Muddling Around:

Playing around with the features that are included takes time, both to find and get used to. ATI has included some nice programs from within MMC 9.02, they include the DTV Player, TV Player, DVD Player and CD Player. There is also a File Player that allows you to view previously recorded files. Files are stored by the name of the show (if it was present on the broadcast signal, which is not always the case) as well as the date it was broadcast. Your main limitation here is going to be hard drive space.

There is great versatility built into the HDTV Wonder, and if only we had been allowed to use the QAM demodulator, this card would have been a hit. As much as 24 channels in DTV format is, about 8 of them are PBS, and only broadcast at specific times of the day, we also all realize that ESPN HD is not coming over the air...

The ability to record OTA video to your hard drive is very powerful in a HTPC environment, and this particular card does that in HD (although HD does chew up a lot of space) You can also record from the analog (CATV) input as well as the Breakout box inputs for analog to DVD conversion and the like. This in itself is a powerful tool; the capture capabilities and ease of use are almost worth as much to the viability of this product as the HDTV functionality is.

Viewer Experience & Final Thoughts

To see if your area has DTV, you can check here for a fairly current listing of stations broadcasting digital content, as well as stations that have applied for FCC licensing to broadcast digital.

While playing around I recorded some DTV content (it actually does this for you on the fly) and I have uploaded some samples for you to view. Note that these samples have not been modified, they are as recorded to my hard drive. They are also very large files, and short clips. The first is Jay Leno, which NBC broadcasts at 1080i. This clip is 180MB and ~1:30. Notice the initial part of the clip, that is standard TV at 480, rebroadcast on Leno's show, then there is the cut back to Jay, umm, no difference there :). The 2nd clip is Joey, which NBC broadcasts at 1080i as well. This is a 48MB clip at a mere 24 seconds. You can see the freezing effect on the Joey clip, to be fair; this was during a rain storm...

If you don't want to download those two large files I have included a couple images to compare for you.

Analog	Digital

You can view uncompressed images of the analog (1MB) and HD (6MB) in TIFF format (RAR compressed) by clicking on the appropriate links.

As you can see by the samples, it is a very impressive picture. There are of course issues with the card, and the technology. There were several instances of getting a 96% antenna reading and getting nothing on the screen, this was our local ABC station. There was also several instances of getting a great picture, only to have it freeze on you every so often. You see, with DTV, there either is picture, or there is not. Gone are the days of snowy picture. Now you get notta!

The other issue is the way in which ATSC has determined we broadcast the DTV signal, it is still within the NTSC bandwidth. Therefore, in order to maintain the current bandwidth, and shove allot of information down it, there had to be a few concessions made. One of those is broadcasting in MPEG-2 format (compressing the image) and secondly only updating the information on scene changes, i.e. you do not get a new picture every frame, you get what has changed. More than likely, a missed update is the reasoning behind the freeze frames.

I had read in a few places that there were issues deleting content from your hard drive, I figure this must have been either a previous version of MMC or because of the unique nomenclature that ATI enjoys using. I found the ability to do so by right clicking a file and selecting "Recommend Content Deletion" and fumbling through a few extra steps to finally get it erased off of my hard drive, ya, that does say it all doesn't it?

The overall experience with the ATI HDTV Wonder and its associated hardware is a mixed bag. There are some very nice features built into the cards ability and the software to control them. The software is fairly easy to learn once you get a grip on the ATI verbiage and the Remote Wonder, well, not as easy, but all remotes take getting used to.

ATI could have hit a homerun with this one, all they needed to do is include the QAM capabilities inherent in the card, HTPC enthusiasts would have been all over it. The problem right now with the hardware is being limited to OTA broadcasts, which isn't something ATI can do much about due to digital rights management.

Of course, one benefit is that it is free HDTV, minus the $165 USD for the card, but depending on your area, you may be limited to 3 or 4 major stations.

Editor's Note: One thing we feel that should be pointed out is that the HDTV Wonder is only being marketed for Americans. Here's a blurb from ATI's site that will shed some light on the subject.

Currently the HDTV WONDER™ is not being offered in Canada. The product is designed to receive over-the-air HDTV broadcasts which, although widely available throughout the United States, are not available in many parts of Canada. ATI will continue to evaluate the availability of terrestrial HDTV broadcasts throughout Canada and hopes to offer the HDTV WONDER™ for sale when the market is sufficiently developed.

We did not touch on it during the review, but it's worth a mention is that you can use the HDTV Wonder for analog TV viewing. If a storm knocks the signal out, you can still use the card to watch TV, albeit not in high definition.

Pros:
Great Picture, even on small computer screen
Intel Chipset install is smooth
Small antenna fits most anywhere and does a good job receiving signals
DVR capability for HDTV and others (including breakout box connections)
Inexpensive way to get HDTV at your home without the recurring cable bill

Cons:
Non-Intel / Non-ATi is hassle installing
Picture freezing even with good signal
No picture even with good signal
Does not receive DTV over cable
No video out on card

Bottom Line:
If you don't have digital cable, and you don't want to spend close to $1,000 for Satellite equipment and a HD capable television, you can use this to get HDTV... if you have Intel Chipset and ATI graphics card. Sure, it will work on the others, but that is not something that is guaranteed.