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Official Ceton Echo Extender Info Thread - Page 220  

post #6571 of 7721
3/16/13 at 2:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by xnappo View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

I use makeMKV but could switch to handbrake. I don't like the way it looks on my HTPC and abhor only having AC3 audio though so IDK. This was my first run with it. Maybe another run will look better, but I doubt it. Compressed is compressed. This file was compressed as it is because it was done a long time ago.

Handbrake and makemkv are both just front ends to mencoder... If you want DTS just let it passthrough.

xnappo

But makeMKV doesn't allow you go change how the file is encoded, that is why it is easier and quicker and produces a 1:1 copy which is what I want.

The only settings I made was to change the reference frames and set the frame rate to constant rather than variable. I had decomb to off. The source is progressive so should this even matter?

Gear mentioned in this thread:

post #6572 of 7721
3/16/13 at 2:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

But makeMKV doesn't allow you go change how the file is encoded, that is why it is easier and quicker and produces a 1:1 copy which is what I want.

The only settings I made was to change the reference frames and set the frame rate to constant rather than variable. I had decomb to off. The source is progressive so should this even matter?

Hahaha you are fast - I removed the decomb from the post biggrin.gifbiggrin.gif

I see what you are saying - you just want to rip the bluray - of course that is best if you have stuff that plays it!! Did you start with the 'High Profile' setting? You should.. and then make the changes you said, and I recommend changing the RF setting to 18.

xnappo
post #6573 of 7721
3/16/13 at 3:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by xnappo View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

But makeMKV doesn't allow you go change how the file is encoded, that is why it is easier and quicker and produces a 1:1 copy which is what I want.

The only settings I made was to change the reference frames and set the frame rate to constant rather than variable. I had decomb to off. The source is progressive so should this even matter?

Hahaha you are fast - I removed the decomb from the post biggrin.gifbiggrin.gif

I see what you are saying - you just want to rip the bluray - of course that is best if you have stuff that plays it!! Did you start with the 'High Profile' setting? You should.. and then make the changes you said, and I recommend changing the RF setting to 18.

xnappo

That won't play on the echo. I'm sure of it.
post #6574 of 7721
3/16/13 at 8:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by xnappo View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

I use makeMKV but could switch to handbrake. I don't like the way it looks on my HTPC and abhor only having AC3 audio though so IDK. This was my first run with it. Maybe another run will look better, but I doubt it. Compressed is compressed. This file was compressed as it is because it was done a long time ago.

Handbrake and makemkv are both just front ends to mencoder... If you want DTS just let it passthrough.

xnappo

But makeMKV doesn't allow you go change how the file is encoded, that is why it is easier and quicker and produces a 1:1 copy which is what I want.

The only settings I made was to change the reference frames and set the frame rate to constant rather than variable. I had decomb to off. The source is progressive so should this even matter?

And handbrake will not remove copy protection. if a disk is protected handbrake will not work. You need a decrypter first then can run handbrake. I only use handbrake on content I'm storing but may only watch either on a mobile devices or for the kids room. I don't like sacrificing the HD quality by using one of the HB presets.
post #6575 of 7721
3/17/13 at 8:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

That won't play on the echo. I'm sure of it.

?? What do you mean? I start with the high profile and then dial back the stuff the Echo doesn't like. It does work.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mariob33 View Post

And handbrake will not remove copy protection. if a disk is protected handbrake will not work. You need a decrypter first then can run handbrake. I only use handbrake on content I'm storing but may only watch either on a mobile devices or for the kids room. I don't like sacrificing the HD quality by using one of the HB presets.

Yes of course. Kids movies are exactly what I use it for.

xnappo
post #6576 of 7721
3/17/13 at 8:36am
You said, "I recommend changing the RF setting to 18." I don't think that the echo will play that.

I think you were talking about creating mkv's for general use and not testing for the echo?

I am not talking about using HandBrake to create mkv's. I just use makeMKV for that because it is a one-step process except for stupid discs like StarWars or dual discs like LOTR for which I have been using mkvMergeGUI. I think you were talking about creating mkv's for general use and not testing for the echo?
post #6577 of 7721
3/17/13 at 9:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

You said, "I recommend changing the RF setting to 18." I don't think that the echo will play that.

I think you were talking about creating mkv's for general use and not testing for the echo?

