Customer Reviews

ATI Radeon(TM) All-In-WonderŽ 9600 Pro 128MB AGP Video Card (100714003)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Fantastic all around video card - it does everything! No problems with install and setup (P4 2.66GHZ / 533MhzFSB / 512MB DDR400 / Win2000Pro). The Remote Wonder works great. Guide+ TV listing feature is really cool. I even installed a second TV Wonder VE card to enable PiP and PoP multiviews (you need a second tuner to record and watch different stations simultaneously). Only minor bug I've found is that my mouse pointer disappears in some of the applications such as "TV in web browser" (puts a TV window in the browser's media side bar so you can watch TV and surf the net!). The pointer is still there and still works, I just can't see it. ATI FAQ states they are aware of the problem and are working to fix.

The "Easylook" full screen TV feature with the remote is fantastic. Does everything a TiVO can do (like time-shifting, one-touch record scheduling, etc.)and more - without any subscription charge. Also, unlike a TiVO, you can add as many hard drives as you want to your computer and have an unlimited amount of recording time! I'm setting up a dedicated TV/Multimedia computer and transferring all of my tapes to digital. No more stacks of VCR tapes cluttering up my living room! No more endless searching for a blank spot to record a show! Everything will be digital, Random Access, and instantly available on one PC!

I purchased this card to replace an old Rage 128 AIW that had given me 4+ years of trouble free use. I wanted the new card for it's new Rage Theater 200 capture chip and Direct X9 capabilities. My choices were the 9600 Pro AIW or the 9800 Pro AIW. I went with the 9600 after reading some great reviews and that I'm not a gaming fanatic and don't need the extra gaming horsepower of the 9800 (the 9600 does gaming very well IMHO). Also, the 9600 runs much cooler, doesn't require a separate power connector like the 9800 does and includes an FM tuner. This was an easy install and runs great. Captures from my DirecTV Tivo look fantastic. This is an excellent card for the money.

I am a power user with hardware experience and I have tried everything i can think of to make card work, ATI tries to do it all, and in doing so came up with nothing at all. I mean nothing; i.e. the basic functionality of simply watchting tv and scheduled recording (the reason i bought it) works less than 5 minutes before crashing and bringing the whole computer with it. It looks like i will have to buy snap stream so that i can use the functionality that i though i had paid for. AVOID ATI THEY DONT FINISH THEIR PRODUCTS BEFORE PUTTING INTO MARKET

This is really a great card for someone who wants all of the features of multimedia card as well as a good gaming choice. I had no problems with the install. The card plays Max Payne 2 without any glitches at 1280 x 1024 x 32 with everything maxed out.
This is the best all in wonder I've used yet. I think I have had every version. Don't bother using the install cd, just for the guideplus only. Downloaded all the newest drivers, installed no problem, no crashes, solid, stable.

What a terrible product. I spent countless hours trying to get this thing to work. At best, I got a fuzzy TV picture and never got the computer to recognize the capture driver. The install software that came with the product is useless. You have to install multiple programs from ATI's website, if want to have any chance of this thing working right. I recommend going to their frequently asked questions section of their support area before purchasing. It provides a good idea what your in for. I finally pulled the plug on this experiment and returned it.

ATI software is subpar, they obviously rushed it out the door.
I got my card to work after a lot of work, but even after I got it to work, the product either degrades or has VERY annoying bugs.

1. GuidePlus software isn't properly integrated. After awhile, when you start GuidePlus, the TV function will turn on instead-- preventing you from recording shows or anything else.
If you want to watch TV only, get yourself a cheap tuner. If you think you are going to get a Tivo player out of this-- hah! Forget it.
2. DVR (Tivo-like) feature is weak. Even with a great connection, the DVR records very shoddily. You can watch a show after recording (well, at least until the GuidePlus stops working) but it will come in worse than your cellphone reception.
3. The radio software is abominable. After installing an FM antennae (not included), the radio works but the software makes it equivalent to your grandfather's 1800s radio. Enjoy tuning a radio one tick at a time? Then you'll love the software. No seek function.
4. Customer support? Good luck. If you don't work for a living, maybe you can reach them during mon-fri hours. Make sure you call within 30 days of getting frustrated, otherwise you pay more money per minute ($1.25) than phone sex with an Antarctican eskimo.

The hardware all works, but it's the software which ruins this product. If you have all day to mess around with computers and customer support, than you may like this product. I say, get the Windows Media Edition of Windows and save yourself the hassle. It may be $800 for a new computer, but that's $600 less trouble for you when you try to put all this annoying software on your machine.

You can't beat Microsoft's integration and value.

I am amazed at the bugginess of the drivers, even the latest ones on their web site. After a full day on the phone with their tech support guys, and a new computer, the graphics display works, but NONE of the features for which I purchased the card actually work. No TV, No FM, none. The tech support specialist with whom I spoke for some time acknowledged that these were commonly occurring problems, and gave me a scripted e-mail solution. After that did not work either, the support guys said I could keep the card and wait for an e-mail when ATI develops a solution. NO THANKS. I have never had this experience with NVidia-based cards.

I installed this product into my Dell Dimension 8250 P4/2.4GHz machine. The results were disasterous. My machine became unstable. The ATI display driver randomly failed to load at startup, The Guide+ application didn't work. I changed my CMOS settings and edited the Registry to try to make it work. ATI's customer support web site gave little help. Their dial up support costs $2.45 a minute. I'm returning it.