For those of you who have taken the plunge, I'd love to hear from you and to know your opinion before I tackle installing this. I've 'broken' too many MMC installations in the recent past and don't want the hassle if this new one is not ready for prime time. If you care to respond, please share how well/poorly the upgrade went, whether you had to do some 'tweaking' to get things working, and your overall opinion. I'd post a POLL, but, the options may be too many for that. THANKS!! "If it's not broken, I'd rather not fix it."
I've never had any problems upgrading to the newest MMC versions except for this time around. Went through my usual procedure of uninstalling previous version and manually cleaning out all the crap it left behind(folders, registry entries, etc.). Launched MMC 9.15 and finally got the dreaded "The TV player failed to initialize" message everyone else seemed to be experiencing with the newer versions of MMC. Tried various fixes recommended by ATI but no success. Luckily I imaged my drive before trying out MMC 9.15, so I just restored back to my "Windows XP w/ MMC 9.14" image. Oh btw I have the ATI HDTV Wonder....
Using HyperOS I made a 'sacrificial' install on my E: drive, and tried to install it. I uinstalled everything ATI related in Add/remove, and then used DC Pro to get everythig else. Installed CCC 9.8 no problem. Installed MOST of the MMC software with apparently no problems. Just to be safe, I also rebooted inbetween EACH step even though the install did not ask for it. When it came time to install the LAST bit (9-15_mmc_enu.exe) I ran into problems. It started to install, and as I was watching closely I saw that it was installing files to the C: drive Well, after the asked for re-boot, sure enough, I got error messages saying that certain components were not installed. SO, if you are on a multiboot system, you are gonna be screwed if you want to install to any drive other than C:. Why can't ATI get somethng as simple as dual/multi boot installs correct? This is something that I've seen in EVERY CAT release as it trys to install the Support folder into C:\Program Files all the time, and I know to look for that...but in this case I was given NO option.
I uninstalled mmc, not DAO because that hasn't changed, encoder and Theater550 drivers. Then installed Theater550 drivers, encoder and mmc. Reboot when prompted. Everything went fine, however don't see a bleeding difference with this version. Although everything works, except scheduled recordings, same little bugs as other versions.
With the MMC 9.14 installed on my main rig with the X800 XL card, I get a "NO SIGNAL" right smack dab in the middle of the TV viewing screen. Mind you, I DO get a signal and can actually record the program and the playback does NOT have the insidious message in the middle of the screen. So, unless this matter is fixed, I have no need to update the MMC.
From the release notes: I don't know if you will like the new MMC or not... you will only know from trying it. I will say that I am very happy with the release. The new MMC is stable and works well for me. Still keep in mind that we have reports from ATI users that show up with each release swearing they will never buy ATI again since the software is so bad. I still think MMC is a great package and the amount of work in the last couple of releases shows how ATI is still fixing problems and trying to make everyone happy. Well at least I am happy... are you?
Hoping against all hope, I did the upgrade to MMC 9.15 just now. Although the posted image below shows only a black background, I can attest that I DO see a TV program showing. But, this NO SIGNAL is showing as plain as day for all to see:
Now that is strange.... On my system I can not reproduce the "No-Signal" error. Did you also update to CAT 6.8? If not you may want to give it a spin. The WDM drivers may need to match for this fix to work. This is what I have installed and the order I installed them. 6.8 -> Catalyst Control Center Package -------------------------------- 6-8_xp-2k_dd_ccc_wdm_enu_35179.exe Remote Wonder™ Plus Software Version 3.04.0.0 (ENGLISH) ------------------------------------------------------- 3-04_rw_enu.exe HDTV Wonder Drivers ------------------- 6-1_hdtv_83-2036_wdm.exe DAO / MDAC ----------- 9-14_mmc_uci.exe DVD Decoder* ------------ atiCDwiz.exe Encoder ------- 6-8_xcode_35179.exe Multimedia Center ----------------- 9-15_mmc_enu.exe
No, I have not installed the CAT 6.8 drivers because I will be waiting for either Omega's or NGO's due to not wanting to have to install the CCC. Presently, I'm using Omega's based on CAT 6.7.
Cat 6.8 MMC 9.15 HDTV Config gen-u-wine ATI 9600xt 128m video card w/ HDTV tuner OS XP sp2, PC AMD 64 3000+ w/ nvidia chipset (set for USA, antenna ... signal from antenna, not cable) The 6.8/9.15 has offered some improvements • less video/audio stuttering (still occasional when surfing same time) • changing channels seems faster • haven't had any crashes Analog channels (finally) as good as prior setup w/ AIW9600 in W2k box. HDTV has been disappointing experience. Image quality outstanding on channels that will properly tune but the simple expectation that it should mostly work properly hasn't been met. This is the type of product that you should be able to show off and say "check this out" but too embarassed to do so because the program f___'s up too much, too visably. Existing unresolved • if TV config'd with combined channel list, frequent occurance where analog channels not displayed properly framed. Kind of like looking at a magnified view but won't return to 1:1 New ah s___ • Many DTV channels will display properly for a brief instance then switch to a view that looks like a patchwork that has a lot of green. There are what appears to be multiples of image, something like an old analog TV that the horizontal hold was badly out of adjustment. Some channels OK, can switch between two and the problem ones seem consistant as described. I don't recall ever experiencing this with prior versions (prior was 6.5/9.14). Local stations that have good signal strenght
Tried everything I could...didn't get it to even install, wasn't a corrupt package either. I rate it 1 - Hellspawn that set fire to my PC
