Stephen Orr Interview Questions...

Shrink · Jul 29, 2003, 06:01 AM

Quote:

Stephen Orr, the Manager of Convergence Multimedia at ATI, has agreed to be interviewed by yours truly on behalf of Driverheaven! Stephen is responsible for, among other things, ATI Multimedia Center development. Please post any multimedia-related questions (TV, Home Theater, video capture, etc...) to this thread in our All-in-Wonder, TV, and Video Capture forum and i'll pick some of the most cogent and incisive questions and pose them to Mr. Orr. Look for the questions and answers to be posted some time in the coming weeks!

Please post your questions here folks! Unfortunately, due to the fact that ATI would just hate to give away their hand to the competition when it comes to future products, Mr. Orr will not be able to answer any questions about unannounced products but promises that he will field and try to respond openly to any other questions you might have concerning the Multimedia Center suite of applications! Having had contact with Stephen for the past couple of years, I can assure you that he is a straight shooter and will answer your questions directly. I'll be picking some of your questions and, if necessary, confabulating some of my own. :-) My apologies in advance if your question isn't picked so come up with some good questions so yours will be among those posed!

BiGBrOwNPimpsta · Jul 29, 2003, 06:13 AM

I have a question: Why was the Video-In component of MMC removed? it was so good!

Dyre Straits · Jul 29, 2003, 06:14 AM

One of the most annoying problems I have when using MMC (Version 7.6) for capturing is the inability of many video editing programs to import the video.

Are there any plans to make the codec for the ATi MMC more compatible with these other programs?

Especially annoying are those files that are captured using ATi's MPEG-2 codecs that won't play or import into programs such as Windows Media Player 9 and/or into Movie Maker 2. Many others also have problems. RadTools is another.

Thank you.

Shrink · Jul 29, 2003, 06:18 AM

That was quick! Thanks guys - keep them coming!

BiGBrOWnPimpsta - video-in is still available in MMC 8.5. Right click on the MMC TV screen and select Input Connector. You'll see that S-Video and Composite In are still there (provided you have an All In Wonder card or TV Wonder). Did you mean "why did ATI stop selling the (non-AIW) VIVO line of cards?" Please clarify and thanks for the question. :-)

BiGBrOwNPimpsta · Jul 29, 2003, 06:20 AM

screw my question its answerd im just an idiot for asking lol

Shrink · Jul 29, 2003, 06:22 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BiGBrOWnPimpsta
screw my question its answerd im just an idiot for asking lol

lol - did I answer it? :-)

However, the question concerning the VIVO line of cards would be a good question IMHO - you could always have recovered by saying "err... yeah! That's what I meant!"

BiGBrOwNPimpsta · Jul 29, 2003, 06:23 AM

true... if im not doing the things on my profile ill give it an ask take a look LOL

Dyre Straits · Jul 29, 2003, 06:25 AM

Shrink, I actually posted a 'wish list' in this forum about the VIVO card. I'd LOVE to have available a simple VIVO card similar to my beloved 64 DDR VIVO I still use in my 'other' computer.

So, will ATi consider putting out an updated version of this wonderful card? Please!

My Wish List thread: http://www.hardwareheaven.com/showthre...threadid=21655

Vampyromaniac · Jul 29, 2003, 10:05 AM

Mmm, here's one:

The M-Audio Revolution 7.1 sound card does not have a "Line-In" recording source.
The Line-In can only be listened to through the use of Direct Monitoring.
The problem is, the TV app's volume slider has no function in this situation, and you cannot adjust the volume in the app.

Can there be some work-around for such cards? Such as, if the slider were made to simply control the volume output of the TV app (like File Player's slider), instead of controlling the recording level of the Line-In source, then the slider would work fine for such cards.

LNahid2000 · Jul 29, 2003, 10:53 AM

why does tv on demand still have that problem where it zooms into the upper left quadrant of the screen? will it ever be fixed?

VIVOtheFURY · Jul 29, 2003, 01:58 PM

I have two:

If I set DVD audio to "downmix to 6 speakers" why doesn't MMC remember that the next time I start up?

Why won't Easyview work on the Secondary Display.. it always brings my DVD's or File playback back to the Primary Monitor. Now I can't even use the remote when I am trying to playback video on my TV-OUT.

Lately I have had several occasions when firing up the TV app will reboot my machine.. What is up with that?????
Edit:

Removed Hurcules FortIII now using Soundstorm with 2.45 unified drivers.. TV app crashing appears to be gone!

Need higher resolution(currently Max 320x240) choices for WMV9 encoding. Also Windowmedia 9 Audio encoding options.