I am not talking about using HandBrake to create mkv's. I just use makeMKV for that because it is a one-step process except for stupid discs like StarWars or dual discs like LOTR for which I have been using mkvMergeGUI. I think you were talking about creating mkv's for general use and not testing for the echo?

RF=18 just effects the bitrate/quality of the encode. It does not make playback any easier/harder.

I am talking exactly about making files the Echo can play - it can't handle makemkv rips at all as far as I can tell? Too high bitrate and DTS. I prefer AC-3 6-channel to DTS 2-channel.

xnappo
post #6578 of 7721
3/17/13 at 9:39am
Another oddball video streaming device. http://plair.com/#
It doesn't yet play Netflix or Hulu. Duh. But maybe it'll fill in for what the Echo can't do?
post #6579 of 7721
3/17/13 at 9:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by xnappo View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

You said, "I recommend changing the RF setting to 18." I don't think that the echo will play that.

I think you were talking about creating mkv's for general use and not testing for the echo?

I am not talking about using HandBrake to create mkv's. I just use makeMKV for that because it is a one-step process except for stupid discs like StarWars or dual discs like LOTR for which I have been using mkvMergeGUI. I think you were talking about creating mkv's for general use and not testing for the echo?

RF=18 just effects the bitrate/quality of the encode. It does not make playback any easier/harder.

I am talking exactly about making files the Echo can play - it can't handle makemkv rips at all as far as I can tell? Too high bitrate and DTS. I prefer AC-3 6-channel to DTS 2-channel.

xnappo

We must be talking about different things? Doesn't RF = Reference Frames?
Edited by Sammy2 - 3/17/13 at 9:48am
post #6580 of 7721
3/17/13 at 9:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roginator View Post

Another oddball video streaming device. http://plair.com/#
It doesn't yet play Netflix or Hulu. Duh. But maybe it'll fill in for what the Echo can't do?

I could not find any spec's on what file types that plays at all and it doesn't do any PVR functions which begs the question of what can it do that the echo can't especially in regard to personal media?

The web site is pretty rude. I'm trying to read the quick start guide and up pops a screen to buy a sold out product or download the app that will not go away. If I cannot research the product how do they expect me to be interested in buying it?

EDIT: I had to change the zoom in Chrome to 90% to get the "close" button to appear. The quick start guide doesn't really have any information at all. I really need to know what a product can decode before I buy it. Do other people not care about this fundamental question?
Edited by Sammy2 - 3/17/13 at 9:59am
post #6581 of 7721
3/17/13 at 9:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

We must be talking about different things? Doesn't RF = Reference Frames?

Doh! Sorry!! No - I am talking about the Quality slider on the Video tab.

xnappo
post #6582 of 7721
3/17/13 at 9:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by xnappo View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

We must be talking about different things? Doesn't RF = Reference Frames?

Doh! Sorry!! No - I am talking about the Quality slider on the Video tab.

xnappo

I believe I had that set to the default which is 20?

Apparently 0 is "lossless" video so that is where I should have set it. That explains why my file was compressed I believe.
post #6583 of 7721
3/17/13 at 10:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

I really need to know what a product can decode before I buy it. Do other people not care about this fundamental question?

Umm..we bought the Echo supposedly KNOWING what it could do. Look how silly we feel now.
post #6584 of 7721
3/17/13 at 11:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

I believe I had that set to the default which is 20?

Apparently 0 is "lossless" video so that is where I should have set it. That explains why my file was compressed I believe.

Well you don't want LOSSLESS - that would be huge. You want something of similar bitrate to the source. 18 is pretty good quality - but not BluRay. You could just use the bitrate setting directly instead - but then you would need to use 2-pass to get good results.

xnappo
post #6585 of 7721
3/17/13 at 11:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by xnappo View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

We must be talking about different things? Doesn't RF = Reference Frames?

Doh! Sorry!! No - I am talking about the Quality slider on the Video tab.

xnappo

I believe I had that set to the default which is 20?

Apparently 0 is "lossless" video so that is where I should have set it. That explains why my file was compressed I believe.

this is correct. You are basically saying your okay with a quality level of 20 and allowing HB to adjust the bitrate. This takes a typical 30-35GB file and reduces the size down to ~12GB. I played with HB a while back and found it acceptable at 18-20 for a smaller set and for less discerning eyes but not for my main theater. You can really see the diff when your projecting on anything above 55".
post #6586 of 7721
3/17/13 at 11:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by xnappo View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2 View Post

We must be talking about different things? Doesn't RF = Reference Frames?

