As much as I like this card as an upgrade from my AIW Pro (Rage Pro PCI);
I am noticing some strange problems with using it. Some have been mentioned
in this and other forums already, but I wanted to try to compile a known
issues list to fire off to ATI support.
1. Sound quality of AIWR captures failing on some systems.
Note: I can do a low res capture (160x120) with good sound, but using
any of the default capture settings results in bad playback sound
(static, pops, some distortion).
2. Default settings are off.
On the settings I have for video capture, the default for Longest Time is
set to a higher (and different aspect ratio) setting than the ones for
Good and Best Quality. This threw off the quality of some of my early capture
attempts.
3. Cannot get Guide+ to run.
If I run the Live programming feature, then shut it back off, I then
get the button for TV listings. But the function still does not work
when it is clicked upon.
4. No support for older ATI codecs or general AVI.
On the off chance that doing MPEG encoding on the fly is too much for my
system to handle, it would be nice to be able to still capture in one
of the older (less CPU-intensive) codecs, and then post process the video
stream with the given editing tools.
5. Need an Advanced Dialog for Scheduler, Custom settings for Digital VCR,
and others.
While I appreciate the Wizard interface for setting up various aspects of
the MMC; some users would find a single dialog with sections (or tabs)
for each individual step in the process easier to deal with, in particular
when one wishes to make a minor change to an existing setup. Having to
go thru the whole Wizard a second time makes the exersize unneccesarily tedious.
6. Some third party capture programs are broken.
Specifically VirtualDub, cannot recognized the new capture interface of
the AIW. I have to double-check that I am using the latest version of
VDub, but this much of a change to the functionality of the card is disturbing.
To be fair, I am upgrading from a much, much older card, so my perceptions
of the changes in the latest AIW may not be up to date. So I am asking for
comments and clarification on the above points as well. Thank you.
I am noticing some strange problems with using it. Some have been mentioned
in this and other forums already, but I wanted to try to compile a known
issues list to fire off to ATI support.
1. Sound quality of AIWR captures failing on some systems.
Note: I can do a low res capture (160x120) with good sound, but using
any of the default capture settings results in bad playback sound
(static, pops, some distortion).
2. Default settings are off.
On the settings I have for video capture, the default for Longest Time is
set to a higher (and different aspect ratio) setting than the ones for
Good and Best Quality. This threw off the quality of some of my early capture
attempts.
3. Cannot get Guide+ to run.
If I run the Live programming feature, then shut it back off, I then
get the button for TV listings. But the function still does not work
when it is clicked upon.
4. No support for older ATI codecs or general AVI.
On the off chance that doing MPEG encoding on the fly is too much for my
system to handle, it would be nice to be able to still capture in one
of the older (less CPU-intensive) codecs, and then post process the video
stream with the given editing tools.
5. Need an Advanced Dialog for Scheduler, Custom settings for Digital VCR,
and others.
While I appreciate the Wizard interface for setting up various aspects of
the MMC; some users would find a single dialog with sections (or tabs)
for each individual step in the process easier to deal with, in particular
when one wishes to make a minor change to an existing setup. Having to
go thru the whole Wizard a second time makes the exersize unneccesarily tedious.
6. Some third party capture programs are broken.
Specifically VirtualDub, cannot recognized the new capture interface of
the AIW. I have to double-check that I am using the latest version of
VDub, but this much of a change to the functionality of the card is disturbing.
To be fair, I am upgrading from a much, much older card, so my perceptions
of the changes in the latest AIW may not be up to date. So I am asking for
comments and clarification on the above points as well. Thank you.