ATI Multimedia Center

We installed the latest, ninth version of the multi-purpose software suite called ATI Multimedia Center. From version 8.8 on, the ATI MMC features the following innovations:

• Supports EAZYSHARE technology;
• Records in the MPEG-4 format;
• Receives FM-range radio stations;
• Has a unified installer.

Otherwise, the functionality scope of the Multimedia Center remained the same – you can refer to our GeCube All-In-Wonder 9600 Pro Review. After the installation, the ATI LaunchPad offers you the following components:

• ATI TV Player 9.0
• ATI File Player 9.0
• ATI Video CD Player  9.0
• ATI CD Audio Player 9.0
• ATI FM Radio 9.0
• ATI DVD Player 9.0
• MMC Library

We didn’t install Gemstar Guide PLUS+ since it’s absolutely useless in the region where our test lab is situated (see here for details).

The above-mentioned review also covers the capabilities of particular programs. I’d like to note that radio programs can still be recorded in one format only: MP3, 224Kbit, 16bit, stereo. The Personal Video Recorder option of ATI TV Player now offers an opportunity of creating your own presets for recording video in the MPEG-4/DivX format. The presets support PAL and NTSC formats, resolutions up to 720x576 inclusive and bit-rates up to 10Mb/s. You can record with either constant or variable bit rate. The quality of the audio stream may vary from 64 to 384Kb/s.

VideoSoap settings are rich, too. You can simultaneously use four special effects, setting each of them up independently. This function can be of great help in improving the image quality of a noise-ridden TV program.

EAZYSHARE

EAZYSHARE is the most interesting feature of the new version of the MMC. Its key point is in transforming the PC with the installed All-In-Wonder card into a server for broadcasting video stream over the local network to other PCs with installed client EAZYSHARE software. To do that, you select the appropriate mode when installing the MMC on the computer you intend to use as a server. For all the clients, you select the EAZYSHARE Client option. In the MMC settings, on the EAZYSHARE tab, you specify the type of the protocol and choose the clients who are allowed to connect to the server.

After the launch of the EAZYSHARE TV application on the client PC, the server PC automatically activates its server part. In a few seconds it starts broadcasting the video stream and the picture of the current channel appears on the client computer, in a window. The image quality is of course lower than of the original. The contents of the EAZYSHARE TV window lag behind the image on the server by a few seconds.

We also noticed that the sound on the client PC is reproduced with a strong echo when the video stream is being transferred across a local network. There’s also an annoying lag when you switch between the channels on the client computer: you have to wait for 5-7 seconds for the channel to channel.

Watching TV programs from the EAZYSHARE server put a load of 2-4% on our 100Mb network. That’s low enough, but we used only one client. You can only switch channels on the client PC after sending the request (press Request Control) and receiving a positive response.

Besides these options, the users of the EAZYSHARE system can:

• Use the time-shift function. It’s possible to write the buffer contents into a file and create screenshots;
• Schedule recording of TV programs on the server, select the record source and the channel;
• Use all the standard settings of the ATI TV Player, including user-independent lists of favorite channels;
• Use the REMOTE WONDER, enable THRUVIEW and EAZYLOOK functions.

EAZYLOOK is a special menu system for controlling the MMC suite from the REMOTE WONDER control. The very concept of a remote control implies that the user is at a distance from the computer, so the use of large letters in the menus is most appropriate.