ATI TV Wonder USB Review - PAGE 1

Introduction & Specs

I am quite a fan of computer / TV convergence. The combination of the two brings so many cool possibilities, it is a wonder that it isn't more popular. A "video-enabled" computer can save the space of a television and as hard drives get larger, home movie editing and video recording becomes quite attractive (especially considering digital recordings don't degrade like VHS ones do). Most video-decoding solutions (ATI's included) also support closed captioning, which can be used for cool things (other than accessibility for the deaf) that I will cover later on in this review.

As far as consumer-grade video decoding goes, ATI's All In Wonder line is probably the most widely used solution. The All-in-Wonder cards, unlike the TV Wonder cards, are complete video card / video decoding solutions. They have the advantage of using only one slot, but the obvious disadvantage of not being able to have the video card of your choice (unless it is an ATI video card you are after –then the AiWs are perfect :] ).

This is where the TV Wonder line comes in. As dedicated video decoders, these devices are designed to add video (and in some cases video out) to an already fully functional computer. The USB version of TV Wonder we are reviewing today is probably the most unique of the bunch as it can be used on systems that don't have an extra PCI slot, as well as on laptops.

The one major caveat with all USB devices is that bandwidth is limited to 1.5MB/s. The problem with this is that the quality of the video and audio input is limited by this bandwidth. We'll have to keep this in mind as we test the video quality.

Specs

Live TV input

S-Video or Composite video (via adapter) input for external video sources

Live audio (up to 16KHz @ 16bit)

Full-motion video capture – 30fps @ 320x240 (NTSC) or 352x288 (PAL) resolution

VGA (640x480) resolution still image capture

Powered by USB port

As you already know, the TV Wonder USB has a cable input, but it also has S-Video and Composite inputs. These allow you to record directly from camcorders and other alternative, video-producing devices. The audio quality is limited to 16KHz @ 16bit and the video is limited to 30fps @ 320x240.

Thankfully the device is powered by only the USB port, so it does not need an external power supply (which would be very annoying). It also doesn't require a separate soundcard for audio input like the other All In Wonder cards do. It accomplishes this by functioning as both a USB video device, as well as a USB audio device. This makes operation much more convenient.