AVS › AVS Forum › Video Components › Home Theater Computers › Official Ceton Echo Extender Info Thread
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Official Ceton Echo Extender Info Thread - Page 191

post #5701 of 7593
2/9/13 at 4:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

Pretty sure there's MS licensing fees for the extenders too. It seems that the echo is a Zero Client, so to speak.. I haven't even heard of them before because they are not deployed in my workplace (yet?). The thing is that what can be done is limited by the WMC environment. The only reason to stay in that environment is for playback of copy once content. Some of us, like me, have a lot of that. Otherwise, everything else can be outside the WMC environment.
Yes, it "can" be done, but none of the current non-WMC solutions come close to it for user friendliness. Designing software is one thing, designing an amazing User Experience is a whole another science. Lots of companies build great software. The ones that make a killing are the ones whose user experience is superior.

*cough* *cough*...I'll say it. Look at the fruit company...tongue.gif They have mastered the art of user experience.
Reply
Reply

Gear mentioned in this thread:

post #5702 of 7593
2/9/13 at 4:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ajhieb View Post

BTW, kapone, would you happen to be the E38 kapone?
Yes. smile.gif
Reply
Reply
post #5703 of 7593
2/9/13 at 4:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kapone View Post

Yes, it "can" be done, but none of the current non-WMC solutions come close to it for user friendliness. Designing software is one thing, designing an amazing User Experience is a whole another science. Lots of companies build great software. The ones that make a killing are the ones whose user experience is superior.

*cough* *cough*...I'll say it. Look at the fruit company...tongue.gif They have mastered the art of user experience.

This I would not know. I have an older PBO streamer with the Medi8bo f/w on it for HD audio and it is okay for GUI but I let it go as being old. I have not one iDevice so I cannot say anything about the apple user experience.
Reply
Reply
post #5704 of 7593
2/9/13 at 4:39pm
This is what I'd love to see. Hell, even I can make almost all of it happen, the design and code aint even that complicated, but obviously the respective content owners will never talk to me. But Microsoft....well, they should be able to make it happen.

No separate apps, no changing interfaces....integrated Search. Simple.

Reply
Reply
post #5705 of 7593
2/9/13 at 5:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kapone View Post

This is what I'd love to see. Hell, even I can make almost all of it happen, the design and code aint even that complicated, but obviously the respective content owners will never talk to me. But Microsoft....well, they should be able to make it happen.

No separate apps, no changing interfaces....integrated Search. Simple.


So what is in those folders? Recorded TV content? Online downloads?
Reply
Reply
post #5706 of 7593
2/9/13 at 6:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shark007 View Post

IMO, the #1 fallacy of all extenders to date is not supporting subtitles with local file playback. If the echo could support subtitles, it would own the current market. Currently, if you must have subtitles with extender playback, you need to hardcode the subtitles into the video so that they are part of the video and not a separate entity. As for audio support, again, if the echo could manage native decoding and possible even passthrough for popular audio formats it would once again, own the market.

SageTV Extenders supported this 100% and then they got bought out by Google.
Reply
Reply
post #5707 of 7593
2/9/13 at 6:36pm
SageTV had it all except Netflix and DRM support.
Reply
Reply
post #5708 of 7593
2/9/13 at 6:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

What is that? I'm pretty sure my i3-550 will choke on that and playback in the HT at the same time as there isn't enough cores.

Definitely. I am using Universal Media Server and tubeCore - but the machine it runs from is not my main HTPC. That would definitely not work. This is a temporary solution...

xnappo
Reply
Reply
post #5709 of 7593
2/9/13 at 6:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nebulink View Post

SageTV had it all except Netflix and DRM support.

So you should install MythTV and XBMC?

The 'DRM support' is the only reason I am here. It is seriously annoying. I am *this close* to just continuing to pay for cable for my conscious and switching to XBMC and Sick Beard for DVR.

xnappo
Reply
Reply
post #5710 of 7593
2/9/13 at 8:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kapone View Post

They already are in their ecosystem with WMC. Microsoft just wants to sell more hardware in order to achieve something that doesn't require their hardware.

True, but WMC doesn't make money for Microsoft - XBOX Live and Windows 8 App Store both are moneymakers.
Reply
Reply
post #5711 of 7593
2/10/13 at 5:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

So what is in those folders? Recorded TV content? Online downloads?
Neither. Real-time streamed. A custom shell namespace...an HLS client and a few other bits and pieces, and it can be made to work.
Reply
Reply
post #5712 of 7593
2/10/13 at 5:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcturkey View Post

True, but WMC doesn't make money for Microsoft - XBOX Live and Windows 8 App Store both are moneymakers.
True. Which is sad.
Reply
Reply
post #5713 of 7593
2/10/13 at 6:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kapone View Post

Neither. Real-time streamed. A custom shell namespace...an HLS client and a few other bits and pieces, and it can be made to work.

