You DO NOT have to buy ATI MMC

[lordsmurf]

Owners of RADEON™ 9000/9200/9500/9600/9700/9800 series graphics adapters, ALL-IN-WONDER® 9800 PRO/9700PRO / 9000 / VE multimedia adapters, or users who have an existing MMC 8.1 installation CD have access to a free upgrade to MMC 8.8. (requires an original installation CD to validate DVD decoder update).

Owners of older ATI products currently using MMC 7.7.0.1 or older software will need to purchase a new installation CD in order to install the MMC 8.8 DVD support. Information on purchasing an installation CD can be found at ATI.com.**

Why do people not read the fine print? Or read carefully?

I've seen at least 4 posts today, and gotten about 10 e-mails about this.

Again, I repeat... ATI MMC and ATI DRIVERS/COMPONENTS are FREE to upgrade/update.

You ONLY have to buy an ATI CD-ROM if you want the ATI DVD player. The ATI DVD player is garbage, and a pale shadow of WinDVD and PowerDVD.

When you paid for your ATI card, you also bought the privilege to update and upgrade your drivers and software. This is why it only works on ATI cards.

ATI could change this at any time, but this is how they've done things since the beginning of ATI time.

The only other reason to by the CD-ROM is if your Internet connection is slow. The ATI files are about 100MB total, so I'd understand not wanting to spend hours/days downloading all those files.

It amazes me how so many people learned how to write, yet never learned how to read.

[Soapm]

Question for ya LordSmurf, you said in another post that you don't have M$ media player on your machine. Yet WMP9 in necessary for MMC to work. How did you get around that?

The reason I ask is because I use MPlayer 6.4. It is simple, launches quickly and easy on the eyes. I refuse to install WMP9 because it takes over your entire machine and I like having control. However, I would like to install ATI MMC. Is there some kind of workaround?

[lordsmurf]

I have installed WMP9, I just never use it, and in fact the player won't work anymore (killed itself, piece of junk) on WAV/MPEG or DIVX. Just WMV/ASF and AC3 audio.

I use WinDVD and PowerDVD for all my viewing needs, which are few. I use my tv set for watching things.

You can have both WMP9 and WMP6 installed at the same time.

[Jake802]

Lord Smurf I have a question. Ive recently redone my computer. I am starting fresh with an ATI Radeon 7500. It says I cannot install the newest driver unless I have Windows XP SP1 installed(I think). I do not have this, anyways my question is what are the best drivers to install for my card, what MMC is the best to install, and If I decide I want to can I still use VDUB for capturing with the newer ATI Drivers? Thanks for your time and help!

Jake

[lordsmurf]

VDUB is a VFW capture tool, ATI is a WDM capture card. Need tpo have WDM hack on VDUB, and it may never work right.

Use ATI MMC 8.1, 8.5 or 8.7 ... maybe other 8.x if you wanted, but those three are mine favorites. About the same.

Drivers for the cards exist for all OSes, not just XP.

[Jake802]

I meant XP. I just dont have the service pack one installed! I have used VDUB with the ATI before. I am just wondering if the newer drivers are gonna prevent this. Thanks for the input though!

[reckless67]

Lordsmurf, will it work with cards built on the Radeon chip, like my Asus 9600XT, or just Built By ATI? I'm thinking no, because I tried to get it to work and couldn't. What components do you need to install for it to work? (DAO/MDAC?, DVD Decoder)? Is WMP9 needed to run it?

Thanks

[lordsmurf]

Lordsmurf, will it work with cards built on the Radeon chip, like my Asus 9600XT, or just Built By ATI? I'm thinking no, because I tried to get it to work and couldn't. What components do you need to install for it to work? (DAO/MDAC?, DVD Decoder)? Is WMP9 needed to run it?

Thanks

DAO/MDAO, WMP9, DirectX9.

I bet the 128PRO hack would force ATI MMC onto your system, and it'd work fine as long as you have a THEATRE chip card.