New ATI Tuner Card.

[Octavean]

I don’t run “Beyond TV” myself. I did run the demo for a very short time so I don’t really have much experience with it.

However some info may be found in the “Beyond TV FAQ”:

Configurations Not Supported:

Cards without hardware encoding cannot be used in a multi-tuner environment. Please see our list of supported tuner devices to determine whether your supported device is of the "hardware encode" type.

I’m guessing that this means that you cannot use two non-hardware encoding cards in a dual tuner configuration with Beyond TV or that you cannot even have one non-hardware encoding card in a dual tuner configuration,….

The AIW family is still on the “list of supported tuner devices” but I didn’t see the HDTV Wonder listed,…

satnav4, that support article should prove interesting, if I come across it I’ll be sure to read it.

[satnav4]

I don’t run “Beyond TV” myself. I did run the demo for a very short time so I don’t really have much experience with it.

However some info may be found in the “Beyond TV FAQ”:



I’m guessing that this means that you cannot use two non-hardware encoding cards in a dual tuner configuration with Beyond TV or that you cannot even have one non-hardware encoding card in a dual tuner configuration,….

The AIW family is still on the “list of supported tuner devices” but I didn’t see the HDTV Wonder listed,…

satnav4, that support article should prove interesting, if I come across it I’ll be sure to read it.

I was able to use 2 150's, a 550 and the AIW in the same BTV configuration for a short time. I believe my 150's were a little unhappy, because some smoothness was lost in recordings.

S.

[AIW_VID_FAN]

quote from Octavean:
AIW_VID_FAN[/b], with an AIW X600, T550P and ATI DTV wonder (HDTV Wonder?) how exactly are you sure which tuner you are using at any given time (other then HD) and which tuner is indeed at fault?

Good question, I at first had hope that MMC would support multiple tuners as advertised yet have never seen the "mulTView" feature work.
At the moment I am using mmc 9.06, it is working with the DTV wonders analog tuner as tv1, no tv 2, the DTV ATSC tuner is named DTV in MMC.
I choose the tuner/capture driver in the mmc config utility.
I have the choice between ATI DTV Wonder Analog Wonder Capture,
ATI Rage Theatre Video Capture (AIW X600). and with mmc 9.03 it also would support the Elite 550 driver or ATI Unified AVSTream Capture driver.
I have been able to get all these functional in XP pro , but as mentioned , the best MMC 903 and the elite could do was install perfectly and function perfectly but for a few random minutes until it pauses on its own... until restarted, I think I suprised ATI when I asked them to explain how MMC 903 and the elite do almost work together. ( the answer of course is that MMC does not support the elite 550, MMC 9.06 and newer are now 550 "un-aware".
I then pushed them to get MMC/X600. and powercinema to live in the same pc. they helped me get powercinema to simply function with the elite 550 and not break mmc. the details are in an earlier post(s) in this forum (post 902+)
I think I was responsible for ATI finding out that 9.03 was still elite550
aware. the answer is all remote wonder (its a remote wonder "plus") related, and uninstalling and re installing mmc is the fix. This was given to me by support.

Getting back to the problem with powerenimas black video screen with the 550, I think it somehow started when i installed graphedit, or was messing with driver updates.

[thatdude90210]

Here's a very positive review of the newest 550 pro card, the VisionTek Xtasy at htpcnews. They show some clear and distinct image quality advantages of the 550 pro over the Hauppauge pvr500. Looks like "ISF certified" does make a difference (all theater 550 pro cards are ISF certified).

The VisionTek card ships with BeyondTV: "Subscriber Edition," with a free 30 day subscription. Supposedly after 30 days, if you wish to no longer subscribe, the program is still functional, just without guide data. It becomes more like a VCR.

Interesting that it looks like VisionTek didn't even bundle Powercinema. They must have saw this thread and went "OMG, they are saying it's a pile of crap, and calling it Power Enema instead. We can't bundle that."

[Octavean]

thatdude90210, the Visiontek T550P + Beyond TV SE and Beyond Media bundle was mention a few pages back here:

http://forums.hexus.net/showthread.p...312#post489312

However the review you linked to was quite a good read.

satnav4 made mention that the Beyond TV SE bundle had a time limited subscription for the guide but the review really put it in perspective cost wise.

The Visiontek Xtasy Theater 550 Pro TV Tuner can be had for $99 here:
http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...2527&pfp=srch1

but I bought a Sapphire Theatrix Theater 550 Pro for $75 here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815117601

and Beyond TV FULL version can currently be had for $50 here:
http://www.snapstream.com/products/b...dTV_BuyNow.asp

however, Beyond Media will cost you another $50.