Doh! Sorry!! No - I am talking about the Quality slider on the Video tab.

xnappo

I believe I had that set to the default which is 20?

Apparently 0 is "lossless" video so that is where I should have set it. That explains why my file was compressed I believe.

actually 0 could be greater than the original source. This part has always confused me smile.gif.
post #6587 of 7721
3/17/13 at 1:22pm
AFAIK Handbrake won't pass a video stream unmolested. It will always recompress the video. When the RF slider is set to 0 (Lossless) the video is still processed by the chosen codec, which (as mentioned above) can result in a larger file than the original. If you want to get video that hasn't been touched then you'll want to demux/remux instead.

On a completely unrelated note, my htpc blew up this weekend, so no live TV (which really sucks on selection Sunday) however I did make a few changes to at least have *something* to watch until the replacement parts arrive... I went ahead and repaired my extenders to my bedroom PC and installed MediaBrowser so at least all of my library was still accessible. I also moved video duties in the main viewing area from the (dead) HTPC to the X-Box.

After using the Echo, I forgot how smooth the transitions are on the X-Box compared to the Echo. Still not even close. In defense of the Echo, I did get used to the stuttery menus and they didn't bother me that much, but man... the UI on the X-Box is *so* much smoother. Also, I noticed how much more responsive the X-Box is to remote control commands. The Echo really does have a lot of lag compared to the XBox.

I know interface stuff is secondary to the main functionality of the unit, but I really do hope the get interface smooth at some point.
post #6588 of 7721
3/17/13 at 2:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ajhieb View Post

After using the Echo, I forgot how smooth the transitions are on the X-Box compared to the Echo. Still not even close. In defense of the Echo, I did get used to the stuttery menus and they didn't bother me that much, but man... the UI on the X-Box is *so* much smoother. Also, I noticed how much more responsive the X-Box is to remote control commands. The Echo really does have a lot of lag compared to the XBox.

I know interface stuff is secondary to the main functionality of the unit, but I really do hope the get interface smooth at some point.

Ya, the user experience on the Xbox is still hands down better than the Echo due to the smoothness of transitions and responsiveness. Unfortunately I doubt the Echo will *ever* have the same menu animations/transitions as the Xbox due to the fact these aren't available to 3rd party extenders (nature of the SDK). Hopefully the Android UI will lend itself to buttery smooth transtions, etc.
post #6589 of 7721
3/17/13 at 4:04pm
Right now H.264 playback is completely confusing on the Echo. Since figuring out that variable frame rate and reference frames were the problem, I have been encoding with Apple TV 2, Apple TV 3 or High Profile then tweaking the frame rate to same as source and setting it to constant frame rate. Most movies have played fine, but I recently watched Here Comes the Boom in 720p with the above settings and it stuttered like crazy. I also agree with Sammy the 3:2 pull down is horrible. Centon has quite a way to go supporting H.264 mp4s based on my experience.
post #6590 of 7721
3/17/13 at 11:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ajhieb View Post

AFAIK Handbrake won't pass a video stream unmolested. It will always recompress the video. When the RF slider is set to 0 (Lossless) the video is still processed by the chosen codec, which (as mentioned above) can result in a larger file than the original. If you want to get video that hasn't been touched then you'll want to demux/remux instead.

On a completely unrelated note, my htpc blew up this weekend, so no live TV (which really sucks on selection Sunday) however I did make a few changes to at least have *something* to watch until the replacement parts arrive... I went ahead and repaired my extenders to my bedroom PC and installed MediaBrowser so at least all of my library was still accessible. I also moved video duties in the main viewing area from the (dead) HTPC to the X-Box.

After using the Echo, I forgot how smooth the transitions are on the X-Box compared to the Echo. Still not even close. In defense of the Echo, I did get used to the stuttery menus and they didn't bother me that much, but man... the UI on the X-Box is *so* much smoother. Also, I noticed how much more responsive the X-Box is to remote control commands. The Echo really does have a lot of lag compared to the XBox.

I know interface stuff is secondary to the main functionality of the unit, but I really do hope the get interface smooth at some point.

Sorry to hear of your HTPC issues. Can you give more details concerning the blown up HTPC?
post #6591 of 7721
3/18/13 at 12:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Haba View Post

Sorry to hear of your HTPC issues. Can you give more details concerning the blown up HTPC?

