NVIDIA GeForce FX Personal Cinema Roundup - Asus, Chaintech, eVGA, and MSI
by Andrew Ku on December 23, 2003 10:48 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Asus V9520 Home Theater — Software (continued)
The 10-foot viewing mode is easy to navigate, though it takes a long time to initialize. First impressions were that this was a spitting image of Windows XP Media Center Edition. It is remarkably similar, though the MCE OS is definitely programmed much better and smoother. That having been said, we do prefer this program over the software suite that NVIDIA has licensed for Personal Cinemas.Regardless of what mode the program starts up in, the program will always initialize TV, so that it doesn't take time to initialize once the TV is selected. This takes about 10 to 20 seconds and seems a bit long considering that the cards use a silicon tuner.
The hardest part with using this software solution is Asus' remote because of the lack of tactile feedback in the directional mouse pad. Additionally, functions, such as frame capture and navigating to the guide, cannot be accomplished with a single button. Instead, you need to use the directional mouse pad to move around to the correct buttons and hit the OK macro button.
The problem with InterVideo's Home Theater is that it is so web-reliant when it comes to the EPG, employing TitanTV like WinDVR. This is really unacceptable considering that scheduling won't work off the EPG if there is no dedicated internet access.
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Click to enlarge.
Because Asus has chosen not to go the route of NVIDIA's licenses, they aren't opting to use VideoStudio and MovieFactory to edit video. Instead, Asus has chosen CyberLink's PowerDirector 2.5 Pro ME ($79.95 for Version 3 off their website). The drawback to this choice is that burning directly to disc cannot be accomplished. So, it is basically comparable to Ulead's VideoStudio. Neither product is really able to compete with ATI's Library program, which allows direct burning to disc. Adding another program just to support the claims of direct burning to disc is obtrusive when put to practice. Ideally, it should be a very simple process, which ATI has gotten down in their Library program.
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For the gamer, Asus has included Morrowind and Black Thorn, which should run fine on this card, since the two games are relatively non-graphically intense.
Asus V9520 Home Theater – Software
Chaintech A-FM6P/N (GeForce FX 5200 Personal Cinema) - Hardware and Software
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Webgod - Sunday, January 11, 2004 - link
Where's the review? Where's the comparison of screenshots of live TV with both the Personal Cinema and ATI AIW cards? How does it compare to your TV set side by side? How do the ATI AIW's compare to the Personal Cinema cards with PVR functions, etc.? Go more in depth, this is Anandtech.bschuler2004 - Monday, December 29, 2003 - link
Nvidia sure does make some crappy AIW imitators! I thought they'd be worse than ATI, but not THIS bad. It's shocking to say the least. I'd rather have an original AIW rage IIC card then one of these garbage cards.How on earth do they honestly intend to sell this junk with a straight face? It's laughable.
jruff - Wednesday, December 24, 2003 - link
PC CLub recommened the nVidia card which is what I built for my mothers computer. Going over tomorrow t o run thru the software. For my wife's machine I just bought a AIW 9600 Pro that I will be installing tomorrow. Shhhh, its a christmas present ;)I couldnt find much on the nVidia when I put her new system together I was just going on what PC Club said. Ill get a chance to use both here in the next week putting together the 6 Digital 8 tapes I have managed to make in the last year of my sons life (birthday jan 8, 1 year)
We will se how it goes and which makes the easiest final product.
Stay tuned :)
LoneWolf15 - Wednesday, December 24, 2003 - link
Interesting, but I do get a little tired of bundling all of these products with the video card. I want to keep a TV tuner/PVR for the long haul, and every time graphics technology changes, buying a new all-in-one card would break my budget. That, and the fact that NVidia only offers these features on their low-end cards means I'd rather choose one of ATI's solutions, despite some issues with their software. The All-in-Wonder line now spans from the entry-level AIW 7500 and 9000 on up to the top. ATI has a much better tiered structure, and also has standalone tuner/capture cards (TV Wonder Pro).morcegovermelho - Tuesday, December 23, 2003 - link
Good review. Very good info on breakout box, remote control, and Dual Display Support.Maybe should be included in the review some info about video-capture.
What capture format? MPEG2? AVI? Other format?
If capture is mpeg2, what resolution? what bitrate? Is it DVD-compliant?
If capture is avi, what is the codec? Can it be uncompressed? Can we use DivX? It's a proprietary codec?
How about dropped frames?
Audio capture - 44khz or 48Khz? Uncompressed, mp2 or ac3 ?
sandorski - Tuesday, December 23, 2003 - link
I just kinda skimmed the article, but I saw enough to support my conclusion(I think ;) ): Nvidia has a long road to catch up to ATI in regards to Multimedia/Multifunction vidcards. It's not just in technology though, but also reputation.It wasn't too long ago when Multifunction was all ATI had, they certainly weren't selling their cards for Gaming Performance reasons. No serious Gamer would even consider them.
OTOH Nvidia and 3DFX were engaged in a bitter battle for the Gaming Performance crown. We all know how that turned out ( :( ).
Nvidia won the Crown and all seemed good....until ATI released the Radeon 9700 Pro. That one card turned the video card world on its' ear and NVidia has been trying to catch up since.
ATI's time relying on and perfecting their AIW and lesser MultiMedia functioning cards had allowed them to focus on Gaming Performance. They acheived that and the Marketplace is begining to turn on to the whole Multimedia/Multifunction idea in a big way.
Nvidia has a long road ahead and seems to be trying to desperately catch up on a number of fronts. Hopefully they can for Competitions sake, but ATI is turning into a Juggernaut.