Digital Trends

ATI All-In-Wonder 9600XT

May 10th, 2004 | by Ian Bell

Setup and Testing Cont'd

The software that ATI includes with the All-In-Wonder 9600XT is very impressive. It handles every aspect of the card and your computers multimedia abilities. Called Multimedia Center version 8.8, this software includes a DVD player program, GUIDE Plus+ which you will use to browse and record your television stations, and a media library program which will catalog your movies and music to play through the Multimedia Center software. GUIDE Plus+is a fantastic navigation system that rivals those found on stand alone boxes like what DirecTV and Dishnetwork use. The only downside to the software is that it will only work with a direct cable connection or over-the-air broadcast. If you have digital cable or satellite you are basically out of luck since the All-In-Wonder 9600XT is not compatible with those formats.

Recording a program with the included software works extremely well, in fact we found it to work better than Microsoft's Media Center operating system, which we've had a lot of exposure to lately. The menu navigation and recording options work fast and do not feel sluggish like Microsoft's Media Center OS. Playback quality is better than average since you are using a direct cable feed on the video input. Whenever you have to pass video through a secondary source, the quality of that feed usually degrades. On the FM radio side, the built in tuner works well, but because there is no antenna included with the video card, you either have to purchase your own or do without. One of the cool features ATI includes with their software is the ability to record an FM radio broadcast and store it in MP3 format for later use.  

ATI has also incorporated their EasyShare software into this package which will let you stream a live video feed to another computer on your network. This sounds great in theory but you need to have an ATI Radeon card installed on the other computers in order to use this feature; so we question its overall usefulness.

As far as other included software goes, ATI bundles Pinnacle Studio 8.4, Muvee AutoProducer 3.0 and Matchware Mediator 7.0 with the All-In-Wonder 9600XT package. All of these software programs carry a hefty price when purchased separately, so you save a considerable amount of money if you purchase the All-In-Wonder 9600XT and plan on using this software. Pinnacle Studio 8.4 alone is a relatively advanced program for video editing, and those with a knack for video capture should be more than happy with it. The Muvee Autoproducer 3.0 and MatchWare Mediator 7.0 programs are designed for more those that want to make quick home videos, slide shows and photo albums.