Slashdot Mirror
ATi's All In Wonder Radeon 7500
FlippedBit writes "ATi has released a very affordable All In Wonder product based on their Radeon 7500 chip. For a mere $200 smackers you can get decent 3D graphics, TV Tuner, TiVO functions, and a remote that will work from another room with no line of sight."
and it's not with the hardware but the software that gives you the TiVo like operation...
Well, my first problem is that this thing just isn't like Tivo. Tivo will automatically record your favorite shows no matter what the schedule is, which is great when you like stuff on TLC or History Channel that seems to air at random times.
Furthermore, Tivo is smart enough to record things it thinks you will like. This software is dumb as a rock - if I don't tell it to record something, it won't.
Even worse, the Gemstar Guide Plus software will only let you download 7 days of listings - you can't see further than 7 days out. That blows - I don't want to sit down every week and plan my next week of viewing, I want to do it maybe once a month. When I go on vacation, I can only record shows in the next 7 days - heaven help you if you're gone more than 7 days.
Last, and worst, it doesn't REALLY work with dual displays. If you have two video cards in your system, and the second one isn't ATI, the program won't launch. You have to disable the second desktop in order to watch TV. I'm sorry, but that's ridiculous.
What's your damage, Heather?
1. Not all channels seem to be supported by the Guide+ guide... (Oxygen, WB, and a few others in my area) (Note that you can still record shows on these channels, but you have to program it as you would a traditional VCR) 2. Recording quality is great, but when watching TV in "TV On Demand Mode" (where you can pause, fast forward, rewind, etc..) the quality card is less than perfect at lip-synch'ing... and this can be quite annoying. 3. You don't want to have your computer be doing much else while recording shows... (The card has often decided it was in my best interest to *not* record certain shows that I had earmarked...) 4. This card is designed to not record anything that has been protected with macrovision... (Some forum users elsewhere have reported success in bypassing this, though) All in all, I am very happy with this card, as I use it primarily to record shows when I'm not around for archival purposes. If you want perfection and true TV on Demand, I'd suggest TIVO instead...