PC hardware forum: ATI TV Wonder 650 -- No Windows 7 Support ...

most vista drivers work fine in win7

http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/Pages/tvtuner_win7.aspx?type=2.5&product=2.5.1.3.2.3.2&lang=English&rev=9.10&ostype=Windows%207%20Beta%20-%2032-Bit%20Edition

Yes I know. Just try it.

And drivers are going to take time to show up. Let's hope the companies just admit where they will or will not issue them.
Bob

Then every maker is playing that game. Let's face it. Drivers cost money or you go with an OS that is open source?

But let me ask this. Have you been on this ride long? I see nothing different than what happened from Windows 3 to 95, 95 to 98, 98 to 98se, anything to Windows NT, ME, 2000, XP, 2003, 2008 and 7.

I've been on this ride since before CP/M so from my view you choosing another maker is not going to help.
Bob

I'll take your word on ATI even if the 750 is 99% assured to get WIndows 7 support.

In my small world there at 2 TV card makers. ATI and Hauppaugge. Yes there are no-names but those are just disposables you make that choice and maybe that's all about price?
Bob

Just tried the 750 drivers for the 650 USB as stated above and it did not work. No signals were found.

But here is the real point: companies should be concerned about customer retention. The 650 is not that old, more over, the product is still being sold. Simply put, AMD/ATI needs to stand by their product. Personally, I'm leaving ATI. If they update the drivers, great, I'll use it as my "other" HD source.

ATI just release v9.12 and the 650 is now supported under Win 7.
I tested it on Win 7 32-bits and it works great!

My, I has the same type of problem: it was working and then stopped working. I haven't reinstalled the drivers yet to see if it will fix it: I got fed-up and pulled out the card from my HTPC.

What I did initally was to install the WDM driver for my ATI HD 4650 that's found on the ATI site.

I even pulled out the 4650: it made lots of smearing when decoding recorded TV. That made me remember why I switched to NVidia: lousy ATI drivers!

ATI has finally officially released the drivers taht support the 650 on Vista and Windows 7.
You can find them on the ATI site (it's version 10.3 onwards).
I' ve tried them on Windows 7, 32 bits, Media Center and it works great!

You are correct that the drivers for the 650 USB are still not listed.

Various postings around the Internet have led me to force install Vista32-64_10.4 version of the drivers for WINDOWS 7 x64. Read on for the specifics, but to make the long story short, after following somewhat technical and tedious procedures to clean and get it where you can install the new drivers -- it has worked absolutely flawless for 24+ hours.

Because I followed the directions every single step, I did not have to re-scan for channels. I CAN NOT GUARANTEE YOU THE SAME RESULTS, as everyone's setup is different!

I have yet to record anything or in better terms, rely on it to record off a schedule, but would assume issues with recording may be resolved with this driver as well as long as you are not trying to record multiple channels at the same time. I can confirm this does not work. As long as it can record one program at a time, I am happy.

I am aware there is a Catalyst 10.4 for Windows 7 -- the consensus from my reading was not misprint. I have used the Catalyst 10.4 for Vista Driver:

10-4_vista32-64_unified_wdm

Just go to AMD's web site and search for the drivers for the Theater 750 Series for Windows Vista x32 or x64. (OR the 600 PCI/600 PCI-Express OR HD 650 PCI/650 PCI-Express).

I found the instructions referring to the Theater 750 Series drivers to make my COMBO 650 USB work...this 10.4 driver IS for these four (4) other tuners also, not just the Theater 750 Series:

ATI Catalyst Display Driver
Version 10.4
Operating System(s)

Windows Vista - x32-Bit Edition; Windows Vista - x64-Bit Edition
Products Supported

Theater 750 Pro Series TV Tuners
ATI TV Wonder HD 650 COMBO PCI Express
ATI TV Wonder HD 650 PCI
ATI TV Wonder HD 600 PCI Express
ATI TV Wonder HD 600 PCI

If you read the RELEASE notes for Catalyst 10.4, it expressly says that it does not support any 500-550 series as they are now considered legacy. It also says the 600 USB or 650 COMBO USB are NOT supported at this time.