Pretty cool. Where did you find out how to do that?
Reply
Reply
post #5714 of 7593
2/10/13 at 6:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

Pretty cool. Where did you find out how to do that?
I wrote a prototype.
Reply
Reply
post #5715 of 7593
2/10/13 at 6:18am
You should do a write up on here or on TGB..

biggrin.gif
Reply
Reply
post #5716 of 7593
2/10/13 at 6:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

You should do a write up on here or on TGB..

biggrin.gif
It's not production quality code, and won't be until the content owners cooperate. I wrote it as a proof of concept/experimental.
Reply
Reply
post #5717 of 7593
2/10/13 at 6:51am
I guess that will probably never happen then.. but it is a pretty darn good concept, especially since MS removed the internet streaming from WMC last year.
Reply
Reply
post #5718 of 7593
2/10/13 at 7:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

I guess that will probably never happen then.. but it is a pretty darn good concept, especially since MS removed the internet streaming from WMC last year.

Take a wiiild guess....why. Xbox...Xbox...Xbox...Xbox...Xbox...Xbox...smile.gif
Reply
Reply
post #5719 of 7593
2/10/13 at 8:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kapone View Post

Take a wiiild guess....why. Xbox...Xbox...Xbox...Xbox...Xbox...Xbox...smile.gif

If the old internet TV plugin was actually good, I would agree; but I really don't think so. It was really just CBS shows. Everything else was just 30 second clips. I think they just axed it to save licensing costs. Other thain the aformentioned CBS shows.....there was nothing that could begin to compete with any online offering, even from Xbox. There was also Zune Podcasts buried deep down inside the menus. That's all I can remember.
Reply
Reply
post #5720 of 7593
2/10/13 at 11:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shark007 View Post

IMO, the #1 fallacy of all extenders to date is not supporting subtitles with local file playback. If the echo could support subtitles, it would own the current market. Currently, if you must have subtitles with extender playback, you need to hardcode the subtitles into the video so that they are part of the video and not a separate entity. As for audio support, again, if the echo could manage native decoding and possible even passthrough for popular audio formats it would once again, own the market.
Just for the record... this bit about extenders not supporting subtitles -- does that apply to programs recorded in WMC off TV/cable, or only to (say) DVD rips? If extenders can't do subtitles for shows recorded in WMC, that's a huge minus against them. We use them all the time to figure out the lines that actors mumbled.
Reply
Reply
post #5721 of 7593
2/11/13 at 3:24am
WTV subs you record from live TV work fine. You control them the same way as you do on the htpc, same menus and whatnot. It is everything else not WTV that is broken. So yes, any ripped DVDs or other non recorded from live TV content that has subs embedded within mkv or with a separate srt file or whatever will not show on extenders.
Reply
Reply
post #5722 of 7593
2/11/13 at 6:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nebulink View Post

SageTV had it all except Netflix and DRM support.

sage 8 supports both of those now. frown.gif
Reply
Reply
post #5723 of 7593
2/11/13 at 8:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Derek K. View Post

sage 8 supports both of those now. frown.gif
SageTV doesn't have support for CableCard DRM and presumably never will. And last I heard, the Netflix support was far less than optimal.

As good as SageTV is / was, it wasn't the holy grail that some people seem to imply - it had it's limitations just like every other option out there.
Reply
Reply
post #5724 of 7593
2/11/13 at 8:44am
I said sage 8 has it...

go to 4:23 in this video.:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFiDA7tQTxM
Reply
Reply
post #5725 of 7593
2/11/13 at 9:26am
What's this all about?

"If you have Google Fiber TV you cannot have any other provider in your house." Really? Do they really think that is enforceable? I can have what ever the frick I want in my house and google has no say so whatsoever about that, contract or not.
Reply
Reply
post #5726 of 7593
2/11/13 at 9:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Derek K. View Post

I said sage 8 has it...

go to 4:23 in this video.:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFiDA7tQTxM

That's quite misleading. It's like saying my cable DVR box supports DRM. Big deal. If you are not on Google Fiber TV, how are you getting your Sage 8?
Reply
Reply
post #5727 of 7593
2/11/13 at 9:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Derek K. View Post

sage 8 supports both of those now. frown.gif

And I can buy it for my HTPC now since this is the HTPC forum, right?

*crickets*
Reply
Reply
post #5728 of 7593
2/11/13 at 9:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Foxbat121 View Post

That's quite misleading. It's like saying my cable DVR box supports DRM. Big deal. If you are not on Google Fiber TV, how are you getting your Sage 8?

It says it is SageTV Version 8.x.x.x or something like that. But yeah, for anybody not on Google Fiber TV they don't have it.
Reply
Reply
post #5729 of 7593
2/11/13 at 9:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Foxbat121 View Post

If you are not on Google Fiber TV, how are you getting your Sage 8?

well, that is the problem. I also doubt that the google's fiber tv boxes support ripped dvds and bds like sage does. I guess you can't have everything.
Reply
Reply
post #5730 of 7593
2/11/13 at 9:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Derek K. View Post

well, that is the problem. I also doubt that the google's fiber tv boxes support ripped dvds and bds like sage does. I guess you can't have everything.

Yeah, I guess you cannot have another provider in your house either..
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Home Theater Computers

Gear mentioned in this thread:

AVS › AVS Forum › Video Components › Home Theater Computers › Official Ceton Echo Extender Info Thread