Introduction
All In Wonder. These three words have become synonymous with multimedia on the PC, thanks to ATI. The Canadians introduced their video/graphics combo to the world in the form of a card that was simply called the “All In Wonder” (with no other bynames) and was based on the ATI Rage II+ 3D accelerator chip. With the integrated TV tuner, ATI merged the worlds of the TV and the PC. While videos and TV on the PC were by no means a revolutionary or even new idea, the concept of integrating both functions into a single card and including editing and viewing software in the package was indeed unique. Another advantage, compared to a separate 3D card + video add-in solution, is the price. Factor in the extra cost for the bundled video editing software, and the All In Wonder becomes a very attractive offer indeed. An additional boon is that a combo card doesn’t suffer from the compatibility issues often present in two-card solutions.
Now the AIW family has a new member, the based on the DirectX 9 GPU R300 with AGP 8x support. To make the name a little less cumbersome, ATI decided to drop the “Radeon.” Unlike the previous model, the AIW Radeon 8500, ATI decided to revert to the classical tuner. The chip solution of the AIW R8500 was plagued by heat problems and also tended to be rather power hungry. Since an analog tuner also requires fewer pins, the board layout becomes much simpler as well.
A feature overview of the All In Wonder Radeon 9700 PRO:
- Powered by the RADEON(tm) 9700 PRO visual processing unit;
- Unparalleled TV and DVD features: TV-ON-DEMAND(tm), Gemstar GUIDE Plus+(tm), mulTView(tm), VIDEOSOAP(tm), THRUVIEW(tm) and much more;
- Easily edit video into your own creations: Video CD and DVD Authoring;
- 128 MB DDR memory;
- AGP 8X support;
- Complete DirectX(r) 9.0 support;
- 30 foot user interface for hand held remote control to control your pc applications;
- Use component output to watch TV, DVDs, and videos on your High Definition TVs.
Introduction, Continued
Until now, the biggest drawback of All In Wonder cards was their 3D performance, which was lower compared to the standard cards with the same chip. In the past ATI used slower, and therefore cheaper, memory chips on the AIWs. Coupled with the lower core clock speed, this led to degraded 3D performance. Those times are finally over – the All In Wonder 9700 now runs at the same memory and core speeds as the standard Radeon 9700 PRO.
Below, you can see how the All In Wonder 9700 PRO compares to its predecessors:
| Chip Name | ATI AIW RADEON 7500 | ATI AIW RADEON 8500 DV | ATI AIW RADEON 8500 | ATI AIW 9700 PRO |
| Core | RV200 | R200 | R200 | R300 |
| Manuf. Process | 0.15 Micron | 0.15 Micron | 0.15 Micron | 0.15 Micron |
| Chipclock | 260 MHz | 230 MHz | 275 MHz | 325 MHz |
| Memoryclock | 360 MHz (DDR) | 380 MHz (DDR) | 550 MHz (DDR) | 620 MHz (DDR) |
| Memory Type | SGRAM | SGRAM | SGRAM | BGA |
| Memory Bus | 128Bit DDR | 128Bit DDR | 128Bit DDR | 256Bit DDR |
| Memory Size | 64 MB | 64 MB | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| RAMDAC (S) | 2x 400 MHz | 2x 400 MHz | 2x 400 MHz | 2x 400 MHz |
| Bus interface | AGP 1x/2x/4x | AGP 1x/2x/4x | AGP 1x/2x/4x | AGP 1x/2x/4x/8x |
| T&L | 2rd Generation | 3rd Generation | 3rd Generation | 4th Generation |
| DirectX Generation | DX7 | DX8 | DX8 | DX9 |
| Pixel Shader | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Vertex Shader | No | Yes (2) | Yes (2) | Yes (4) |
| Truform | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Render Pipelines | 2 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| Textures per Pipe | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| TV-Tuner | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Video In / Out | Yes Rage Theater |
Yes Rage Theater |
Yes Rage Theater |
Yes Theater 200 |
| TV-Out DualView | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IEEE 1394 Firewire | No | Yes | No | No |
| Remote Controll | Yes (RF) | Yes (RF) | Yes (RF) | Yes (RF) |
| Price | Official: $149 | Official: $199 | Official: $299 | Less than $500 |
Features
Below are all the features of the All In Wonder 9700 PRO in detail.
