AMD today announced the new “ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo USB for MAC” – a new HDTV experience for Mac users. “ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo USB for MAC” integrates two TV tuners to receive off-the-air ATSC/HDTV broadcasts as well as analog television programming. This new TV tuner solution joins AMD’s six TV Wonder offerings for the PC platform.
MacDailyNews Note: Somebody tell AMD it’s “Mac,” not “MAC.” Sheesh.
AMD is also powering the new 20 and 24-inch iMac models with the amazing graphics power of ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT, including 128MB of GDDR3 video memory, and the ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO, featuring 256MB of GDDR3. These powerful graphics processors enable stunning gaming performance and great support for video and photo editing. The combination of AMD’s TV Wonder and ATI Radeon graphics cards offers consumers “The Ultimate Visual Experience.”
“AMD continues to bring The Ultimate Visual Experience to consumers’ displays and screens including HDTVs, PCs and game consoles. Today AMD expands that visual experience with high definition multimedia entertainment for Mac customers,” said Matt Skynner, vice president, AMD Graphics Products Group, in the press release. “AMD is enhancing the Mac experience with HDTV support from ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo USB for Mac, alongside cutting-edge 3D game and HD acceleration performance of ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO and ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT.”
The ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo USB for Mac transforms Mac desktops and notebooks alike into ultimate TV entertainment systems, with full personal video recorder functionality. With the included ATI tvPORTAL TV application for Mac, users can watch, pause, or record high definition TV. The ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo USB for Mac also produces sharp, true-to-life analog TV images. With full featured Electronic Programming Guide in ATI tvPORTAL, users can schedule and manage TV recordings with ease.
The advanced graphics technology of the ATI Radeon HD 2600 and ATI Radeon HD 2400 series provides exceptional visual effects and realism on the iMac. Gaming enthusiasts can unleash remarkable 3D gaming performance while experiencing a new level of immersive entertainment for high-resolution photos and video.
Home theater aficionados will be captivated by iMac’s 20 and 24-inch widescreen displays powered by the Radeon series featuring: ATI Avivo technology for eye-popping big screen entertainment; Unified Video Decoder (UVD) for advanced HD video processing; and, built-in HDMI connectivity with built-in 5.1 surround audio.
With a manufacturers suggested retail price of US$149, the ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo USB for Mac is scheduled to be available later this month at leading computer retailers across North America. The ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo USB is being distributed by VisionTek, a leading supplier of 3D graphics and desktop enhancement products.
Source: Advanced Micro Devices
Interesting!
Who watches TV nowadays?
It’s nothing but repeats and news full of doom and gloom.
Get outside and breath the fresh air.
With two tuners, can we expect this offering to be superior to Elgato’s EyeTV 250 Plus, which can only accept one input at a time either a cable or an antenna?
Great!
Just in time to be completely ignored!
Maybe with two inputs I will have a better chance of finding a show I’d enjoy.
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I read the product spec page on the ATI website and the “2 tuners” do not allow you to record/watch two things at once. It refers to the fact that there is an ATSC (over-the-air HD) and an NTSC (analog cable) tuner. What would be awesome is if there were 2 NTSCs so we could record 2 cable TV channels at once.
Another option is the HDHomeRun, made by Silicon Dust, but sold in a bundle by Elgato with their EyeTV software. The HDHomeRun puts the MPEG stream onto Ethernet rather than USB, so multiple computers on a LAN can access it. Also, I can hide the thing away in the basement where all the cabling comes together. It’s pretty useful for recording ball games and the occasional PBS show. Of course you need a wired network; 802.11a/b/g won’t cut it for HD MPEG-2 streams. 802.11N is supposedly fast enough, but your milage may vary. Also beware that recording HD uses a ton of disk space, about 7.5GB per hour of TV for 1080i.
Depending on what you watch, it may be more cost effective to capture things off air rather than relying on iTunes. The EyeTV software has a quick and dirty editor for cutting out unwatchable portions. Of course if you want any NBC shows, it’s the only way to go.
I’d like to now if it is able to handle HD over Cable
You know I always used to root for the underdog.. especially after the P4 came out… but ya know AMD and ATI both fsucking suck…
their drivers suck, their hardware sucks.. their reliability sucks.. I am done.. Intel and Nvidia for me ALL DAY LONG..
When da hell is Apple going to make an iMac with a built in HD TV tuner and an iPod with built HD/FM Radio… sheesssh!!!
“Advanced Micro Device” has always sounded to me like something Ballmer would say (in a robotic voice) after he penetrated his MS Windows Pocket Pussy Live Home Edition SE ’04…..
