All in wonder question

[therealdeal]

on the tv tuner side of the cards, how much of a difference in performance will an all in wonder 9000 pro yield compared to the newer more expensive all in wonders? Like the 9600-9800's

[Soulburner]

An enormous difference. The 9800 Pro is around 3x faster and the 9600 Pro is about 2x faster. The 9000 really isn't fast enough to play any new or upcoming games.

[E^vol]

therealdeal :Soulburner : That wasn't the question !

on the tv tuner side of the cards...

[Beefy]

The TV Tuners, while using pretty much the same components, have actually gotten better over time, due to the real time filtering and effects that the newer AIW cards can do. Having said that, anything that has come out since the 9700 Pro AIW will basically have the same visual clarity as the rest. It's the earlier cards which suffer a little. Though don't get me wrong, they are still very very good cards.

[therealdeal]

OK so in other words, if I want the best performing TV tuner, but am willing to sacrifice the game playing I should get the aiw 9700 pro. Im not a tight wad, but I just cant rationalize buying an aiw 9800 pro when all I really want is great TV tuner and capture ability, and just average gaming ability. I know some people would suggest to just get a PCI tuner, but from what I can tell, most PCI tuners, need a pretty good agp graphics card, so I am figuring that an all in wonder is best. not to mention the bundeled pinnacle editing software that comes with the AIW's

[Beefy]

The 9700 Pro AIW is definitely no slouch.. While it's not quite as good as a 9800 Pro, it's still a very good gaming card. I've got one myself, and I'm quite happy with it.

[therealdeal]

anybody know anything about Compro Technology? http://www.comprousa.com/index.htm

any opinions on their products?

[Wiggo]

anybody know anything about Compro Technology? http://www.comprousa.com/index.htm

any opinions on their products?

If ya want the best atm then go the AIW as the nVIDIA offerin' ain't quite as good in a lot of areas. Mind you a GF4 VIVO ain't bad but it has no TV tuner nor quite the picture quality.

[Soulburner]

If ya want the best atm then go the AIW as the nVIDIA offerin' ain't quite as good in a lot of areas. Mind you a GF4 VIVO ain't bad but it has no TV tuner nor quite the picture quality.

Mine does.......have only tried it with the PS2 and the picture sucked.....looked like 320x240 res. Haven't tried TV.

[Soulburner]

It may have just been set up wrong, I know the PS2 outputs at 640x480 (TV resolution) so I was expecting a lot better...

[Beefy]

Another thing I've noticed is that the composite in from a PS2 to an All in Wonder does look dodgy in most games. I was trying to play FFX like that, and the text was barely readable. However, if you've got an s-video cable from your PS2, it looks a lot crisper / nicer. No other console seemed to be as bad.

[Soulburner]

How did you hook up the S-vid to the PS2? I used composite into the ViVo cable, and I am thinking that was the problem. I haven't seen an S-vid connector on my system....

[Beefy]

You need to buy a replacement multi-AV cable for the PS2, something like this - http://www.priceshock.com/97030.html

I actually got a third party one which was better quality, but they are all the same really...

[Wordbiker]

I was seriously considering an ATI AIW, but as a good friend pointed out, and this thread confirmed, keeping your TV tuner and Video card separate may be a better idea in the long run, as replacement cycles are much faster on GPUs. Some even say you'll get better picture quality. I'll let you know when I get my HTPC set up with the FX5600 and Leadtek TV tuner. : peace2:

[Beefy]

Better pic quality is a bit of a doosy really. Some people believe one thing, others believe another. They both have their pros and cons, and I haven't actually seen a proper comparison before, but I'd think that the AIW would have a slightly enhanced picture, due to all the real-time filtering the GPU does on the picture, and the fact that it's not having to travel to a different card to be viewed. But I'm probably wrong.

You're definitely right about the replacement cycle though. I'll be holding off replacing my vid card for a while now, mainly because of the AIW part of my 9700 Pro. Chances are I'll be waiting for the next generation Radeon All in Wonders to come out (not the 9800 series, but the next one).