Sub-grand WMCE 3: add the HDTV tuner card
By Kevin C. Tofel 
posted November 27th 2005 7:28PM
posted November 27th 2005 7:28PM
When we last left our Windows Media Center PC, we had just added more
memory and a video card. We closed up the box and rebooted, just to
make sure all is well. So what's next? Well, at the rock-bottom price
of $650, our base WMCE system didn't come with a TV tuner of any type,
so we'll be adding one and then working on the configuration.For an HDTV tuner card, we had to go with a PCI card, since that's the only expansion slot we have left. Like many others, we settled on the ATI HDTV Wonder card, which we picked up for $99, bringing our total system cost to $947. This is the last basic component we need, so we've met our budgetary goal. Let's get that card installed so we can start watching some HDTV!
Catch the next steps after the jump.
The ATI HDTV Wonder card is simple to install and has the basics for what we need. At this price, it can only tune in free over-the-air digital programming, although it has an analog NTSC tuner in addition to its ATSC tuner. Keep in mind that within a year, we should see CableCard support for Windows Media Center, so the expectation is that we'll be able to upgrade this card in the future.
Aside from the card, ATI also includes a RF remote-control as well as a USB receiver for the remote. I did test the remote and it works well. However, the remote is really geared towards ATI's media software and we're not using that for this project since our goal is to use Windows Media Center. Additionally, the Xbox 360 Media Extender only works with Windows Media Center for television viewing, so ATI's software isn't an option for us.
To install the card, we simply unscrew the two hand-tightened screws on the back of our Gateway case and we place the unit on its right side. We follow the same procedure as before by removing the metal cover next to the empty slot and then we simply insert the ATI tuner card. Once the card is in place, we secure it with the single screw that we removed from the blank cover and then close up the case. This pic from the back shows the finished work.
You can see that the ATI HDTV Wonder gives us inputs for unencrypted cable as well as our OTA digital television feed. Additionally, there is an AV-in port for other standard inputs, such as composite feeds, but we're goin' digital baby! We won't be using them for this project, but they're a nice-to-have.
Once we insert the power cord and boot-up, we have some drivers to install. Use the included CD with the ATI card and you should be all set. I should point out that I typically run Windows Update after installing any new hardware, just to ensure that I have any updates needed. You could also check with your manufacturers website, but I personally prefer to let Microsoft do the work if possible.
Once the computer recognizes all of the new hardware and the drivers are installed, we can configure Windows Media Center for television viewing. Or can we? Here's where it gets interesting: you see, Windows Media Center requires at least one NTSC (or analog) tuner in order to configure the television settings. Although the HDTV Wonder card has both an NTSC and an ATSC tuner, only the digital tuner appears to work with Windows Media Center.
So do we get this card to work with Windows Media Center or do we end up returning the card and potentially breaking our budget? Tune in to the next installment of our project to find out if we're stuck in a customer service line or we find a way to fake Windows Media Center out and use the ATI HDTV Wonder card!
Previously:
You can get the hdtv wonder here for 69 after rebate
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=314569&pfp=srch1%3E&cm_ven=Performics&cm_cat=%2AFatWallet%2ECom%2A&cm_pla=General&cm_ite=Primary&ref=performics
This ati T V card necessitates the use of a CableBox when not using OTA. A QAM enabled card, like the Fusion, can receive non encrypted (non premium) HD TV over cable as well as OTA.
http://www.pcalchemy.com/index.php/manufacturers_id/56
The cost is a little higher, but the ati card you have chosen will not receive digitalHD TV from a QAM cable company. If you chose a Fusion QAM tuner/card then it extands the use of the HTPC/Media Center you are using.
Can WMCE accept a digital stream from a cable box over Firewire?
Great series, very informative for a newbie.
I am looking to buying the Samsung 19" LCD - 910MP with built in tuner for my new system. Does this tuner/monitor function in the same way as the ATI card?
Thanks,
Graham
The Fusion 5 is a nice card.. does well with OTA (cant comment on QAM) but one warning.. the software is awfull.. luckily there are some alternatives like watch hdtv and now sage, and soon mediaportal
Nice.
Do you guys know of any HD PCI cards that accept component video imputs? I would like to plug in a Dish HD receiver via Component to record from that. Any suggestions?
I'm sorry, but the HDTV Wonder card is so bad, I would rather deal with standard definition television than go through the frustration that is the HDTV Wonder.
