Best Solution I could Find
Written: Mar 18 '03 (Updated Apr 11 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: 3D gaming, All-in-one convenience, full features
Cons: Heat and noise, still buggy mpeg files
The Bottom Line: Great card, stable, great gaming performance, PVR, and TV/video recording. What more could you ask for? Price should even go down now that the 9800pro is slated for release.
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| dtseng1969's Full Review: ATI ALL-IN-WONDER 9700 PRO, (128 MB) AGP Video Car... |
My Needs
If you read my review of the AIW 8500dv, you know that I've been using ATI cards since '97, and I like having multimedia capabilities on my computer (a WinXP Pro, Athlon2100+ machine with 512mb memory and a 120GB 7200rpm HD).
Install
The new "Catalyst" software is heads and shoulders above the old ATI install programs. I had no real problems installing (for a change). Though I did have to reinstall the TV and GemStar program/drivers several times (their drivers seemed to be sensitive to other multimedia programs installed afterwards).
3D Gaming
What can I say? Very fast and good. I can play every game at the highest graphics settings and at 1280x1152 with no problems.
PVR
The PVR function works very well. I can slow mo, fast play, reverse play, jump forward and back (preset levels: 1 frame, 1sec, 10sec, 30sec, 1 minute, 2minutes), and I can monitor the live feed while watching playback of your recorded video (allows you to review sports replays, for example, while watching to see if the commercials are done yet). You can even export your PVR recordings into mpeg format (but not vice versa... which is important, see below).
The only problem with having PVR on my computer instead of a dedicated machine, is that you can't do intensive computing at the same time you watch/record. Well, you CAN, but you will have to accept some skipping and stuttering that ranges from mild and acceptable (when web surfing) to unwatchable (when video processing).
"TIVO" Scheduling Recordings
The GemStar program loads schedules up to a week in advance and had all four cable listings in my Pasadena area. You can filter search for many different program types (movie, sports, etc), time of day, star ratings, PG-R-NR ratings, etc. This makes it easy to schedule a full week's programs and saves much wasted channel surfing. However, if you are like me, and don't want to waste power by leaving your computer on all day long, you need to get third party software to control your computer's power up and down. Also, there is a bug in the recording software that causes some mpeg files recorded to not be searchable (ie., if you try to skip forward or reverse, you may hang) (update: it seems that this is more common in files >2-3GB, and "hang" is actually "slow down" -- if I wait 10minutes it recovers...). Also, as far as I know the standard Windows Media Player, RealOne Player, and ATI's own File player do not have many of the features that you would expect from any standard VCR. For example, you can't fast forward, slow mo, or reverse play. This is annoying when you consider that the PVR has all of these functions.
The GemStar program does not seem to store data about you and your preferences -- At least it doesn't have any functions to suggest shows you might like to see.
The average TV recording takes ~3GB/hr on your harddrive (more for complex scenes/action).
Pinnacle Studio 8
Good basic video editing (I'm no expert), allows all the basic fades and wipes, a few dozen 3D wipes, sound dubbing, sound effects (.wav), video color/contrast correction, capture using DV or analog video, etc. Interface is smooth and easy to use (unlike the ULead stuff). It is NOT the full Studio 8 version, however you can get the full version upgrade for a discount.
I've edited a pair of videos (my first auto-crossing experiences), each 25minute video took approximately 38minutes to render to S-VCD. (I've now done some editting of TV movies, and I find that the program is VERY slow when handling files >2GB. It often slows to a crawl, the simplest cutting and pasting to create a 10minute scene will take upwards of an hour).
No Multimonitor
As I noted in my AIW 8500DV review, the AIW series of cards do not allow the user to have multimonitor, multi-desktops like the standalone Radeon 9700pro card does. This is a limitation I've accepted by using hotkeys to switch to software based multi-desktops. It's not clear to me if I can add a cheap PCI video card and get multi-monitor support from WinXP...
TV Out
I have not tried this since my monitor is just as big as my TV.
Remote Control
The AIW remote is the best out there (I tried the Haupenpauge PVR 250 -- it is TERRIBLE, small and low on features. Also the Avid TV remote has small buttons and is not well laid out). The AIW remote has 6 programmable keys that can be either global (all programs) or have different functions depending on what window is currently open.
TV Picture Quality
The AIW's TV picture quality is the best I've seen on the PC (sharp w/ good contrast). Haupenpauge has the worst TV picture - akin to good VHS. Of course, the picture is not as good as my old (but top of the line) Sony Trinitron, and the quality drops to very good Hi8 quality when in PVR mode, but it is still an acceptable TV solution.
The ATI TV software is also much better and more comprehensive than any of the other TV cards I've tried. It is well integrated, well laid out, and generally runs smoothly. (Haupenpauge has a bad user interface with tiny buttons. Avid's TV replay features were limited - and I don't remember getting the VCR scheduler to work.).
Card Stability
I've had the card for over two months now, and have found no stability problems that were not accounted for by reinstalling the drivers, other than the above-mentioned .mpeg recording problem.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 385
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Epinions.com ID:
dtseng1969
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Location: Pasadena, CA
Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
I assume you've done your homework; not gonna waste words on stuff found elsewhere.
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