MSI Theater 550 PRO-E vrs ATI TV Wonder Elite

I would like to know which is a better product in terms of TV resolution on the Computer Monitor and recording: ATI TV Wonder Elite or MSI 550 Pro-E ? I understand MSI 550 Pro-E uses the same video chip which is used in ATI TV Wonder Elite. What about the TV tuner and its TV quality on the monitor and recording results ? Which is a better product ? Has anyone out there used both the products and compared them ? I am planning to get one of these but cannot make up my mind. Moreover, MSI tuner card is much cheaper when compared with ATI card :$40 less. I want to be sure that I am getting a good product or why bother to spend $40 more.

if they both use the same ATI Theater 550PRO chipset, then i imagine performance will be pretty much the same

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MSI Theater 550 PRO PCI - Video IN problems

Hello everyone,
This is my first post - I have an MSI 865 with a ATI All in Wonder 9600 working wonderfully in the AGP slot (MMC 9.13). I purchased an MSI Theater 550 PRO and slotted it in the PCI slot - installed the drivers from the bundled CD and the PowerCinema 3 application - the TV portion of the card works but the Video IN / S video In - does not work - displays only a black blank screen in the MMC 9.13 and in the PowerCinema the button for capture / preview is grayed out - is my card defective?
I tried to install the patch / upgrade from the MSI site for the VideoCapture to work but it fails saying that PowerCinema 4 is required to apply the patch.
What should I do?
Please help..

Yes, I certainly do get an excellent picture when I to the AIWs Composite IN / S Video In Dongle.
I have also tried to use another capture / display program - Media Center Classic (part of the K-Lite Codec Pack) and it too shows that the AIWs IN is working but the THeater 550 shows only a blank screen.
BTW I have installed the latest drivers from the ATI site (the ones with control panel and the C++ update).
The Dongle of the 550 Pro is alright (I checked it by connecting it to the AIW - so the problem doesnt lie there).
That leaves only two options - 1. Defective Card (most probably)
2. Some software problem (less likely - but highly sought)
Please do reply and let me know if you have come across this problem with the MSI Theater 550 PRO PCI with anyone else and how they have solved if they did.

Msi Theater 550 pro question again

I just finished installing ubunto on my old intel comp, "1999" to be exact and was wondering is their any linux drivers for the Tv tuner. Theater 550 Pro. Thanks DOK

Quote from: vsenapati on 05-May-06, 00:49:55
Does the MSI Theater 550 Pro-E marketed in USA support both NTSC and PAL system ?
No. The TV tuner only exists either in NTSC or PAL, depending on the region it is marketed
Quote from: vsenapati on 05-May-06, 00:49:55
I am planning to purchase one in USA and use it in India where TV system is PAL.
If you are going to use it in India, then you must purchase it in the Southeast Asian region, eg. Singapore. I bought mine from Singapore, and its a PAL card since the TV system used here is PAL.

MSI Theater 550 Pro - NTSC and/or PAL ??

I've read at most places the card supports both NTSC and PAL..but on www.msi.com.tw (global site), it claims the card supports only NTSC, and PAL support is arriving 'soon'!
Please let me know! I want to buy the card from Amazon.com - maybe a little more expensive here than most places, but I need it to be shipped internationally - South Africa, i.e. (and not just to the US). And yes, Amazon do claim the card supports both NTSC and PAL.
thanks in advance.

I bought the MSI Theater 550 hoping that it would support PAL. But its not working.
Check this topic.
https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=113225.0
The image is highly distorted. This is very bad from MSI side. If it doesnt support PAL they should not have mentioned it. The site clearly says it supports both. Also on the box of the card it doesnt say anywhere if its NTSC or PAL version.
Someone from MSI please confirm. ATI website it shows theatre can support both pal and ntsc depending on the manufacturer.

Need the info regarding the MSI Theater 550 PRO TV Tuner Card

I would like to know whether the product MSI Theater 550PRO is compatible with Windows7 or not?

No, only XP and Vista.
http://eu.msi.com/product/mm/Theater-550PRO.html#/?div=Driver

Theater 550 Pro / cannot record on comp/svideo

I just purchased the MSI Theater 550 Pro and it will not record on composite or s-video.
I wired it into my sat dish and when it first starts up the record button is highlighted. If I push it, it will record for a couple of seconds then a message appears saying that the program is copyrighted and it will not record. Ok, if I can't record/pvr my satellite that's not the end of the world. I really wanted it for my camcorder to backup some tapes. When I plug the camera in it the record button stays shaded out. I'm using the Cyberlink Powercenter software and yes when I quickly tried Chris-Tv it seemed to record. I don't understand what the point of this card and software would be if I can't even connect a camcorder to it. It will record the sat if I use the standard cable rf connection.
Is my answer just to use different software that doesn't incorporate copyright into it? Seems damned annoying if so.
Thanks for anyones answer or suggestions.
edit: I'm using Win XP/sp1

