Manage updates with the Download AppATI TV Wonder 650
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc. Part number: 100-715331
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- ATI's flagship TV tuner card offers the best image quality we've seen from a TV tuner card and includes over-the-air HDTV support, but it's still not as good as a direct cable-box-to-TV signal.
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Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memory4Less.com | Not yet rated | In stock | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 05/13/2013 Refurbished |
CNET editors' review
ATI TV Wonder 650 price range: $233.03
- Reviewed by: Dan Ackerman
- Edited by: Matthew Elliott
- Reviewed on: 09/10/2006
- Released on: 08/21/2006
The good: Best TV tuner image quality we've seen; offer for free remote by mail; includes media management software.
The bad: Free remote requires shipping charge; still a stop-gap measure until the next generation of TV tuners.
The bottom line: ATI's flagship TV tuner card offers the best image quality we've seen from a TV tuner card and includes over-the-air HDTV support, but it's still not as good as a direct cable-box-to-TV signal.
User reviews
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Great card for my setup
by gemaz on October 17, 2006
Pros: Looks fantastic in HD - no frame drops yet
Cons: Their software
Summary: Your experience with this card may depend on your setup (hardware and software) and how you use it (recording cable, over the air, over the air digital, etc.). I am ...
Summary: Your experience with this card may depend on your setup (hardware and software) and how you use it (recording cable, over the air, over the air digital, etc.). I am using Media Center 2005 to record over the air HD content. I'm playing the recording back on an Xbox 360 hardwired to my network and connected to a HD TV. Do not bother trying this through a wireless network, it wont be fast enough (I had to sell my Xbox 360 wireless adaptor because it wasn't even close to being fast enough). I have an N router by Belkin and an N desktop adaptor and it is barely fast enough and only when I have maximum signal strength. I will probably end up hardwiring the PC as well.
When you install the drivers (and software if you don’t have Media Center) don’t forget to disable your antivirus (I had problems with System Mechanic {Kaspersky}). (Quick side note to Kaspersky owners – do not ever use their stealth mode with their firewall, it really messes with your ability to connect to your Xbox 360)
The card works really well in my setup but looks terrible on my PC because even though my video card meets the minimum requirements it is no where near ready to deal with over the air HD content. I can play HD content (720P or 1080P) downloaded off the internet but the video card doesn’t have to work as hard to display that. Recording and displaying analog TV is very easy and looks about as good as a high end VCR. TIP, if you don’t have cable (like me) and just want to do over the air (OTA) make sure you split the cable and attach to both the CABLE input on the card and the DTV input on the card. It will help you during setup and it will allow you to display both the digital and analog channels in your area.
I talked to ATI and the recall was for boards that showed great signal strength but couldn’t actually pull in the signal very well. My board pulls in signals as well as both of my OTA set top boxes.
I really recommend this card and for those of you thinking about other software and/or ways to display it on your TV I really recommend getting a copy of Media Center and maybe even an Xbox 360 – I bought both on e-bay.6 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Better than HDTV Wonder
by Drkmaster on October 17, 2006
Pros: Easier to install than HDTV Wonder
Cons: Catalyst MC is just bad software, it requires some knowledge to install it correctly.
