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While the hardware behind the All-In-Wonder 9000 Pro plays an essential role in the operation of the multimedia aspects of the card, its ATI's Multimedia Centre (MMC) that truly separates this solution from the competition. The All-In-Wonder series has been around for years, and the software, just like the hardware, has been through countless revisions and updates, and it shows.
This card utilises revision 7.9 of the MMC suite, which as with previous iterations, has a wide range of multifunctional applications embedded within the suite. Most of these applications are self explanatory, and include a TV, DVD/VCD/CD/File player, Teletext, and File Library for storage and categorisation purposes.
All applications can be launched from a variety of places, such as the start menu for the long route, the task bar ATI icon, or the simplest option, the LaunchPad.
Software launch pad
The LaunchPad can be positioned anywhere on the desktop in all manner of sizes and configurations, and can be set to 'remain on top' of windows that would otherwise hide the toolbar. Each icon represents an application, and although only a simple addition, its features such as these that make MMC7.9 such a user friendly solution.
The DVD player is very much what you would expect from a standard player, and provides all the typical menu, chapter, search functions associated with DVD. In terms of settings, there are options for picture control, parental control, aspect ratio control, region control, and sound control.
The DVD software also takes advantage of the cobra encoding engine built into the RV250 core, reducing CPU utilisation while playing back DVD content by up to 20%. As mentioned earlier, the card also has support for an AC3/Dolby Digital 5.1 Output, which is selectable on the audio tab.
The VCD and CD player as expected are very basic applications so I won't explain these in depth, only to note that everything worked correctly, as was very simple to use.
The File player, again, is a very standard affair, offering support for most popular formats such as MPG, AVI, MP3, and ATI's internal format, .VCR, for use/playback of recorded TV content.
The Telextext application offers features such as fast text, bookmarking, screenshots, etc, and is generally well integrated. However, seeing as though most homes now have an internet connection of some sort, this feature is quickly becoming obsolete.
The Library application is very well designed, and provides an excellent means of media management.
Library software
The Library displays all media files from a variety of sources which are user-defined, i.e. a certain folder, group of folders, or drive, and categorises them in regard to their file type, name, date of creation, and most viewed, again, depending on your preference.
To help along the browsing of your library, you can use a filter, such as files created "today, yesterday, last week" for instance. Additionally, you can further narrow down a search by selecting a category such as music, movie or picture, meaning searching, or even browsing of a specific file type is a simple task.
All these files can be launched directly from the Library, regardless of which media player they are setup to use, be it a 3rd party player or ATI's integrated Fileplayer.
One of the more tangible uses of the library is when it is combined with the TV Application, specifically the recorder functions, in which a recorded TV program will automatically appear in the library and will be categorised appropriately, meaning management of recorded media is very simple, and almost automatic in operation.
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