What do you think of this ATI tvPortal recording?

[jwillis84]

I finally found a copy of the ATI tvPortal Capture software for Mac.

I have two versions:

tvPortal 1.04.dmg
tvPortal 1.13.dmg

For this first try, I only installed the ATI tvPortal 1.04.dmg on a Mac Mini running OSX 10.6.8

It is designed to work with an ATI TV Wonder 650 "butter dish" style (USB attached) Analog and Digital TV Tuner and Video Capture device.

Attached is a recording sample of a 480i source over the S-Video Input... its about 5 minutes long, with lots of dynamic motion and on screen speakers.

To me it looks pretty good.

But I'm curious what other people think.

[Formica]

Tried to unrar those files, but utility says there is nothing to extract.

[bigeasy_uk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwillis84

I finally found a copy of the ATI tvPortal Capture software for Mac.

I have two versions:

tvPortal 1.04.dmg
tvPortal 1.13.dmg

Where did you find them? A fellow mac forum user is desperate for this software and I can't find it anywhere

[latreche34]

It's good from a 16:9 HD source, You should try a VHS tape that's how you know how good is.

[traal]

So the source appears to be 30p but with interlace artifacts, which is odd. Maybe it's the way you compressed it.

[jwillis84]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigeasy_uk

Where did you find them? A fellow mac forum user is desperate for this software and I can't find it anywhere

Wow that's been almost a year ago.

I can't recall the original source now, it been so long ago.

I do recall AMD declined to release the program after they acquired ATI since it was a custom program for hire job for Mac OSX.

There was a Pubic Beta test, but the download source for that was scrubbed from the Internet.

In any event.. my recollections are "after" I found a New Sealed in Box ATI Wonder 650 (for Mac) with the original distribution software CD.. I was also able to find an updated version too.

Also, since I had been looking for the tvPortal software for over two years by that time I knew exactly what to do to get it working on Intel OSX 6.8 even though it had been written for an older version of OSX.

[jwillis84]

Quote:

Originally Posted by traal

So the source appears to be 30p but with interlace artifacts, which is odd. Maybe it's the way you compressed it.

Interlaced during capture was "intentional" the artifacting was the result of whatever de-interlace the player performed on the original source.

Technically Interlaced is the proper format and changing it to Progressive is a "lossy" conversion from which artifacting cannot be avoided.. they don't exist in the same time based realm. To convert from one to the other some loss of detail is inevitable since Progressive assumes there is more information than is actually there.. so it "makes stuff up".

[jwillis84]

Quote:

Originally Posted by latreche34

It's good from a 16:9 HD source, You should try a VHS tape that's how you know how good is.

The software is merely twisting the dials and knobs of the hardware.. it is a hardware codec based system.. so there is not a lot to improve in software.

The ATI 650 was known for not being a great hardware capture system.. they were unceremoniously pulled from Best Buy shelves shortly after release as having a fundamental flaw in their ATSC tuner design.

This in addition to a poorly thought out Automatic Gain Control that tended to blow highlights and not leave well enough alone.

Its a very interesting relic from history.. and I was glad to play with the software.. but its not something I would recommend loosing a lot of sleep over today.

I do love the fact it is one of only two ATI USB 2.0 video capture designs that were designed to work on both the PC and a MAC.

[jwillis84]

bigeasy_uk since your new to this Forum you may not have received, or noticed the notification in your email.. if you provided one.

I should probably do a YuTube video about the hardware because its a little tricky to setup.

The most important thing is the S-Video cable has an offset and in addition to the tricky four pins with a bottom plastic plug that have to be aligned, this offset has to be cleared to actually get a good connection.

Once you've done it once you know what I mean, but its a solid "Thunk" feel.

The software is designed for the PowerPC but works fine under Rosetta on an Intel Mac.. the modern "re-use" of the Rosseta name for the Intel to ARM transition on M1 is not the same.

Only us Old (but not Ancient) School Mac users tend to know what I'm talking about.

Rosetta was also an (optional) install.. not a default when setting up an Intel Mac.. so there is a corpus of knowledge you need to know from 2010 that likely took place before some current Mac users were even born.

If you understood all that your probably good.. if not. Well wait for the video.

The links will go away perhaps within 30 days as I don't tend to keep a large account open for hosting software for that long. Get'em while you can.

Its kind of weird.. but I didn't think (backwards) that this is a unique case where ATI Wonder had a USB 2.0 capture system for Power PC as well as Intel .. I haven't tested with an M1 so I don't know if thats even a possibility with Rosetta 2.0

But I don't know of any other PPC video capture system.. so its an oddball for sure.

AMD being the buyer of ATI and getting this PPC software dumped on them.. probably confused the heck out of the X86 based company. No Wonder (pun) they didn't know what to do with it.

OH yeah:: Keep in mind this is more a mental exercise, than a practical capture setup.. I Have no idea what scenarios may play out in the year 2525 .. so it may have some historical value.. but the vast majority of readers today will find this as boring as corn flakes. When I went on my (Quest) to find this elusive capture system and software I was like a dog with a bone.. I just would not give up.. but having is often less satisfying, than the journey. And bringing some closure to the curiosity is satisfying.