ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner: AMD and Dell Bring CableCARD to PCs
by Anand Lal Shimpi on April 3, 2007 11:37 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
OCUR as a QAM Tuner
You don't have to have CableCARD for the TV Wonder DCT to be useful, as it also functions as both an analog and digital QAM tuner. Working as a regular SDTV tuner is nothing special, but being able to tune QAM channels broadcast over cable networks is quite intriguing.
For those of you that don't know, CableCARD is only necessary to tune to encrypted digital channels on a cable network. Just like some channels can be received using an ATSC tuner "over the air", there are other unencrypted digital channels (including HD channels) that are sent over the cable network; a QAM tuner is necessary to receive these channels. Generally these unencrypted channels are digital versions of local channels, which works for those who only want to watch prime time television shows in HD that air on local stations to begin with. Not all cable networks send this content unencrypted, so your mileage may vary, but in our case using the ATI TV Wonder DCT as a QAM tuner gave us access to all digital local stations.
To configure the TV Wonder DCT to handle QAM channels simply go through the TV signal setup process but inform Vista that you don't have a CableCARD. Doing so will enable you to tune analog channels just fine, but to find QAM channels you need to select the Scan for Additional Services option under TV setup.
After we did that, our program guide was full of sub-channels (e.g. 5.2) that gave us access to all available QAM channels. All of the other media center features (recording, scheduling, etc...) worked the same once we populated the channel list and guide. Unfortunately, dealing with the sub-channels is still rather annoying, as we discussed in a previous look at a couple QAM tuners.
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DigitalFreak - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - link
Uh.. I don't think you understand how these things work. The only inputs on the 650 & AIW are composite and S-video. Neither is going to allow you to record anything in HD from your cable box. The HD support on the 650 is only for OTA.BPB - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - link
You know, until now I thought the AIW X1900 had YPrPb input. Man, I need to wake up!TheTerl - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - link
I was amused by the choice in movies. After all, who wouldn't want to check out "Boinking in the Dorm Room" at work? With a title like that, I'm sure it's a cinematic masterpiece.Aside from that, very interesting article.
DigitalFreak - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - link
Thing is, it may show up in the guide, but you can't actually order it... :0)WileCoyote - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - link
Only Anand can turn an article I would normally ingore into a fun and interesting read. Good stuff!MercenaryForHire - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - link
Agreed. While I have nothing but distaste for this hardware, its related metric assload of DRM tie-ins, and lack of DIY support, I enjoyed reading the review of it immensely.pjladyfox - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - link
"why on earth would you go through this when you can just rent an HD-DVR from us for $9 a month?"I think this pretty much sums up the entire system to begin with. It really does make me wonder if the unholy alliance (read: MPAA/RIAA/Cable/Telco) is making the use of CableCard-based devices more difficult than it needs to be. The number of people that were called on-site just to resolve the multiple issues is a rather telling statement that while the tech may be great it is being set up to fail in the marketplace.
And why was there no provision for HDMI input? I mean, it was designed with HDCP encryption in mind so I would have thought this would have been a no-brainer but if I had to guess I would say the unholy alliance shot that idea down real quick. -_-
DigitalFreak - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - link
Cable companies are required by the FCC to provide cable cards upon request. However, it's pretty obvious they make it as difficult as possible to get them up and running ($42.95 install fee?).tuteja1986 - Tuesday, April 3, 2007 - link
I hope the person incharge of this project reads this because he needs to get up his lazy ass and start sloving these issue by getting the right dude to slove this problems. Then ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner + VISTA MCE will succeed or Hollywood could just kill DRM which would make life easier on their loyal customer.