Hercules 3D Prophet All-in-Wonder 7500 review

With ATi now starting to ape Nvidia's business model, Hercules has achieved a coup as the exclusive distributor of the All-in-Wonder cards, although ATi still provides the software and accessories.

Those familiar with the All-in-Wonder concept will know that 3D performance isn't its primary focus. It's designed to be a jack-of-all-trades, able to capture video streams, receive TV signals and play DVDs in addition to offering the latest 3D GPUs for gaming.

Taking care of video capture are sockets for both S-Video and composite video alongside stereo RCA jacks for audio, all mounted on a convenient breakout box. Ulead VideoStudio 5 SE is included and is suited to amateur video editors.

An output splitter cable is supplied too, which has S-Video and composite again, but also includes S/PDIF (for Dolby Digital audio) and stereo line-out. HydraVision support is another important, new feature of the latest All-in-Wonder range.

The updated Multimedia Centre is a great improvement over older versions, but Windows Media Player already covers much of its functionality. The DVD player takes advantage of all the hardware features, and the TV application can now be manually tuned, making it far easier to connect VCRs and more.

Although the All-in-Wonder 8500 DV has two FireWire connectors and an RF remote, the 7500 costs a whopping £132 less. So if you're after a basic all-in-one AGP card and aren't too fussed about 3D performance, the All-in-Wonder 7500 is well worth considering.