If I were buying now and didn’t already have MCE 2K5 I think I would probably buy the $75 Sapphire Theatrix Theater 550 Pro and the $50 Beyond TV FULL download for a total of $125,…. rather then the $99 Visiontek Xtasy Theater 550 Pro. However, at least people have more choices.

The omission of even a rudimentary remote in the Visiontek bundle seems like a big oversight IMO but the alleged plans for a Visiontek T550P + official MCE remote bundle is indeed interesting.

AIW_VID_FAN, maybe a fresh install is a good way to go. I don’t know what to tell you other then I think I have come across mention of a leaked version of MMC 9.04. Supposedly it has a number of fixes for the HDTV Wonder but was never official released. If true it might have some T550P fixes too but I don’t really use MMC anymore. I really think the best thing to do is to find one app that can see and use all your tuners or at least two of them.

[satnav4]

thatdude90210, the Visiontek T550P + Beyond TV SE and Beyond Media bundle was mention a few pages back here:

http://forums.hexus.net/showthread.p...312#post489312

However the review you linked to was quite a good read.

satnav4 made mention that the Beyond TV SE bundle had a time limited subscription for the guide but the review really put it in perspective cost wise.

The Visiontek Xtasy Theater 550 Pro TV Tuner can be had for $99 here:
http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...2527&pfp=srch1

but I bought a Sapphire Theatrix Theater 550 Pro for $75 here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815117601

and Beyond TV FULL version can currently be had for $50 here:
http://www.snapstream.com/products/b...dTV_BuyNow.asp

however, Beyond Media will cost you another $50.

If I were buying now and didn’t already have MCE 2K5 I think I would probably buy the $75 Sapphire Theatrix Theater 550 Pro and the $50 Beyond TV FULL download for a total of $125,…. rather then the $99 Visiontek Xtasy Theater 550 Pro. However, at least people have more choices.

The omission of even a rudimentary remote in the Visiontek bundle seems like a big oversight IMO but the alleged plans for a Visiontek T550P + official MCE remote bundle is indeed interesting.

AIW_VID_FAN, maybe a fresh install is a good way to go. I don’t know what to tell you other then I think I have come across mention of a leaked version of MMC 9.04. Supposedly it has a number of fixes for the HDTV Wonder but was never official released. If true it might have some T550P fixes too but I don’t really use MMC anymore. I really think the best thing to do is to find one app that can see and use all your tuners or at least two of them.

And let's not forget MSI's entry:MSI Theater 550. I, too, have the Sapphire, and am very satisfied. I note, however, the MSI has a different remote--perhaps a Remote Wonder, which people might prefer to the Sapphire/PowerColor remote. Then again, I have seen one user review which said the Sapphire remote works with MCE. Anyway, you have alot of choices now.

S.

[SHSPVR]

Well after reinstall the my ATI 550 Pro card with latest drivers 6.14.10.82
I'm still not very impressed at all still all very same problem as before
1: Still no sharpness control
2: cthelper.exe still crash at boot up
3: Still can't use diff video resolution like 352x480
4: Audio level still way to low even know it MAX out to 255 at lease the FM part rigth on the money.
5: The MPEG files generated by the Theater 550 Pro are not very compatible with some tools like let say Ulead DVD MovieFactory when I try set up auto 1 min chapters point it carp out after 6 min's in to it and using Womble MPEG-VCR MPEG "GOP fixer" I fine it show lot's of error in GOP time code which not good at all, But writing out a new files with Womble MPEG-VCR fix the problem.

Boy they sure manager to have time to add dumb thing like Detected Parental Control.

[Octavean]

The MSI included remote looks like the same one included with the InterVideo Home Theater 2 package,…. Hummmm I wonder if InterVideo Home Theater 2 works with the T550P,…!?!

http://www.intervideo.com/jsp/HomeTheater_Profile.jsp

BTW, the Sapphire/PowerColor/ AKA Cyberlink remote works rather well with MCE 2K5. I was very surprised to see that it required no user intervention to setup other then plugging in the USB receiver. No reboot, driver discs, or manual driver installation necessary,…… it just worked which is a nice contrast to ATI’s remote wonder line.

***edit***
SHSPVR are you saying the T550P works (sort of) with Ulead DVD MovieFactory as an AV capture device?

[3Cs]

BTW, the Sapphire/PowerColor/ AKA Cyberlink remote works rather well with MCE 2K5. I was very surprised to see that it required no user intervention to setup other then plugging in the USB receiver. No reboot, driver discs, or manual driver installation necessary,…… it just worked which is a nice contrast to ATI’s remote wonder line.

Yes, it is great that it is treated like a special keyboard. But it is not all buttons that are working - and, because I only have USB 1.1, the computer will not shutdown with the IR receiver plugged in...