I waiting for nvidia to bring the 8800 to the Mac for MacWorld this year.
ATI is such a second class vendor now.
Also tell them it’s “over the air” and not “off-the-air ATSC/HDTV broadcasts”.
ATSC is “over the air” HDTV requiring a antenna on the roof/attic and someone broadcasting “free HD” without copy protection or scrambling.
What they don’t sell anymore is a QualCom decoder so one can use the copy protection free/non-scrambled HD channels that are coming over the cable lines. (cable lines use a different digital signal than ATSC). For that you need to find used EyeTV 500 (and the EyeTV software)as it’s illegal to sell them new.
Full HD on a 30″ Cinema is awesome.
I want something with a Cable Card or able to decrypt Comcrap cable.
Al
I had hoped by now someone would come out with a unit that included a CableCard slot, dual tuner, and 500 gig hard drive to slave under (or beside) a Mac Mini via Firewire or ethernet to form a nice mini-stack home entertainment center.
Is AMD an asian company? The way they named their product: ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo USB for Mac, sure sounds like it. They should take a cue from Apple and keep it simple. Who sits around and thinks these stupid names up?
When da hell is Apple going to make an iMac with a built in HD TV tuner…?
Never will happen.
HDCP was designed to protect HD content from copying. Requires licensing (and being granted permission) a special chip for making HD compatible devices like TV’s, projectors etc.
Without the chip, or copying it, results in a lawsuit to device makers.
The last thing the creators of HDCP want is HD on a computer where it’s easy to copy.
Sure one can use a device like in the article to get a few “free HD” stations and Apple could integrate it in a Mac. But cable has a near 100% monopoly on the market that free “over the air” stations don’t even have a chance anymore.
Cable companies even charge people for the “free HD” stations that come over their cable lines. Thus a EyeTV 500 comes in handy. Just don’t tell the cable guy.
So it all depends where in the world you are. Cable companies got a tight grip here in the US.
Cable requires a Qualcomm decoder, not a ATSC.
So even if Apple put a ATSC decoder in all iMac’s, not many people can use it in the US and it would add to the cost of Mac for everyone.
Sort of like keeping a dial up modem when everyone is using cable or DSL.
I want something with a Cable Card or able to decrypt Comcrap cable
You need to find a used EyeTV 500 and download the EyeTV software.
This will decode the Qualcomm cable HD stations.
As long as it’s not scrambled and/or HDCP copy protected.
It might be possible to place the EyeTV 500 after the cable box on coax output, but I think when the stations are scrambled then decoded by the cable box that it checks for a HDMI/HDCP output from a authorized device.
Since the EyeTV only inputs coax…there are HDMI to VGA devices.
Can’t tell you where, you must hunt hard.
It’ll be a flop – the name is too damn long and no one will remember it. I guess that the 650 is there to indicate how many thousands of dollars they spent on figuring out a name.
Maybe something simple – like ATiTV? Could they drop the “A” & “V”? Guess not.
It may sound stupid, but companies that get so would up adding stuff to a box generally throw long, waisted names at them. Sort of like MS and the BS they clutter their packaging up with.
Apple showed them the way – keep it simple, like iPod.
“Cable companies even charge people for the “free HD” stations that come over their cable lines.”
Pete, as many good points as you make, surely you know that any signal on a cable system requires processing and bandwidth, “and that shit ain’t free”.
Also, rebroadcast consent usually requires that a digital signal be kept in its native resolution, hence cable companies cannot downgrade it to analog to add to its “basic” package as they do the analog OTA signals, and thus they add it to a “digital” package.
AMD is an American company. Their chip reliability has not been a problem since the K-5 days. They were also the first chip company to break through the 1Ghz ceiling. Now all you AMD haters will flip around like a good fanboi if Apple should open up their hardware, right? Apple has made statements that they won’t be using Intel forever, you know. Or does the fanboi mindset forget inconvenient truths?
AMD itself isn’t so bad….but ATI (now part of AMD) has had reliability issues.
I have no problems with AMD, Intel, Motorola, or IBM; whichever suits my needs, I”ll go with. Apple may well switch, or at least add AMD into their arsenal; if it fits financially and electronically, go for it! My only problem is for the huge media giants that continue to rake in profits, skew the truth, and screw the public. All the while, they’re sending their money to Washington to elect idiots who lie, cause wars, and proliferate the further degradation of a great country. This isn’t my 2 cents, it’s my dollar, and I’m tired of Bush and his cronies taking it.
So, what software does this device use? I have a couple EyeTV devices, a USB and a 500, that use Elgato software, and it’s great.