Ceton extender beta shipping in Sept

[drewg]

Originally Posted by Skybolt

Not exactly, If the Echo reports that it's capabilities support extended audio or video then it's done. And as Stager has stated we then have the capabilities of MyMovies and the like. While your idea is not a bad one, it would require greater support on Ceton's part.

IIRC, Ceton states somewhere that if you use thier Q, you would have greater capabilities then standard 7MC. Maybe this is what they are refering to?

But what if it reports supporting something that WMC does not know about and/or does not support via the extender protocol?

Drew

[Skybolt]

Originally Posted by drewg

But what if it reports supporting something that WMC does not know about and/or does not support via the extender protocol?

Drew

You definetly have a point, but I think there is a protocol for what the extender can report. If what we're discussing isn't support then I should think your idea is close to how it will/should work.

I jiust hope we don't have to load any software on the 7MC box, and that the Echo is a true extender with great capabilities. Hopefuly that is not pie in the sky.

[reggie14]

I haven't gotten the message myself yet, but someone on AVS got the following update from Ceton:

Ceton Echo Update
We’re still putting some finishing touches on the Echo software and beta units will not be going out this week. Alpha testing is going very well; it’s just taking a bit longer than we planned. We’ve built in extra time to the schedule for things like this and everything is still a go to have the Echo released in time for Holiday 2012.

We’ll provide an update on beta timing as soon as we can.

Ceton Q Update
Since previewing the Q at CES in January we’ve learned more about Microsoft’s plans for Windows Embedded, the operating system on which the Ceton Q is based (at CES we demonstrated the Q running on Windows Embedded Standard 7). While Windows Media Center is available with the consumer version of Windows 8, it is still unclear whether Media Center will be offered in the next version of Windows Embedded. We expected that question would have been resolved by now but it’s hasn’t. So, what to do???

We’ve been discussing a few different options internally for a while and frankly we haven’t decided the best path forward yet. What we have decided is that the Ceton Q as previewed at CES will not launch this year as we planned 10 months ago. It’s possible the Q will launch in 2013, either as initially envisioned or perhaps re-envisioned, but we can’t guarantee that at this point. We know there is a ton of interest in the Q and that this news will be disappointing to a lot of you but we think it’s important to be upfront about where things stand.

Ultimately, we want to make sure that we deliver great products that customers will love for years to come. Given the flux at Microsoft around some of the key components we were relying on, we simply don’t feel we can do that with the Q at this point.

Ceton Companion Update
And last but not least … the Ceton Companion. If you haven’t checked out the apps yet, it’s never too late. They’re a great addition if you use Windows Media Center with any type of TV tuner, not just Ceton tuners.

Since we launched Companion less than a month ago, we’ve rolled out updates to the Companion Services (the utility that runs on your PC) as well as to all versions of the app for the different platforms. We’ve also introduced a version for the Barnes & Noble NOOK as well as an update that optimizes the app if you’re using the new iPhone 5 and a version that supports the new Kindle Fire HD. Phew!

How many apps can you think of that launched on Apple iOS (including iPhone 5 optimized), Android, Kindle Fire and NOOK at basically the same time? Yeah, the Companion team is pretty amazing and has been awful busy as you can probably tell!

So that’s it for now. Please stay tuned for more on the Echo soon.

As always, thanks for all your support and encouragement!

-The Ceton Team

Not exactly good news. The Echo appears to be progressing, but it seems pretty clear to me they're running into a series of problems. They're probably not that severe, otherwise they'd be playing down expectations. Still, these delays are really cutting into their beta time. Basically, it doesn't sound like there will be any sort of significant beta before the product is available at retail.

[drewg]

Originally Posted by reggie14

it seems pretty clear to me they're running into a series of problems.

It is pretty typical way in which a small company can end up get screwed over by MS; I feel bad for them. They really should just bite the bullet, and implement their own DRM on a locked-down linux server, so they can be in control of their own destiny.

Drew

[darcilicious]

You never know, Boxee partnered with Intel for a locked down Linux CE set-top box and have subsequently been screwed over by them (chip discontinued and it's unclear what has happened regarding a much needed updated SDK from then) and Adobe (not more Flash plugins for Linux CE devices). I would think it would be virtually impossible to come up with a fail safe plan independent of any sort of "partnerships".

[wayner]

Originally Posted by drewg

They really should just bite the bullet, and implement their own DRM on a locked-down linux server, so they can be in control of their own destiny.

Isn't this pretty much what TiVO is?

[drewg]

Originally Posted by wayner

Isn't this pretty much what TiVO is?

Yep, in addition to pretty much every cable box..

