ATI TV Wonder Elite

bowloverjoe · Jul 23, 2006, 09:48 PM

I'm going to be getting a new computer soon with PCI slots so I won't be able to use my All-In-Wonder 9600 anymore. I was looking to get the ATI TV Wonder Elite, but I read a review that said the user couldn't get a good picture for his satellite TV. I have Direct TV and current connect with the S-video port. Will I be able to do that on the ATI TV Wonder Elite and will the display be as clear as one would expect?

Thanks.

CJLMTLCA · Jul 24, 2006, 09:35 AM

TV Wonder Elite can provide good quality depending on the source. I've never tried with satellite, but i assume that through the s-video you should be able to get exceptional picture quality. There are picture settings you can adjust and of course it helps if your minotor is adjusted properly too.

Or you could wait for ATI's new cards based on the theater650 chip, which is supposed to have even better quality and support ATSC.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Jul 24, 2006, 10:43 AM

As long as you're using quality cables and Dscaler, you should get very good picture

BiGBrOwNPimpsta · Aug 26, 2006, 10:15 AM

t650 chip is a minor upgrade in quality, it just supports ATSC thats the huge feature. my tv wonder elite gives very solid picture and destroys any other tv card ive seen. t200 are poor and "media center PC's" give you a tv card comparable or worse to the t200 (such as HP, Dell etc.). i know my analog signal looks a lot better and i have a widescreen monitor now so its pretty smooth. i have a digital terminal but only one and i leave it on my big screen and im too lazy to try it out on this thing

ROBSCIX · Aug 26, 2006, 03:20 PM

I have a card that's supposed to be the same as the one in question and the quality is fine. I made sure I have good solid connectors and such and I use different apps for TV but there is no difference between that and my 9600XT all in wonder. THe card your speaking of would be running the Theatre 550 chipset which is pretty good. Though if your already waiting you may want to wait until the new batch of cards come out..why not? then your assured the newest chipset and the best picture available..hope this helps.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Aug 26, 2006, 10:23 PM

There won't be a new Theatre chip until right before the Vista release I think... so its not a good idea to hold the breath on that one

ROBSCIX · Aug 27, 2006, 10:52 AM

what I would do is buy the one your talking about. try it out if it doesn't perform like you want it to take it back...no muss, no fuss...then atleast you know.

bowloverjoe · Sep 8, 2006, 06:12 PM

The picture quality on the TV Wonder Elite is good.

But I have a couple issues with it. First, I can't adjust the brightness or contrast, etc of the TV screen without changing my entire monitor. Also, there is a major delay in the signal. I have DirectTV and have to wait about 4-5 seconds for my remote to work. I've heard it's because there's a built in Tivo feature on the card where it goes from the card to the hard drive then displays on the screen. Is that true and can I turn it off??

ROBSCIX · Sep 8, 2006, 07:31 PM

There is a *.reg fix that allows you to turn off the TV on demand running all the time. THis happens with alot of creative card using the newer drivers..I am pretty sure you should be able to turn it off...You should also be able to adjust the color and brightness etc without affecting the whole screen...What are you using for Viewing the TV? MMC? or something different?

ROBSCIX · Sep 9, 2006, 09:56 AM

here this is for the MMC -I guessed you were using it becasue that is the only application that records by default...here try this
How to turn off TV on demand on Analog TV
And get 480i back on analog TV
open the registry: Start->regedit
Go to this location:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ATI Technologies\MultiMedia\Features\DTV\Channel Manager
give the key "LiveMode" the value "1"
And TV-on demand will be off for analog and digital TV

this should help with your issue....BUT this setting is weird and you will notice that you have to change it a few times...hope this helps.

bowloverjoe · Sep 9, 2006, 05:57 PM

Ugh. I can't seem to find any viewer for this thing that I like.

I'm gonna have to just stick with the Power Cinema.

I can't get any of the MMC packages to work.
Dscalar works the first time I run it, then I says it's shutting down prematurely and never runs again. Plus the audio lags behind the video.
I tried a WinAmp attachment but the audio lags behind the video and I've done something now to make WinAmp crash every time I try to watch TV on it.

AAARRRGGGHHHHH!!! I hate this stupid card!!

ROBSCIX · Sep 10, 2006, 01:23 PM

That info would only work if you were using MMC...have you tried VideoLan? that is a pretty good TV player a little hard to setup but worth it...

bowloverjoe · Sep 10, 2006, 02:10 PM

Yeah I tried VideoLAN last night. It gives me picture and sound, but only 1/2 a screen. The width is correct but the height is about 1/2 the correct size so I only see the top 1/2 of the picture.

I've tried to change the resolution in the settings but it just locks up and won't show anything. I don't know where else to look to change it.