Comments on: What PVR program will work with my All-in-Wonder X800?

Question: What PVR program will work with my All-in-Wonder X800?

Kraki — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 13:39:10 -0800

I've got an ATI All-in-Wonder X800 XT video card. Where can I find a good PVR program that will work with this card?

My All-in-Wonder X800 came with some basic PVR software, but I don't really like the interface. I'd like to find a PVR program that will actually work with my card. I was excited about the release of Yahoo's new free PVR, but my video card isn't recognized, so I can't use it. Any Sugestions?

By: blag

blag — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 14:47:17 -0800

I assume Yahoo's "new free" PVR is just a rebranded Meedio, which they've just bought, so don't try that. Maybe try MediaPortal (open source) or Snapstream Beyond TV (commercial)?

On linux, try MythTV and Freevo.

By: blag

blag — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 14:58:19 -0800

Also, SageTV.

By: CrayDrygu

CrayDrygu — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 15:09:30 -0800

I've been running SageTV for at least a year now, and it's great. I like it because it "just works." I've got it running on an AMD Duron 1.2ghz with 512mb RAM, and it runs admirably.

MythTV is just a pain in the ass to set up (this coming from someone who's not afraid to dig around under the hood), and I haven't been able to get good TV-out support for ATI cards in Linux.

By: i_am_a_Jedi

i_am_a_Jedi — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 16:51:33 -0800

Another voice of support for SageTV. I've been running it since mid-2004 and I don't know how I ever managed TV without it. I've never had Tivo, so I can't compare, but the ability to store DVD's and archive TV shows after removing commercials is so great.

I do run it on Hauppauge cards so your experience on a non-hardware MPEG encoder may vary.

By: CrayDrygu

CrayDrygu — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 18:31:17 -0800

Right, sorry...I'm running on a Hauppauge card as well. The ATI AIW cards don't do hardware MPEG encoding? If not, you'll want a beefier processor.

By: chrominance

chrominance — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 23:20:32 -0800

The All-In-Wonder is a bit of a problem; it's only recently that a lot of PVR products have begun to support the card, and even then many don't officially support it but say it will probably work with their product. For example, the SageTV list of supported card doesn't mention the All-In-Wonder series specifically, but there's a decent possibility that it's covered under the "most WDM capture devices should work" section of the list, under software encoding. At least some people have managed to get the All-In-Wonder working with SageTV, but to date it's still not officially supported.

It appears that BeyondTV has started supporting the All-In-Wonder explicitly. I think this is a recent development, though. Having grown tired of ATI's software (and especially the horrid Gemstar Guide Plus) long ago, I can tell you that it's been relatively slim pickings for AIW owners. My advice? Try BeyondTV or SageTV, and if they don't work out for you, bite the bullet and get a Hauppauge. That's my plan, anyways.