[SHSPVR]

Octavean no I mean import a MPEG clip

[Octavean]

Interesting,….

SHSPVR, what version of Ulead DVD MovieFactory are you using? I just bought an NEC ND-3520A DVD 16X DVD+R DL KIT and it came with Ulead DVD MovieFactory 3.5. Before that I had version 2.0.

Even if the T550P cannot be directly used with such applications one would think that at least the mpeg files can,….

I might be able to duplicate your problem,….

Did you try changing the time interval for chapter points to see if that helped?

[thethinman]

I use Ulead DVD Workshop (edit mpgs with VideoReDo, shows no errors) with my captured 550 Pro mpg's and they import and play just fine. I usually place chapters every 5 minutes. Oh yeah I use GBPVR to record with.

[Octavean]

I’m thinking that either it is an oddity with the source application used to create the file

Or

The small time interval used for the chapter points

Or

An older version of UDMF

Or

A patch for UDMF is needed.

[Octavean]

According to these two threads (possibly linked to here in this hexus thread before):

http://rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?t=33804254
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&pagenumber=86

MMC 9.04 was indeed released into the wild but not made available via ATI’s web site due to “know issues with MMC 9.04 and various other ATI products”. Presumably, MMC 9.04 was shipped with some retail HDTV Wonder cards within a specific time frame.

Obviously this isn’t conclusive proof by any stretch of the imagination and the only way to know for sure is to produce such an ATI install CD. However, the post made by Stephen Orr (Director, Multimedia Applications ATI Technologies) confirming the existence of MMC 9.04 by urging users not to use or redistribute it seems very convincing to me,…..assuming it really is him.

Lets say MMC 9.03 was originally released somewhere around (11/12/04-to-12/13/04) and MMC 9.06 was released around 3/9/2005,….or whatever,…

In order to find the elusive and wily MMC 9.04 in its natural habitat, we would then need to find a HDTV Wonder install CD that was minted somewhere between these two approximate dates.

My HDTV Wonder’s install CD seems to have been made on Wednesday, January 12, 2005, 4:28:58 PM. Although I have never used it to install MMC I just got curious and started the install process and proceeded far enough to see what components would be installed. What I was looking for was TV, TV2 and DTV since I have both a T550P and a HDTV Wonder installed on System64. Indeed this is exactly what showed up as install options. MMC 9.06 would only show TV and DTV, which can both be attributed to the HDTV Wonder.

So, either I have a MMC 9.03 disc or the mythical MMC 9.04 version,….

Hummmmmm,……

I’m not sure how to identify a MMC version other then to install it but under:

D:\Install\MMC where “D” is the CD/DVD drive.

There was a file named “setup” and when opening it with notepad the following was found:

[Startup]
Company= ATI
ShowComponents = 1
cdinfo= 9.04 cd16


[OEM]
OEMDLLs

Hummmmm,…..

I’m thinking I have to install this thing just to put this to rest in my mind. However, I don’t really like the idea of installing MMC on System64 which is a MCE 2K5 PC since everything is just about the way I want it. Maybe I’ll install it on System2 as a first run and see what I get from that.

[SHSPVR]

Ulead DVD MovieFactory 2 SE with latest patch which I like better any other DMF ver.
Yes I did try time interval 3, 2 and 1 min's
I have Ulead DVD MovieFactory 3 SE that come with PVR 250MCE and 3.5 that come with my DVD buner but I didn't like them.
The clip I use are non edit.
I try BeyondTV and GraphEdit

[Octavean]

I test installed the MMC version on my ATI HDTV Wonder install CD (200 + DVD 180-V01092-200 Made in USA) and it is indeed the elusive and possibly very coveted MMC 9.04 !!!!

Now to test it on the T550P!!!!

BTW, if I have it then obviously many other HDTV Wonder owns have it too. If you are like me though you just download the latest version and never really look at the disc. So, if you have the HDTV Wonder go check that install CD mate!!!

Naturally, the questions I have with respect to the T550P and MMC 9.04 would be:

1) Does the combo even work?

2) If it does indeed work is it better then MMC 9.03?

3) Does TVoD work?

4) Is the PQ badly interlaced and distorted like MMC 9.03 or is it as it should be?

5) Are all the traditional MMC record options made available?

6) Can MMC 9.04 take advantage of ALL the advanced features of the T550P!?!

And so fourth and so on,….

Oh and one more question,….

Seeing as MMC 9.04 is real but had a very limited release and ATI went from MMC 9.03 to 9.06 officially,…. Is there a MMC 9.05 somewhere!?!

Hummmmmm,….

Depending on how you want to look at it, its really funny, odd, underhanded or whatever you want to call it,…… that the fabled MMC 9.04 actually shipped with the HDTV Wonder and not with the T550P