TV WONDER ELITE card

Physically ATI’s TV WONDER ELITE card looks fairly mundane. The board’s most distinct features, its FM/TV tuning, and THEATER 550 PRO, are the most distinctive features on the board’s PCB, with the memory flanking the THEATER 550 PRO chip. THEATER 550 PRO, like its predecessors RAGE THEATER and THEATER 200, doesn’t require a heatsink or fan to keep the chip cool, despite its increased capabilities. This helps to keep board production costs down.

ATI ships the TV WONDER ELITE with an S-Video and composite video cables, ATI’s familiar purple VIVO box, an antenna for FM tuning, driver CD and manual, a copy of CyberLink’s PowerCinema software (ATI Edition) and most importantly, ATI’s latest remote control unit, REMOTE WONDER PLUS.

REMOTE WONDER PLUS

ATI’s remote control units are highly regarded throughout the industry for their ease of use and performance. Quite simply, ATI provides the best remotes on the market. Fortunately, REMOTE WONDER PLUS continues that tradition.

Like previous ATI remote control units, REMOTE WONDER PLUS is RF-based; you don’t need line-of-sight to manipulate the remote like you do on your TV’s IR-based remote. This comes in handy when using the remote at awkward angles, as the RF signal the REMOTE WONDER PLUS provides can literally pass through walls and boasts a range of up to 60 feet!

The remote control unit itself merges the superior tactile feedback found in REMOTE WONDER II in a package that’s small, just like the original REMOTE WONDER. In fact, REMOTE WONDER PLUS is thinner than any previous ATI remote, measuring only 0.75” thick, roughly 25% thinner than REMOTE WONDER II. In addition to being thinner, REMOTE WONDER PLUS is also shorter than its predecessors at 7.5” tall. Because of these smaller dimensions, REMOTE WONDER PLUS fits more naturally in your hand, making it feel more like a high-end remote like you’d find on a TV. ATI last remote control unit, REMOTE WONDER II, was criticized for being too bulky (REMOTE WONDER PLUS’ USB receiver is also considerably smaller than REMOTE WONDER II’s).

Remotes from left to right, Cyberlink, Microsoft MCE 2005 remote, REMOTE WONDER II, REMOTE WONDER PLUS

But a smaller chassis isn’t REMOTE WONDER PLUS’ only distinguishing feature, as ATI has also taken the time to redesign the remote’s layout. One example are programmable buttons C, D, E, and F, which are now located further away from the playback and recording buttons on REMOTE WONDER PLUS. For instance on REMOTE WONDER II it was easy to mistake the rewind button for the programmable F button. All six buttons can be programmed to perform practically any function you want, including handling basic Windows tasks such as closing an application, or for TV viewing, going back to the channel you just flipped from.

Sadly, REMOTE WONDER II’s four backlit auxiliary buttons are removed, but REMOTE WONDER PLUS still retains the improved thumbpad for mouse control: the thumbpad on the original REMOTE WONDER was incredibly mushy.

Overall we give a big thumbs-up to the changes ATI has implemented in REMOTE WONDER PLUS. Our initial REMOTE WONDER PLUS remote control unit shipped with a weak remote control unit, so there may be a few quality control kinks that may need to be worked out.