Unfortunately it was my own doing (at least partially) A few days ago I noticed that the system had rebooted and had a "recovered from a serious error" message. Upon further inspection I noticed that the 4 Drive RAID-0 Volume was missing from My Computer... Uh Oh.

I suspected the worst that one of the drives was roasted. I had recently moved the computer to the main viewing area and I'd been battling cooling issues, so I thought heat may have cooked at least one of the drives. (fortunately no irreplaceable data on the drives... live TV buffer, a few console emulators, drivers service packs, system image, etc)

After a little bit of tinkering I noticed that individually each drive would spin up and was recognized by the RAID card I was using. (SI3124, being used as a standard SATA controller, and the drives were in a dynamic RAID-0 Volume in windows)

A-HA! Must be a power supply!

So I overnighted a replacement in (most "normal" PSUs won't fit in my case so I have to use a modular unit, plus in order to get all of the bells and whistles working on my case, I have to splice into a few ATX wires going to the motherboard, anywho....) and wouldn't you know it, same problem. Crap!

So now I go about trying to eliminate components, about the time I figure out that the Original PSU was acutally okay, and that the RAID card was bad, A screw rolled off a hard drive cage, onto the motherboard, and ZAP!

Motherboard is toast, and so is the new PSU. Rat farts!

The good news is I've verified that the CPU and RAM are still good (I still have an old "spare" Intel board that was recalled because of some sandy bridge SATA performance issues) so now I have a replacement motherboard and SATA card en route, as well as some 40mm and 60mm PWM fans to keep my case cool (and hopefully quiet)

In the mean time, I've had plenty of time to get all of the wiring in my case sleeved and routed better. I'm also looking to see if I can find a good spot to mount my wireless keyboard receiver in the case where it will still get good reception, so I don't have it dangling off the back. When all is said and done I think it'll be a pretty slick setup again. I'll probably end up posting some pics in the Moncaso320 thread.

Two other things of note....

1) I did finally remember before the NCAA Selection show that my Panasonic Plasma has an ATSC Tuner, so I was able to catch the show.
2) Since my HTPC housed two InfiniTV-4s, once it went down, I became keenly aware of the benefit of network tuners. I'm thinking that'll be the way to go next time, if the CableCard stuff is even in the mix in a couple of years.
post #6592 of 7721
3/18/13 at 9:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ajhieb View Post

Unfortunately it was my own doing (at least partially) A few days ago I noticed that the system had rebooted and had a "recovered from a serious error" message. Upon further inspection I noticed that the 4 Drive RAID-0 Volume was missing from My Computer... Uh Oh.

I suspected the worst that one of the drives was roasted. I had recently moved the computer to the main viewing area and I'd been battling cooling issues, so I thought heat may have cooked at least one of the drives. (fortunately no irreplaceable data on the drives... live TV buffer, a few console emulators, drivers service packs, system image, etc)

After a little bit of tinkering I noticed that individually each drive would spin up and was recognized by the RAID card I was using. (SI3124, being used as a standard SATA controller, and the drives were in a dynamic RAID-0 Volume in windows)

A-HA! Must be a power supply!

So I overnighted a replacement in (most "normal" PSUs won't fit in my case so I have to use a modular unit, plus in order to get all of the bells and whistles working on my case, I have to splice into a few ATX wires going to the motherboard, anywho....) and wouldn't you know it, same problem. Crap!

So now I go about trying to eliminate components, about the time I figure out that the Original PSU was acutally okay, and that the RAID card was bad, A screw rolled off a hard drive cage, onto the motherboard, and ZAP!

Motherboard is toast, and so is the new PSU. Rat farts!

The good news is I've verified that the CPU and RAM are still good (I still have an old "spare" Intel board that was recalled because of some sandy bridge SATA performance issues) so now I have a replacement motherboard and SATA card en route, as well as some 40mm and 60mm PWM fans to keep my case cool (and hopefully quiet)

In the mean time, I've had plenty of time to get all of the wiring in my case sleeved and routed better. I'm also looking to see if I can find a good spot to mount my wireless keyboard receiver in the case where it will still get good reception, so I don't have it dangling off the back. When all is said and done I think it'll be a pretty slick setup again. I'll probably end up posting some pics in the Moncaso320 thread.

Two other things of note....

1) I did finally remember before the NCAA Selection show that my Panasonic Plasma has an ATSC Tuner, so I was able to catch the show.
2) Since my HTPC housed two InfiniTV-4s, once it went down, I became keenly aware of the benefit of network tuners. I'm thinking that'll be the way to go next time, if the CableCard stuff is even in the mix in a couple of years.