Summary: computer descriptions
Emachines
Windows MCE 2005 rollup 2
Intel Pentium 3.08
328 available ram
128 radeon xpress 200 series intergrated video card
I would like to start off by ...Summary: computer descriptions
Emachines
Windows MCE 2005 rollup 2
Intel Pentium 3.08
328 available ram
128 radeon xpress 200 series intergrated video card
I would like to start off by saying this: "If you're not a techy/patient kind of guy I suggest you just steer away from this card"
ATI has been one of the most retarded companies that I've ever had to deal with. The reason is because most of their products are great concepts... but it's just a pain in the ass to make them work as they were meant to. I bought this product for two purposes only: to have a high quality HDTV tuner, and to fulfill my goal of having a kick ass Windows Media Center Edition 2005 computer. I was very excited when I bought this product, since it seemed to be easier to install than the previous version of Ati Hdtv wonder. Note: I was eager to buy it. When I arrived home, I started to install the Pci card into the slot. Then I followed the manual instructions in order to install the drivers and media center catalyst. At first I just installed the drivers and decoders, because the manual said that Windows MCE didn't require the catalyst mc. I started Mc and I started setting up the channels, and when it finished I was completely disappointed at the results. The DTV channels didn't show up, specially the sd channels which shouldn't be hard to detect. MCE did not recognize them at all. So I was required to install Catalyst Mc, after I installed it I had almost the same results. It detected some channels, but I could only hear the audio but not the video. As I finished troubleshooting the card, I had to call ATI and complain about it.
It turns out that some Windows MC computers that come bundled with Radeon Xpress 200 series cards, have the wrong version of the drivers installed into them.
I had to uninstall the drivers for both of the cards and start all over again. To make along story short After doing all of that my PC lagged severely, and I needed to buy a new antenna.7 out of 10 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great Video capture quality in the high setting
by fast_dude007 on December 31, 2006
Pros: Easy set up, great functional software
Cons: Optional free remote offer?
Summary: After purchasing my x1650 pro ATI video card which had no Video-in features I did bought this ATI wonder 650 and must say it was money well spend. Installation was ...
Summary: After purchasing my x1650 pro ATI video card which had no Video-in features I did bought this ATI wonder 650 and must say it was money well spend. Installation was flawless. Software works very well and the custom video setting records my videos in an exellent video quality. DVD writting software is kind of basic, but I do use my Nero software. Bottomline, dvd's and video quality are the best I seen so far from a capture card.
Updated
After phoning and talking to ATI's tech support it came clear that the media software for this product is too basic and not functionally properly at this time. I'm not able to record any video format more than 4000 bits per second, even when I set the custom setting to 8000 bits per second, the software always defaults back to 4000. Even updating the driver did not solve the issue. Even Nero 7 is not able to use the ATI capture driver properly, again at this time it is a ATI driver issue.5 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great TV card w/really bad software
by kheim on September 21, 2006
Pros: Best anolog picture so far
Cons: Not surprising, but horrible ATI software
Summary: Dispite all the talk about recalls, my card works fine. It needs a strong signal. Stronger then any cheap TV would need. I only used it with the ATI media ...
Summary: Dispite all the talk about recalls, my card works fine. It needs a strong signal. Stronger then any cheap TV would need. I only used it with the ATI media center software supplied. I really need to try some other software. I can't beleive ATI can put out junk software time after time like this. Don't bother ordering the remote. It dosen't interface with the software very well. Recording an analog station produces a recording much better then VHS and the HighDef is really nice. Recording HighDef needs a computer with a fast Hard drive and bus otherwise you will get missed frames. The mpeg file that it produces is not quite normal. Windows media player has trouble playing it back. There is nothing on the shelves right now to match the picture quality. Its to bad about ATI's software or they might of had a winner. I would give it an 8 or 9 if it wasn't for the horrible software. Also maybe some one could comment on what the recall was all about.
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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great picture
by rav4man on June 5, 2008
Pros: Easy and Smooth Installation
Cons: Poor documentation
Summary: Was contemplating buying a flat panel for my home office, but at $400 for a decent flat panel I decided to go with this card instead.
The installation was smooth, ...Summary: Was contemplating buying a flat panel for my home office, but at $400 for a decent flat panel I decided to go with this card instead.
The installation was smooth, works with Windows Media Center, pulled down the latest drivers and I was off and viewing.
The printed documentation was very light, there is more on the install CD.2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Picture good - Software REALLY stinks
by clemK on January 9, 2007
Pros: Picture and reception are good
Cons: Software is terrible - maybe worse than that
Summary: Did I mention that the software REALLY stinks?
