ATi Introduces the HDTV Wonder

Zardon · Feb 27, 2004, 06:26 PM

While we are all sitting and watching the 3D Graphics card battles rage on, in the PC TV Tuner industry, competition is a little less prominent. While a lot of enthusiasts are caught up in the hype of whose video card is faster and which one has the better image quality, there are other developments going in adjacent markets, that sometimes catch us off guard. The latest of these developments is ATi's recent announcement of their new HDTV Wonder TV card that can deliver a High Definition Television experience to the PC. Recently some manufacturers have made the jump to HDTV technology, but ATi may be poised to lead the pack with the HDTV Wonder with features that are currently not found with other solutions on the market.

Hothardware

tintruder · Mar 1, 2004, 09:41 AM

The future is both bright and confusing.

Bright that we are seeing the computer and TV converging and TV is thus getting better in resolution.

Confusing that:
There are too many standards, ideas, codecs
If a show isn't recorded in HDTV, broadcasting HDTV doesn't make it so
Different networks broadcast at different resolutions and aspect ratios
No idea of how BROADCAST FLAG will be implemented
Do I have 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p?
DVD Playback still limited in bandwidth.
Digital Cable Ready isn't ready for use yet
CableCard authentication isn't ready either
Too many devices need IR BLASTING in order to control...
Others use proprietary RF or non-standard IR
Product nomenclature isn't clear.
Real HDTV takes up a LOT of HD Space
Nobody provides an EASY MPEG editor (simply chop out commercials)
Existing editors frequently screw up audio sync
XP-MCE support non-standard
Digital TVs still suck as PC monitors (Sony makes PCs and TVs...do the two engineering groups even talk?)
The stereo receiver is still the main component tying the Home Theatre together
Ever see a FireWire or USB port on a receiver? Nope. MPAA/RIAA lobbying at work.
and many more issues........

So, let's see which of these the ATI HDTV Wonder addresses?

No more than any of the other HDTV cards on the market for the last two or three years.

Now, this isn't necessarily ATIs fault because the majority of the confusing items are due to choices made by the big Cable TV companies, TV Networks, MPAA, Cable hardware manufacturers, and of course, the makers of the big Plasma, LCD and DLP TV sets and stereo/AV receivers who have billions of dollars worth of unsold inventory that requires a Set Top Box and quick deployment of Digital Cable Ready would make these unsold televisions much less desirable.

ATI has the technology. I would like to see them seize the leadership role here.

Let's see a Digital Cable Ready, CableCard ready, fully 1080p compliant, MCE Compatible card with a software suite that includes storage management, library functions, streaming tools, CD/DVD burning tools, and working editing bundled with Tivo-equivalent PVR functions.....

Feb 27, 2004, 06:26 PM	#1
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	ATi Introduces the HDTV Wonder While we are all sitting and watching the 3D Graphics card battles rage on, in the PC TV Tuner industry, competition is a little less prominent. While a lot of enthusiasts are caught up in the hype of whose video card is faster and which one has the better image quality, there are other developments going in adjacent markets, that sometimes catch us off guard. The latest of these developments is ATi's recent announcement of their new HDTV Wonder TV card that can deliver a High Definition Television experience to the PC. Recently some manufacturers have made the jump to HDTV technology, but ATi may be poised to lead the pack with the HDTV Wonder with features that are currently not found with other solutions on the market. Hothardware

Mar 1, 2004, 09:41 AM	#2
tintruder DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 7 Rep Power: 0	The future is both bright and confusing. Bright that we are seeing the computer and TV converging and TV is thus getting better in resolution. Confusing that: There are too many standards, ideas, codecs If a show isn't recorded in HDTV, broadcasting HDTV doesn't make it so Different networks broadcast at different resolutions and aspect ratios No idea of how BROADCAST FLAG will be implemented Do I have 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p? DVD Playback still limited in bandwidth. Digital Cable Ready isn't ready for use yet CableCard authentication isn't ready either Too many devices need IR BLASTING in order to control... Others use proprietary RF or non-standard IR Product nomenclature isn't clear. Real HDTV takes up a LOT of HD Space Nobody provides an EASY MPEG editor (simply chop out commercials) Existing editors frequently screw up audio sync XP-MCE support non-standard Digital TVs still suck as PC monitors (Sony makes PCs and TVs...do the two engineering groups even talk?) The stereo receiver is still the main component tying the Home Theatre together Ever see a FireWire or USB port on a receiver? Nope. MPAA/RIAA lobbying at work. and many more issues........ So, let's see which of these the ATI HDTV Wonder addresses? No more than any of the other HDTV cards on the market for the last two or three years. Now, this isn't necessarily ATIs fault because the majority of the confusing items are due to choices made by the big Cable TV companies, TV Networks, MPAA, Cable hardware manufacturers, and of course, the makers of the big Plasma, LCD and DLP TV sets and stereo/AV receivers who have billions of dollars worth of unsold inventory that requires a Set Top Box and quick deployment of Digital Cable Ready would make these unsold televisions much less desirable. ATI has the technology. I would like to see them seize the leadership role here. Let's see a Digital Cable Ready, CableCard ready, fully 1080p compliant, MCE Compatible card with a software suite that includes storage management, library functions, streaming tools, CD/DVD burning tools, and working editing bundled with Tivo-equivalent PVR functions.....