Will TV WONDER USB 2.0 work with multiview?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Prince Lee
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P

Prince Lee

Anyone know this or have tried to see whether this new device will allow the
use of multiview when pair with an existing AGP All In Wonder.

If anyone has tried this combo, let me know how well it works!
 
No one bought a TV WONDER USB 2.0? I'd really like to get an idea of whether
it will do what I'm trying to get done or not.
 
Prince said:
No one bought a TV WONDER USB 2.0? I'd really like to get an idea of whether
it will do what I'm trying to get done or not.
Click to expand...

I have one, but I DON'T have an AGP All-In-Wonder... the 2nd required
part of your question.

I'm guess there aren't a whole lot of people who have BOTH a TV Wonder
and an All-In-Wonder on the same PC. And is multiview a multiple
monitor thing? If so, that would bring down the number of people with
such a combination even further...
 
Actually, multiview is simply to allow us to record one channel while
watching another. As with dual- reciever TV's when using picture in a
picture. That's really what I was hoping to make happen on my system, and I
wanted to do that without getting the PCI version of the TV wonder.
 
I have All in Wonders with PCI TV wonders on two computers using multi
view. This is easy to do,...unusual for ATI, and I recommend it .
Don't get an expensive TV Wonder there is no percentage in it, any old
one from Ebay will do the trick.

I believe you must have a AIW and a PCI TV Wonder. I have a USB TV
Wonder for my laptop, but I have never read any mention of multi view
support.

The big problem here would be handling the audio. I can's see a way
around that with a USB device. It is either on or it isn't. With two
<cards> you are just going from digital or line in audio to AUX. You
set up ATI for this and it happens automatically. The USB device has
no provision for this. Audio is either on or off.
 
That's very interesting, I hadn't considered that audio handling would be an
issue. I had been more concerned with IRQ issues than anything else. I was
going for getting a TV Wonder 2.0 (via ebay), versus getting the PCI TV
Wonder in effort to avoid taking up another IRQ unnecessarily. Now you've
got me wondering if my idea will work out.

I actually called and talked to an ATI rep, who told me that the USB TV
Wonder would work fine for MultiView, but he made no mention that there
might be a problem getting the audio from both the AGP card and the USB TV
Wonder into the audio card simultaneously.

All he mentioned is there might be an issue with heavy CPU usage while
running both of them at the same time. So, tell me this, on your laptop, is
the audio from the TV Wonder being fed in via USB or what? I guess I had
assumed that this would be the case.

-P
 
That's very interesting, I hadn't considered that audio handling would be an
issue. I had been more concerned with IRQ issues than anything else. I was
going for getting a TV Wonder 2.0 (via ebay), versus getting the PCI TV
Wonder in effort to avoid taking up another IRQ unnecessarily.
Click to expand...

The AGP AIW and the PCI TV wonder can easily share a IRQ for this

Now you've
got me wondering if my idea will work out.

I actually called and talked to an ATI rep, who told me that the USB TV
Wonder would work fine for MultiView, but he made no mention that there
might be a problem getting the audio from both the AGP card and the USB TV
Wonder into the audio card simultaneously.
Click to expand...

Well, if he said it would work then they must of accounted for this.
But I am surprised because ATI has a page about multi view that says
it can only be done with a AIW and a PCI TV Wonder.

When you setup Initialization it will ask you if you want to enable
multi view. If you say yes then the next dialog box will ask you if
you have the audio cables installed correctly. then it will test them.
Recently, the latest drivers, the AIW is set up digitally and there is
no choice. But the drivers previous to 9.08c required you to select
the audio input source of both devices.

For the PCI TV Wonder, there is spin box to select, line in, Aux,
TAD, but I have never seen a setting for a USB device ....maybe
because I don't have one plugged in.
All he mentioned is there might be an issue with heavy CPU usage while
running both of them at the same time.
Click to expand...

I doubt that. I hardly pull any CPU time running either. Even
recording. Although much more with a USB turner then a AIW I. Of
course you will be using the AIW for recording. A USB uses far more
CPU cycles then a PCI card which has it's own chip.


So, tell me this, on your laptop, is
the audio from the TV Wonder being fed in via USB or what? I guess I had
assumed that this would be the case.
Click to expand...

On the laptop I have a USB TV Wonder.... NOT a USB 2 TV Wonder. It
doesn't support stereo, but I only use it for stuff like CSPAN or
news, when I do use it, which is rare. Like any USB turner... and I
also own a Haupagee USB2 Turner.... there is no setup of the audio.
You mute the audio for the device. It is on or off.. In the manually
it states that it can not be used for multi view, but maybe they
overcame whatever problems with the much faster USB2.

Normally, with a AGP PCI multi view setup you are switching from
digital or line in to aux or line in.... but it is the same sound card
being toggled between inputs. You click on a TV screen and the audio
source switches.. There is no USB input to any sound card, so I am
wondering how that would work. The ATI drivers must know it is the USB
and is muting the appropriate software device.
 
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