Introducing ATI's OCUR

[Octavean]

ATI's OCUR (Open Cable Uni-directional Receiver) AKA CableCard tuner.

http://www.anandtech.com/tradeshows/showdoc.aspx?i=2662

Like it, love it or hate it,....

[Jonny M]

You want Sky support for the UK guys really

[Octavean]

Originally Posted by Author: Anand Lal Shimpi

Inside the tuner are two pieces of ATI silicon - a Theater 550 and a NXT 2003, the combination of which handle all of the tuning and demodulation on the device. There is a FPGA in the device that along with some other custom silicon handles all decryption from the original broadcasted signal as well as encryption before handing the content off to the USB controller for transmission to the PC

Interesting,…

ATI finally managed to use the Theater 550 Pro in a new product. The NXT 2003 is for DTV and I think ATI currently uses the Microtune 2121 tuner for DVB-T.

Still who knows what the finished product will have?

Or wait a second, is it just the USA that’s going to have this type DRM decrypt/encrypt hardware???

[duren]

interesting...

another product released before the current product has been solidly supported.

pardon me for sounding bitter, but this seems to be a trend at ATI. By the time a product works harmoniously with it's drivers another is on the shelf. Funny thing is, it hasn't even happened yet with the 550 Theatrix/Elite.

Don't get me wrong, I think the TV Wonder Elite is an exceptional piece of hardware, but the lack of proper drivers and software makes it a paperweight.

How long has the card been out? I can't believe 3rd party software has more robust support than ATI. I have been waiting VERY patiently.

Had I known that this was the roadmap, I would have never invested in the card. I really thought it would be different this time around, a step up, with the hardware encoder, instead I've been left with a card that's less flexible than my TV Wonder Pro.

This isn't a biased or ignorant thought either, many feel the same way, and my evaluation is based on the fact that I own all of the TV Wonder cards except the original ISA version.

I think it's time for me to write a letter to my contact at ATI and have them hand it to the team lead of the TV Wonder software development team.