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Introduction
Multimedia is a term becoming more and more associated with your
PC, and leading the way is ATI. One of their latest and brilliant releases
is the TV WONDER VE which allows you to connect up a cable or antenna
TV signal to your computer for your viewing pleasure. But that's not all,
with this product you can digitally record from either the cable input
or a composite input for DVD players, or camcorders. The software included
comes with some excellent features such as channel surfing, allowing you
to view every programmed channel at the same time, and TV Guide plus which,
through your internet connection automatically updates tv listings for
your area. Also included with this product is the ATI Remote wonder -
another brilliant product suited perfectly for the TV Wonder VE, allowing
you freedom of mobility.
Specs & Info
The specifications and highlights of the device ...
- UHF Remote Control Option allowing you to operate free
from your office chair
- TV tuner capable of over 100 channels
- Composite Input for DVD viewing or recording!
- Digital VCR - allowing you to record straight to AVI
or MPEG
- Scheduled Viewing and recording - so you never have to
miss your favorite TV show again
- Easy Installation for both software and hardware
- Video Desktop capability
- Gemstar GUIDE Plus+™ Interactive Program Guide
- Motion video capturing and still frame galleries for
recording straight from your camcorder
- Channel Surfing allowing you to see what's on every channel
at the same time with multiple windows.
- TV integrated Web Browsing
- Digital Zoom features
- Closed Captioning with available Hot words Real time
Word Notification.
Performance
When breaking down the
performance there are three key areas of focus. The first of the three
focus areas is the TV Tuner. This tuner has a 125 channel capability and
can be connected through a coaxial to your Antenna or cable TV input.
The TV window can be displayed in a variety of preset resolutions or can
be custom defined simply by dragging the mouse. If you're worrying about
the picture quality - STOP. Part of the brilliance of this equipment is
the ability to customize just about everything, this includes Brightness,
Color, Tint and Contrast. Also, the display ratios are fully changeable
as well. You can watch TV anywhere from Wide Screen 2.35:1, to the standard
4:3 with a variety of options in between.
The software included comes with some amazing features.
Perhaps the coolest of the bunch is the "Channel Surfing" feature
that allows you to see what's on every channel all at the same time. It
simply creates thumbnails of every channel set up and refreshes the images
constantly so you can easily decide what to watch. The software also includes
a TV listings program that uses your internet connection to keep you automatically
updated. And like all TV's, this one has closed captioning. But unique
to the digital world is Hot Key feature to monitor words and text and
let you know when specified words come up. Of course all of this is once
again fully customizable.
The last feature to discuss for performance is the Digital
Recording and Still Image capturing. At high resolutions video files can
get really large really fast. 20 minute long videos extending multiple
gigabytes just does not work for most people. Fortunately there are 4
different settings allowing you to adapt to a lower resolution for longer
programs, but still letting you keep excellent resolution for the shorter
recordings. And keeping in line with the fully customizable you can go
under custom settings and define your own recording type, with a variety
of compression types such as .avi, .mpeg-1 and .mpeg-2.
Value and Usefulness
Wouldn't it be nice to never miss an episode of "The Simpsons"
again? And how much would it be worth to be able to digitally record straight
from TV or DVD into compressed digital video? All of this on your desktop
PC eliminating the need for a separate TV monitor and VCR. ATI delivers
this fabulous package to you and more for the low cost of $79.00. Included
in that cost is the ATI Remote Wonder, a $49.00 device if purchased separately.
However, let's say you already have the remote...ATI offers the TV Wonder
VE in a remote less edition for only $49.00. We feel for that price you
are getting way more than what you pay for.
We have barely scratched the surface of usefulness for this
product. It is left up to the imagination of the consumer. For instance,
when testing the capabilities, we dug out a dusty Super Nintendo from
a box long forgotten about and thoroughly enjoyed a game of NBA JAM. And
the best part is, we were able to record portions of our game, and even
create a digital still gallery.
Overall Impressions
When I first heard about the TV tuner for the PC I imagined a low quality
small window device, and sluggish if not provided a powerful video card
to back it up. Let's just say I was blown away. You cannot go wrong with
this device. It doesn't matter what type of video card you have now, this
will work smoothly and the image quality will be excellent. The greatest
thing about this device is the customizability. Every single feature is
fully adjustable, and with the greatest of ease. This program is very
easy to operate, and just as easy to install. Even a PC upgrading fledgling
should be able to have the hardware and software installed, and watching
a tv show in 30 minutes. And the price is right. For just under $80.00
you can eliminate your TV, digitally record tv shows or DVDS via the composite
input, and much much more.
Again we find ourselves congratulating ATI on a wonderful
product, that's affordable, convenient, easy to install, and fun to use.
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9 / 10 |
OVERALL SCORE
94%
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10 / 10 |
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10 / 10 |
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9 / 10 |
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9 / 10 |
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9.4 / 10 |
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