The only way anybody could rate this product above a 5 is if they've just not used a decent PC TV ...Summary: Did I mention that the software REALLY stinks?
The only way anybody could rate this product above a 5 is if they've just not used a decent PC TV Tuner product before. I "graduated" from an ATI TV Wonder Rage 128, which had marvelous software - very user friendly and plenty of controls, and it worked.
The Catalyst Media Center that comes with this product is "user mean", and lacks any reasonable features - not even a previous channel button!
The control panel is accessed by moving your mouse over the image which gives you the control panel and a HUGE status bar that together cover the top and bottom of the image. Volume control is with plus/minus buttons (no slider) with adjustment so coarse that you go from can't hear to shouting. Channels are selected with up/down buttons or a channel selector list box that contains only 6 channels and has no scroll bar. To select a channel in the list box, you move your mouse past the top or bottom and immediately overshoot the channel you wanted, forcing you to repeat the process in the other direction. If you use the up/down buttons, an additional status bar covers up the botttom 1/3 of the screen.
Configuration is almost non-existent. You can't even assign names to the channels - all you have to go by is the numbers.
The software does include an Electronic Program guide - never has worked, and I've given up.
After the great software that came with the earlier TV Wonder, I assumed that the new product would be a great picture to go with great software. The picture is very good, but the software is great disappointment. ATI should be embarrassed.
I'd return the product, but that's such a pain, I'm living with it until other options are available (software or hardware).3 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great TV card, not-so-great software
by edsoliz on October 25, 2006
Pros: Works great with Media Center and Xbox 360, FM tuner
Cons: Included software not very useful
Summary: I had great expectations for this card, and those expectations were met once I started using Media Center. After I used Media Center's signal strength utility to find the ...
Summary: I had great expectations for this card, and those expectations were met once I started using Media Center. After I used Media Center's signal strength utility to find the best spot for my antenna, HD stations came in clearly and are easily watched on my HDTV via Xbox 360. I have not used the card's analog capabilities as of yet, but I'm looking forward to the results once I do.
ATI's software is not ready for prime-time. Auto-programming channels does not produce a usable list of available stations, and the program guide does not work. I'm hoping that these issues will be resolved in the future, but for now Media Center suits my needs just fine.2 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great for the money
by kamaboko! on January 1, 2007
Pros: Simple to setup
Cons: Nothing so far
Summary: I wasn't too sure given the mixed reviews on this card, but I bought one anyway. Man, it was simple to setup. It scanned in my local HD stations ...
Summary: I wasn't too sure given the mixed reviews on this card, but I bought one anyway. Man, it was simple to setup. It scanned in my local HD stations in just a few minutes and seems to be working great. Maybe I was lucky?
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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favorable review
by s5rf5ng on December 20, 2006
Pros: Great for price
Cons: 17" monitor is still not a 40" screen
Summary: I live in S.F. about a mile from Twin Peaks broadcasting aerials. I inherited(literally) a one year old Dell work station ($3,000) from a music buff (he ...
Summary: I live in S.F. about a mile from Twin Peaks broadcasting aerials. I inherited(literally) a one year old Dell work station ($3,000) from a music buff (he had a web page on music that got many replies from around the world). I am not very knowledgeable myself about this sort of stuff but this computer probably made things easy for me. With a little bit of anxiety I installed an ATI Wonder card 650 ($100 on sale at Best Buy). Works GREAT. Records (scheduled or push button) HDTV (no quality loss) or FM radio. They say you need an amplified aerial. I put on a connecting coax (have not gotten such aerial yet) put much of the coax in the window. During weather good for reception, I perfectly receive NBC, ABC, KQED(regular broadcast, ENCORE, and WORLD), KIDS and three in Chinese broadcasts. All HDTV. Can always receive ABC. I have a 17" monitor--not bad viewing for one person, but LCD is too directional for more viewers(of course a computer monitor is only designed for one person at a time). Hope eventually to get a bigger screen, but it looks like the screen may be the most expensive aspect of a regular HDTV, so running off a computer may not save much. Looks like 90% of the cost of an HDTV is a result of the screen.
