ATI decides NOT to kill the "All in Wonder"!!!!!!

[ATImeShifter]

As you well know, I and many others here await this much anticipated update with baited breath...

Sorry, just couldn't resist.

And seriously, I am increasingly impressed with MCE. As you know it's missing some features that I would like, but in its simplicity, reliability, appearance, functionality and ease of use it's VASTLY better than either MMC or CMC.

Quick example. I started a large batch video conversion job before I left home today that continually put my processor's usage at or near 100% for hours, with several successful recordings scheduled for the duration of the time that it was running. When I got home, the batch job was still running but all of the recordings too place without a hitch, and watching some of them I could see none of the dropped frames and sync issues that would have plagued MMC. And CMC would likely never have even started these recordings.

I sincerely hope that AMD comes out with tuner drivers for the AIW line for Vista. It would be a shame to lose their tuning functionality given the clear advantages of having dual tuners and the huge installed base of these cards. My gut feeling is that they will. It would be crazy not to. But until they do, I'll stick with MCE.

Thanks again for the push to upgrade to it!

[Agustus]

So does this mean that ATI will be allowing an upgrade to Catalyst Media Center for AIW-X1900 owners?

I downloaded the PowerCinema 5 Trial and I really like it compared to MMC. It still needs refinement, but it is leeps and bounds better than MMC. It allowed me to use my PVR-500 and the AIW, with 3 tv sources playing and recording.
Hope they release it to us.

My understanding is that ATI will soon release a free update for current “Catalyst Media Center” users AKA TV Wonder 200 and TV Wonder 650 users. This update will also be Windows Vista compatible which makes it really seem like an under the hood upgrade from Cyberlink PowerCinema 4 AKA “Catalyst Media Center 1.0” to Power Cinema 5 AKA “Catalyst Media Center 2.0”.

Non users of “Catalyst Media Center” AKA all other ATI multimedia hardware users will be able to buy the upgraded version of “Catalyst Media Center” for a nominal fee.

[x-tech]

I heard some bad things about the EPG in CMC

Luckily I do not use that feature as my source is a set-top box. High quality recordings that actually happen when I program them is all I ask.

[cdahmedeh]

Tikiman1974, I'm with you! I like the PowerCinema as well even though it isn't quite as robust as MMC. At least it works. I want CMC!

I heard some bad things about the EPG in CMC

[x-tech]

Tikiman1974, I'm with you! I like the PowerCinema as well even though it isn't quite as robust as MMC. At least it works. I want CMC!

[Tikiman1974]

So does this mean that ATI will be allowing an upgrade to Catalyst Media Center for AIW-X1900 owners?

I downloaded the PowerCinema 5 Trial and I really like it compared to MMC. It still needs refinement, but it is leeps and bounds better than MMC. It allowed me to use my PVR-500 and the AIW, with 3 tv sources playing and recording.
Hope they release it to us.

[Shingo-Y]

Mines gave me all this kind of problems (SECAM country, france)

When the drivers was still processing audio analogicaly the rest was still nice:
- mono sound : impossible to hear = saturation
- TV reception...baaaaad, awfully baaaaaad (my now dead 15years old VCR was capting TV channels better and outputing better quality too)
- Blue screen about driver entering in infinite loop for no reason (PSU compliance and AC/DC current of quality too).
- SPDIF never worked for live TV (it's not a bug, it's a feature!)

When the drivers began processing sound digitaly:
- Forcing the users to use this one instead of analog (the biggest error for a company producing software is to choose for its consummers, not replying a need)
- Worse video quality
- Consumming disk space and health for live TV even when we don't want a single bit of their TVOD
- Bufferisation : impossible now to use the PC to play console games
- Stereo sound? gone, which left me with mono sound, and you know what was the result in mono
- CPU usage : all that for live TV? OMFG you must be kinddin'!

They might be prioritising the US market which wouldn't astonishe me (it's a nowaday reality) but all those year I had faith in ATI multimedia power and software ingeneering serious and abilities (my first old Radeon64Mo DDR VIVO was truly perfect and made me choose AIW as next logical move), and I felt like someone you're pucking on it.

I assure you I might forget some other biiiig frustrations about my AIW experience, but you know, they had years to produce simple & elegantly programmed software, with at least the minimal function promised by the natural goal of such a card, and with the minimal CPU power & ressources consumption...they failed.
I'm far to be the only one in this case.
So I completly turned my back ot TV on PC. Now I've got a X1950Pro 512Mo AGP and I'm forgotting about the All-Bugs-In-Wonder cards...

[Steve N]

Shingo-Y, I'm sorry about your problems. I've been using AIW for 7 years now, I've had 4 cards used with 6 motherboards and several versions of Windows. My cards have always worked for me. Not always flawlessly, and sometimes there was a month or two where the drivers needed to catch up with some Windows update. Over seven years the worst I experienced was several months where audio was out of synch, and a point where scheduled recordings were unreliable and I has to fuss to get them to work.

They aren't perfect, but they have worked well for me overall. I would vastly prefer a Vista capable AIW with an updated, stable MMC to any other product. Maybe I'm the only one.

[Shingo-Y]

- "Hey! We should really stop MMC & AIW, really a lot of people are pissed off having bought a product that didn't work correctly att all since start.""
- "Then it's decided, we quit AIW...but we keep MMC"
- "Huuuuuh, 'k."
......(weeks later)
- "Hey good news, 'Robert' has a new plan to crush our multimedia customers hopes in a good AIW"
- "Cool! Let's do it...but by the way...he didn't planned to REALLY support TV reception?"
- "Naaah, we don't know how to support mono sound correctly in all countries what would you like us to do? Issuing a working TV product?"
- "...."
- "Hell yeah, pal!"
- "Oh! You made me doubt a few seconds"

Troll history from an ATI multimedia customer, for who the AIW series NEVER worked correctly, for who ATI isn't capable of good choices neither to listen to its faithful customers needs, and that said "I'm finished with AIW and VIVO".
He keeped his promise.

[Agustus]

LOL,….good one ATImeShifter.

Seriously though, if this is true then the AIW line would need to undergo a big design change to address the aging feature set that seemed stagnated so very much.

BTW, if true, this would not be the first time that ATI has done a 180.

MMC support for the Theater 550 Pro was one such example (on, off and then on again,…sheeesh).

And external device control for the Remote Wonder II (ports on the side of the USB receiver base).

[ATImeShifter]

Well, if enough people post links to this same article, then it will just have to be true.

[Sound_Card]

Yep, All in Wonder is here to stay!!!

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=36901

**** yea.


EDIT: someone posted this before.... sigh