ATI TV Wonder USB 2.0 TV Tuner Model 100703156

Worth the trouble (so far)

Strengths: Price, features

Weakness: Installation

I got one recently (used), and after reading the reviews I decided not to do the installation from the original CD, but to download the manufacturer's most recent drivers. I've got two desktops, similar configurations, both recently purchased from DELL. No problems with the first one, fast setup and everything works fine. Not with the second computer. I could not make it work no matter what I...
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I got one recently (used), and after reading the reviews I decided not to do the installation from the original CD, but to download the manufacturer's most recent drivers. I've got two desktops, similar configurations, both recently purchased from DELL. No problems with the first one, fast setup and everything works fine. Not with the second computer. I could not make it work no matter what I did. Every time I tried to turn on the TV I got the error message "the TV player failed to initialize". After several hours of trying I finally gave up and decided to call the customer support. Not having to wait for long, I was given a link to download another set of installation software and since then everything works fine. The interesting is that the drivers were older that those I put on the first machine.

The picture and sound quality are satisfying, I like the features it offers (especially the GUIDE+), and all together I think the tuner is worth the price. It gets worm after some time though.

By Pesakovic - May 26, 2006

i had tested quite a few external...

Strengths: everything .. audio clarity thru single USB2.0 Connection. great tool - guide plus, give you a great way to plan upcoming tv events. Totally loving the formfactor, & quality.

Weakness: no remote control, wud've liked one. But most of the time i'm viewing stuff off the ati box, im on the keybd. gets a tad-bit hot after 15mins of viewing -i would like to see more people's reviews here

i had tested quite a few external USB20 tv tuners: - Airlink+ Tv Tuner (airlinkplus.com) - AverMedia Ultra TV USB - Hauppage USB External - Pinnacle PCTV USB2 - Leadtek USB TV/FM Tuner Box REMOTE Model WinFast TV USB II and the only one that came up next best to this ATI was the Airlink+ Tv Tuner. Every other one had a little delay when play audio/video back even when changing stations. The ati...
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i had tested quite a few external USB20 tv tuners:
- Airlink+ Tv Tuner (airlinkplus.com)
- AverMedia Ultra TV USB
- Hauppage USB External
- Pinnacle PCTV USB2
- Leadtek USB TV/FM Tuner Box REMOTE Model WinFast TV USB II

and the only one that came up next best to this ATI was the Airlink+ Tv Tuner.

Every other one had a little delay when play audio/video back even when changing stations. The ati has a little bit of this, however, very minimal.

My config: 2Ghz Intel M, 256Mb RAM.

By truei1 - Dec 4, 2004

This is a fantastic TV tuner for...

Strengths: Good quality of Video/Audio. No latency on USB 2.0 ports.

Weakness: The unit gets hot after use of 1 hour

This is a fantastic TV tuner for USB 2.0 that I've seen in the market. I use to connect to my laptop. This is like having a TIVO at home, for less than half the cost. Recording quality is also very good.

By pghatak - Oct 23, 2004

Works Great !!! Composite use to...

Strengths: Price, ease of Use

Works Great !!! Composite use to convert VHS to Picture then to DVD is high quality. Would strongly recommend. Have a DVD Recorder which does not work as well as this product and it cost significantly more.

By Duke_Basset - Oct 27, 2004

I could not get it to install on...

Strengths: Good Idea

Weakness: Doesn't worK!

I could not get it to install on my laptop. Config: Compaq Presario 2105 with AMD Athlon XP 1800, 512 MB RAM, 64 MB RADEON 320M graphics. Hardware installed and checks O.K. in system. The programs supplied by ATI do not recognize it. I used the CONFIGURATION option to check PC and it would not recognize my Graphics card. It said that a RADEON card is the minimum... did I mention that I HAVE one!...
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I could not get it to install on my laptop.

Config: Compaq Presario 2105 with AMD Athlon XP 1800, 512 MB RAM, 64 MB RADEON 320M graphics.

Hardware installed and checks O.K. in system. The programs supplied by ATI do not recognize it. I used the CONFIGURATION option to check PC and it would not recognize my Graphics card. It said that a RADEON card is the minimum... did I mention that I HAVE one! Also it said I failed the DirectX test. It recommended I reinstall DirectX 8.1 or higher (I'm running 9.0c)! Very frustrating!!! After reading all the other problems that people had with this product I think that I will return it. Sure it'll run on my desktop - but I bought it for my laptop!!! And I exceed the minimums on my laptop but it still won't work. The unit did get hot. It does look and feel cheep. Support from ATI was not helpful or easy to get (no FAQ or valuable online help).

Piece of trash if you ask me - I'm very disappointed and expected more from ATI!

By catnthat - Jan 15, 2006