New ATI Tuner Card.

[satnav4]

Recording with Hauppauge scheduler is also having some problems with sound,
From 4 programmed recording 2 had sound........

a con for hauppauge is local support (at least here in the Netherlands)

Try GBPVR instead of the WinTV software. Go to gbpvr.com; the software is free.

S

[neutron]

Try GBPVR instead of the WinTV software. Go to gbpvr.com; the software is free.

S

I will give it a try
Actually I looked for a program that also supported EPG in my country.....

[neutron]

I put mine at the same place I set my old wave master at last year... (Trash can) I'm buying a NTV! Take that ATi! I had enough of this waiting around for empty promises!

I just read the review on Hexus and the software for this NTV is also not 100%... But in general you are right NTV is from competitive standpoint in a better shape when considering the price and software.....

[e.lectronick]

Wow, not a single post all day... That's new.

Well, just as an update, I've been to a couple of discussion sites and invited folks over here to share their curses, maledictions and harsh reiterations about the 550 Pro based cards.

So, I guess this is kind of a *bump*

-Erik

[islasian]

Wow, not a single post all day... That's new.

-Erik

Yeah, I think everyones wore out from all the frustrations the 550 has caused this past week. Plus, it's been crunch time here at work for me as well... I'm on my way home now.. but I have to be in tomorrow

I'm wondering when ATI reps are going to comment on all the questions we posted or are they scared now

[satnav4]

Wow, not a single post all day... That's new.

I feel like I have let you down. The folks at zipzoomfly have not responded to my email requesting a full refund. I followed up today to give them a bump.

I tried Beyond TV, and could not get it to run the card. I know Jonas has had better luck. I tried MediaPortal, and it would not run it either.

S.

[satnav4]

Just a reminder that ATI continues to advertise the MMC with its 550 chip:

[IMG][/IMG]

This is from ATI's website. It is not limited to the Elite. It pertains to all 550 chips. You will all notice the familiar MMC "egg".

S.

[bubbaganoush]

man...I really hope they support it with the next mmc... PowerCinema does what I need it too, but it'd be nice to have the features that Mmc provides.

[satnav4]

Even the Sept. 2004 press release touted MMC support:

"THEATER 550 PRO also supports ATI’s own award winning MULTIMEDIA CENTER™, Cyberlink’s PowerCinema and Intervideo’s WinDVRTM and Home Theater. ATI will continue to support other third party applications based on customer requirements."

The promise of support extends to PowerColor and Sapphire, which were advertised as manufacturers using the chip:

"Products featuring THEATER 550 PRO will be created by leading PC manufacturers including Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd., Info-Tek Corp., Micro-Star International Co., Ltd, Sapphire Technology Limited, Tul Corporation and YUAN High-Tech Development Co. Ltd."

The full press release is here:

http://www.ati.com/companyinfo/press/2004/4781.html


S.

[exAndrzej]

Oh you guys...



I have posted it several times already - but here it is again in case you missed it... "Theatre 550 Pro will not have MMC" or "There will not be a version of MMC for Theatre 550 Pro". Forget the screen shots etc. This is the official line. The mass market demand for this kind of product in 2005 will be Media Center Edition - so that is what we will support. The partners may bundle Cyberlink etc in with the card - but MCE is our focus.

----------------------------------------------------------------

...when ATI reps are going to comment on all the questions...

Oh you guys...



Your questions will be posed to the top guys within the next 24 hours

I am not sure whether 'plush surroundings + copious quantities of alcohol' or something a little more 'C17: Do you mind if we ask you a question or two' tactics will be employed...

...but the people doing the posing (questions + sunglasses ) will be members of the HEXUS Hierarchy... so watch this space !

[blakev]

Thanks Andrzej. Now we know that this card is inextricably wedded to the MCE OS. We (many of us) are counting on this meeting to establish firmly for ATi that this decision to cut the major interest of this card for quite a few people is bordering on insolence, and that this card will not sell as expected to individuals who wanted a TV card/encoder bundle. Plus there's the small affair of migrating from XP Pro etc to MCE. And from what I've read, we still don't have correct access to the chip's functionality from MCE.
However, reading between the lines, it appears that the good news is that the chip will be packaged with other ATi stuff, and there, we all hope the effort to exploit the chip with in-house software will be made. But say goodbye to the inexpensive solution marketing was touting: if I get this chip in an AIW 6 months from now, I'm not paying 83 bucks, am I?
It's all too bad...
Also why the list took a breather: that was the collective sigh of people realizing they were being let down.

[spacded]

I always thought that this chip was Squarely aimed at MCE and its big selling point was PICTURE QUALITY in Live TV as well as recordings?

If so then it meets my hopes

im sure ATI will at some point widen the user base to other software
(seems silly not to), however I think the 550 is part of a sweetener with Microsoft as
ATI are providing the graphics for XBOX 2.