Quote from: maelstrom1 on 11-April-06, 05:30:49
I just purchased the MSI Theater 550 Pro and it will not record on composite or s-video.
I wired it into my sat dish and when it first starts up the record button is highlighted. If I push it, it will record for a couple of seconds then a message appears saying that the program is copyrighted and it will not record. Ok, if I can't record/pvr my satellite that's not the end of the world. I really wanted it for my camcorder to backup some tapes. When I plug the camera in it the record button stays shaded out. I'm using the Cyberlink Powercenter software and yes when I quickly tried Chris-Tv it seemed to record. I don't understand what the point of this card and software would be if I can't even connect a camcorder to it. It will record the sat if I use the standard cable rf connection.
Is my answer just to use different software that doesn't incorporate copyright into it? Seems damned annoying if so.
Thanks for anyones answer or suggestions.
edit: I'm using Win XP/sp1
I thought I was alone with this problem...I have exactly the same problem you were experiencing ...I cannot record my video tapes....keep on saying " the movie is copyright protected"....

MSI (ATI) Theater 550 Pro has fuzzy and quiet sound and perfect picture

I have just brought an MSI (ATI) Theater 550 Pro. It is connected to the antenna on the roof, and I am located in New Zealand (PAL) if that makes any difference. I have previously had problems with MPEG2 codecs, not that I see how that could be related.
My problem is that although I get a perfect picture, I do not get any sound. If I turn the sound up to full volume, I can just make out the beat of the music on TV in the fuzz that is outputed.
I have:
Windows Media Center 2005
MSI (ATI) Theater 550 Pro

Ok, that was a bit simpler than I expected.
I just downloaded a new ATI driver (from ATI site)

[TheaterPRO] Best software for Theater 550 Pro?

I am thinking about getting an ATI Theater 550 Pro based PCI TV Tuner.
Can anyone recommend software to use other than what is bundled? Please post whether it is free or paid for and a URL if you can.

try looking at:
Media Portal (free open-source Media Center-type HTPC suite)
http://mediaportal.sourceforge.net
ChrisTV (free 'Lite' version, full version $35.95)
http://www.chris-tv.com

Theater 550 Pro's PowerCinema 4 take too much CPU resource?

Hello all Theater 550 Pro users,
I am experiencing Power Cinema 4 is taking too much CPU utilization on my PC, versus any other TV viewer apps like WinAmp TV, FlyTV, etc. CLCapSvc.exe is the process that blatantly taking most juice out of the CPU, causing TV viewing experience on Power Cinema 4 bad. Anyone know how to fix this? Any known patch for Powercinema4?
Now I'm using WinAmp's TV plugin until I find a better TV Viewer prog. Any suggestion?
Do you guys use any other TV Viewer app?

Thanks Stu. I'm still figuring how to get mediaportal working on my PC as over here only have analog TV, no EPG, no scheduler, no nothing... just plain old TV Viewer is all I want. However, PowerCinema4's CLCapSvc.exe issue shouldn't be ignored too...

New MSI THEATER 650 PRO COMBO 16Mb DDR?

Hi gents,
Reading the spec's of this new card, I can see that there is 16Mb DDR memory on it. Is this a miss print or truly 16Mb. I'm asking that question because Visiontek has this same card with 256Mb Ram.
Somebody can confirm?
Regards,
Charles

Looks like a mistake from the reviewer
Review from bjorn3d they annouce the card with 256Mb of Ram.
Here is the review: http://www.bjorn3d.com/read_pf.php?cID=1190
MSI Theater 650 Pro combo review (Korean)
Here: http://www.tomshardware.tw/1351,review-1351-2.html
After all, I think only the color of the boards differ!
But where to buy them in CANADA, this is the question?
Charles

ATI Theater 550 Pro(MSI Branded)

So, I went through and read some relevant posts, but here's my config for starters:
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum
AMD Athlon64 3200+
Geforce 6600
1GB Kingston RAM
1x80GB
2x120GB
MSI Theater 550Pro
Silverstone LC14M
So, I hear there's a problem with the Motherboard, 6600 series, and the ATI Theater 550's running together. I don't have the specific BSOD errors. I can get Windows MCE to boot, and to runs just like a normaly XP install. I can even get the included(from Silverstone) IMON/Multimedian media center software to use the tuner card. Windows MCE is a different story, it tells me that the cad has failed or is not installed. Well, I know it's installed, cause I did the installing, and IMON can seem to use it just fine, but I'd like to try to get Windows MCE to use it.
So, am I SOL, or is there a fix?

Quote from: Dr Stu on 25-July-05, 00:58:18
download and install MCE drivers for your Geforce and 550PRO card
Yeah, I probably should have mentioned that, I'm using the 72.14 Drivers for MCE of nVidias website, and the 6.14.10.86 drivers for MCE for the Theater500 from ATI, and ATI explicitly states MSI as a partner bboard, so I thought I was all kosher. I did a search for MCE specific platform drivers, but Nvidia doesn't seem to differentiate them. I'm running the latest nForce4 platform drivers as well.

