Introduction

So you’ve got a few gift cards (or the gift that keeps on giving, cash) lying around from the holidays and you’re looking for something to spend it on? Fear not, dear reader, in this article we’ll highlight a few products worth keeping an eye on.

ATI TV WONDER USB 2.0

Would you like to watch TV programming on your notebook PC, or perhaps you’d like an external TV tuner solution for watching on multiple PCs? (Say for instance, you have computers setup in multiple rooms, or you’d also just like to watch TV on your buddy’s PC down the street.) Some of you may even be reluctant to open up the innards of your PC.

If that’s the case, ATI’s TV WONDER USB 2.0 may just be the solution for you.

ATI TV WONDER USB 2.0 unit

Back of the TV WONDER

The TV WONDER USB 2.0 incorporates the latest advancements in technology, many of you may not know this, but it’s been over four years since ATI last changed the TV WONDER. Sure, ATI has introduced revised TV WONDER SKUs with different feature sets since then, but the core technology itself hasn’t changed. As you can imagine, a lot has changed in the past four years.

At the heart of the TV WONDER USB 2.0 is ATI’s THEATER 200 chip. If you recall, THEATER 200 was first introduced in ATI’s ALL-IN-WONDER 9700 line and features ATI’s third generation adaptive 2D 3-Line comb filter. By moving to three lines, THEATER 200 can more accurately process composite video signals, resulting in a cleaner, sharper picture. In comparison, many competing solutions use 2 lines for NTSC, and 4 lines for PAL. THEATER 200 also features dual 12-bit analog-to-digital converters. By moving up to 12-bits, audio quality is increased. Other products on the market only offer 9-bits or less with their offerings.

Chassis is not very large

Audio/video inputs

The second major change ATI has implemented in TV WONDER USB 2.0 is its USB 2.0 interface. USB 2.0 provides peak transfer rates of up to 480 Mbps, whereas USB 1.1 is limited to just 10 Mbps. This ensures the best video quality possible at high resolutions as the TV WONDER USB 2.0 delivers the raw, uncompressed video directly to your computer (USB 1.1 solutions often have to use compression in order to not saturate the USB bus).

Besides the obvious hardware differences, ATI has also added new capabilities to the TV WONDER USB 2.0’s repertoire. Like ATI’s newer ALL-IN-WONDER products, TV WONDER USB 2.0 supports ATI’s Multimedia Center 9.02. This gives you Gemstar’s excellent (and free) GUIDE PLUS software, VIDEOSOAP, TV-ON-DEMAND, EAZYSHARE, THRUVIEW, and EAZYLOOK, although you will need a system equipped with an ATI RADEON chip to get the last two features. ATI’s previous TV WONDER products were limited to older versions of Multimedia Center, which didn’t support features such as TV-ON-DEMAND, which allows you to pause live TV at any time, return later, and resume watching the TV program right where you left off.

Setting everything up is a snap. Simply insert your TV WONDER USB 2.0 driver CD in your optical drive and kick back. When prompted by the setup routine, simply connect the USB 2.0 cable to the TV WONDER USB 2.0 and connect it to your computer. Attach the power cable to the TV WONDER USB 2.0 and plug it into your wall outlet. Then reboot the computer, and you’re good to go!

The TV WONDER USB 2.0 officially retails for $99, but street prices in the upper $80 range aren’t out of the ordinary. You may also want to pick up ATI’s REMOTE WONDER as well, as the TV WONDER USB 2.0 ships without a remote control unit.