If it ain't one f'n thing...

[Matt Ion]

System info: WinXP Pro/SP2, AIW 9800 Pro

So I upgrade MMC to 9.06.1 and first time I try to run the TV tuner, the
machine reboots.

So I upgrade to the latest Catalyst driver. Now I'm getting a "Cannot
initialize video" problem.

So I reinstall the MMC update...

Now it works... the first time I run the tuner. Works great, channel
change is fast and smooth. Close it, and it gets a "Cannot
initialize..." message every time until I reboot.

Trying to playback a recorded .VCR file results in a crash of MMC...

Can't these bozos get anything right?


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[J]

System info: WinXP Pro/SP2, AIW 9800 Pro

So I upgrade MMC to 9.06.1 and first time I try to run the TV tuner, the
machine reboots.

So I upgrade to the latest Catalyst driver. Now I'm getting a "Cannot
initialize video" problem.

So I reinstall the MMC update...

Now it works... the first time I run the tuner. Works great, channel
change is fast and smooth. Close it, and it gets a "Cannot
initialize..." message every time until I reboot.

Trying to playback a recorded .VCR file results in a crash of MMC...

Can't these bozos get anything right?

No. They're complete *idiots*--at least when it comes to software. I can't
believe I'm just assuming I'll get another ATI card when I build a new PC
soon. I guess there's not any alternative as versatile. After you go
through the 5-ring circus to get the goddamn thing to work, that is.

 

[BlackBird]

Here's my two cents worth, for what it's worth.

Two motherboards one ATI card. Lock ups on one motherboard during
gaming,
Lock ups and bsod during boot up and gaming on the second motherboard.

Frustration, anguish and then.........

GeForce 5500. Popped it in, no new driver download needed, impeccable
performance.

Lesson learned.

BB

 

[dr ratt]

Here's my two cents worth, for what it's worth.

Two motherboards one ATI card. Lock ups on one motherboard during
gaming,
Lock ups and bsod during boot up and gaming on the second motherboard.

Frustration, anguish and then.........

GeForce 5500. Popped it in, no new driver download needed, impeccable
performance.

Lesson learned.

BB

that's right. don't run ati cards on nvidia drivers.

dr ratt

 

[Matt Ion]

Here's my two cents worth, for what it's worth.

Two motherboards one ATI card. Lock ups on one motherboard during
gaming,
Lock ups and bsod during boot up and gaming on the second motherboard.

Frustration, anguish and then.........

GeForce 5500. Popped it in, no new driver download needed, impeccable
performance.

Lesson learned.

Well, if nVidia had a card with built-in tuner, that might be an option.

I have no problem with the card and driver.

I have a problem with the crappy tuner software.


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[J. Clarke]

Well, if nVidia had a card with built-in tuner, that might be an option.

Look up "nvidia personal cinema". Currently the fastest boards available
seem to be 5700s though.

 

[First of One]

Are you really tight on space, such that using a separate TV tuner card
(e.g. LeadTek WinfastTV or ATi TV Wonder) is not an option?

 

[Matt Ion]

Are you really tight on space, such that using a separate TV tuner card
(e.g. LeadTek WinfastTV or ATi TV Wonder) is not an option?

No... but I've used those before (even an ATI TV Wonder), and I find
that technology-wise, having the tuner built into the video card is all
around just more efficient and seems to work better.

My problem has nothing to do with whether it's a combined card or not,
and everything to do with crappy software development.

And just to add to the rant: who's stupid decision was it to move the
audio feed from a separate analog line to a straight digital feed... or
at least to not give us the option? With this, one loses an amount of
control over TV sound vs. system and other WAV sounds, and I'm finding
all sorts of sync and dropout problems I never had before. Nice going, ATI.



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[Gary Drescher]

Every driver/app release after Cat4.09, MMC9.02 causes my PC to crash
frequently (on average, once an hour) when running the TV. (I recently tried
Cat5.04, MMC9.06.1, with the same result.) But with Cat4.09, MMC9.02, my PC
never crashes. (I always uninstall all ATI software before installing new
versions. I've tried reformatting my disk and reinstalling everything, but
the result is the same.)

I'm hoping someday ATI might fix whatever the problem is, so I can avail
myself of the later releases. (I have never succeeded in getting a response
from ATI tech support, other than useless automated emails. Phoning them is
an international toll call that puts me on hold indefinitely.)

I don't understand why they're allowed to advertise their products as
Windows-compatible. I'd have thought frequent crashing is an
incompatibility.

ATI All-in-Wonder 9800 Pro 128MB, P4 2.8GHz, Intel D865GBX, 1GB PC3200
DDR-SDRAM,
XP Pro SP2 (all updates installed).

 

[Dennis G.]

Every driver/app release after Cat4.09, MMC9.02 causes my PC to crash
frequently (on average, once an hour) when running the TV. (I recently tried
Cat5.04, MMC9.06.1, with the same result.) But with Cat4.09, MMC9.02, my PC
never crashes. (I always uninstall all ATI software before installing new
versions. I've tried reformatting my disk and reinstalling everything, but
the result is the same.)

Have you tried changing the bios settings ? I have had similar difficulties with
a variety of mobos but have always eventually found a bios set up that worked.

Dennis

 

[Gary Drescher]

Have you tried changing the bios settings ? I have had similar
difficulties with
a variety of mobos but have always eventually found a bios set up that
worked.

Yup, I've tried that, to no avail.

 

[Dennis G.]

Yup, I've tried that, to no avail.

Does it crash on the Catalyst install alone ? ie no MMC instal ?

Dennis

 

[Gary Drescher]

Does it crash on the Catalyst install alone ? ie no MMC instal ?

Nope. And it only crashes while the TV app is running (unless I use
Cat4.09/MMC9.02--then it works fine).

--Gary