AMD's Newest TV Wonder: Clear QAM For The Masses

by Derek Wilson on 10/15/2007 3:37 AM EST
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  • Casper42 - Thursday, October 25, 2007 - link

    Last I checked, Vista MCE wont tune Clear QAM channels though will it?

    And even if it can be tuned, does Microsoft provide the Channel Lineup information?

    I have a TV that does QAM Decoding and I figured out which channels my local CBS HD, NBC HD, ABC HD and FOX HD were on. CBS was like 92.1 and NBC was 92.2, etc. I called Time Warner and asked them if they had a channel lineup in this type of format and they didnt have a clue what I was asking about.


    Can anyone confirm that this new ATI Combo Tuner, or any other Clear QAM Tuner actually WORKS with Vista AND they can get the Digital Channels to show up in their Listings Guide?
  • troos - Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - link

    I picked one up at Fry's and tried it. Everything works well on XP, except the QAM. Nothing on the box or website or limited instruction manual, mention this. Clear QAM will only work with Vista, so that the signal can be properly DRM'd.

    I returned it and bought a Homerun!
  • Chadder007 - Friday, October 19, 2007 - link

    What? No PCI version with the hardware mpeg2 for Clear QAM??
  • Gannon - Thursday, October 18, 2007 - link

    ... the fact that many TUNERS do not update the screen in REAL TIME which makes playing video games impossible. Older TV tuners that used a "passthrough" method did not have a screen update lag-time....

    I think this is a CRITICAL test by the way, people should know what they are getting, I bought a TV wonder 650 only to find out there is lag time on the screen update, and I was not pleased.
  • Chadder007 - Friday, October 19, 2007 - link

    I think you can turn off the Pause feature somewhere in ATI's program and that will allow it to show in real time to play games. Otherwise its keeping some of the video in memory before showing to the screen so that it will have a skip free pausing of the TV broadcast.
  • flashbacck - Tuesday, October 16, 2007 - link

    Derek,
    Do you know what's the story with the ATI TV Wonder 650 that was introduced last year, and this new version? As I recall, the old one was recalled and then we never heard anything about it until now.
  • Affectionate-Bed-980 - Tuesday, October 16, 2007 - link

    I wonder how this will match up against DVICO's FusionHDTV 5 as that's pretty much one of the best products you can get out there for QAM support. I liked ATI's remote and the interface, but without QAM I had to settle for DVICO. Maybe my second tuner will be ATI =)
  • skyyspam - Monday, October 15, 2007 - link

    It's "ATI", not "AMD". Anand's the ONLY website that goes out of their way to call ATI "AMD". Annoyance++
  • ksherman - Monday, October 15, 2007 - link

    Do any of these have OS X support? Specifically the USB version. I would also, on that note request that if you all are doing a roundup review of these new tuners that you throw some USB tuners in the mix, I am curious to see how they stack up. I am looking to be able to plug one of those USB tuners into my MacBook Pro to record TV shows for me.
  • bigpow - Monday, October 15, 2007 - link

    I'll stay with my provider's HD Box (with IEEE1394 enabled for recording on the PC)
    and cheapy analog tuners for the SD shows
  • BPB - Monday, October 15, 2007 - link

    Seems to me that because my provider (Cox) scrambles all their digital chammels, this will do nothing for me. Am I correct?
  • DerekWilson - Tuesday, October 16, 2007 - link

    if by scrambles you mean modulates an NTSC or ATCS signal for transmission using clear QAM then it will work. this should be what all cable companies do with non-premium digital channels. premium content is encrypted and requires a cable card to decrypt.
  • Steve - Tuesday, October 16, 2007 - link

    Derek, when will we see you in the forums again? Some communication would be nice.
  • MooseMuffin - Monday, October 15, 2007 - link

    This is a topic I definitely want to know more about, and I was excited to see the article posted. But then I read it and there was nothing here. "Theres some new ATI TV cards out with a new feature. They might be good, but we haven't tried them." Umm thanks alot.
  • ninjit - Monday, October 15, 2007 - link

    I wasn't going to say anything because I thought I maybe being too critical.

    But a 2-page news-bit with no meat does NOT constitute a front page article under "Latest Reviews"

    This is better suited to a fleshed out headline on Dailytech.

    Very disappointing: not what one would expect from Anandtech.
  • LoneWolf15 - Monday, October 15, 2007 - link

    I agree. And as great as ATI hardware can be, we have no idea of what software will be used, and what to expect in terms of features and stability. Many a great ATI TV tuner has bombed because ATI couldn't write decent software for it. And the last several tuners have had Cyberlink software, which neglected such small but absolutely crucial features as "always on top" mode for viewing.

    Until a test is made, this is a fancy press release. Neat, fun to read, leaves you waiting for more, but doesn't tell you what you really need to know.
  • SanLouBlues - Monday, October 15, 2007 - link

    PCHdtv's HD5500 has supported unencrypted QAM viewing for a while. Only big difference is that there's no on card hardware mpeg decryption.
  • erwos - Monday, October 15, 2007 - link

    For the price, an HDHomeRun is the better deal, IMHO, especially if all you're interested in is the QAM bit.
  • recon300 - Monday, October 15, 2007 - link

    Not only that, but I cant figure out why this is front page news. I've been using a DVICO Fusion tuner card for HD OTA and for clearQAM from comca$t for >2 yrs now. The only difference I can see here is that the AMD/ATI card has two tuners...
  • MGSsancho - Monday, October 15, 2007 - link

    even if these ATI cards only work in vista, or apple in the feature (im just guessing based on their actions they might who knows) does not matter to me. i personally dont care it it works in linux or not. but i want what every one wants. a psie card that can do everything. if it needs a cable card, fine. if you want two cable cards and and need 2 tuner cards, fine. if you need to tell vista media center to uber-crypt a partition with EFS, fine (as long as i can save the rsa keys like i currently can in vista). in vista i can grow paritions are shrink them its not tooooo bad. anyways, if i can get all these things working, even if its like vista only, thats to me is fine. i will be happy. HD channels, on demand, as im scrolling through the channels the basic chans (2-13) it will automatically switch to an OTA antenna (i'll provide it i dont care). i will be happy. even if each card is like $60, fine. building a box with parts etc etc fine, i just want to be able to do it. oh well looks like its another reason to hate the MAFIAA. they could be making soo much money on this. and for you linux guys, HD wont ever come sorry. unless you tap the 1394 port on the back of the provider box.
  • Gul Westfale - Monday, October 15, 2007 - link

    even like its vista i'ma no understand its like fine vista two tuners me fine. what?
  • MGSsancho - Monday, October 15, 2007 - link

    lol in english, you pause at the commas. basically i dont care what the requirements are for to make my vista box be my media center. it already has the software, i dont care about getting tunners and cable cards. i just want it all to work.
  • Thatguy97 - Saturday, June 27, 2015 - link

    back then i bought the pci version after using tv cards for 8 years i stopped here

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