The Hardware – Dongles Galore
Like all of ATI’s All-in-Wonder line, this card comes with many extras in the box which are responsible for all the input and output configurations you can throw at it.
This dongle (above) attaches directly to the custom connection on the X1900 AIW and provides an addtional VGA output for those who would like dual monitor support. It also has a connection for both an input and an output video dongle, seen below.
This dongle (above) supports input of S-Video or composite video along with stereo audio input through the X1900 AIW, in addition to the coaxial input on the card itself.
One of the two output dongles ATI provides, this one (above) supports output of either S-Video or composite video signals and several audio output options. The dongle itself has stereo RCA output jacks and the cables include connections for digital coax output and mini-plug stereo output if you want it re-routed into your PC’s sound card.
ATI also provided another output dongle that supports component output for HDTV’s or monitors (see below image) along with the same audio output options outlined above. Only one of these two output dongles can be utilized at a time.
The odd “domino” shape to these dongles is by design as you can see here, they are easily stackable and this makes placing the dongle connectors much easier and lessens the clutter that is visible to the end user after installation.
Of course, as you can see, behind the PC is a different story: be prepared for a mess of wires and connections unlike any you have seen before!
Finally we see here the ATI Remote Wonder and USB RF receiver that is used to navigate the PC desktop and ATI’s custom MCE-type software in an home theater type setup.
