looks like Sony's ready to bust these things loose, however, because SonyStyle.com is now selling them as the "VAIO Digital TV Tuner" for $299. You'll still need that Vista Media Center PC with the required special firmware to make it work, but those of you itching to add more tuners to your rig -- or just hack away at these things -- might finally be able to make it happen. Just don't blame us of CableLABS's locks prevent you from properly capturing all those delicious high def MPEG-2 streams.[Thanks, William]
AMD unveils trio of new ATI TV Wonders
Those looking for a fresh way to capture OTA signals on their computer need to look AMD's way, as the firm is kicking out three new ATI TV Wonder devices today. Up first is the TV Wonder 650 Combo USB, which includes two TV tuners to pick up OTA HDTV signals / ClearQAM programming, analog TV and FM broadcasts. For those with desktops, the TV Wonder 600 PCI or TV Wonder 600 PCI Express should fit the bill quite nicely, as they offer up the same features as their USB sibling in less portable forms. Notably, all three units come bundled with Catalyst Media Center software, which enables the devices to quickly convert (read: "with two mouse clicks") recorded programming to formats suitable for use on the iPod, Zune, PSP, iPhone, Palm Treo, etc. Price wise, the 650 Combo USB will demand $149, while the other two (pictured after the jump) will run you just $99 apiece.
AMD unveils TV Wonder 600 USB, 650 PCIe HD tuners
Regardless of whether you're scouting a TV tuner for your desktop or portable machine, AMD has unveiled a duo of devices that will likely fit the bill. Up first is AMD's plug 'n play ATI TV Wonder 600 USB, which should have no problem tuning OTA HD on any machine equipped with USB, and also comes bundled with an IR remote, AV input, and Catalyst Media Center software. For the desktop only crowd, the ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo PCIe (pictured after the jump) sports ClearQAM support, hybrid analog / digital tuning, a 3D comb filter, FM tuner, and like its portable sibling, works just fine with Windows Vista. No word yet on the pricing details, but both units should be shipping out next month.[Via DailyTech]
HP's m8010y and d4890y desktops to sport HD combo drives, digital tuners
Just because HP has buried the Digital Entertainment Center doesn't mean that it's forgetting about the media-centric crowd, as the company's forthcoming m8010y and d4890y will offer up some fairly swank high-definition niceties. Aside from offering customers the option for an Intel Q6600 Core 2 Quad processor and NVIDIA's GeForce 8800 GTS graphics card, this duo will also include a mysterious dual-format combo drive to handle both BD and HD DVD responsibilities. While we can only assume that the GGW-H10N will be the drive of choice, both PCs will boast HD DVD / Blu-ray playback with burning abilities including on the latter, and as if that wasn't enough HD goodness crammed into a PC, moneyed consumers can also opt to have ATI's TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner pre-installed as well. There's no word just yet surrounding pricing, exact configurations, or a launch timeframe, but word on the street suggests that the combo drive should be made available to the adoring public within "four to six weeks."
Velocity Micro's latest HTPCs add Vista and ATI Digital Cable tuner
Looks like Okoro Media Systems isn't the only HTPC builder on the block cramming Microsoft's latest OS into its systems and upping the specs, as Velocity Micro has taken a break from its NoteMagix series to amp up a few media PCs. Both boxes come with Windows Vista Premium pre-installed, ATI's TV Wonder Digital Cable tuner, and options for HD DVD and Blu-ray playback. The CineMagix Pro Cinema rocks a fairly average black chassis, 500-watt power supply, AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, HDCP-compliant ATI Radeon X1950 Pro, onboard 7.1 audio, 8-in-1 flash card reader, up to 1.5TB of hard drive space, dual gigabit Ethernet adapter, 802.11b/g, a pair of FireWire connectors, six USB 2.0 ports, and a wireless keyboard / mouse combo. The Intel-powered CineMagix Grand Theater swaps in your choice of CPU, including options for both the Core 2 Extreme X6800 or QX6700, up to 4GB of RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS, up to 2.25TB of HDD space, but otherwise mimics its AMD-packin' sibling. Both units are fully customizable if you've got the cash to burn, and while the CineMagix Pro Cinema starts at $1,695, the Grand Theater rings up between $2,195 and near-five digits.[Via 64-Bit-Computers]
ATI TV Wonder 650 recalled?
We just reported that ATI's TV Wonder 650 would be reaching store shelves near you, but it may be retreating just as quickly. According to reports received by DailyTech, ATI has yanked the cards due to a possible problem with the OTA tuner limiting it to less than half of the promised channels. The TV Wonder 200 that launched at the same time apparently is unaffected and can still be found on Best Buy and CompUSA's websites, while the TV Wonder 650 has disappeared. Those looking for a good OTA HDTV tuner with the hardware encoding capabilities of ATI's Theater 650 chip will apparently have to keep waiting.
ATI launches TV Wonder 650 OTA HDTV tuner
ATI is trying to make catching OTA HDTV broadcasts on your PC a bit more mainstream with the TV Wonder 650. This add-in card not only picks up high definition broadcasts, but includes Avivo technology for image enhancement on analog broadcasts, motion-adaptive 3D comb filter, noise-reduction and hardware-assisted MPEG-2 encoding. The included high-def PVR software will record content in DivX, H.264, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and WMV9 formats. This card seems Vista-ready, as they also mention combining it with ATI videocards to enable 3D menus, in addition to the MulTView picture-in-picture technology (requires two tuner cards) and the ability to have a translucent video window over other applications. While it isn't the OCUR CableCard device you may be waiting for, if broadcast HDTV is all you need this could be a great pickup for $129, shipping today.