Why doesn't the MMC8.5 File Player app have the same options for rewind/fast forward(setable skip increments) and "fast"/"Slow" speed playback for .vcr files that TVOD supports?

Thanks

Radeon9700AIW
AMD2100+@2250
Gigabyte NV7-S

VIVOtheFURY · Jul 29, 2003, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by LNahid2000
why does tv on demand still have that problem where it zooms into the upper left quadrant of the screen? will it ever be fixed?

I thought it was just me....

VIVOtheFURY · Jul 29, 2003, 02:06 PM

One more.. AIW9700 and Nvidia Soundstorm Audio on Nforce2 boards. Willl they EVER work right together?

Edit:

Works fine with Nvidia 2.45 drivers(Audio 6.14.348.0).. at least so far.

Also system more stable with Hurc FortIII out.

TV app crashing computer seems to have vanished!!!

friskyolive · Jul 29, 2003, 03:00 PM

Will the f-buffer be used in any upcoming titles and how much of attention grabber is it for game developers?

Skrov · Jul 29, 2003, 03:16 PM

Hi IÂ´m really interested how big companies like ATI think about the TCPA technique(s) wich might be the next big thing and involves the entire PC industry/community (APPLE seems to be against it).In what way will TCPA be implemented multimediawise?

Anyone whos against totaliarism should be concerned is my pov.

Cheers

read this : http://www.againsttcpa.com/tcpa-faq-en.html

JLP · Jul 29, 2003, 05:05 PM

What does ATI think about their multimedia products on Linux? Do you have any plans to start having some presence with your products and support for them in this great OS?

LNahid2000 · Jul 29, 2003, 09:56 PM

also there is a problem when you open both the TV and the File Player where the file player will play in slow motion when the TV is running. This didn't happen with the old drivers. whats with the new drivers?

Dyre Straits · Jul 30, 2003, 12:35 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by LNahid2000
also there is a problem when you open both the TV and the File Player where the file player will play in slow motion when the TV is running. This didn't happen with the old drivers. whats with the new drivers?

In my case, with MMC 7.6, I get a caution to not run both Video In and File Player at the same time. For my system, I have to temporarily put Video In in Suspend state. My impression is that the two can only be run at the same time on very, very high end systems.

Shrink · Jul 30, 2003, 01:13 AM

Dyre Straits - what video card are you running with MMC 7.6? You have a Radeon 8500 in your signature but what are you getting TV tuning from? Have you tried running a more recent MMC?

Dyre Straits · Jul 30, 2003, 01:18 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Shrink
Dyre Straits - what video card are you running with MMC 7.6? You have a Radeon 8500 in your signature but what are you getting TV tuning from? Have you tried running a more recent MMC?

Hi, Shrink,

I actually mentioned my 64 DDR VIVO card above. That's the one I'm using. I have tried up to 7.9 (I think) and even tried the newest 8.5. However, I've never gotten 8.5 to work right on either of my systems. The VIVO is in my 98SE machine.

I do the capturing using the S-Video out from the 8500 with Composite Adapter to the Composite Video-In on the VIVO card.

jscodner · Jul 30, 2003, 02:26 AM

When going to full screen with remote and Easyview, there is no easy way to return to desktop. It kinda defeats the purpose of EasyView to have to goto the keyboard to turn it off.

Full screen button should just be a toggle, or at least offer option.

Do other, non Easyview, options of remote work when in Easyview? It seems only Easyview's work.

I thought DVD 8.5 was based off PDVD 4 2417, at least that is what we were led to believe, but it looks like it is PDVD 3 version. Is that correct? If it is PDVD3, then why not make it ver. 5 instead for compatability reasons, and just to be classy, if nothing else.

It, also. should be able to map a capture button for remote in DVD player.

Easylook is cool, as I am Visually challenged, but seems to need a little work.

Oh 1 more, in previous versions it was possible to dock the record dialog to the bottom of the view window. Then when 1 would max/full screen the window the record dialog would be hidden. I don't like having to have this dialog on top. It's like setting your VCR in front of the TV screen when recording to make sure you don't forget to move it back to the shelf, and out of view, when done recording. At least, the docking option solved it nicely.

vailr · Jul 30, 2003, 02:47 AM

Is the "TV Wonder Pro" released yet?
It was announced several months ago, yet still not available, AFAIK.

LukeK · Jul 30, 2003, 09:34 AM

Dont know if this has been asked yet, but is there any possibility in the future of offering MMC as an inexpensive paid for upgrade via download from the ATI site for those of us with older versions of this software?

brc64 · Jul 30, 2003, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by LukeK
Dont know if this has been asked yet, but is there any possibility in the future of offering MMC as an inexpensive paid for upgrade via download from the ATI site for those of us with older versions of this software?

