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11-19-2022, 10:29 PM
cinemaman cinemaman is offline
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Since for obvious reasons people are reluctant to crack open their hardware, I was wondering more about the criteria for being an ATI 600 USB clone since I am not sure what is going on under the hood ? Is the important thing to have a particular Empia chip or must it also have the Texas Intruments chip ?

So if someone chances a purchase, how do they subsequently tell if they hit one (or not ), eg, is there any little software utility which might identify chipsets ? I realise maufacturers make different models, but is there any current list of which maufacturers made the clones ?
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  #2  
11-20-2022, 10:31 PM
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lordsmurf lordsmurf is offline
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Yes and no.

Part of what makes the ATI 600 USB quality is the fact that it uses a certain TI chipset. But beware, that model of TI chips has variations, sub-versions, latter iterations, and those are sometimes found in crappy devices. TI makes chip families, not long lived single chips. And, as I always state, chips alone do not make an item quality. It can, but doesn't necessarily. All capture cards, including the ATI, have multiple chips, allowing it to do what it does, with the quality it does it. Those other chips also matter.

There is no utility, you have to crack open the card.

This quagmire of complexity is why I have capture cards in the marketplace. I worry about acquiring hardware, you can then only worry about using it.

____

I'm guessing you see the recent eBay auctions for an unknown brand, referring back to this site, and my marketplace listing. And not just unknown to the masses, but those of us who are knowledgeable about brands of video gear. The TVP5150AM1 is also not the same as the ATI, but merely from the same family.

The ATI 600 USB likely wasn't even made by ATI, but is a rebadge. Nor were certain cards from Hauppauge, and some others. I have documents that show where Hauppauge cards come from, but nothing verifiable on the ATI. And yet, internally, the cards are almost identical. Hmm, right? In actuality, the Hauppauge and ATI 600 USB are probably both rebadges of an unknown Taiwan company that didn't sell to consumer, but B2B. And that same company likely released variants, and sold those cheaply to brands like Tevion, for sale at places like Aldi.

Note that there are quite a few Tevion cards, and almost none of them have the TI chips. Some even look "the same", but are not the same, merely sharing casing. Tevion is a no-name European brand mostly (but not entirely) sold by Aldi. I can find no information about Zolio.

For me, regarding that eBay listing, the bigger issue is the source location: Spain. I've shipped stuff around the world since the 1990s. One of the worst postal systems in the entire world is Spain. It's infamous. If you order something from Spain, it may a take 1-2 months minimum, if not outright lost. I'd bought DVDs, Smurfs collectibles, and other items from Spain, and each time was awful. I've sent to Spain, and it was often awful. About a year ago, I sent a TBC to a TV station in Spain, and it took at least 4 months to arrive, tracking disappeared once Spanish customs took it. Far too often, Spanish customs opens and and rifles through packages, causing harm in the process. I've received scratched DVDs, and at least once something I sent had not just the package opened, but the item itself was partially dismantled to examine the insides. Of course, the lazy customs didn't attempt to put it back together, but just threw it back in the box dismantled. So if you buy anything from Spain, prepare yourself. If you doubt me, look it up. Correos is horrible, and others (with years of shipping experience) agree.

Unfortunately, I'm afraid that eBay seller is a member here. And I'm not trying to poo-poo his eBay listing, but there are concerns about the item, and the shipping.

- Did my advice help you? Then become a Premium Member and support this site.
- For sale in the marketplace: TBCs, workflows, capture cards, VCRs
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  #3  
11-21-2022, 01:40 AM
SouthernerMan SouthernerMan is offline
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Your guidance prevented my loss . You are a world of experience. Thank you for all your helpful posts.
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  #4  
11-21-2022, 07:42 AM
cinemaman cinemaman is offline
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Thanks for taking the time and trouble to explain. You well and truly sussed me for looking at Ebay , though I was lucky (I hope) to find one calling itself "New Old Stock VisionTek HDTV Tuner ATI TV Wonder HD 600 USB" with photos to match, which is currently shipping, and it just got me curious. I am about to deal with some Hi8 material and it is great to frequent the site again. The posts by many members, particularly Sanlyn, really get my attention. As Shakespeare used to say, "To learn Virtualdub from scratch or to chicken out and go firewire, that is the question"...

Last edited by cinemaman; 11-21-2022 at 08:09 AM.
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