Drew

[drewg]

Originally Posted by darcilicious

You never know, Boxee partnered with Intel for a locked down Linux CE set-top box and have subsequently been screwed over by them (chip discontinued and it's unclear what has happened regarding a much needed updated SDK from then) and Adobe (not more Flash plugins for Linux CE devices). I would think it would be virtually impossible to come up with a fail safe plan independent of any sort of "partnerships".

Yep: Small companies tend to get screwed over in general by big companies. MS is not the only offender, just a notorious one.

Drew

[wayner]

Really? I used to have an S1 TiVo that I hacked but I have never seen a semblance of a computer OS in my SA/Cisco cable boxes. Can you root a cable box?

[drewg]

Originally Posted by wayner

Really? I used to have an S1 TiVo that I hacked but I have never seen a semblance of a computer OS in my SA/Cisco cable boxes. Can you root a cable box?

Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the impression that I got a while back.. They could be running QNX or similar, but they are almost certainly not running WinCE.

Drew

[wayner]

The cable boxes that I have are SA3200, SA3250HD, SA4250HD and SA8300HD. These boxes have the same UIs as their predecessors which bas to be over 12 years old. The UI looks like something you would have seen created by a teenager on their VIC-20 back in 1982. I have heard it called a Soviet-style UI but I think that is unkind to the Soviets. I am pretty sure that these don't run computer style OSes - they are more pure CE devices.

SA (now owned by Cisco) does have some newer boxes but I believe that they still have the same UI - the main differences is that the new boxes support MPEG-4 as well as MPEG2. The PVR models have hard drives but I think that this is just used for the recordings not to hold the OS.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by wayner

The cable boxes that I have are SA3200, SA3250HD, SA4250HD and SA8300HD. These boxes have the same UIs as their predecessors which bas to be over 12 years old. The UI looks like something you would have seen created by a teenager on their VIC-20 back in 1982. I have heard it called a Soviet-style UI but I think that is unkind to the Soviets. I am pretty sure that these don't run computer style OSes - they are more pure CE devices.

Almost nobody runs their own OS, it's too hard (expensive) and doesn't make any sense to build your own OS. Even the SageTV extenders run a linux-based OS.

[wayner]

I believe you and I know that the Sage extenders do this - you can even telnet into a Sage extender. But I have never heard of one of the above mentioned boxes running a flavour of Linux, but I hope I am wrong.

[stanger89]

In practical terms it doesn't matter, they're generally locked down to the point that you can't do anything with it anyway.

[stanger89]

Well I've got to say I'm disappointed, Ceton sent out the email with the "official" specs today and they're pretty terrible. They acknowledge it's not functionally complete for the beta but still. Unless Ceton chimes in on AVS with some clarification to the email, I'm not getting one. I may have to find another HD300 to snap up.

On the up side that would mean I get to find a new use for my DQ77KB/i7 3770K machine I built that I'm running my WMC experiment on...

Oh, the specs given for those who don't feel like searching:

• Audio formats supported: Dolby Digital AC-3, MP3, PCM, WMA, WMA Pro
• Photo formats supported: BMP, GIF, JPG, PNG, TIF
• Video formats supported: MPEG-1, MPEG-2, H.264, WMV9

[cncb]

Wow, we waited so long for those specs? A vague promise to add more playback support isn't going to cut it. Also, no analog outputs means I would have to get new TVs or AVRs at a few locations. How disappointing...

[SprDtyF350]

You guys may have seen this but if it is really $179.00 I think I will just keep using my XBOX 360's...

http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/11/c...nksgiving-179/

[Skybolt]

I'm not throwing in the towel just yet, if you massage those specs a little you can turn them into MKV and VOB support. The problem is what version of h.264 is really supported, meaning the bit rate of the stream.

As stanger has point out a few post's above hte xbox should be able to do the same exact thing but doesn't.

I for one don't want to use an xbox in my HT, anymore then I want to use my PS3 for 3D BD. Even though it is an awesome BD player. I keep the xbox and the PS3 behind a closed door (recently) to shield the noise and looks.

[Skybolt]

Originally Posted by stanger89

... Unless Ceton chimes in on AVS with some clarification to the email, I'm not getting one. I may have to find another HD300 to snap up. ...

You won't be saying that when your cable co changes thier flags and everything but locals go CopyOnce. As mine did afer more then a year of wide open. I'm more or less stuck with WMC, despite how much I love sage and as you said on AVS, Sage just looks more awesome everyday for most anyway.

[cncb]

Originally Posted by Skybolt

I'm not throwing in the towel just yet, if you massage those specs a little you can turn them into MKV and VOB support.

You can't massage DTS support in there...