Of course that's what they want you to think, so you will run out and buy another POS tuner only to find out the Theater 750 Series tuners themselves aren't quite working good enough under Windows 7 even though they are certified for Windows 7.

A clean install of Windows 7 will download and install from Window's Updates version 8.6(VISTA!) of the driver when you plug the Combo 650 USB in for the first time. Unfortunately, 8.6 is the driver that screeches at high pitches when you encounter scenes that are mostly white, like a white background in a commercial. It did however see one (1)-Cable Tuner and one (1)-Clear-Qam Tuner.

I've tried the specific drivers for the Combo 650 USB (please read note below this paragraph concerning driver package names): versions 8.12, 9.1, 9.2 and 9.12(UNIFIED); with the tuners successfully being seen by MC7 as one (1)-Cable tuner and one (1)-Clear-QAM tuner. Driver versions 9.3 - 9.7 break the Clear-QAM tuning, with 9.7 being the final release of the drivers before AMD started offering a "Unified Driver package". Some of the other drivers did allow for OTA-ATSC after Clear-QAM tuning was broken.

There was a driver package available with a <VERSION#-O/S-t650USB_wdm> naming convention with no mention of other models in it's name. (EXAMPLE: 8-12_vista32-64_t650usb_wdm_72277). I have never been able to get these drivers to work in MC in Vista or Windows 7...only drivers with the naming convention <VERSION#-O/S-t550-600-650_wdm>
(EXAMPLE: 9-2_vista32-64_t550-600-650_wdm_75978).

I know, I know!!! I have been using the driver for VISTA PCI/PCI Express all along... but as a computer nerd trying to figure this problem out, that's what I figured out I had to do to make this thing even work right under crappy Vista and Vista MC! All of these drivers however exhibited LOW BITRATE errors, blank black screens and screwed up recordings. This was a problem in Vista, so using these drivers in Windows 7 just exhibited the same problems. Errors aside, when the tuner decided to work, it worked awesome! By 9.7, it's as of the release of Windows 7, issues still related to Vista MC weren't fixed and didn't seem like they were going to be. So my take on this tuner is that it has never worked as intended and update after update may have fixed some issues but made most worse. In March 2010, ATI has claimed that while the 500-550 tuners are considered legacy, that they simply aren't planning on release official drivers for 600USB and COMBO650USB

But lets remember that we want WINDOWS 7 drivers or some sort, and once and maybe for all, drivers that actually make these tuners work like they should in the first place. The forcing of the 10.4 Vista32-64 drivers seems to get a little closer to that reality. I SWEAR IT HAS BEEN LIKE NIGHT/DAY, since updating with the these drivers. To install the new drivers:

PRINT THESE INSTRUCTIONS!!! There will be many many reboots!!!

You will need a copy downloaded of the 10.4 Catalyst Display Driver mention earlier.

Please LEAVE the ATI TV Wonder Combo 650 USB unit CONNECTED!!!

Before any rebooting, please disconnect your computer from your network -- pull the Ethernet cable or switch off your wireless network connection. This will be a simpler process and less running in circles by not allowing your computer to see the Internet UNTIL we are ready! Just please remember to already have your new driver package downloaded!

If you are like myself, you have the Windows 7 Media Center automatically start-up when the computer is booted or rebooted. Please disable this temporarily as it will not be needed and may actually cause problems trying to remove and or update the tuner.

Go to the ADD/REMOVE programs Run the AMD/ATI Catalyst Install Manager package that you currently have installed and UNINSTALL IT using the Express/Remove EVERYTHING Option. If asked to reboot, do so.

You WILL notice after you remove you current drivers and reboot, that it may seem to find other drivers. This is because you have previous versions that may have not been removed from the system prior to updating to a new driver. (Again, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR INTERNET IS NOT REACHABLE, as you want to make sure this driver was NOT pulled from Windows Update!)