Sounds like quite an experience. I was curious since using an HTPC as the main box risks loosing t.v for days trying to sort things out is something I would like to avoid. I am thinking about a storing a few spare parts I could swap out if need be such as a os HD with current image and power supply.
post #6593 of 7721
3/18/13 at 11:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Haba View Post

Sounds like quite an experience. I was curious since using an HTPC as the main box risks loosing t.v for days trying to sort things out is something I would like to avoid. I am thinking about a storing a few spare parts I could swap out if need be such as a os HD with current image and power supply.
If you want to minimize the risk, dedicate a PC to just PVR functionality. Don't install any software that's not absolutely required for that PVR functionality. Disable automatic Windows updates. Basically treat it like an appliance just as though it were a Tivo box.
post #6594 of 7721
3/18/13 at 12:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gsr View Post

If you want to minimize the risk, dedicate a PC to just PVR functionality. Don't install any software that's not absolutely required for that PVR functionality. Disable automatic Windows updates. Basically treat it like an appliance just as though it were a Tivo box.

I do like this idea, however I do not like limiting the HTPC since it is connected to the family room t.v.. The HTPC is being used for many things that require updates and internet usage i.e. streaming t.v. via Comcast while watching another show in a WMC window. My main concern is with a hardware issue that I could overcome quickly to get the HTPC back up and running in a short time.
post #6595 of 7721
3/18/13 at 2:09pm
My biggest mistake was (other than leaving that loose screw on top of the hard drive cage) was going with a bunch of "custom" components so everything looked like a cool piece of A/V equipment.

Had I just thrown everything in a $40 case with a $50 PSU, and stuck the thing behind the TV stand instead of in it, I would have spent far, far less and ended up with much less down time as well.

I do agree that for any HTPC, you should limit the software installed on it to the bare essentials, but that's going to vary a lot depending on your intended purpose. If it's just a dedicated PVR box stuck in a closet somewhere, you can get away with a very bare install, but if you're using it as your home entertainment hub it sort of defeats the purpose of having a HTPC if you don't use it for anything other than watching TV.

As far as spare parts go, I generally have a spare PSU, some fans and hard drives on hand (in this case my spare wouldn't work for the HTPC) which in my experience are the most common things to die. I also Windows Backup make an image of my SSD that is stored on the RAID array, and that gets copied over to a network store periodically so I have multiple backup locations.
post #6596 of 7721
3/18/13 at 3:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Haba View Post

I do like this idea, however I do not like limiting the HTPC since it is connected to the family room t.v.. The HTPC is being used for many things that require updates and internet usage i.e. streaming t.v. via Comcast while watching another show in a WMC window. My main concern is with a hardware issue that I could overcome quickly to get the HTPC back up and running in a short time.
It's obviously up to you to decide if you want to risk having TV downtime or lots of flexibility by having a bunch of stuff installed on a single box. In my case, I've got 1 PC that I dedicate to PVR functionality that I'm very conservative with and another that's more of a multi-purpose HTPC (running BeyondTV and J River Media Center among other things) that I'm willing to take more risk with. Both are in a rack in the basement connected to a HDMI matrix switch that provides access to all the sources in the rack from all the TV's in the house. Each TV has a RF wireless keyboard with USB dongle that's connected to a KVM matrix switch so I have full control over each PC from each TV.

As far as backup parts go, I keep a spare power supply around, but not much else. If I need to get replacement parts quickly I can pay the extra for Amazon Prime overnight service or go to the Micro Center that's relatively near me. Though I'm using rack mount cases, I don't need special parts, such as non-standard power supplies, for any of my PC's.
post #6597 of 7721
3/19/13 at 5:37am
Thread Starter 
i think the easiest way to back up/protect an htpc is to use a smallish ssd for the operating system and programs. after installing everything and setting it up (plugins, media browser, channel lineups) make a backup iso of it on an external drive. then if something bad does happen you can quickly revert to that.
post #6598 of 7721
3/19/13 at 7:34am
I'm about to begin my first HTPC build, I need a whole house solution for OTA broadcasts with DVR before sending Dish a Dear John letter. I've been doing my research to prepare. I'm not new to tech or forums, where more often we hear of problems rather than successes. It appears after 20 pages or so the Echo should be a $10 device, not much really works at all. Will this company be around in a year? Should I be looking for used xboxes and avoiding the headache? There aren't many choices for extenders, this seems to be a significant weak link. Is there any up and coming tech in this space?