I do like the sound of that.. isn't the shipping charge like $5? A downloadable upgrade would not only save the consumer money, but would be instant satisfaction (not have to wait several days to get a CD in the mail). I'd probably buy the upgrade if this were the case (haven't bought it yet).

- Me

kivan · Jul 30, 2003, 05:15 PM

I like to know, when Mpeg 4 Encoding?? divx recording in MMC??
only in aiw ATI R420 ??

ArchAngelRay · Jul 30, 2003, 06:23 PM

1. Since ATI seems commited to the MMC for it's AIW's, will it remain a seperate app for each item, (ie. TV tuner for TV, DVD player to watch DVD's, CD Player to listen to music, etc.,) or will they finally incorporate it into a single application?
2. Will they ever incoporate the WMP codecs and bring them up to todays standards? IF not, why not?
3. What about skins, is there a way to make new ones?
4. How would one "code" the tv player, to incorporate it into other apps, or is this a "trade secret", (such as to put the TV tuner into "Active Desktop")? IF it is a "trade secret", will there ever be a program or some way to do this, available?
[COLOR=darkred]
5. Why not just ditch the MMC for a program such as "Intervideo's WinDVD Recorder" or incorporate it into WMP and why put things in such as "CD Player", when other programs are more than likely to be used?
[/COLOR]

The last question, I would consider the most important imo.

So-Unreal · Jul 30, 2003, 08:11 PM

How long till we see MMC work with a hardware Divx encoder???

So-Unreal · Jul 30, 2003, 08:14 PM

Also when will MMC meaning the Video window and the controls panal be one window???

Bovine · Jul 31, 2003, 01:34 AM

Hi, I also own the Radeon 64ddr VIVO, and the TV in refuses to work with the latest 8.x multimedia centre, it says TV capture not found, even though in the ATI check section it finds it fine

( Pleaaaase fix this im sick of having to use old CAT. drivers so I can use old MMC!!!!

Dyre Straits · Jul 31, 2003, 03:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bovine
Hi, I also own the Radeon 64ddr VIVO, and the TV in refuses to work with the latest 8.x multimedia centre, it says TV capture not found, even though in the ATI check section it finds it fine ( Pleaaaase fix this im sick of having to use old CAT. drivers so I can use old MMC!!!!

I don't have a problem using newer CAT 3.4 drivers with the older MMC 7.6. I'm not sure if that's what you were getting at or not, though.

Jul 29, 2003, 06:13 AM	#2
BiGBrOwNPimpsta HH's #1 Hustla and Pimp Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: The Dirty Dot Posts: 7,706 Rep Power: 105 System Specs	I have a question: Why was the Video-In component of MMC removed? it was so good! __________________ Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music \| Logitech Z-5500 THX 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers \| 2 Lite-On 20x S-ATA Burners \| Logitech G700 Mouse \| Logitech MX5500 Bluetooth Keyboard

Jul 29, 2003, 06:18 AM	Thread Starter #4
Shrink Recovering Beta Tester Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Bracebridge, Ontario Posts: 130 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	That was quick! Thanks guys - keep them coming! BiGBrOWnPimpsta - video-in is still available in MMC 8.5. Right click on the MMC TV screen and select Input Connector. You'll see that S-Video and Composite In are still there (provided you have an All In Wonder card or TV Wonder). Did you mean "why did ATI stop selling the (non-AIW) VIVO line of cards?" Please clarify and thanks for the question. :-) __________________ Shrink "How come things that happen to stupid people keep happening to me?" Homer J. Simpson

Jul 29, 2003, 06:20 AM	#5
BiGBrOwNPimpsta HH's #1 Hustla and Pimp Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: The Dirty Dot Posts: 7,706 Rep Power: 105 System Specs	screw my question its answerd im just an idiot for asking lol __________________ Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music \| Logitech Z-5500 THX 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers \| 2 Lite-On 20x S-ATA Burners \| Logitech G700 Mouse \| Logitech MX5500 Bluetooth Keyboard

Jul 29, 2003, 06:23 AM	#7
BiGBrOwNPimpsta HH's #1 Hustla and Pimp Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: The Dirty Dot Posts: 7,706 Rep Power: 105 System Specs	true... if im not doing the things on my profile ill give it an ask take a look LOL __________________ Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music \| Logitech Z-5500 THX 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers \| 2 Lite-On 20x S-ATA Burners \| Logitech G700 Mouse \| Logitech MX5500 Bluetooth Keyboard