Go to the ADD/REMOVE programs and uninstall anything that still shows up from your initial installation: anything referring to AVIVO, Catalyst, the C++ Update and Redistribution Package, etc. Where asked to reboot, do so.

If you have installed the MCE hotfixes, please then view your installed updates and remove them accordingly. There are two that were released in March 2010 and one that was released in June 2010 as a ROLL-UP which contained the previous hotfixes.(KB981129, KB981130, and KB981078). You may have installed them manually through Microsoft Downloads or through Windows Update. If you opt to install "RECOMMENDED" updates during Windows Update...You have installed these updates! So please do check and remove! If asked to reboot, do so.

We will now focus on using the Device Manager to go in a few loops of redundant steps. Please continue this procedure until the device manager no longer shows the ATI Unified AVStream Driver listed under "Sound, video and game controllers". You want to eventually get the device manager to show an UNKNOWN DEVICE to let you know you have all of the drivers deleted from your driver cache:

In the Device Manager, locate the ATI Unified AVStream Driver, located under "Sound, video and game controllers". Double click on it. Click the DRIVERS tab. Click UNINSTALL. In the confirmation dialog, click the check-box to "Delete the device software for this device" and then click OK. The computer may prompt to reboot. Do so. If the computer does not prompt to reboot, do so anyway! As stated above, continue until your Device Manager indicates UNKNOWN DEVICE. Close out of the device manager once you have rebooted and have successfully gotten your computer to indicate that your COMBO 650 USB is an UNKNOWN DEVICE.

You WILL notice after you remove you current drivers and reboot, that it may seem to find other drivers. This is because you have previous versions that may have not been removed from the system prior to updating to a new driver. (Again, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR INTERNET IS NOT REACHABLE, as you want to make sure this driver was NOT pulled from Windows Update!)

Now that your Device Manager shows UNKNOWN DEVICE, find the file you downloaded from AMD's Support Site for Catalyst 10.4 and execute it. Click to unpack this drivers package and start the Catalyst Install Manager. Once Catalyst Install Manager Setup is loaded, click CANCEL and confirm OK to QUIT! You do not want CIM, AVIVO or C++ with WMC7

Located in your C:\ root, you will find a ATI folder. There is a SUPPORT folder located in the ATI folder. This is where the drivers/applications package was unpacked.

Open your Device Manager and locate the UNKNOWN DEVICE and double-click on it. Click the DRIVERS tab. Click UPDATE/INSTALL Driver. You still should be disconnected from the Internet. Click that you want to Install a driver from your computer. Indicate that this is a "Sound, video and game controllers" in the list and then click NEXT.

Click to indicate that you "HAVE DISK" and browse to C:\ATI\SUPPORT\10-4_vista32-64_unified_wdm\Packages\Drivers\WDM\RIO\LH or LH64A depending on your OS x32 or x64. Double click on atiriol6.ini in the file list. You should now see a driver or list of drivers. Click on ATI AVStream Unified Driver and then click OK. Windows will now warn you that installing this device isn't recommended. Click OK to install anyway.

It is saying this because you are forcing the driver to install and the .ini file specifically has the USB Device ID of the COMBO 650 USB commented out.

Windows 7 should then install this driver and confirm that it was successful. ***PLUG YOUR ETHERNET CABLE or SWITCH YOUR WIRELESS CONNECTION BACK ON!*** You may be prompted to reboot. Do so. If you are not prompted to reboot, do so anyway! Remember that reconnecting your network before rebooting should resolve any issues one normally encounters related to IP Address or DNS.

Once the driver has been installed and you have rebooted, check that you have Internet access again. Troubleshoot if necessary.

Open Windows Update. Check for Updates. You should have the Windows 7 Media Center Roll-up indicate that it is available for installation. Select and install this update.

If you do not show this as needing to update, please check your Windows Update History and see if it was able to download/install during your previous steps. It is #981078 and if you list is sorted by default date, this should be the right at the top of the list.

If prompted to reboot, do so. If not prompted to reboot, do so anyway.

