VisionTek Xtasy Theater 550 Pro MCE Edition

Multimedia hardware and software generally are manufactured with two markets in mind: the home user and the professional. The differences in the two are generally light years apart with regard to both quality and price. TV capture devices and their related software are a smaller yet very rapidly growing subset of the multimedia platform which are generally associated with Home Theater PCs (HTPC).

TV capture devices up until recently for the home user were relegated to having average quality unless you were willing to invest megabucks in a professional platform that was generally vast overkill. Manufacturers as of late have been scurrying to advance their technology to a point where the differences between products available for the home user and the professional would be much more subtle. The trick to this was keeping the prices of the new products in a range that was palatable to the home consumer.

A few months ago I began reading about the ATI Theater 550 which according to sources at the time would significantly surpass their already successful ATI Theater 200. Some of the information even alluded that the ATI Theater 550 would become a new standard for the HTPC. Having done computer product reviews over the last several years I was very familiar with the "marketing hype" that generally predates the release of any new product. As impressive as the proposed specifications were, I was very hopeful that they would hold true when the product was finally released to the consumer.

About 10 days ago I was surprised when a VisionTek™ Xtasy™ Theater 550 Pro™ MCE Edition was delivered to my doorstep by the man in the brown truck. Needless to say I was ecstatic at the opportunity to ascertain whether the purported facts I had read were simply hype or truly factual. Today it's my pleasure to share that investigation with you.

The Package

    

The VisionTek™ Xtasy™ Theater 550 Pro™ MCE Edition arrived in a stylish orange tone box. The front of the box exhibited the remote control in a clear plastic window. The rear and the of the box contained features, specifications, system requirements, and other useful information that the potential buyer could absorb before taking this prize home.

The Card

The card itself is also a quite nice looking half-height PCI card made out of blue PCB. It contains not only the Theater 550 Pro chip™ (located in the card's center), but also 16MB of DDR RAM and tuners for both TV and FM radio.

The rear of the card has two labels that contain the card's serial number, part number, model number, and PCB/revision information.

The Bundle

Everything that you need to perform almost any task with the exception of video editing comes with the hardware and software bundle:

1. "PCI Purple Box®" lets you connect personal video, gaming consoles and more -- virtually any device with an S-Video, RCA/Composite or Coaxial Connection
2. Remote receiver infrared blaster for connection to the Infrared Remote Receiver # 1
3. Velcro patch
4. Infrared Remote Receiver (Windows XP Media Center Version only)
5. S-video cable
6. FM antenna
7. Remote receiver infrared blaster for connection to the Infrared Remote Receiver # 2

This by far the most comprehensive remote control I've ever seen with a product of this type. I should note for potential buyers that this informational warning is included in the instruction manual:

Important!!!!! Media Center Edition users:
If you purchased the VisionTek Xtasy Theater 550 Pro Media Center Edition (w/remote control) and you have a digital cable box or satellite receiver we recommend you use Media Center Edition for viewing and recording TV programs. This is because the remote control that comes with the product may not be able to interface with a digital cable box or satellite receiver when using SnapStream Beyond TV. The remote control supplied with the product has limited functionality with SnapStream programs.