Jul 29, 2003, 10:05 AM	#9
Vampyromaniac confutatis maledictis Join Date: May 2002 Location: somewhere dark Posts: 5,974 Rep Power: 74 System Specs	Mmm, here's one: The M-Audio Revolution 7.1 sound card does not have a "Line-In" recording source. The Line-In can only be listened to through the use of Direct Monitoring. The problem is, the TV app's volume slider has no function in this situation, and you cannot adjust the volume in the app. Can there be some work-around for such cards? Such as, if the slider were made to simply control the volume output of the TV app (like File Player's slider), instead of controlling the recording level of the Line-In source, then the slider would work fine for such cards. __________________ *Digitalis 3.3* Athlon 64 3000 // ASUS K8V SE Deluxe // 1024MB PC3200 (2-2-2-10 1T) ATI All-In-Wonder 9700 Pro // 20" Dell 2005FPW (DVI) M-Audio Revo 7.1 + Philips Acoustic Edge // Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 320/16 Western Digital WD3200KS + 120/8 Seagate 7200.7 NEC ND-3550A 16x DVD±RW + Lite-On 52x24x CD-RW Antec Sonata case // 480W Antec TruePower personal bests \|\| Aq'3: 46796 \| 3D'01: 20461 \| 3D'03: 6336 \| 3D'05: 2677 \| PC'04: 4605 \| PC'02: 7691,9092,1250

Jul 29, 2003, 10:53 AM	#10
LNahid2000 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 4 Rep Power: 0	why does tv on demand still have that problem where it zooms into the upper left quadrant of the screen? will it ever be fixed?

Jul 29, 2003, 01:58 PM	#11
VIVOtheFURY DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 3 Rep Power: 0	I have two: If I set DVD audio to "downmix to 6 speakers" why doesn't MMC remember that the next time I start up? Why won't Easyview work on the Secondary Display.. it always brings my DVD's or File playback back to the Primary Monitor. Now I can't even use the remote when I am trying to playback video on my TV-OUT. Lately I have had several occasions when firing up the TV app will reboot my machine.. What is up with that????? Edit: Removed Hurcules FortIII now using Soundstorm with 2.45 unified drivers.. TV app crashing appears to be gone! Need higher resolution(currently Max 320x240) choices for WMV9 encoding. Also Windowmedia 9 Audio encoding options. Why doesn't the MMC8.5 File Player app have the same options for rewind/fast forward(setable skip increments) and "fast"/"Slow" speed playback for .vcr files that TVOD supports? Thanks Radeon9700AIW AMD2100+@2250 Gigabyte NV7-S Last edited by VIVOtheFURY; Aug 4, 2003 at 04:47 AM.

Jul 29, 2003, 02:06 PM	#13
VIVOtheFURY DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 3 Rep Power: 0	One more.. AIW9700 and Nvidia Soundstorm Audio on Nforce2 boards. Willl they EVER work right together? Edit: Works fine with Nvidia 2.45 drivers(Audio 6.14.348.0).. at least so far. Also system more stable with Hurc FortIII out. TV app crashing computer seems to have vanished!!! Last edited by VIVOtheFURY; Aug 4, 2003 at 04:39 AM.

Jul 29, 2003, 03:00 PM	#14
friskyolive DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 17 Rep Power: 0	Will the f-buffer be used in any upcoming titles and how much of attention grabber is it for game developers?

Jul 29, 2003, 03:16 PM	#15
Skrov N00b Oldie Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Sweden Posts: 12 Rep Power: 0	Palladium & TCPA Hi IÂ´m really interested how big companies like ATI think about the TCPA technique(s) wich might be the next big thing and involves the entire PC industry/community (APPLE seems to be against it).In what way will TCPA be implemented multimediawise? Anyone whos against totaliarism should be concerned is my pov. Cheers read this : http://www.againsttcpa.com/tcpa-faq-en.html __________________ [color=orange]AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Thermaltake SB K8 \| Asus K8VSEDX \| Z300A-APF PSU \| 2512 MB OCZ PC3200 \| HIS 9800 Pro \| Hitachi 160 GB \| Hitachi 120 GB \| Audigy 2 \| Plantronics Audio 90 \| Samsung 16x/48x \| LITE-ON 16x/10x/40x \| Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 19´\| MX 500 \| WXP Pro SP2 [/color] Last edited by Skrov; Jul 29, 2003 at 09:07 PM.*

Jul 29, 2003, 05:05 PM	#16
JLP DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Slovenia Posts: 249 Rep Power: 0	Linux Multimedia What does ATI think about their multimedia products on Linux? Do you have any plans to start having some presence with your products and support for them in this great OS?