Now, click START and type regedit in the search box. You should see regedit.exe appear in the list above. RIGHT-CLICK and click OPEN AS ADMINISTRATOR. Confirm YES that you want to open regedit.exe as Administrator.

Locate the following:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Service\BackgroundScanner

Making sure you have "BackgroundScanner" selected by clicking on it ONCE, then click on the menu bar FILE and then click EXPORT. Save this in your My Documents Folder for back-up purposes. Once completed, you may locate and RIGHT-CLICK on the file. Then click EDIT and the file should open in notepad.

You should see the same info in the file that you see in Regedit when you select "BackgroundScanner"

(note, double-clicking merges this into the Registry. you would want to do this for restore purposes only. Simply editing and seeing the information from the registry is in the file itself is good enough. There is no need to merge it just to test it! If it isn't broke yet, don't attempt to fix it! hahah)

Once your satisfied your file saved correctly, close NOTEPAD. If it asks to save changes, click NO. You should not make any changes to this file itself! It was automatically generated to work for original backup/restore!

Now, carefully look for the DWORD "PeriodicScanIntervalSeconds" and RIGHT-CLICK once. Click DELETE and confirm that you want to delete the entry.

You should still see the remaining entries in "BackgroundScanner". Click on the menu bar EDIT then click NEW then click DWORD 32-bit. It should create and highlight this DWORD. Name this by typing:

"PeriodicScanEnabled" WITHOUT the quotes and uppercase/lowercase as shown and press <ENTER>

If not highlighted, and is named New Value # simply right-click on it and click on RENAME, naming it as above. PLEASE DO ENTER AS SHOWN ABOVE with the uppercase/lowercase exactly!

Now right-click on "PeriodicScanEnabled" and click Modify. Make sure Value data is set to: 0 (that's a zero!) and also make sure Base is set to Hexadecimal and CLICK OK.

Reboot the computer once more and you are FINISHED! After reboot, open Windows 7 Media Center and open your Guide. It should be intact, but again I can't be responsible if it isn't. Mine was and have yet to see any issues with the overall update and cleaning of the drivers.

I did notice some freezing and glitching this time when only watching Clear-QAM HDTV. I though OH CRAP! No fix! But after disconnecting and reconnecting the RG-6 coaxial and noticing it really screwed up when I touched a particular piece of cable. I swapped it with the other and viola! It must have been a bad cable or just a bad connection. The cable itself isn't causing any problems on the NTSC tuner it was switched with so I will call it complete.

Just threw that out there so you keep in mind that these are really sensitive tuners. I have been suspecting my signal levels were causing a random problem before now. People who don't understand signal levels in the first place may be most disadvantaged, because if your source is from the same place, you can't avoid using a splitter which depending on how many other splitters are already on your line can cause all kinds of issues!!! I can think of many cases where you would be looking at being between -15 and -10.5 db. My LCD TV is the same way, I have separate connections for NTSC and ATSC/QAM so I am more than used to this and can't actually complain that the technical minds that created this technology didn't think it may cause most people issues with another technology.

It has been extremely hot for the past month here and of course at night you can see a 20 - 30 degree difference. CATV systems do not handle these high temps or temp swings such as we see very well. But of course most people don't realize even half of what it takes to make things work correctly, and they could care less to. If your cable company were to tell you how not perfect their technology is, would you even buy it? Of course not, but for those of us to do know better, we realize there's nothing technically better and just learn how to live with it.

As mentioned at the top of this information, I mentioned it does not support recording a digital channel and watching a analog channel at the same time. You will get LOW BITRATE and BLACK SCREENS. But I stress this is the only time I can see the low bitrate and other issues.

While writing this, I have set the guide to record a show and can confirm that as long as I do not try to watch a different channel and just leave it alone, it seems to work like a charm. There is a potential issue of watching TV when a scheduled recording is set to begin. You'll just have to be mindful of that and be sure not to be watching a different channel when another is scheduled to record.

Good luck! And I hope this helps someone. It's sure made me happy over the past few days of work.