Updated
Re: kheim review
If you review latest comments, it looks like “all the talk about recalls” was a malicious hoax.Updated
The 650 works very badly on cable or OTA analog. I got it only for OTA digital, so no problem for me. It is very sensitive to different antenna options. I use a splitter and two antennas. A 30 ft. coax coiled up with a super simple loop off an old $20 TV actually works best on some channels--and I have a Radio Shack $70 amplified antenna. I now get about 17 digital OTA channels.
The 650 crashes about once a month and I have to delete and reinstal.
I have learned the difference between digital multi-casting and digital hi-def--even though the multicasts are often almost as good as the hi-def.
Also noticed good quality production, standard def broadcast received on a LCD can be very close in quality to hi-def.
Also if the original program is not made with very good quality cameras--high def is just a waste.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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ATI TV Wonder 650
by ciblack on October 5, 2006
Pros: Great HD picture using Microft Media Center
Cons: Doesn't work real well with Catalyst Media Center
Summary: The installation went smoothly but had problems getting the Catalyst Media Center to work properly. Tried Windows Media Center and it set up and worked beautifully including the program guide. ...
Summary: The installation went smoothly but had problems getting the Catalyst Media Center to work properly. Tried Windows Media Center and it set up and worked beautifully including the program guide. The HD pictures and sound were awsome, about as good as my Den LCD HDTV. I only use the over the air channels using an outside antenna and display the HD video on my 19 inch pc monitor.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
- Part number: 100-715331
- Description: TV Wonder 650 is loaded with the very latest in digital TV technologies. Features such as its advanced 3D comb filter, noise reduction, automatic color control, and edge enhancement produce brilliant, sharp video that rivals high-end consumer television sets. Loaded with abilities, you'll be able to schedule, watch and record analog TV, "free-to-air" HDTV, and FM stations, making the TV Wonder 650 the ultimate media upgrade for your PC. This complete solution further possesses the ability to allow you to watch the latest DVD title, author your own DVD, or convert your recorded TV shows to take with you on your Portable Media Player. The entire experience is then elegantly packaged within Catalyst Media Center's attractive, easy-to-use 3D interface. The unprecedented media capabilities of the TV Wonder 650 expand your PC to explode beyond today's standard computer uses. As a result, TV Wonder 650 is also the ideal solution for bringing the PC into the living room, coupled with the hot new PC home Theater-style cases.
General
- Video Input This card can receive HDTV signals, allowing a system equipped with it to act as a tuner for a connected HDTV-ready device.
- Packaged Quantity 1
- Device Type ATSC HDTV receiver / analog TV tuner / video input adapter
- Enclosure Type Plug-in card
- Interface Type PCI
Video
- Type TV tuner
- Form Factor Plug-in card
- Interface Type Composite video input ,
S-video input - Analog Video Format NTSC
- Analog Video Signal Composite video,
S-Video - Digital Video Format WMV ,
DivX ,
MPEG-4 ,
MPEG-2 Audio Input
- Type FM tuner
Expansion / Connectivity
- Expansion Slots Total (Free) None
- Interfaces 1 x TV antenna,
1 x Display / video - S-video input,
1 x Audio - Line-in - Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm - Connections None
- Compatible Slots 1 x PCI
Miscellaneous
- Microsoft Certifications Compatible with Windows 7
Software / System Requirements
- OS Required Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition ,
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support 1 year warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - 1 year
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse ATI Technologies Inc. products on Shopper.com
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- Manufacturer:ATI Technologies Inc.
- Address:
33 Commerce Valley Dr. East
Thornhill, Ontario, Canada L3T 7N6 - Phone: 905/882-2626
- Email: support@atitech.ca