Hardware
- Radio Frequency Remote
The new remote control lets users control the entire PC now, not just the video functions. There is a mouse control interface, and several buttons are bound to certain functions and shortcuts. Since the unit now uses radio signals instead of infrared, a line of sight to the receiver is no longer required. Theoretically, this also makes it possible to control the PC from another room. The receiver connects to the PC through a USB interface. Another welcome change from the older AIW R8500 is that different channels can now be selected for the remote control unit, avoiding conflicts with other nearby AIW cards.
- Theater 200 Chip
The Theater 200 succeeds the Rage Theater chip as the video encoder of choice. It handles all video inputs and allows playback and capturing of video and audio signals. The chip incorporates 12 bit ADCs and a 2D comb filter.
- TV-Out
The integrated functionality of the Radeon 9700 GPU allows it to control the TV output. The TV-out functionality of the Theater 200 chip goes unused in this case. - SmartShader, Fullstream, SmoothVision 2.0, VideoSoap
The video and 3D functions are identical to those of the standard Radeon 9700 PRO. More informationVideoSoap is a new addition, though. Its filters employ the R9700 chip’s pixel shaders to reduce interference in TV signals when recording.
Outputs
- DVI-I (15 pin VGA adaptor included);
- Internal & External Stereo Audio (To Soundcard);
- Dolby(r) digital stereo audio output (S/PDIF);
- 1x S-Video;
- 1x Composite Video;
- YPrPb output adapter (available in North America only). This adapter offers connectivity to HDTV devices with 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i.
Inputs
- 1x S-Video;
- 1x Composite Video;
- TV Signal;
- Stereo Sound input.
Supported TV Standards
- NA, Europe, Japan;
- NTSC, PAL, SECAM;
- BTSC, Dual FM, EIA-J, NICAM.
Software
- TV-On Demand
The card can tune and store up to 125 TV stations. Shows can be recorded and viewed later. - ThruView
This mode makes the entire desktop and all applications transparent. The TV signal is then superimposed. A practical example would be working on an Excel spreadsheet while watching a TV show at the same time. - GEMSTAR Guide Plus+
is a kind of digital TV guide with extensive search functions. A show can be selected for recording directly out of this program.
- MultiMedia Center 8.0
This is an application suite consisting of a DVD player, a VCD player, a CD player, and a TV viewer.
- MulTView
This feature is provided for users that also own a TV Wonder or TV Wonder VE video card in addition to the AIW 9700 PRO, allowing two independent TV signals to be displayed simultaneously (although separately, not on top of each other). Among other things, the software offers picture-in-picture functionality.
Software, Continued
- Video Editing: Pinnacle System Studio 8 SE
ATI chose to replace its previous software, Ulead Video Studio, with Studio 8 SE from .
Conclusion
ATI’s All In Wonder 9700 PRO is indeed a unique and very attractive bundle. With it, a PC’s multimedia capabilities are greatly extended. 3D power users are sure to be relieved that ATI has left the Radeon 9700 PRO GPU’s clock speeds untouched from the standard version. Therefore, All In Wonder no longer means compromising by choosing between speed and multimedia features. The AIW need fear no competition, as its combination of integrated hardware, abundant software and radio remote control is unique in the entire graphics card market. Buyers in the United States and Canada even get treated to a YPrPb output adapter.
The targeted price of just under $500 will doubtless be hard to swallow for some prospective buyers. After all, that makes the AIW a good $100 more expensive than the vanilla Radeon 9700 PRO. Buying an add-in TV card seems to be the cheaper solution. Once you take the software bundle and the high quality remote control into account, the higher price seems justified – if those are the features you were looking for.
The only drawback we see is the lack of the IEEE 1394/ iLink/ FireWire ports that the All In Wonder Radeon 8500 DV still featured. This is sure to make many video enthusiasts unhappy. The only way to remedy this is to buy an add-in IEEE 1394 card or a sound card with an integrated FireWire port. Another group of users left out in the cold are those wishing to use more than one monitor. There just wasn’t any more room on the back panel for a second monitor output.
Undoubtedly, the unique and so far unrivaled will find many fans. After all, this is the first All In Wonder with full 3D power.
