Official Ceton Echo Extender Info Thread - Page 166  

No, but they were there.

Nope. There were a few Ceton folks in Vegas, wouldn't tell me why beyond "some meetings" though .

Maybe they had to get together with Freescale and figure out how to get this thing functional and with dts to see about getting a license. I suppose their resources are a little thin given the state of the echo and renting a booth was not really an option.

This from the companion app forum over on 'The Green Button'

"We are actually working on a rather large updates for services and apps. Our target is the 16th at earliest..."

I imagine that if the companion app is getting updated, we'll see some action on the Echo side as well - hopefully this week!

"Rather Large" = Android OS?

Except the Echo is not a service or app.

I think the Echo Settings Menu Plugin on the host PC is a service. At least it shows up as such in the Event viewer.

Sooooooo exhausted from CES. Made some good contacts, and also had too much fun

While we are by no means ignoring Echo (different devs work on it), the update being referenced is for the companion apps, not Echo.

So can we infer from that, the companion program has adequate development resources and the Echo is perhaps not so much... some of us are about to give up.

I think you are reading far too much into my statement - in fact, Echo has about 5 times as many development resources as the companion app.

Significant issues still exist on the Echo. There hasn't been a new firmware update in over 3 weeks. The extended return window is closing.

+ 1 - I really want to use the Echo but the current problems / issues need to be worked out! I "can" use the Echo for 1080i content but no way for 720p content.

agreed and agreed

I'm more along the lines of thinking that they were meeting with Freescale and dts people while at CES. Plus, they are the owners so they must feel okay with going to CES while the echo is in the state it is in.

At this stage, I would think those kind of meetings should be held in the lab at Ceton.

Did Ceton drag all their development hardware with them to Vegas?

Really? An echo and a laptop is all that is needed.

I really wish all the recommendations on Ceton's operations and priorities go somewhere else, and the thread returned to more meaningful information about the Echo.

I guess if you're that unsatisfied with it, why don't you just return it and go away? Assuming they fix what you don't like later, I'm guessing they'll sell you one again.

I agree.

Right now though, there is nothing else to talk about in this thread..

 

I can't hear my Xbox 360 from more than a foot away. I could hear my TiVo across the room. There might be plenty of reasons not to use it but fan noise isn't one of them I'm guessing...

 

Such as? We'll let you start... :)

It's not that often that I can be truly awed by a bizarre sense of entitlement and misguided soap-boxing. Congratulations.

Speaking in general terms, behavior like this (and frankly several posts in this thread) are exactly why many CE companies choose to ignore their customers. It's very difficult to have an open/honest discussion when one side (or a substantial number of outliers on one side) refuses to keep their expectations and behavior consistent with the actual consequences at play. There is a SNR threshold, when the noise starts drowning out the useful part natural consequences ensue.

The level of involvement from Ceton employees, often clearly outside of normal business hours, in this thread is abnormally high. Personally, I'd rather that we have access to more information, more employees, and more involvement than less. Behavior like this does not encourage that; even animals learn from repetition. Proper incentives (+/-) are an important part of any game long term, it's important to think about the choices you make, the way you behave and the potential consequences of those inputs before grabbing a pitchfork.

Yes, it is frustrating when a device doesn't work the way you want but appropriate context is essential. It is not reasonable to expect that people work around the clock, cancel long planned vacations, or lock themselves away from the world so that you can watch TV in the bedroom instead of the living room.

TBC, it is not my intent to censor your opinions, thoughts, etc. (everyone can have as many as they like) just to encourage a bit more prior thought and better expression of them should the desire to share be uncontainable.

And let me be clear. I, like everyone here, want the product to work.

But if there is one thing that couldn't be more obvious, it's the fact that this product was not (and still is not) ready for prime time. Ceton released this product knowing this. They trumpeted it as ”the media center extender you've been waiting for” (their words) and made all kinds of promises as to its performance.

And now, a month and a half after its launch, has it fulfilled any of their own expectations? Not yet. That's not just me being harsh, this thing cannot even reliably be used as an extender yet, save all of their other promises. Their customers aren't to blame for this, Ceton is.

So please, before you bash frustrated customers, think about who created this situation.

We can all agree that the Echo is not performing at expectation. That said my personal experience is not consistent with your statements re. vanilla extender use. The unit I have handles TV relatively well in the "Native" setting, certainly well enough that "cannot reliably be used..." is not an accurate assessment.

Of course they are, even if the root cause is something beyond their immediate control. They chose the parts in the box and chose to ship when they did.

Who is blaming customers?

Who is bashing customers? This isn't a binary thing; we don't have to "bash" anyone. There's no reason we can't discuss and deal with this in a way that isn't unnecessarily punitive.

I'm having a good experience with my echo. I'm using it in my main viewing area to watch live tv, recorded tv, music as well as viewing pictures stored on 3 pc's on my network. It's not perfect yet but the WAF is high since the end of December. I'm just waiting for DVD (video_ts) playback and a few minor fixes and I will be happy. I know a lot of folks have issues with mkv files and such, but I think a lot of folks also just require a good quiet supported wmc extender. I for 1, think they are close.

If the latest rev boards in the xBox are that much better I may have to take one for a spin.

Just FYI there is a 1:1 correlation for me with file that don't play on XBOX360 and files that don't play on the Echo. So don't expect that to be any better.

xnappo

I agree with your view as to the value of the unit. Wife uses in a loft room and is very happy, except for the remote's tiny buttons. I was going to buy a universal one like a Harmony economy model, but want to be ready when the Echo has browsing capability. I mean I will need some sort of mouse control in my remote won't I??? Would be dumb to buy remote that is useless once the Echo can browse.

Don't buy a Harmony. Although some claim success, myself and few others have problems. You have to point the harmony away from the echo to get it to respond somewhat consistently. May depend on the model. YMMV

Then let the thread go dormant until there is. I've never understood why people feel compelled to keep a thread active when there's nothing relevant to discuss. The thread will still be here when someone finds another bug, has a relevant support question, or a new release comes out.

I think it's kind of unfair to warn someone not to by a product because of yours and a few others problems with it. Many people, including myself, have great success with Harmony remotes. Maybe trying to relocate your echo would help. From 8ft away I just point in the direction of my echo and it works great.