Just what I needed
Written: Dec 14 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good value, all cables included. Easy install, good software.
Cons: Requires fast system, drivers should also be updated.
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| ArmofJustice's Full Review: ATI TV Wonder |
If you're like me, working your way through school, you're computer is often more important that your TV. You spend quite a bit more time with it at least. So after finding myself in a new apartment where I was unfortunate enough to be without a television, I went looking for cheap alternatives.
At $79 dollars, this card was exactly what I was looking for. It took me about 5 minutes to get the hardware installed. The instructions are very clear and anyone with at least a little experience using it should be able to do so without much effort. The software took me a little longer to set up. Around 10 minutes of playing with it and I had it set to go. As a matter of fact, the only thing I had any trouble with at all was getting my antena to pick up stations.
This card comes with several ways to get the video into the card. It works well with a good agp Video card. I would not recommend it with a generic video card. Updated drivers for your video card are a must. I did experience some trouble going to full screen using older versions of my graphics card drivers. The card comes with all of the connectors you would need to hook it up VCRs, Televisions, ect. The software provides for recording of picture, but no editing capability that I could find.
Some specifics:
My system:
Athlon 600
3dfx Voodoo 3000 AGP graphics card (16 Megs memory)
128 Megs memory
17" monitor
40X cd rom
A couple of notes: Check the settings before you record. Otherwise you'll find yourself eating a lot of disk space. You're drivers, especially for the voodoo cards, need to be up to date. Otherwise some of the features wont work. I did not find the music player included with the other software useful at all. I don't own a DVD player. I did install one in my machine for a while, but it worked better on the Voodoo 3 S-video out. The card comes with all the connectors you would need.
Specific ratings I would give it:
hardware 8
software 5
ease of use 9
Overall, it is a great product for the price. If you're looking for the quality you'll get with an expensive TV, buy the TV. But if TV is secondary to homework or games, this is an excellent alternative. As an addition to a TV, this is an excellent value.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 79
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Epinions.com ID:
ArmofJustice
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Member: Adam Blake
Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 1 member
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