Ceton Echo Talk - Expected Release, November @ $179

[Shyatic]

Gotta say at that price point, I'd rather get an XBox. There's a DVD player on it too, plus I can launch HBOGO and other apps from the main console.

It's just not worth it at such a high price given the nature of the XBox.

[makryger]

Except that the xbox is huge, loud, and doesn't play all formats steamed to it. Im not sure how much the echo will do in terms of internet streaming, but hopefully there will be some services like hbogo, hulu, netflix, etc available.

[lithium630]

Gotta say at that price point, I'd rather get an XBox. There's a DVD player on it too, plus I can launch HBOGO and other apps from the main console.

It's just not worth it at such a high price given the nature of the XBox.

You have to pay for Xbox live on top of the cost of the Xbox. For the features I want I think the Echo will be better, but at this point we are both guessing.

[Shyatic]

Gotta say at that price point, I'd rather get an XBox. There's a DVD player on it too, plus I can launch HBOGO and other apps from the main console.

It's just not worth it at such a high price given the nature of the XBox.

You have to pay for Xbox live on top of the cost of the Xbox. For the features I want I think the Echo will be better, but at this point we are both guessing.

I pay for that regardless, so it's no extra cost to me.

[lithium630]

I have extenders on 5 tv's right now. I would pay for Xbox live if it worked on all of them.

[Shyatic]

I have extenders on 5 tv's right now. I would pay for Xbox live if it worked on all of them.

Yea, I'm only at 2, and I only watch one at a time

When my kids are older maybe that might change... but by that time something will be out that's fully streaming and integrated into PCs/XBoxes.

[wkm001]

I have to agree, at $179 I will hold on to my XBox 360. Of course the price of the quad tuner card has dropped 50% from when I purchased it. If the Echo can eventually drop to $129 I'll buy one for me and one for my in-laws.

[barnabas1969]

I'll buy one at $179. I will tell my wife that's what I want for Christmas. If it really has "wow factor", then I'll see about buying more.

[adam1991]

Netflix alone would make it worth switching, for those of us who loathe paying the MS tax of $100/yr just to get that feature.

[Sammy2]

Except that the xbox is huge, loud, and doesn't play all formats steamed to it. Im not sure how much the echo will do in terms of internet streaming, but hopefully there will be some services like hbogo, hulu, netflix, etc available.

If it has a browser, hopefully it'll stream but it'll need the right codecs to do it.

[reggie14]

Except that the xbox is huge, loud, and doesn't play all formats steamed to it. Im not sure how much the echo will do in terms of internet streaming, but hopefully there will be some services like hbogo, hulu, netflix, etc available.

If it has a browser, hopefully it'll stream but it'll need the right codecs to do it.

Those sites don't use HTML5- they use flash. So, its not a codec issue. Since they didn't say anything about supporting flash, it is probably mostly safe to assume they won't work. Even if they did support flash, some streaming sites still block media streamers with flash ( Hulu being the notable example).

[Sammy2]

I don't stream much anyhow so no big deal..

[Parker Clack]

I would love to be able to sideload apps into the extender as you would on a tablet or cellphone. That way you could pick and choose which apps ie: Netflix, Hulu, Time Warner, HBOGo, etc. that you want on your extender.

I am going to try using TubeCore on my HTPC and stream Netflix, etc. through it to the extender like I do now with my XBox.

I am going to be picking one of these up but with probably wait until apps are allowed (if ever).

[CadeFoster]

Was planning on replacing all of my extenders (4) with ceton echoes but at $179 I'll definitely be waiting. I'm not giving Ceton crap for this, they have to do business how they see fit, but I have to manage my finances accordingly and at this price I will not be buying. I hope the price comes down soon.

[bobbob]

but you'll be selling your existing extenders right?

[CadeFoster]

Yes, I'd be selling three Xboxen and a linksys 2100. But I don't think they could cover the cost of the Echoes. I'd also be losing some functionality, and paying to do it. But I'd be gaining gigabit and less power usage. It's a tough call. I definitely want the Echoes, don't get me wrong, it's just kind of a mess as far as money and what I get for my money.

[adam1991]

I'm with Cade. I actually use the DVD player functionality. On top of that, I see no disadvantage to the 100 megabit "limitation". It affects absolutely nothing except my ability to brag that I have gigabit at the TV.

I reserve judgment pending my evaluation of the Echo. If the Echo had Netflix, that would drive me to wholesale replacement.

[foxwood]

Unless or until there's a reason to upgrade my HTPC to Windows 8, it's hard to justify spending $180 each to replace my DMA2100's, when the only feature that I'm really missing from the DMA2100's is Wake On LAN (and I don't think I've seen an unequivocal statement that the Echo will do this). I actually have 2 spare DMA2100's, so I might consider selling them to fund an Echo, because I imagine that I can't be the only one who will find the DMA better value than the Echo at this point in time.

[CadeFoster]

I have chronic "network issue" problems with my Xboxen so I'm hoping that gigabit will help with that. I will miss the DVD drive and, should I spring for Xbox Gold, the built in apps that the Xbox has. DVD players are super cheap though. Ugh.... One thing I wouldn't miss is the dashboard updates. The family is always like, "Yeah, something popped up about an update so we couldn't watch TV".

[barnabas1969]

Unless or until there's a reason to upgrade my HTPC to Windows 8, it's hard to justify spending $180 each to replace my DMA2100's, when the only feature that I'm really missing from the DMA2100's is Wake On LAN (and I don't think I've seen an unequivocal statement that the Echo will do this). I actually have 2 spare DMA2100's, so I might consider selling them to fund an Echo, because I imagine that I can't be the only one who will find the DMA better value than the Echo at this point in time.

Yes, the Echo unequivocally does WOL. I've tested it myself.