The thing ate up so much processor power that I could not watch a show and record another at the same time on my Athlon 2700+ system. Their drivers are locked down by some proprietary encryption to make sure you don't somehow unlock their bundled DVD-decoder. It was so unstable (until the most recent drivers), that I could not sit through a show without the picture freezing, which required me to kill the TV application and bring it back. I never got it to recognize that my harddisk was DMA-enabled, which meant that it would put up an annoying dialog box every time (they had a checkbox that said "don't show me again" which did not work, no matter how many times you click it). This would just be an annoyance, except a user had to click it so it would start recording from the timer--so I couldn't record anything while away from my computer. I went through 2-dozen reinstalls with different versions of my motherboard, video card, and HDTV wonder drivers to try to get it to work, and even replaced my GeForce Ti4200 with a Radeon 9600 with no effect.
I eventually bit the bullet and bought a Sony DHG HDD-250 for $699 and left my computer to gaming. This worked beautifully. It only has one tuner, but I don't miss having two since I can watch a recorded program while another is being recorded. I would reccommend anyone looking to use their computer as an OTA HDTV DVR to go this route instead of attempting to build one. If you are using cable or satellite, just go with your provider's box.
Alright Daniel, I have to comment when I see a post like yours. Don't you think, with having to "reinstall 2 dozen times", wacko popups, computer freezing up, and hell fire raining from above, etc. that maybe just MAYBE some of that has to do with a poor configuration or installation on your part? I mean come on, if you are the example of the typical end user, folks would have been launching these things through ATI's front windows long ago. I get tired of people posting these reviews as if they believe they had an average experience with the product. I don't own one, and the support is probably lacking, the drivers not so polished, but at $69 (which is 1/10 the cost of your Sony unit) I think I can buy one and deal with a bit of an unrefined experience.
Say what you want, but I've been working with computers all my life, have a Master's in Computer Science, and have debugged all my friends systems when they have acted up. The system I used it on was a fresh install of Windows XP and had no connection to the internet. There were no "random popups" on the system, just the annoying dialog from the HDTV Wonder's software. The HDTV Wonder simply should not be recommended as a capture card to any user.
ExtremeTech even downgraded their original review of the HDTV wonder:
"Our June review of ATI's HDTV Wonder add-in card, designed to allow viewing, pausing and recording over-the-air HDTV signals was cautiously positive. We called the overall product a "solid offering," and despite a top 10 list of improvements needed, our final judgment was that this product was a "good first generation OTA HDTV offering." ... However, based on our experiences over the past week with the shipping version of the HDTV Wonder, and supplemented by user experiences chronicled on AVS Forum and Rage 3D that mirror our results, we cannot recommend the HDTV Wonder at this time. In fact, the product is now widely referred to as the HDTV "Blunder" by users on both forums. Even though we gave it a good rating of 7 out of 10, based on subsequent testing, we've lowered that to a 5."
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1641010,00.asp
Alright, fair enough. However, that extremetech article is over a year old. You can download current drivers that are from the last few months. One only hopes they have resolved the many issues identified early on.
To be a good sport I ordered one today from CompUSA for $69 AR to see for myself. I'll post my results. After my ranting, perhaps you'll at least find some humor if I suffer the same fate you did.
Well I received the card yesterday and based on your comments and those of others, I spent two hours last night backing up files, making sure I had email passwords, etc. to prepare for the worst. I even considered having paramedics standing by like evil knievel just to be on the safe side.
The system I was installing in had XP sp1 with a rolled back sp2 install, an Audigy 2 sound card,ATI 850XT PE video card, P4 2.8 Processor, and a gig of ram. Having read all the crying about needing XP sp2 and the troubles with the Audigy 2 line of sound cards, I really thought I was heading into the perfect storm.
I installed the remote first, downloaded the latest drivers and plugged it in. It worked fine so I powered down and moved on to installing the card. After powering up XP, it detected the card and said it was installed properly. I then went to the ATI website and downloaded the 4 files for the HDTV wonder and installed each of them in the order they appear on the site. I received no errors, and proceeded through each files, rebooting as I was prompted. After about 20 minutes of downloading and installing, I was ready to go.
At this point I was still convinced I would not be watching HDTV last night, or any night for the next few years while I continually reinstalled software. Imagine my surprise when I clicked the DTV button, scanned for channels, and was watching HDTV in minutes. I SPENT MORE TIME BACKING UP MY SYSTEM then getting this card installed. I had no errors, no wild reboots, no audio problems, NOTHING. I can rewind, pause, fast forward, HDTV, with no issues.
Bottom line – If you are a user considering this card, remember that not EVERYONE has problems with it, I believe most folks like me have no problems at all. CompUSA has it now for $99 with $20 rebate, which in my opinion is not much money for one of the coolest things you can add to your PC.