ATI have done a near exclusive deal with MCE 2005 to improve its biggest failing , i.e. picture quality in Live TV. Thereby bumping up MCE2005 product status and keeping ATI in with Microsoft

[blakev]

Absolutely spot on. Plus let's not forget that the target included someone non-technical seeing something interesting on the telly and pressing record: this person doesn't really care about bitrates nor about the eventual filesize fitting on a CD. Still, this decision is frustrating for those of us who believed the hype and thought this board would kill two birds with one stone.
Thing that shocks me is the mistake of announcing compatibility to MMC to Cyberlink, who now find themselves with litigious product doc. For this reason alone: in support of their partner(s), ATi should commit to making this board work with MMC. Although I'm beginning to lose hope for that, we'll still just have to wait and see what comes out of the meeting with Hexus...
In a different commercial area this sort of lack of communication between parties would have left ATi cowering in shellshock: but in the computer industry, companies seem to think they can brazen it out. Imagine in the automotive industry. If you announce something, and you don't deliver, your cred is shot and it's massive recall at several 10s of millions of lost revenue.
I sure hope ATi decide to do the right and noble thing and come through on their hasty promise to support this card with MMC software. After all, how much extra dev is it really? They do intend to embed this chip on their AIWs, don't they? Surely effort now to get MMC working on theatre cards with this chip will impact positively on the effort required later for the AIWs?

[satnav4]

Oh you guys...



I have posted it several times already - but here it is again in case you missed it... "Theatre 550 Pro will not have MMC" or "There will not be a version of MMC for Theatre 550 Pro". Forget the screen shots etc. This is the official line. The mass market demand for this kind of product in 2005 will be Media Center Edition - so that is what we will support. The partners may bundle Cyberlink etc in with the card - but MCE is our focus.

With all due respect Andrzej, no matter how many times you say something now, it cannot undo what ATI said before to encourage the sale of its product. It is a simple matter of contract law. It is a simple matter of truth in advertising. I know that is how the law works in the U.S., and I suspect that is how the law works in Canada.

For example, suppose you buy a car advertised to have leather seats, but it is delivered with cloth seats. You are upset, but are told by the salesman in 10 post sale letters: "the car was really targeted for cloth seat people". Guess what, you were deceived and have a cause of action for recission of the contract and/or damages and/or reduction in price and/or specific performance(to compel delivery of the promised product). The seller cannot simply change the facts after the transaction. Years ago, Buick sold cars with supposed Buick engines, which in fact were Chevy engines. Guess what--they were hit with a hugh class action and big damages. That is why now the car sticker on GM cars indicates where the engine was manufactured.

I have 2 Hauppauge 150's, a Dvico Fusion Mpeg2, an ATI AIW 9800 Pro and a Leadtek Expert. I was attempting to take a step forward by purchasing the 550 with MMC support. I had no plans of upgrading my XP Home with MCE for $140; I had no intention of buying BTV for $70. See, the 550 was promised compatible with MMC--so I bought it. The Cyberlink software (my trial version; Sapphire was not kind enough to include the cd) provides none of the important features that all of the above products have:

1) Fine bitrate control;
2) Vbr control;
3) Save location control;
4) Included EPG;
5) S-Video input control.

These are all functions the MMC provides.

The moral of the story: ATI needs to carry through on its promise of MMC support or face the music on compensating those deceived by the advertising. Another-- "I will spell this out for you again, you will get no MMC support--Tough Luck" --will not cut it.

S.

[e.lectronick]

If ATI has dug in it's heels, as Andrzej has pointed out again, then I have to ask if this meeting with the ATI brass is anything but a PR stunt designed to do nothing but mollify us to avoid the inconvenience of taking any real action?

If there are no plans to change anything about this card and it's functionality, then is this anything but an academic exercise? Is ATI just running a political game with us so it doesn't have to actually take any responsibility for it's broken promises?

You can be certain that the company will drag out this little "meeting with the people" over and over again as an example of it's committment to it's customers -patting itself on the back for being so 'down' with the common consumer. Well, I'm sorry if I'm not buying it. And I'm not afraid to shout it from the rooftops.

DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE!
ATI DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOU. THEY ONLY CARE ABOUT YOUR MONEY!

Funny thing is, if they were smart, they could have it. Just make a great product and watch it fly off the shelves. The difference between the current Elite card and the one we want is less than 1%. Compare that to the several hundred percent difference in sales it could make. It doesn't take a bean counter to get the point. Yet the bean counters seem to be making the decisions. News flash, ATI: That's ALWAYS a bad idea.
If you aren't going to give us what you promised, then break another rule (it shouldn't be a dilemma, there *IS* a precedent, now) and tell us which future product release will sport these features? Will it be an AIW card? Let's hope any of us can afford it as easily as another of the T550P based promises claimed. We'll just have to save our pennies and wait for that one to come out. Sorry, but you can't treat your customers like fools by expecting them to fall into line like good little automatons and buy whatever half-assed product you churn out one after another, until you come through with the real thing. We work hard for our money, and will not throw it away just to settle for "barely good enough" over and over again.

Andrzej, it's nothing personal. You don't make these decisions, but ATI needs to take responsibility for it's actions and take measures to make good on it's word, even if it means making exceptions to it's own rules.

-Erik.

[satnav4]

DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE!
ATI DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOU. THEY ONLY CARE ABOUT YOUR MONEY!

e.lectronic

You hit it on the head. Unless, of course, ATI intends to extend MMC support to the 550, and they are giving Andrzej bad information. There is still that Stephen Orr quote out there; the one that promises MMC support for all supported products-----What does that mean? What is support for supported products? That reminds me of Bill Clinton's problem with the word "is". What is "is"?

Could we please have the head of this product line give us a straight answer?
A simple "yes" or "no" from someone who makes the decision on MMC support for the product promised to have MMC support? This does not mean I will be quiet for a "no" answer, if that is what it is. It just educates me as to my options. It will also help all those out there deciding between Hauppauge and ATI.

S.