AIW Radeon 7500 in WXP Pro lockup watching video on TV (1 Viewer)

[MichaelG]

I have had this video card for about 2 months now and have installed, and re-installed the drivers several times, including the most up to date from the ATI website. Now everything works great except one thing. When I use TV output (as a secondary device with Theater mode selected) I seem to have a problem when watching any video with an overlay.

If I want to watch say a recorded TV program, or a DivX movie file in Windows Media Player (or choose your favorite viewer like PowerDVD, I have tried a few), after a few minutes (sometimes 5 minutes, sometimes 15-20 minutes) the computer will lock up. Since my initial installation I have had this problem and I know that this can't be expected behavior.

Just wanted to check and see if anyone else has run across this type of problem and have a solution. The XP error report claims that DirectX has hit an infinite loop. I have never heard of other complaints about this and I know that other people are using this card for TV out, so there has to be something wrong here.

 

[Steve_Ch]

I have been looking at getting the ATI AIW forever, first the 7500, then the 8500, then the 8500DV, but as great as it sounds, after looking at reviews/user experiences just about everywhere, I must say your experience is hardly unique. For some people (and I think the minority) when everything work for them, the AIW is simply the best there is, but for most, there are quirks here and there that just make the whole experience very frustrating. It appears that under par drivers are a well known and notorious problem for ATI boards, especially the more complex/multi function ones like the AIW.
I think instead of drooling over all the multimedia functions, I am just going to settle for something like an ATI 8500LE (the OEM 64MB version is just under $100).

 

[Scott L]

Just my input, my Radeon 7500 is my first ATI card ever and it'll also be my last. After owning 2 Matrox cards and an nVidia I'm just counting the days till I can get rid of it. ATI seems to be a jack of all trades, focusing on features rather than performance.

 

[MichaelG]

Well I can't disagree with anything you guys are saying. It has been a pain in my ass from the beginning. I was able to watch a complete movie last night by using the TV as an extended desktop, so it appears that the problem that I am having is narrowed to an overlay problem when using the TV as a mirror of the main monitor.

I am going to try and talk to ATI about this. I have heard good things about Matrox, maybe you should stay that route.

 

[Ken Chan]

Now that Matrox is back from the dead, I might give them a shot next time.

In my personal experience, ATI has clearly better performance for their overlays than nVidia. But their drivers/apps are certainly a mixed bag -- I guess they're trying to rehabilitate that image with their CATALYST (unnecessary capitalization!) stuff.

I have a problem with the TV app with an 8500DV on Win2K: I can't close it. Even if I just open the app, when I click on the close icon in the top right corner, nothing happens -- the TV continues to play, although if I cover part of the window and uncover it, it no longer repaints. I get no more response from any of the controls. Better yet, Win2K refuses to kill the process! (So much for a "modern OS".)

//Ken