Ceton Echo Beta Begins
Anyone already in Ceton’s Echo Windows Media Center Extender beta program found out this morning that they will start shipping the units in the next few days. Taken on its own this is less news than continued taunt aimed at those unlucky enough to be left out, but we did find out something very interesting in the mailer – the Echo is coming in a vastly sleeker form factor compared to what we saw at CES.
Minimum System Requirements:
- Display with HDMI input
- Wired Ethernet network
- PC with Microsoft® Windows® 7 with Media Center. A PC with a TV tuner is required for TV and DVR features.
Tech Specs:
- Size: 3.9″ x 0.8″ x 4.3″
- Power Consumption: less than 5 watts
- Outputs: HDMI, Optical Digital Audio (TOSLINK)
- Other Connectors: USB 2.0, Mini USB (for power)
- Network: Ethernet (10/100/1000)
- 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
Included in the Box:
- Ceton Echo
- Remote control
- USB power cable (2 m/6.5 ft.) and adapter
- HDMI cable (1.5 m/5 ft.)
- Ethernet cable (1.5 m/5 ft.)
- Quick Start Guide
Warranty:
- 1-year limited warranty
It should be noted that two
It should be noted that two of the video formats won’t be supported until the production version according to the e-mail we received (one is WMV9, but I forgot what the other is offhand). A software update will be released that will fix this for all beta units. The biggest questions most of us have are still a mystery and won’t be revealed until we get this puppy in our hands (i.e., does it support mkv playback?). On the plus side, beta testers are getting the Echo for $159 instead of the MSRP of $179 that the retail units will sell for when it hits the shelves.
Looks like they have taken
Looks like they have taken “online streaming” off the Echo info page. I sure hope they add Netflix either by production or very soon after…. mostly for the kids 🙂
Without mkv that’s a show
Without mkv that’s a show stopper. I might as well use my Xbox. Convenience is the only reason to pay to switch from an Xbox to an Echo. Don’t get me wrong, I really want to leave my Xbox powered off except for games but it’s hard to justify the expense without an increase in functionality and not simply aesthetics, peace and quiet.
lacarlson wrote:
Convenience
[quote=lacarlson]
Convenience is the only reason to pay to switch from an Xbox to an Echo. Don’t get me wrong, I really want to leave my Xbox powered off except for games but it’s hard to justify the expense without an increase in functionality and not simply aesthetics, peace and quiet.
[/quote]
How about only using 5 watts and not sounding like a jet engine with the ability to heat your leftovers? Personally, I don’t see the X-Box as a vast improvement over the predecessor extenders from Linksys or HP.
Ceton is being very quiet about the Echo’s capabilities for some reason so it’s a wait and see scenario. If it doesn’t live up to my expectations then it’s going to find it’s way on ebay in short order. It’s going to have to be something special for me to go back to using extenders again.
MKV is simply a container. If
MKV is simply a container. If your WMC can handle that container properly, the extender can play back the content contained so long as the underlying codecs are supported. Natively, WMC is not configured to handle MKV, but many have successfully used third-party filters to add support.
I’m surprised to see a new
I’m surprised to see a new extender. I believed that WMC was being phased out… Compared to xbox, does it boot faster to Media Center?
We won’t know that until the
We won’t know that until the units arrive in the hands of the beta testers. Nobody has one yet to put it through it’s paces.
I’m very disappointed to see
I’m very disappointed to see the price point for this item. To stream TV/internet content, the price is not in-line with the Roku, AppleTV type devices. More so, I can buy a used XBox360 for the same price. For years we MCE folks have been dreading the end of Media Center products and this product’s price is so out of touch that it will continue to push Windows Embedded devices into retirement.
I disagree Robinson. Do those
I disagree Robinson. Do those other streamers offer the full pvr functionality that this does? The only one that did was the sagetv extenders. This price is inline with those.
Totally. This is not a
Totally. This is not a run-of-the-mill media player. Show me a media player that also plays recorded and live TV. I think we’re all hoping that the Echo is a combination of both a WMC extender and a media player with maybe a few extras.
I guess I’m missing
I guess I’m missing something… I don’t think there’s one bit of technology in that box newer then two years… There been all-in-one chips that could play the major codecs for years… Now if you giving me a turner, integrated in the Echo, then I agree… But if all you are doing is connecting to my MC then, nah man…
Well to each their own. I for
Well to each their own. I for own don’t want a loud Xbox 360 just for watching tv. Not to mention the power hungryness of it. And I’m sure embedded license feed aren’t cheap and R&D cost. I think is priced more than far. Why would u want a tv tuner in it? That defeats the whole server/client architecture.
I agree there is a market for
I agree there is a market for this. Many people buys an Xbox 360 only for the WMC extender (like myself). 2 things I dislike about the Xbox solution:
1- boot time: time it take to boot and then load media center.
2- Noise and heat
Why a turner – I’m of the
Why a turner – I’m of the opinion that in the near future turners will exist in the cloud. Also, I pretty sure I read that Ceton has a 6 turner stand alone something about to be released?
Now in regards to heat and noise, in some situations the device can be remotely located in such as a wiring closet. By way of cost, once the Linksys cost $65, as that price is the range of most devices in this class, the current price point is an issue.
As previously asked, what am I getting different? What’s the plus in functionality missing between a Roku and any previous MCX?
Please note, I do not own any device that is not MC compatible in my home configuration. I’m going to buy any product that extends the life of my MC configuration, I’m just asking Why this product now? Why this price point? It is my opinion that for wworth does, I’m over paying.
ARobinso0502 wrote:
Why a
[quote=ARobinso0502]
Why a turner – I’m of the opinion that in the near future turners will exist in the cloud. Also, I pretty sure I read that Ceton has a 6 turner stand alone something about to be released?
[/quote]
In the near term tuners can’t exist in the cloud. We’ve tried that already, each workable model gets sued out of existance.
More importantly “the cloud” is a horribly inefficient way to cache linear content. Non-time sensitive things like old TV and movies, it makes sense (if you don’t want BD quality of course), but not for sports or anything that needs to be watched near-linearly.
It needs a remote IR sensor
It needs a remote IR sensor so it can be mounted to the back of a TV and it needs to be about 50 dollars cheaper. Otherwise a 4GB XBOX slim offers much more with the apps, games. But for a guest room I’d be inclined to run a lower power unit like this.
Doh! I just noticed it wasn’t
Doh! I just noticed it wasn’t wireless, that is another pro for the XBOX.
PAPutzback wrote:
Doh! I
[quote=PAPutzback]
Doh! I just noticed it wasn’t wireless, that is another pro for the XBOX.
[/quote]
Wireless is unsupportable. It makes perfect sense that they wouldn’t include it.
I had Comcast out about a
I had Comcast out about a month ago and he mentioned that Comcast is going to change the way they distribute video in that they are already pushing MPEG formatted content to the current line of set top boxes that the change will be similar.