ATI card - is MMC the best capturing option?

[lerxst]

I have an ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon 8500 card but unfortunately I lost the disc with the ATI Multimedia Center software that comes with the card. I looked at the ATI website and it seems like you can only download updates for this software but you need to have the original setup installed in order for this update to work. Since I don't have this original disc, is there any way that I can get this software installed?

Also, from what I read, it seems like this is the best capturing tool to use for these ATI cards, is this true? I currently capture with NeroVision or Studio 8 and am not that happy with the results. Should I really try to get this MMC software?

Thanks.

[greymalkin]

the only thing you need the original CD for is the DVD-Decoder section of the MMC. You can get the full drivers/MMC from ATI.com.

I was the proud owner of an AIW 9000 for several years. I would recommend using MMC because it was tailor made for the card you are using. I would also recommend it because it has many options for customizing the resolution/bitrate of the video you are wanting to capture.

I fell into ATI's hype-machine and bought their new 550 chipset which they do not support in their MMC and now i'm just wishing I had something like MMC to use.

[lerxst]

Thanks for your reply greymalkin.

Given that I don't have any of the original CDs that came with the card, is there a way that I can get this "DVD Decoder section" to properly setup and use MMC? What exactly is this?

thanks.

[greymalkin]

my guess is that it's some kind of driver to initialize ATI's built in hardware dvd-decoding that it has had for several years now. if you have powerdvd, though, i believe it will utililize the ATI hardware anyways.

i could be totally wrong about this assumption, however. But as far as watching TV and capturing/editing video's it should have no effect.

[lordsmurf]

You do not need the CD, except for the ATI DVD player. The ATI DVD player sucks, use WinDVD or PowerDVD instead.

It's the rest of ATI MMC you want anyway, the capturing portion. And yes, it's easily the best software, made just for that series of cards.

[lerxst]

Thanks!

I managed to download the MMC from the ATI site and it seems to be working fine without the CD. Now I'm just going to try it and if I stumble upon something I'll be dropping another line here seeking your valuable advice.

Thanks again.

[lordsmurf]

Read: http://www.digitalfaq.com

Specifically, give these a look:
http://www.digitalfaq.com/dvdguides/capture/atimpeg/atimpeg.htm
http://www.digitalfaq.com/dvdguides/capture/atiavi/atiavi.htm

Some of the others may also do you good.

[edDV]

ATI does give you the opportunity to buy a fresh CD for around $20 after shipping charges but there is no real advantage other than the getting the DVD player (MPeg2 royalty must be paid by ATI).

I agree the ATI DVD Player isn't as good as others mentioned.

Alternative software is something like Beyond TV 3 which is a mixed bag. It is better for working off a TV set (similar to TIVO) rather than a PC monitor. It also has a feature that I use that allows remote programming of tuner captures using a web based server. If I'm out of town, I can schedule a recording from anywhere.

Also the Beyond TV guide is far superior to GemStar.

[Nelson37]

ATI cards contain a minimal hardware assist for MPEG capture. SFAIK, the only way to utilize this is by using MMC.

[Torrential]

MMC is not the best capturing solution -- frankly, I think it sucks. Use VirtualVCR or iuVCR instead.

[edDV]

MMC is very bad about changing file associations. It even took over wav playback.

It has taken weeks to get all file associations back were they belong.

Software competence seems to be associated with longitude what with Microsoft being north and ATI being further north.