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Written: Monday, February 18, 2002
I was pretty amazed from the second I opened the box and installed this prestige piece of technology. I later discovered it was not the gamers card, but rather the multimedia enthusiast's dream. This is truly an "All-in-Wonder" card. It's retail price might shock you at first, but after doing some quick looking around I was easily able to find the card for just under $300. I have had plenty of time to play with every feature this card has to offer and must say, I was not let down -- everything worked flawlessly, not one single problem. My first ATI card was a Rage Pro 128, those were definitely the days. I was always labeled as a Nvidia fan, but after laying eyes on this card I am no longer. I was practically drooling when I opened the box of this lovely ATI All-in-Wonder Radeon 8500DV, from first glance I knew it was a keeper. Only one thing left me wondering and that was the power connector on the card. I am waiting for a response from ATI on that one. See conclusion for the answer. This card is powered by the Radeon 8500 GPU (graphics processing unit). It provides 3D graphics, DVD playback, intelligent TV with a stereo TV tuner, TV-on-Demand timeshifting, digital VCR with MPEG-2 compression, analog and digital video capture and editing, and much more. The maximum resolution of this card is a whopping 2048x1536. Truform and Smartshader make the goal of photo-realistic, real-time 3D graphics on the PC possible by adding more details and eliminating distracting visual artifacts for smoother images with out compromising performance. ATI's Video Immersion II enables integration of industry-leading digital video features, including advanced de-interlacing algorithms. The DVD playback is enhanced with AC-3 digital audio output to enable Dobly 5.1 surround sound. The integrated digital TV decode capability of Video Immersion II provides the highest quality method for delivering HDTV (high definition television) support through component output for superior video quality. TV-on-Demand timeshifting lets you watch what you want when you want, allowing you to pause live TV or create instant replays, while the live TV window keeps you aware of the current action. Transparent TV lets you watch TV in the background while surfing the net or using any application. Guide Plus+ Interactive Program Guide can be used to view and search TV listings and easily schedule programs for viewing or recording. In addition, Digital VCR has real time MPEG-2 compression for recording TV shows on your PC. The package comes with video editing software that allows you to work with your analog or digital camcorder. Next Page: Specifications
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