ATI Technologies TV WONDER ELITE User manual

P/N 137-70882-30
TV WONDER™ ELITE
User’s Guide

ii
Copyright © 2004, ATI Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.
ATI and ATI product and product feature names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of ATI
Technologies Inc. All other company and/or product names are trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of their respective owners. Features, performance and specifications are subject to change
without notice. Product may not be exactly as shown in diagrams.
Reproduction of this manual, or parts thereof, in any form, without the express written permission of ATI
Technologies Inc. is strictly prohibited.
Disclaimer
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this document, ATI Technologies Inc.
assumes no liability with respect to the operation or use of ATI hardware, software or other products
and documentation described herein, for any act or omission of ATI concerning such products or this
documentation, for any interruption of service, loss or interruption of business, loss of anticipatory
profits, or for punitive, incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing,
performance, or use of the ATI hardware, software, or other products and documentation provided
herein.
ATI Technologies Inc. reserves the right to make changes without further notice to a product or system
described herein to improve reliability, function or design. With respect to ATI products which this
document relates, ATI disclaims all express or implied warranties regarding such products, including
but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-
infringement.
Product Notices
Dolby* Laboratories, Inc.
Manufactured under license from Dolby Laboratories. Confidential Unpublished Works.
© 1992-1997 Dolby Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved.
Macrovision
Apparatus Claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 4,631,603, 4,577,216, 4,819,098, and 4,907,093 licensed for
limited viewing uses only.
This product incorporates copyright protection technology that is protected by method claims of certain
U.S. patents and other intellectual property rights owned by Macrovision Corporation and other rights
owners. Use of this copyright protection technology must be authorized by Macrovision Corporation,
and is intended for home and other limited viewing uses only unless otherwise authorized by
Macrovision Corporation. Reverse engineering or disassembly is prohibited.
Documentation Updates
ATI is constantly improving its product and associated documentation. To maximize the value of your
ATI product, you should ensure that you have the latest documentation. ATI’s documentation contains
helpful installation/configuration tips and other valuable feature information.

iii
LIMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
•Read Instructions - All the safety and operating instructions should
be read before the product is operated.
•Retain Instructions - The safety and operating instructions should
be retained for future reference.
•Heed Warnings - All warnings on the product and the operating
instructions should be adhered to.
•Compatibility - This option card is for use only with IBM AT or
compatible UL Listed personal computers that have Installation
Instructions detailing user installation of card cage accessories.
•Grounding - For continued protection against risk of electric shock
and fire, this accessory should be installed only in products equipped
with a three-wire grounding plug, a plug having a third (grounding)
pin. This plug will only fit into a grounding-type power outlet. This is a
safety feature. If you are unable to insert the plug into the outlet,
contact your electrician to replace the obsolete outlet. Do not defeat
the safety purpose of the grounding-type plug.
•Secure Attachment - All card securement pins shall be completely
tightened as to provide continuous bonding between the option card
and the PC chassis.
•Outdoor Antenna Grounding - Since an outdoor antenna or cable
system is connected to the product, be sure that the antenna or cable
system is grounded so as to provide some protection against voltage
surges and built-up static charges. Article 810 of the National
Electrical Code, ANSI/NFPA 70, provides information with regard to
proper grounding of the mast and supporting structure, grounding of
the lead-in wire to the antenna discharge unit, size of grounding
conductors, location of antenna-discharge unit, connection of
grounding electrodes, and requirements for the grounding electrode.
•Lightning - For added protection for this product during a lightning
storm, or when it is left unattended and unused for long periods of
time, unplug it from the wall outlet, and disconnect the antenna or
cable system. This will prevent damage to the product due to
lightning and power-line surges.
•Power Lines - An outside antenna system should not be located in
the vicinity of overhead power lines or other light or power circuits, or
where it can fall into such power lines or circuits.
•Antenna Installation - When installing an outside antenna system,
extreme care should be taken to keep from touching such power lines
or circuits, as contact with them may be fatal.
•Note to CATV System Installer - This reminder is provided to call
the CATV systems installer’s attention to Section 820-40 of the NEC,
which provides guidelines for proper grounding and, in particular,
specifies that the cable ground shall be connected to the grounding
system of the building, as close to the point of cable entry as
practical.

