AMD TV Wonder tuners bring HDTV, scrambled digital TV

AMD today grew its TV Wonder line with two models that branch out into unfamiliar territory for the company. The TV Wonder 600 USB is the first from the chipmaker's ATI label to offer both HD and analog cable in an external form with a co-ax input for either an antenna or a cable feed. More advanced users with desktops can opt for the TV Wonder 650 PCIe, the company says: the internal card not only packs dual tuners that allow recording in one format while recording in the other, but offers ClearQAM descrambling for picking up most non-HD digital cable signals. Users can also tune into FM radio with the extra hardware afforded by the PCI Express slot.

The 600 USB is meant for notebooks and ships with an IR remote as well as an AV adapter for capturing video from analog sources such as standard-definition video cameras; both adapters are set to ship in September for North American stores but have yet to receive an official price.