One more try. ATI will not answer the phone, nor will a live person email. With the new 2000 drivers that ARE supported, now when I hit record, TV audio replaces my camcorder audio. I have a SBlive Value. Do I need to just dump Win 2000??? Is the SBlive not compatible?? I have uninstalled Liveware, nothing helps. There is no way to reselect audio one record is selected. And no, the audio is not muted.

Someday, I would like to be able to START experimenting with SVCD. I definitely will not be recommending this card or family of cards to our customers unless I get this 2 MONTH dilemma fixed.

Please Help.

Kevin

-- Kevin Music (kevinm@miratechconsulting.com), March 22, 2001

Answers

Hi Kevin, Here's a cut from a FAQ page I'm working on. (at my pcphotovideo.com web site)

This works for me with an ATI AIW 128 32 Mb AGP card.

Don't use the purple "dongle" for your external audio input. Run your external VIDEO like normal to the ATI dongle's composite or S-Video inputs (the purple dongle). Run the SOUND from your external source to the external LINE IN on your sound card. Then use your sound mixer panel to mute the unwanted sound source(s) and activate only the LINE IN on your sound card.

Here's how my system is set up. I run the sound out from the internal connector on the ATI directly to my "internal" connector on my Sound Blaster 128. The ATI card has two internal (on the card) connectors that are similar to those used on the back of a CD rom. In fact, your DVD/CD player internal connector goes to the "IN" internal connector on the ATI Card. Next to that is an "OUT" connector. I run that directly to one of my Sound blaster's internal connectors. It has several inputs available on the card internally. I run the ATI internal "out" line directly to the one labeled TV in on my sound card. There is also one for modem audio, and a CD input which I don't use..

Note, in my windows 2K system, the sound mixer, does NOT show the TV option. That internal connector on my sound card marked TV in, is seen as the AUX port in the Win2K mixer. So far that is pretty normal.

Here's the "fix". Don't use the purple "dongle" audio input that ATI supplies for sound. Only hook up your video (composite and S-video if used) to it. Take your sound (left and right) and feed it to your EXTERNAL Line IN on your sound card. The important thing is to make sure your TV sound (from the ATI card) goes to a different mixer port than the external sound card input being used for your external composite/sound capture.

Now, before you start capture, open up your sound mixer. Then open the ATI TV program. MUTE the ATI TV audio. (either in the mixer, or on the ATI GUI button) Now enable the LINE IN mixer. Select composite for capture. Start the capture and adjust the LINE IN mixer for proper recording level.

That WILL now capture with the external composite video AND it's audio source. You will find when playing with this, that it is possible to have both the sound from the TV AND the sound from the LINE in on at the same time. The TV sound from the ATI tuner is active all the time in my set up. Therefore make sure during capture with an external video/audio source, that you have the TV sound mixer muted, (in my case it's the AUX slider). Not just turned down, but disabled or muted. Like I said, you can do that from the "mute" button on the ATI GUI. Just remember that "mute" button is only muting the TV audio. (which is what you want to do when capturing with an external source) Until ATI fixes this (or we find it's something else) that is a "work around" to enable you to capture sound "externally".

Although my web site is primarily for the 128 Rage AIWs you might find some things common to your Radeon. Also, there is a link on that site to my old site that also has a lot of info regarding the ATI AIW line of cards. The pcphotovideo site also has several sample Mpgs in both VCD and SVCD you can download, which will give you an idea of what you can get in "realtime" capture with a "good" video source. HTH .. Rich

-- Rich (rich@pcphotovideo.com), March 23, 2001.

Hi Kevin,

I used to have the old ATI AIW Pro 8mb AGP2x card up until November last year. My sound card is still the SB Live Value. I use WIndows ME with the latest Liveware. I used to record from VHS (PAL), I made an internal connection from the ATI card to the SB Live using a different type of cd-rom audio lead like this.........

(WORKING INSIDE OF MACHINE)

End of lead - regular flat black four pin plug which goes INTO external socket of ATI card. I think this socket was called AUDIO BY- PASS

Opposing End Of Lead - As above but with a WHITE TWO PIN plug dangling from it, THIS WHITE PLUG WENT INTO THE AUXILIARY SOCKET of the SB LIVE Value.

Now goto Windows, and open your sound control panel and uncheck the AUXILIARY volume slider and hey presto! Stereo sound!!

Make sure, that your AUDIO INPUT SOURCE for capturing/recording is set to AUXILIARY, not LINE IN.

The only other connections i made were OUTSIDE the machine using the ATI 'fly leads' provided, which were connected to a NICAM VCR.

If you still get stuck, post again or email me back.

Andy.

-- Andy (andy@snes.freeserve.co.uk), March 23, 2001.

Re: Rich's response...

Rerouting the audio from composite device from the purple connector directly to the sound card line-in is such a simple remedy for this nagging problem that I would've never thought of it :). It definitely works and has ended my frustration. Thank you very much Rich!!!

-- Robert Templeton (templer@vplayground.com), April 02, 2001.

Pls get rid of any ATI products, I am 100%sure it will trouble ur system one or another way... Sometimes with your scanner, videocamera etc.. ALL_IN_WONDER PRO 32MB is royaly screwing me for past 3 months . I lost my money ($199) and time.. Simply ATI products will not work...

-- Aji Paul (ajipaul@yahoo.com), June 18, 2001.

Rubbish. ATI are great:) no problems whatsoever with my cards, a 9800SE AIW modded to a 9800 Pro AIW and a 9800 pro:)

-- Ross (no@ta.com), November 01, 2003.

These posts were made back in 2001 it is now 2004 and ATI still has not fixed the problem with their AIW 9800 PRO. I am thinking of taking the card back I do not like companies that refuse to fix major problems. They seem to be gearing this massivly expensive card at people who want to use it to use their TV as a monitor. I see no point in this but that is what this card is being sold for and that is about all the docs want to talk about.

-- CC (greenspun@claudec.com), January 22, 2004.

Just got a Sapphire AIW 9800 pro. Software installations an absolute nightmare, this is my 3rd ATI card and I said never again but I was swayed by the TV capture. I previously had the original radeon AIW and it worked. The latest one seems to be fast and eventually I got the TV out of it but , low and behold, NO SOUND recorded, from either the TV or the external purple cable, although I can hear the sound whilst it's recording. Haven't tried the fixes already mentioned because I'll be upgrading MB and processor soon so will have fresh xp installation. Maybe this'll fix it?

Gary

-- Gary Jackson (gazandwiz@clara.net), January 22, 2004.