newbie ques: ATI AIW 8500DV vs. 7500?

[sherman01]

A couple ATI AIW card questions:

Is the 8500DV worth an extra $70 over the 7500? Is the card itself better (ie. better captures and tv tuning)? And, is the bundled software any different or better? The on-board firewire port is nice since I don’t currently have one and my mini-tower doesn’t have an abundance of slots. I am not a big gamer, so any difference in rendering performance shouldn’t matter to me. I have read the hardware reviews on this site and been to ATI.com, but cannot tell if there is a significant difference, especially with the included software.

What I currently want to do with the card is capture TV, VCR, and Hi8 inputs (I currently have no digital devices to worry about). Would currently like to edit and output to VCR, and author and burn dvd’s in near future (ie. Sony dru500).

[pallain]

I have both cards in 2 different systems. I bought the 8500 after for my SONY DV cam. Other then that they are close to the same card.

[DigiToast]

You may want to check what encoder/tuner chips are on each of those two cards. I remember reading a lot about overheating problems that the 8500DV had until ATI released the AIW8500 (non-DV) and replaced the onboard tuner chip.

[sherman01]

pallain
Did you get OEM versions or retail boxes? Was there any difference in the bundled software, particularly the video editing? I currently have no software and have no experience with the freeware software in the tools section. Altough the freeware may be able to accomplish everything, I would imagine the bundled software would be more intuitive.

DigiToast
Would overheating be a problem with 2 hrs. or less of continous use of capturing or TV viewing? Or would this only be a problem with prolonged use? Either way, it is a problem that I will look into, but I will not be using for those purposes for long durations.

[pallain]

I havent had any problems. I have only used Pinnacle 7 and Ulead DVD factory apps. I never used any of what came with it. The 8500 DV is not an OEM. The 7500 is. I only bought the 8500 DV cause it was like ½ price from being a return. Normally I would only buy OEMs.

[DigiToast]

sherman: Here are two articles that I was able to dig up. I couldn't find any posts on boards I visit, so these were the best I could get. They briefly talk about the heat issue. I doubt there are any serious heat issues or there probably would have been a recall or something, but as small as the issue is, it was enough to keep me from making a purchase back when I was considering these...

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.html?i=1609&p=19
http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/01q4/011211/aiw8500dv-09.html#overall_impression

[sherman01]

Thanks for info. Since the performance and software don't seem to be much different, and since I don't really need firewire yet I think I will go with the AIW 7500. I can either spend the money saved on some software now or put it towards a dvd burner.