Theater 650 Pro Vista drivers response from ATI support

[pr75]

I am really upset with ATI. I think the card does a good job under Windows XP but I bought it 'cos I was under the impression that it would be Vista compatible. Here's the answer I got from ATI tech support.


"Currently we do not have any Multimedia Centre software or TV Tuner driver to enable the TV functionality of
your video card to work in Windows Vista 64 bit edition.
There are no plans to when or if the drivers will be released
Sorry for the inconvenience caused."

[Octavean]

You can try the XP 64bit 550 / 650 drivers.

I used the XP 32bit drivers to get my 650 working in my Vista RC2 test system. As for an application to actually use the card in,…don’t really know about any such 64bi programs,…

The TV Wonder 650 is a Windows Vista Premium Logo part,….for whatever that might actually be worth,….

For the record what version of Vista are you using?

[pr75]

Looks like ATI support is out of sync. Checked their website right now and just found the drivers for Vista 32 and 64. Bunch of idiots at ATI!!!!

Check their website. The drivers are there.

[bobross]

I got the drivers for the ATI TV Wonder 650 from ATI's website today also. But Vista's media center won't detect the HD tuner. I have the 32 bit version. Anyone have luck getting Vista to detect both tuners??

[jinsaotome800]

Originally Posted by bobross

I got the drivers for the ATI TV Wonder 650 from ATI's website today also. But Vista's media center won't detect the HD tuner. I have the 32 bit version. Anyone have luck getting Vista to detect both tuners??

yeah i actually get the exact same problem. the driver seems to be installed fine though

[Octavean]

Originally Posted by bobross

I got the drivers for the ATI TV Wonder 650 from ATI's website today also. But Vista's media center won't detect the HD tuner. I have the 32 bit version. Anyone have luck getting Vista to detect both tuners??

Originally Posted by jinsaotome800

yeah i actually get the exact same problem. the driver seems to be installed fine though

Some people would have you believe that this is a flaw in Vista itself that forces hybrid tuners to function either as an analog tuner or a digital tuner. This is a fallacy because there are hybrid analog / digital tuners that have such a supported configuration in Vista such as the Vbox Cat’s Eye 164e.

The problem seems to stem from the non-concurrent design of effected tuner cards such as the TV Wonder 650. Both analog and digital tuners of on the TV Wonder 650 are supported in MCE 2K5 and if they are used concurrently an “Erroneous Error message occurs. I suspect that some fundamental MCE specifications were violated in the design of these cards which results in such issues.

Anyway here is a workaround to get both analog and digital components of the TV Wonder 650 functional in Vista MCE:

Vista Kram HDTV Hybrid Tuner Install Routine