iv

v
Table of Contents
Getting Started. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
System Requirements 2
Before You Begin 2
Record Your Serial and Part Numbers 2
Installing Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Quick Installation 5
Detailed Installation 5
Installing your TV WONDER™ ELITE 6
Connecting Display Devices 8
Installing Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Installing Drivers and Software in Windows® 9
Software Installation Prerequisites 9
Using Your TV WONDER™ ELITE . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Launching your TV WONDER™ ELITE 11
Using Windows® XP Media Center Edition® 2005 11
Using PowerCinema™ - ATI Edition 12
Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Troubleshooting 13
Getting Additional Accessories 15
Product Registration 15
Customer Care 15
Disclaimer 17
Warranty Information 18
Hardware Warranty Service Statement 18
Warranty Service 18
Limitations 18
Compliance Information 19
FCC Compliance Information 19
Industry Canada Compliance Statement 20
CE Compliance Information 20
Informations de conformité de la CE 20

vi
Electrical Safety 20
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

1
CHAPTER 1:
Getting Started
Your TV WONDER™ ELITE is an advanced, analog TV tuner card that
represents a vast improvement in both video and audio quality over
previous PC TV tuner products. The TV WONDER™ ELITE uses
hardware MPEG encoding and digital audio.
The TV WONDER™ ELITE provides the following features:
• NTSC or PAL analog video decoding with motion-adaptive 3D
comb filtering (depending on region).
• Worldwide, analog, stereo audio decoding with digital output to the
PC.
• FM radio.
• MPEG-1 Layer II, 2-channel audio encoding.
• High quality MPEG-2 video encoder.
• Hardware noise reduction.

2 System Requirements
System Requirements
Before You Begin
Before you begin installing your TV WONDER™ ELITE product, please
do the following.
Record Your Serial and Part Numbers
The serial number and 102 part number on the graphics card are required
for registration. They are located on a sticker on the back of the card.
Write these numbers down before installing your new ATI product.
Hardware • Intel® Pentium® 4 or Celeron®, AMD Athlon® or
Sempron® (or compatible).
• Sound card and speakers.
• 128 MB of system memory; 256 MB or more is
recommended for best performance.
• Motherboard with free PCI or PCIe X1slot (as
appropriate).
• CD-ROM drive (for installation software).
• An ATI RADEON™9600 or newer graphics card is
recommended for optimal display output quality.
• Cable TV signal or amplified antenna.
Operating
System
• Windows® XP Media Center Edition® 2005
• Windows® XP (Professional or Home, Service Pack 2)
Decoder • You must have an MPEG decoder (DVD or media
player) already on your system in order to play back
MPEG video captured by the TV WONDER™ ELITE.
Monitor • High-resolution MultiSync or multi-frequency monitors or
any other type of VGA monitor.
• Digital flat-panel (DFP) displays or digital CRT display.

Before You Begin 3
Serial and Part Numbers
XSerial number (S/N)
Y102 part number (P/N)

4 Before You Begin

Quick Installation 5
CHAPTER 2:
Installing Hardware
This chapter will guide you through the physical installation of your TV
WONDER™ ELITE card.
Quick Installation
Experienced users and system administrators can follow these brief
instructions for installing the TV WONDER™ ELITE in the shortest
possible time.
To perform a quick installation
1Uninstall the drivers and software for any previous versions of the
product if you have not already done so.
2Shut down and disconnect your computer system.
3Remove any previously installed product.
4Install your new TV WONDER™ ELITE.
5Reassemble and connect your computer system.
6Install the TV WONDER™ ELITE drivers and configuration
software from the ATI Installation CD-ROM by doing one of the
following:
• Run through the automatic ATISETUP utility; or
•Start > Run > X:\ATISETUP.EXE (where Xis the drive letter of
your CD-ROM drive).
Detailed Installation
The following instructions will take you step by step through the
installation of your new TV WONDER™ ELITE.

