When it comes to multi media cards ATI dominates the integrated TV graphics card market with their All In Wonder series cards. Launched back in 1996 the All In Wonder series has seen little, if any significant competition. In the past there has been a bit of give and take when it came down to buying an AIW over a standard graphics card, but they have remained at the top of the heap since their release.

The All In Wonder X800XT is a full blown gaming/multimedia monster of a graphics card, it is not a stripped down X800XT with a TV tuner thrown in.

ATI X800XT All In Wonder

When it comes to high end graphics cards its all about the eye candy, and the packageing for this card is no exception. Both the front and the back of the box provide a lot of information about the features of the card as well as some of the included items and software. There is also a window on the back of the box that gives you a glimpse of the card itself. Inside the box is another box! The internal packaging has some instructions for getting support, as well as a reminder that this card must be connected to your power supply in order to function. The labels are bright yellow and red, so they are hard to miss.

The list of included accessories for the X800XT All In Wonder is almost as long as the line of geeks outside a theater waiting for a Star Wars premier. Just about everything you could possibly need for your gaming and multimedia needs is included with this card.

Accessories

• All-In-Wonder X800XT
• Remote Wonder II with USB receiver pod (batteries included)
• Audio/Video input block
• S-video/composite video output block
• Component video output block
• S-video cable
• Composite cable
• VIVO dongle
• FM radio antenna
• Power adapter cable
• Software
• Driver CD
• Visual Communicator
• Matchware Mediator 7
• Pinnacle Studio 9, ATI version
• User manual
• Quick start install guide

Technical Specifications:

The X800XT is based on the R420 chipset so it is not using the fastest of ATI's current chipsets, but it is still the fastest multimedia card on the market.

Board Specifications
Core Speed	500MHz
Pipelines	16
Pixel Fill-rate	8G Pixels/sec
Geometry Rate	750 MTriangles
Memory Speed	500MHz GDDR-3 (1000 MHz Effective)
Frame Buffer Size	256MB

Features:

To say this card is feature packed would be an understatement, combine the bundled software with the onboard features and you have a "total package" multi media graphics card.

One of the first features you normally notice on a multi media card like the AIW is the TV tuner. At first glance you would think the tuner is missing from the X800XT AIW, gone is the large metallic box normally found on the top edge at the rear of the card. It has been replaced with a much smaller tuner manufactured by Microtune. The MT2050 (what the tuner is called) brings a lot of functionality to the AIW as well as lower power consumption than previous tuners and a MUCH smaller footprint on the card itself. when paired up with the Theater 200 video decoder there's not much more you could ask for when it comes to TV on your PC.

Input/Output connections

Like previous AIW cards the X800XT uses input/output dongles for connecting various devices. Prior to the X600 AIW all of these input/output dongles were plugged directly into a hard wired port on the back of the card. This took up a lot of valuable real estate and often times the trade off for the multimedia features was decreased performance in gaming. Not to mention no dual monitor support (this was changed with the 9600XT AIW with the use of a dongle) The X800XT uses a main dongle that combines the connections for the input and output blocks, FM antenna as well as cable TV in. This frees up a LOT of room, so rather than having everything on the back of the card, now there are three connections on the card, one for the main dongle that connects all of your input/output blocks, VGA display connection as well as DVI display.

MMC is the software bundle that pulls all of the features of the X800XT AIW together. It provides features such as TV on demand that lets you pause, rewind, fast forward and record live TV. Thruview gives you a transparent live TV broadcast so that you can still see and access your desktop, Videosoap, which are filtering options that help to clean up image quality on recorded video and mulTView which gives you the ability to add a second tuner for picture in picture capabilities.

Add the Remote Wonder II and you've got yourself a complete home theater set up. The Remote Wonder II is an RF remote, meaning it uses radio frequencies to operate. RF remotes have a greater range, can work through walls and don't require you to be pointing the remote directly at the PC. With the remote you can control your mouse, change channels, turn the volume up or down, it can even be programmed to operate other electronic devices that use infrared communication.

 

ATI goes a step further by providing additional software to help you get more use out of your new card. Here's ATI's description of the included software, I'll add my thoughts about each one below.

• muvee autoProducer – This DVD Edition of muvee autoProducer is integrated into ATI's Multimedia Center™ as automatic video-production software that enables users to quickly and easily create home music videos in a fraction of the time it would take using traditional video editing products.
• Matchware Mediator 7 – The software program allows for the creative combination of text, pictures, videos and sounds to build stunning presentations in a few minutes plus create web sites with streaming video and Flash® executables.
• Serious Magic Visual Communicator – Visual Communicator features a new video production process that integrates real-time video with real-time 3D graphics. The software program includes an on-screen teleprompter, customizable graphics and titles, real-time transition and green screen effects as well as virtual sets
• Pinnacle Studio 9 (ATI Version) – This newly created full-featured program offers digital video control with additional ATI-based bonuses, and delivers powerful features for consumer video editing.

All of the included software are full versions, of the 4, I was most impressed with Studio 9. When it comes to video editing, creating etc I'm about as clueless as they come. With Studio 9 I was able to convert several old VHS tapes I've been holding on to for years to a digital format, and it only took me about 5 minutes to figure it all out. I was also quite Impressed with Serious Magic Visual Communicator. You can use it to create your own shows, including 3d animated backgrounds, green screen effects etc. It only takes a couple of minutes to get it up and running and your on your way to producing your own show.

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