MSI (ATI) Theater 550 Pro pop-up problem

First I have to say that this hardware mpeg2 card is the best, bar none, for recording off my camcorder. It produces perfect video (best your going to see from an s-video jack) with perfect sound sync. No artifacts at all, even when lots of motion is happening. I am completely satisfied with the hardware.
The software is another story. I can't figure out why ATI has moved away from MMC. It gave complete control of the hardware and many old time ATI capture card users, like me, were comfortable with the interface.
PowerCinema on the other hand is what seems like an unfinished product as it stands. Video capture settings like Good, Better or Best? What the heck is that? I want to see what the bitrate, picture resolution and such are. This type of interface they used is made for complete newbs who don't understand the rest and just want to watch TV or copy a movie from the camcorder. But, this is what we got and I will live with it until another solution is found. You can't even change the save directory location.
Apart from disliking PowerCinema, it has a very annoying bug. The CyberLink PowerCinema Resident Program (PCMService.exe) which starts up on boot, keeps starting up PowerCinema at very frequent intervals as I type on the keyboard. (Hardware in sig) It continuously popped PowerCinema up even as I was trying to register it.
I do not know what the 'CyberLink PowerCinema Resident Program' does, but if I kill the process everything works and no popups of PowerCinema happen when I type. What does this program do?

Quote from: Myrdhinn on 09-May-05, 02:04:01
GBPVR now supports the 550 pro www.gbpvr.com ..... also has bitrate control. It's free so take a look and maybe it'll solve your problems tho I'm not sure if it supports external devices like camcorders.
GBPVR is not suited for recording off my camcorder, thanks...
I have recieved a responce from CyberLink.
Quote
I understand your concern, that with the PCMService.exe running, the PowerCinema software launches unexpectedly.
Regarding your issue, kindly note that though we can try various steps to isolate the issue properly but to resolve the issue at the earliest, just find for the PCMService.exe file under the installation folder of the PowerCinema and rename it (it should be stopped from the Task Manager first).
The PowerCinema software should work properly for viewing and surfing TV channels using the PowerCinema software with this file renamed.
I was correct in killing the process (PCMService.exe) to cure the problem. Two steps ahead of CyberLink support, I deleted the REG entry from the RUN key instead of renaming the file. Everything seems to work as expected without it. Whatever the heck it's purpose is, who knows!

Theater 550 Pro

Just bought the card, and the quality is great.
I however, can't get the remote to work. The card is installed, the software and drivers too. I've plugged the usb remote reciever into eaach USB port on my Shuttle Box. I can see the little red light come on when I hit a button on the remote, but nothing happens on the PC.
It's probably something silly I've missed, but I'm flummoxed.

Quote from: BigBadMike on 17-July-05, 09:17:00
I'm having the same problem. Everything works great on with this card except the remote, which does absolutely nothing. I also see the red dot appear on the receiver, so I know the remote is working. I have tested my USB ports with other devices and even tried setting this card up on two different machines in my house, with no difference. Looking in Device Manager (Windows XP Pro), I can see that the device is installed as a Cypress USB Mouse. Could that be the problem? Does MSI have a driver for this remote?
Thanks
My issue was the little white reciever. I bought a second card package, and that one worked straightaway. Both remotes worked on te one reciever, both didn't on my original. I sent the one back as a return. At the time MSI didn't have the recievers in stock for me to do a warranty replacement.

Theater 550 pro install issues

OK, I have been fighting with this card for the past 3 days, even went so far as to reload my windows XP pro, and I am still getting the same thing. When it installs the drivers, it either gives me a blue screen with a machine check error, or goes through but the device cannot start. I have tried the latest drivers, updating my bios, a reload, nothing seems to help. I even tried my buddies card, exact model, exact same issues. I am SOOOO frustrated. I will list my specs below, as I am hoping someone can help me out with this one. Thanks in advance.
James
MSI K8N Neo Platinum MB
AMD 3200 64 bit processor
Matched kingston 512M HyperX
BFG 6800GT with latest nvidia drivers
120G SATA seagate
2x 250G SATA seagate
Thermaltake xaser3 560W power
LG dvd burner(IDE)
XP pro with service pack 2

Quote from: Dr Stu on 18-August-05, 04:06:56
read glenn's reply - i asked around for ideas before, and he told me what he put in his reply in your thread
https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=85456.msg610965#msg610965
i don't know much about it, but i think he's right
thanks...

Theater 550 pro 2 gig capture limit

here's the deal...i have all of the episodes of a show on my comcast dvr and i am fully hooked up to my computer to capture...after capturing the 2 hour season premiere, i get 3 files (2 gig, 2 gig and 275 megs)...the first file is 44 minutes and it can be viewed by windows media player...the 2nd and 3rd file can not be seen through windows media player, all i get is the visualization and distorted sound....i just tried playing the 2nd and 3rd file in the included powercinema software and it works...BUT, i want to edit the commercials out and encode it further into a dvd, but i can't....the encoding software does not recognize the 2nd and 3rd file as valid ones
is there a way to increase the capture limit to 4 gigs in one file...i can squeeze 2 hours in by skipping through the commercials or can someone tell me why i get the visualization in media player and why it only works in the included software

bump
so no one has tried to do what i was trying to do?

MSI Theater 550 PRO-E vrs ATI TV Wonder Elite

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