6 Detailed Installation
Installing your TV WONDER™ ELITE
1Turn off the computer, monitor, and other peripheral devices.
Installation Diagram
XTV WONDER™ ELITE with PCI Connector
YPCI Connection on Motherboard
ZInsertion Point for PCI Card
[TV WONDER™ ELITE with PCIe X1 Connector
\PCIe X1 Connection on Motherboard
]Insertion Point for PCIe X1 Card

Detailed Installation 7
2Unplug the computer’s power cord, and disconnect all cables from the
back of your computer.
3Remove the computer cover. If necessary, consult your computer’s
manual for help in removing the cover.
4Locate an available PCIe X1 or PCI slot (as appropriate) and, if
necessary, remove the metal back-plate cover.
5Align your TV WONDER™ ELITE with the appropriate slot, and
then press it in firmly until the card is fully seated.
6Screw in or fasten the TV WONDER™ ELITE securely. Replace
your computer cover.
7Reconnect any cables you have disconnected, and then plug in the
computer’s power cord.
8Attach a TV antenna or cable cord to the TV connector on your TV
WONDER™ ELITE.
9Attach an FM antenna to the FM connector on your TV WONDER™
ELITE. If your cable service provides an FM signal, you can use a
splitter to connect the cable to the FM and TV connectors on your
card.
10 Plug the purple input dongle that came with your TV WONDER™
ELITE into the AV IN connection.
11 Attach your S-video source and/or composite source to the proper
input on the purple input dongle.
12 Turn on the monitor, and then your computer. If you have properly
installed your card, operating system messages will appear once the
boot procedure is finished. Proceed with the installation of drivers and
software.
LWARNING - Wait approximately 20 seconds after unplugging the
power cord before disconnecting a peripheral or removing a
component from the motherboard to avoid possible damage to the
motherboard.
LWARNING - Remember to discharge your body’s static electricity by
touching the power supply or the metal surface of the computer
chassis before touching the motherboard or components.

8 Detailed Installation
Connecting Display Devices
The following connections are available:
TV WONDER™ ELITE Baseplate
XCable TV Coaxial Connection
YFM Radio Coaxial Connection
ZAV IN Connection (to Purple Dongle)

Installing Drivers and Software in Windows® 9
CHAPTER 3:
Installing Software
This chapter will guide you through the installation of the drivers and
software associated with your TV WONDER™ ELITE card.
Note: In order to use your TV WONDER™ ELITE, you will need to
install PowerCinema™ - ATI Edition or use Windows® XP Media
Center Edition® 2005.
Installing Drivers and Software in
Windows®
You will need to install the TV WONDER™ ELITE drivers and software
in the following cases:
• After you have installed the card in your system.
• After you have reinstalled or upgraded your operating system.
This procedure applies to Windows® XP.
Software Installation Prerequisites
To install or remove the drivers, you must have administrator rights or be
logged on as a user with administrator rights.
Your operating system must be installed and running before you can install
the TV WONDER™ ELITE drivers. We also recommend that you have the
latest Service Pack installed.
Note: The installation dialog will display in English if your operating
system’s language is not supported.
To install ATI drivers and software
1Start your system. When the Found New Hardware Wizard
comes up, click Cancel. When the System Settings Change
window asks you to restart your computer, click No.

10 Installing Drivers and Software in Windows®
2Run the ATISETUP utility. The ATISETUP utility will start
automatically if you insert the ATI Installation CD-ROM into your
CD-ROM drive after the operating system has started. If your CD-
ROM auto-run is not enabled or the ATISETUP utility does not start
automatically:
a) Click the Start button in the task bar.
b) Click Run.
c) Select ATISETUP.EXE from the root directory of the ATI
Installation CD-ROM.
d) Click OK.
3Click Install under Software Install.
4Click Next.
5Click Yes to the license agreement. ATI Easy Install will start the
Installation Wizard.
6Follow the wizard’s on-screen instructions to complete the
installation.
Note: The Express installation option is recommended. Custom
installation allows you to select individual software components for
installation.
7When the Setup complete message appears, select Yes, I want to
restart my computer now and click Finish.
8After the system reboots, the Found New Hardware message may
display the Digital Signature Not Found message. Click Yes or
Continue to complete the driver installation.

