Theater 650 Pro Discussion

[dabl]

Hmm I guess the financial geeks get more spin than we do.....

http://www.forbes.com/markets/equiti...markets09.html

also see some of the comments to this blurb

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=3969

One guy got an official reply from ATI support denying the recall.

This is like a bad joke......

[Bill T]

Ok, first thing, Multimedia Mike is gone, he left ATi over 3 weeks ago. I am his replacement, and I am here to try to answer as many questions as I can.

So to confirm some things:

Yes, there was a problem with the first shipment of 650's, and there are being recalled.

No, I do NOT know what the cause of the defect was, and even if I did, I'm not sure if that would be relivant to you. It effected the stength of the OTA HD, and made it hard to find many channels.

Yes, ATI has fixed the problem, and the cards will be back on the shelf VERY soon. (I don't know the exact date yet, but we are doing the best we can to get them out soon) There should be some kind of exchange for anyone who may have purchased a defective product.

Please continue to discuss, and ask me questions if you like.

Thanks,

[fdisker]

Hi Bill,

Will the new 650 require an amplified antenna for digital reception?

Will the new 650 allow me to use both digital and analog tuners at the same time?


Those are the two biggies for me. I'm looking to replace my current Theater 550pro and HDTV Wonder with a single card solution. The antenna that shipped with the HDTV Wonder works great and I have no desire to upgrade to an amplified antenna. Also, my current setup allows me to use the digital tuner on the HDTV Wonder and the analog tuner on the Theater 550pro at the same time. It's nice to be able to watch and record (on different tuners) at the same time. If the new 650 does not allow both tuners to be active at the same time then I think the card will be far less desireable to the existing MCE base.

Thanks for your help.

[Question]

Have they fixed the comb filter?

[buddydogs11]

This card looks great. I have ordered this card,it looks like what i am looking for OTA HD and FM tuner.
Two questions for Bill T ,will it have FM on demand like the all-in wonder cards?and do you know if the digital tuner will work with mytheatre software?

[Bill T]

To answer these questions:

1 - Will the new 650 require an amplified antenna for digital reception?
-No, it is not required. The Theater 650 will have equal or even a bit better OTA HD reception then the HDTV Wonder.

2 - Will the new 650 allow me to use both digital and analog tuners at the same time?
-No, this is not a dual tuner device. Only 1 can be recorded or watched at a time.

3 - Have they fixed the comb filter?
-There’s no issue with the comb filter that I am aware of.

4 - Will it have FM on demand like the all-in wonder cards?
-Yes

5 - Will work with “mytheatre” software?
- I’ve never used “mytheater” software but we don’t officially support 3rd party software manufacturers. Contact that software company to see what hardware they support. We only support what we ship with (CMC, or for older products MMC).

[fdisker]

Bill,

Thanks for the response. Your help is appreciated.

Please pass along some feedback to your product team. A single card solution that allows both tuners to be active at the same time would have made the product much more appealing to the DIY Media Center community. I used the 650 for a few days before returning it and can say without a doubt it produced a much better analog picture than my theater 550pro. I'd be happy to spend another 50 bucks on a version of the card where both tuners could be active at the same time.

[Question]

Bill

Thanks for the quick response.

I purchased a TV Wonder 650 and the motion adaptive comb filter was not combing scenes with motion.

I called tech support and they said it was a known problem and didn't have a time frame for a fix

So I returned the card.

I posted earlier, number 253.

[Bill T]

fdisker,

There is a possiblitly that the Theater 650 may be able to do both digital and analog signals at a time with new software, but it currently does not do this. If they decide to do this, I hope you will reconsider buying a Theater 650. I will keep you posted on this.

Question,

What software are you using? CMC and Windows Media Center both support our comb filters. If you are using some other software, it may be bypassing the filters, and then it will not properly comb the scenes.

[Octavean]

Hey there Bill T, good of you to make it !!!

A few questions if you please:

What distinguishing characteristics of the recalled Theater 650 product can be used to identify it and differentiate it from the newer Theater 650 version? Obviously, if the OTA reception was a large contributing factor to the recall, poor OTA reception could be a sign but is there a serial number or batch number lot that users can look out for to ease their concerns of the integrity of their cards?

What will be done with the recalled Theater 650 cards? Will they be remanufactured (refurbished) and put back on store selves or will they be destroyed (or other).

And finally, how does the Theater 650 function in MCE 2K5 and similar PVR applications given its NTSC/ATSC concurrent limitation? Does MCE generate appropriate notifications informing the user of a tuner conflict during a request for concurrent operation or does it simply allow it resulting in corrupted or missed recordings.

Thanks in advance.

Oct.

[Bill T]

Octavean,

If you are having OTA HD problems, then right now that is the only real distingushing factor. Anyone having this problem should contact ATI support and they will be able to help you.

The recalled cards might be fixed, I don't think the problem is too serious. But I am not totally sure on that.

As for you last question, I will try it out on Monday and let you know. Thanks,

[AIW_VID_FAN]

Welcome Bill.
Any ideas when the new cards will ship?
I returned my 650 as I too had problems with the ATSC tuner, I got one channel with an amplifier,
This attic mounted UHF antenna gets me some 24+ channels with the hdtv wonder.
Any Idea if the problem was related to the rework (eco) on this first batch of boards?

Regards and thanks.

[Octavean]

Octavean,

If you are having OTA HD problems, then right now that is the only real distingushing factor. Anyone having this problem should contact ATI support and they will be able to help you.

The recalled cards might be fixed, I don't think the problem is too serious. But I am not totally sure on that.

As for you last question, I will try it out on Monday and let you know. Thanks,

Thanks for the fast reply Bill.

I don’t currently own a Theater 650 based card and this is largely due to the reported issues with respect to OTA and somewhat due to the lack of concurrent functionality. The reason I ask about being able to distinguish effected cards by “serial number” is because many buyers would like to know with a glance whether or not they have an effected/defective card,…even before installation (even after the recall). In many cases, if a product is recalled in mass or selectively the manufacturer will issues some means to determine which of the products are effected, for example s/n xxxx.xxxx.1xxx through xxxx.xxxx.9xxx.

If the recalled cards are fixed they will surly be listed as refurbished when sold and not repackaged and sold as new I trust. This might be a good bargain for those looking into a Theater 650 solution if they come with some sort of factory guarantee and a well deserved price-drop.

As for your last response, thank you very much. I look forward to finally getting some definitive answers to this question.

*** edit ***

One more question:

Is there or will there be a “recommended antenna” list or some tested antennas listed for the Theater 650 given that the newer or re-released Theater 650 no longer requires an amplified antenna?

[bubbaganoush]

Yeah...
It would be really nice if ATI helped users with some suggestions on what kind of antenna to look for.

[fanbanlo]

Hi Bill T, welcome! and thanks for answering our Q's !

1.) I own a 550, would CMC be available soon for 550? When? How to obtain a copy? net download or order CD? price? Secure download would be MUCH better if you ask me.

2.) Is ATI Catalyst Media Center just a graphical update on Cyberlink PowerCinema? Why does it look so similar to PowerCinema?

3.) Where has MM headed to?

[Seraphic-]

Hi Bill T,

I still have my TV Wonder 650 and I want to know why it isn't able to also do 640x480? The card does 720x480 fine, but is 640x480 locked/turned off? If yes, when will it be unlocked?

Thanks