ATI All-in-Wonder 9600 Pro: Multimedia Refresh
by Andrew Ku on October 16, 2003 11:38 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Multimedia Center anew — FM Tuner
Since we last touched on Multimedia Center 8.0, there has been a lot of moving afoot for ATI's Multimedia Center. First, we have the most apparent upgrade: EasyLook, which we will explore further in the review.Second on the list is the FM Player, which is perfectly appropriate, since the All-in-Wonder 9600 Pro comes with an FM tuner. The FM Player works very similar to the TV Player: adjusting frequencies, scheduled recordings, and time shifting. FM-on-Demand is always on because it is hard to know what will be playing next, since there is no one-stop place for FM listing. Therefore, you will need to go through your FM-on-Demand and clip whichever segment of audio you want to export.
Based our experience, the All-in-Wonder 9600 Pro has a range of 87.5MHz and 108.0MHz. The FM tuner has a mechanical specified range of 75.9MHz to 108MHz, but according to regionally available FM frequencies, the All-in-Wonder 9600 Pro will auto detect a range. Stations can be tuned by 0.1MHz frequency increments with the tune up/down buttons, but via the scheduling, there seems to be an ability to tune in 0.01MHz frequency increments.
Of course, ATI gives you the ability to record, though only in one format: MP3, 224KHz, 16bit, Stereo.
Because there is no universal place for FM listings like there is for TV listings, there is a need to add the station name manually.
Dual Monitor Support – What the doctor ordered
Multimedia Center anew - Integrated Media Burning & Muvee
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ddschmidt - Tuesday, October 28, 2003 - link
I just bought an ATI AIW 9600 Pro and am wondering if you want tell me how to get the tv tuner to display on the secondary monitor. The article talks about the tv display "docking" when you try to move it to the secondary monitor, but the article goes on to discuss what happens when the tv display spans two monitors and that it shows only on the monitor that has the largest part of the tv display window.Thanks.
Anonymous User - Friday, October 24, 2003 - link
Does anybody where I can buy this card in Europe (Germany)Anonymous User - Friday, October 24, 2003 - link
Is it really worth it to upgrade to an AIW AGP card for PVR type features, versus a PCI card? I have a AverTV Studio Card and use WinDVR software to record my shows. But, the quality seems to suck on some low & high channels! I was wondering if the xtra bandwidth from the AGP slot versus the PCI slot would clear up the recordings? I already have a 9000 Pro for what litte gaming I do. The gaming I'm not concerned with! I mostly use it as a TIVO (with no subscription fees!!!)Anonymous User - Thursday, October 23, 2003 - link
Does this card offer hardware decoding or/and hardware encoding like the hauppauge PVR 350.Seems quite important if your going to actually use this card as PVR type device.
Anonymous User - Tuesday, October 21, 2003 - link
Or perhaps it's slower...Anonymous User - Tuesday, October 21, 2003 - link
Hercules has released a AIW 9800SE in europe at a very cheap price! That should be faster than the 9600 Pro and perhaps it can be modded to a 9800 Pro?www.Hercules.com
Anonymous User - Monday, October 20, 2003 - link
I concur. Not having DVI is a real step back for ATI on this product line. This is the first Radeon AIW card that has not offered DVI. A huge disappointment, as my LCD monitor takes only DVI (which I bought because the first Radeon AIW I bought had the DVI connector). And because it's an MDR-20 to DVI-D connector, I can't use it at all (well, there is that $400 converter, but that kind of defeats the purpose). Talk about pulling the rug from under you. Thanks a bunch, ATI.Anonymous User - Monday, October 20, 2003 - link
I am so disappointed that AIW 9600 Pro doesn't have DVI.Anonymous User - Monday, October 20, 2003 - link
I want this card... bbbbaaaadddd! Thank you ATI for finally including RADIO!Anonymous User - Monday, October 20, 2003 - link
I want this card... bbbbaaaadddd! Thank you ATI for finally including RADIO!