Jul 29, 2003, 09:56 PM	#17
LNahid2000 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 4 Rep Power: 0	also there is a problem when you open both the TV and the File Player where the file player will play in slow motion when the TV is running. This didn't happen with the old drivers. whats with the new drivers?

Jul 30, 2003, 01:13 AM	Thread Starter #19
Shrink Recovering Beta Tester Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Bracebridge, Ontario Posts: 130 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Dyre Straits - what video card are you running with MMC 7.6? You have a Radeon 8500 in your signature but what are you getting TV tuning from? Have you tried running a more recent MMC? __________________ Shrink "How come things that happen to stupid people keep happening to me?" Homer J. Simpson

Jul 30, 2003, 02:26 AM	#21
jscodner DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 25 Rep Power: 0	Remote Wonder and Easylook When going to full screen with remote and Easyview, there is no easy way to return to desktop. It kinda defeats the purpose of EasyView to have to goto the keyboard to turn it off. Full screen button should just be a toggle, or at least offer option. Do other, non Easyview, options of remote work when in Easyview? It seems only Easyview's work. I thought DVD 8.5 was based off PDVD 4 2417, at least that is what we were led to believe, but it looks like it is PDVD 3 version. Is that correct? If it is PDVD3, then why not make it ver. 5 instead for compatability reasons, and just to be classy, if nothing else. It, also. should be able to map a capture button for remote in DVD player. Easylook is cool, as I am Visually challenged, but seems to need a little work. Oh 1 more, in previous versions it was possible to dock the record dialog to the bottom of the view window. Then when 1 would max/full screen the window the record dialog would be hidden. I don't like having to have this dialog on top. It's like setting your VCR in front of the TV screen when recording to make sure you don't forget to move it back to the shelf, and out of view, when done recording. At least, the docking option solved it nicely. __________________ Through the Harmony and Peace of Love and Unity, John

Jul 30, 2003, 02:47 AM	#22
vailr DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 72 Rep Power: 0	Is the "TV Wonder Pro" released yet? It was announced several months ago, yet still not available, AFAIK.

Jul 30, 2003, 09:34 AM	#23
LukeK DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 158 Rep Power: 59	Dont know if this has been asked yet, but is there any possibility in the future of offering MMC as an inexpensive paid for upgrade via download from the ATI site for those of us with older versions of this software?

Jul 30, 2003, 05:15 PM	#25
kivan DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 2 Rep Power: 0	I like to know, when Mpeg 4 Encoding?? divx recording in MMC?? only in aiw ATI R420 ??

Jul 30, 2003, 06:23 PM	#26
ArchAngelRay DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: USA Posts: 15 Rep Power: 0	Questions for Mr. Orr. 1. Since ATI seems commited to the MMC for it's AIW's, will it remain a seperate app for each item, (ie. TV tuner for TV, DVD player to watch DVD's, CD Player to listen to music, etc.,) or will they finally incorporate it into a single application? 2. Will they ever incoporate the WMP codecs and bring them up to todays standards? IF not, why not? 3. What about skins, is there a way to make new ones? 4. How would one "code" the tv player, to incorporate it into other apps, or is this a "trade secret", (such as to put the TV tuner into "Active Desktop")? IF it is a "trade secret", will there ever be a program or some way to do this, available? [COLOR=darkred] 5. Why not just ditch the MMC for a program such as "Intervideo's WinDVD Recorder" or incorporate it into WMP and why put things in such as "CD Player", when other programs are more than likely to be used? [/COLOR] The last question, I would consider the most important imo. __________________ The Best Truck On The [color=red]Am[/color][color=white]eric[/color][color=blue]an[/color] Road!. Last edited by ArchAngelRay; Jul 30, 2003 at 06:28 PM.

Jul 30, 2003, 08:11 PM	#27
So-Unreal DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 56 Rep Power: 0	How long till we see MMC work with a hardware Divx encoder???

Jul 30, 2003, 08:14 PM	#28
So-Unreal DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 56 Rep Power: 0	Also when will MMC meaning the Video window and the controls panal be one window???

Jul 31, 2003, 01:34 AM	#29
Bovine DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 1 Rep Power: 0	Video in AKA TV in Hi, I also own the Radeon 64ddr VIVO, and the TV in refuses to work with the latest 8.x multimedia centre, it says TV capture not found, even though in the ATI check section it finds it fine ( Pleaaaase fix this im sick of having to use old CAT. drivers so I can use old MMC!!!!