ATI TV Wonder 600 and 650 Capture HDTV

ATI's TV Wonder lineup received two new additions on Monday that aim at making PCs high-def DVRs.

AMD revealed the future of the ATI TV Wonder hardware line on Monday morning with the announcement of two new HDTV-capable tuners, the TV Wonder 600 USB and TV Wonder 650 Combo PCIe.  Both products are intended to bring HDTV signals and DVR capabilities to notebook and desktop computers, respectively.

The slim black ATI TV Wonder 600 USB features a single HDTV tuner, as well as an A/V input jack for capture directly from a camcorder or VCR. To give it functionality as a DVR, it includes a credit-card-sized infrared remote so it can be controlled from afar. The PCI express version of the tuner adds another tuner, allowing users to capture both over-the-air programming and cable programming. ClearQAM technology also enable the TV Wonder 650 to capture unscrambled digital channels that may have been previous unavailable, according to the press release. Both TV Wonders use ATI’s Catalyst Media Center.

“More and more, customers are using the PC as a digital hub for TV and video capture,” said Matt Skynner, vice president of marketing at AMD’s Graphics Product Group, in a statement. “These new HDTV tuner products provide a perfect complement to AMD’s graphics solutions, AMD LIVE! platforms, and AMD Turion 64 mobile technology-based notebooks – delivering simplified home theater PC options that come together for uncompromising visual quality and ease of use.”

Both tuners will be released in September 2007 in North America, but prices were not announced.