Launching your TV WONDER™ ELITE 11
CHAPTER 4:
Using Your TV WONDER™ ELITE
Watch television on your computer! You can receive up to 125 cable
television channels and 70 antenna channels in smooth, full-motion video,
and view them on the whole screen or in a window.
Note: All channels may not be available in all countries.
The TV WONDER™ ELITE supports the following multimedia software:
• PowerCinema™ - ATI Edition
• Windows® XP Media Center Edition® 2005
Other third-party TV viewing and PVR applications also work with your
TV WONDER™ ELITE, including the following:
• SnapStream BeyondTV®
• InterVideo Home TheaterTM
For information on TV controls, see the online help and Tool Tips.
Launching your TV WONDER™ ELITE
Using Windows® XP Media Center Edition® 2005
To start TV from Windows® XP Media Center Edition® 2005
Note: You must have Windows® XP Media Center Edition® 2005
installed on your computer.
1In the Windows® Start Menu, click Media Center.
or
1From the Windows® Start Menu, choose Programs > Accessories
> Media Center > Media Center.
2Click the MY TV button, and then click Live TV.

12 Launching your TV WONDER™ ELITE
Note: If video is not displayed, you may need to update your
graphics card drivers.
Using PowerCinema™ - ATI Edition
To start TV from PowerCinema™ - ATI Edition
Note: You must have PowerCinema™ - ATI Edition installed on
your computer.
1In the Windows® Start Menu, click PowerCinema.
or
1From the Windows® Start Menu, choose Programs >
PowerCinema > PowerCinema.
2Click the TV button, and then click Full Screen.
Note: If video is not displayed, you may need to update your
graphics card drivers.

Troubleshooting 13
CHAPTER 5:
Reference
This chapter offers troubleshooting tips and provides customer-care,
warranty, and compliance information.
Troubleshooting
The following troubleshooting tips may help if you experience problems.
ATI’s documentation contains helpful installation/configuration tips and
other valuable feature information. Please contact your dealer for more
advanced troubleshooting information.
Video & TV Problems
Problem Possible Solution
Video is Unstable
or Only Black and
White
• Check that you are using the correct broadcast
standard format.
• Check the quality of your incoming TV signal on
another receiver; bad reception may be the cause.
• Try connecting your tuner directly to the cable TV or
antenna source. Too many splitters in the cable will
degrade the signal.
There is No Video
or Audio
• Ensure that your cable or antenna is connected.
• In the TV Video Settings page, ensure that the video
connector is set to the correct source.
• Check that the audio and video connectors are
securely plugged into the correct jacks.
• Check that your video card is securely seated in its
slot. Please refer to the user guide for the card
location.

14 Troubleshooting
Video Recording
Stops
Unexpectedly
• Video files are typically very large; ensure that you
have sufficient disk space.
• Ensure that you are recording to the correct hard disk -
check the Record on Drive setting in the Media Center
by clicking on My TV, then Settings, then Recorder
which takes you to the Recorder Storage page.
• The maximum file size for the FAT32 file system is 4
Gigabytes.
• Disable screen savers while recording.
• Disable Power management while recording.
Dropped Frames
During Video
Recording
Dropped frames during video recording indicates that
some part of the system is not fast enough to keep up with
the recording. Recording video is a very demanding task
for even the most powerful system. To achieve the best
results, you must dedicate the PC to recording, and
ensure that nothing else is active during recording.
• Defragment your hard drive.
• A large, dedicated disk is recommended if you plan to
do much video recording.
• Ensure that DMA is enabled for your hard drive, to
improve disk access speed and free up the system
CPU.
• Close all other running tasks, including those in the
System Tray — clock, popup reminders, virus
scanners, etc.
• Close and exit from any Task Scheduler.
• Do not log on to your network.
• Do not connect USB devices while recording.
• Do not open or close CD-ROM trays while recording.
• Do not move the mouse while recording.
Poor TV
Reception
• If you use an indoor antenna, you will get the best
results with an amplified model. Place it as far away
from the PC monitor as possible, to avoid interference.
• Splitting the cable or antenna input can reduce the
signal quality. For the best reception, connect the
cable or antenna directly to your card.
Video & TV Problems
Problem Possible Solution