Thanks in advance.
post #6599 of 7721
3/19/13 at 7:56am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nethawk View Post

I'm about to begin my first HTPC build, I need a whole house solution for OTA broadcasts with DVR before sending Dish a Dear John letter. I've been doing my research to prepare. I'm not new to tech or forums, where more often we hear of problems rather than successes. It appears after 20 pages or so the Echo should be a $10 device, not much really works at all. Will this company be around in a year? Should I be looking for used xboxes and avoiding the headache? There aren't many choices for extenders, this seems to be a significant weak link. Is there any up and coming tech in this space?

Thanks in advance.

About four years ago at this time WMC was 100% on life support - all extenders and premium cable tuners were discontinued. Ceton single-handily saved it as a DVR solution by introducing their Infinitv 4 tuner in late 2010.

Your needs are very simple - OTA tuner(s) and a few extenders.

Extenders as a whole were developed for two main reasons
-to share copy protected recordings. you cant do that with multiple pcs
-to centralize a recording schedule. if you are using multiple pcs each computer won't know what another scheduled to record.

Extenders can also play other types of video files - ripped movies and so forth. This is where things get really dicey. There are a whole host of limitations as to what codecs, containers, and file sizes each individual extender model can handle. When the Echo was announced it was a bit of a surprise, since no extender had been produced in several years (outside of the 360). It was widely hoped that the Echo would be able to handle codecs that have become common/mainstream since Linksys, DLink, HP, and Samsung got out of the game - mainly high bitrate h264, VC1, and DTS audio. So far that is where the widespread problems are. Some users are reporting issues with freezing and deinterlacing, but I don't get the sense those problems are universal. Filetype limitations are.

So what should you do? I don't know what your budget is, but you would get he most flexibility by far having a small efficient pc at each tv and using network tuners like the HD Homerun Dual to tune and record. That would also allow you to play the largest variety of file formats if you decide to start ripping movies to a server. You can also buy an Echo or a used 360, Linksys, HP, or Dlink extender. The Linksys one's can't do the newer video filetypes, but it will be rock solid for tv viewing, as should the others.
post #6600 of 7721
3/19/13 at 1:34pm
I have received Ceton Echo last week (3/15/13) to replace one the burned Linksys DMA-2100 extenders I have used for several years (I still have 2 more of them and 1 XBox). The primary purpose for Media Center Extender for my is to use it with IPTV WMC plugin (I have about 100 TV international channels). This IPTV service is using WMV9 codecs. Surprisingly Echo shows black screen instead of video from this IPTV service. I start investigation. I have clip collection downloaded from Microsoft as demonstration of WMV9 codec. Not a single file played. Hmm, it must be something really wrong. I reinstall Windows 7 Ultimate 64 and tried to play Wildlife.wmv demo file from "Samples Videos". Guess what - no picture!!!

I even do not want to mention playing MKV H264 files. Not a single one plays from my collection on Echo. Linksys DMA-2100 and Xbox plays all these file almost smoothly.
Booting time about the same as Linksys DMA-2100 (sloooowww).
Occasional reboots and freezes (more frequent comparing to Linksys DMA-2100).
I tried latest stable firmware and beta - same result.
Do not care about remote. I use Logitech only.
The only positive things is the size of Echo and may be power consumption.


Echo spec: Video formats supported: MPEG-1, MPEG-2, H.264, WMV9
In fact only MPEG-2 works. I did not tried MPEG-1.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS PRODUCT!!!

Get Xbox 360 or Linksys DMA-2100 if you need WMC Extender. They are not perfect and have problems, but works for me.


This I've got from Ceton support today:
Quote:
The Wildlife is not playing in our Extender at the present time. Apologies for the delay in response and hope it did not create any issues for you. Our engineers are working hard to address any issues our customers may have with the Ceton Echo. We will continue to release software updates that improve performance and stability as well as add new capabilities. We plan to release an update in the near future that improves the video performance of your Echo.

Thank you,
Ceton Support

My Echo is going back to store for refund.

Sorry Ceton, I do not trust you anymore. I completely satisfied for InfiniTV PCIe tuner, but Echo is just not ready for market yet. Do the BASIC functionality from your specification first.
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AVS › AVS Forum › Video Components › Home Theater Computers › Official Ceton Echo Extender Info Thread