14 DAY TRIAL // AMD announced their ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo USB external TV tuner for Mac. The device is addressed to those who double their PC as a TV set. Although there has always been a constant supply of cards and dongles to bring TV into a PC, there is a high chance that the previous devices were not ready for the HDTV experience.
The TI TV Wonder 650 Combo comes in two versions: the regular USB-connected external box and the PCI-Express version to be used within desktop PCs. When a High-Definition antenna is attached to the device, it will be able to pick both aerial HD signals as well as conventional analog signals. The device acts like a dual TV tuner and will allow users to receive off-the-air ATSC/HDTV broadcasts, while also watching analog programs.
"AMD continues to bring The Ultimate Visual Experience to consumers' displays and screens including HDTVs, PCs and game consoles. Today AMD expands that visual experience with high definition multimedia entertainment for Mac customers," said Matt Skynner, vice president, AMD Graphics Products Group. "AMD is enhancing the Mac experience with HDTV support from ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo USB for Mac, alongside cutting-edge 3D game and HD acceleration performance of ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO and ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT."
The TV tuner can do more than receive aerial signals: it also features cable/satellite inputs to get paid service signals, including the unencrypted ClearQAM HD channels that might be available in the cable provider offering, but can't be watched on regular TV-sets without a HD-enabled TV tuner.
The Combo version of the TV tuner features the "Pause" function, which allows the user to pause a live TV broadcast and resume it at a later time, similar to the TiVo implementation. In order to work properly, the device needs an USB 2.0-equipped Windows XP or Vista PC with a DirectX 9 or later graphics card, or USB 2.0-equipped Mac running Mac OS X 10.4.10 or later. In order to receive aerial HD signals, the user needs to purchase an additional HD antenna, that adds up about $30 to $50 to the initial $150 price tag.