Android on Echo

[foxwood]

Android also supports a vibrant commercial marketplace for paid apps, which allows developers and end-users to support each other in a fairly painless way. I've always wondered if WMC would have been more successful if there had been a simple, secure and ubiquitous mechanism to pay $1 for a nice-to-have feature, and WMC enthusiasts could get a few hundred bucks for sharing their cool ideas.

[barnabas1969]

The problem with any Blu-ray player is playing any rips that contain a Cinavia flag will trigger Cinavia detection through w/e app on the Blu-ray player. Even Plex and the like.

This is not true with the Sony players but the interface is nothing to write home about.

All Bluray players will support Cinavia, but if you have an older one that still has pre-Cinavia firmware running, it will ignore Cinavia protection. So, if you don't want to worry about Cinavia, use an older BD player and don't update the firmware.

Of course, this means that some newer Bluray disks won't play on an older BD player without updating the firmware. However, I would imagine that if you rip a BD movie and remove all the menus and special features, that even newer movies would work fine on the older firmware of a BD player. The reason, as I understand it, that BD players need firmware updates to support certain BD titles is because of the menus, BD Live content, etc.

[cncb]

All Bluray players will support Cinavia, but if you have an older one that still has pre-Cinavia firmware running, it will ignore Cinavia protection. So, if you don't want to worry about Cinavia, use an older BD player and don't update the firmware.

Nope, this is last year's model (Sony BDP-S590) which just doesn't "enforce" Cinavia over DLNA. Apparently the Sony models just released this year are the same.

[barnabas1969]

All Bluray players will support Cinavia, but if you have an older one that still has pre-Cinavia firmware running, it will ignore Cinavia protection. So, if you don't want to worry about Cinavia, use an older BD player and don't update the firmware.

Nope, this is last year's model (Sony BDP-S590) which just doesn't "enforce" Cinavia over DLNA. Apparently the Sony models just released this year are the same.

Interesting. Well, I would still be cautious about loading any firmware updates as this "feature" could change in a future update. It's only a matter of time before someone figures out a way to defeat Cinavia though. Every time the MPAA builds a more complicated mouse trap, smarter mice come along eventually.

[Sammy2]

All Bluray players will support Cinavia, but if you have an older one that still has pre-Cinavia firmware running, it will ignore Cinavia protection. So, if you don't want to worry about Cinavia, use an older BD player and don't update the firmware.

Nope, this is last year's model (Sony BDP-S590) which just doesn't "enforce" Cinavia over DLNA. Apparently the Sony models just released this year are the same.

Interesting. Well, I would still be cautious about loading any firmware updates as this "feature" could change in a future update. It's only a matter of time before someone figures out a way to defeat Cinavia though. Every time the MPAA builds a more complicated mouse trap, smarter mice come along eventually.

Slysoft already has for PC software players but not for players such as this.

[innesst]

If you read through the posts on the blog we did have hopes of a christmas release, but re-evaluated just throwing base android on the Echo. In the last update we gave some insight into what we were doing. We are hard at work each and every day on Android integration and if I do say so myself I think everyone will really like what it has turned into

Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn said:
If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.

Yes you can have a great interface that will wow everyone, but if your customer base decides to turn to other solutions first (either for the Android part or they ditch WMC altogether), then what good is it. People are looking for a solution for better media playback and online services. If the integration isn't great at first, you will at least satisfy some, tide others over, and make some more sales to those that were delaying buying until the features were available.

I know that I have been looking to get another media solution. If I go through with the purchase, it means that I won't be buying a second Echo if the update ever comes.

[jmelan]

I am really excited about the potential for the android interface for the echo. it feels like the best way forward to establish an interface eventually independent of windows media center with unlimited potential for third party app integration. that being said, i am waiting on release and proof of function.

I have xbox 360s functioning as extenders that are power hungry, slow, loud, and take up way too much space at their current location. but they work perfectly well.

Is there any update on android development and windows 8 compatibility for the echo? I would love to support ceton.

[Sammy2]

Your guess is as good as anybody's.

[adam1991]

Well, Ceton said they were looking at Android on the Echo as a "Christmas present". Yet we still wait...
I guess they did fail to mention the year. Android on Echo coming Christmas 2016?

Q3.

[kingwr]

Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn said: If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.

Ceton was embarrassed by the first version of their product -- I don't blame them for wanting to get this version right.

That said, I don't know why you have to go from one extreme (lots of promises and release of a product too early) to another (Apple-like silence). Don't release until its ready, but you can provide status updates and some idea of what the product will do and what it (currently) is going to look like. Look at Microsoft's XBox One announcement. 6 months away from release and not a lot of details but enough to whet everyone's appetite.

Just don't promise functionality that you have no idea how you are going to provide, such as the originally promised Web browsing on the Echo. Better to release it with a previously undisclosed feature than to have to scramble to pull features off the Web page after release!

[dejavux2]

Ceton was embarrassed by the first version of their product -- I don't blame them for wanting to get this version right.

That said, I don't know why you have to go from one extreme (lots of promises and release of a product too early) to another (Apple-like silence). Don't release until its ready, but you can provide status updates and some idea of what the product will do and what it (currently) is going to look like. Look at Microsoft's XBox One announcement. 6 months away from release and not a lot of details but enough to whet everyone's appetite.

Just don't promise functionality that you have no idea how you are going to provide, such as the originally promised Web browsing on the Echo. Better to release it with a previously undisclosed feature than to have to scramble to pull features off the Web page after release!

Completely agree!!

[barnabas1969]

Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn said: If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.

Ceton was embarrassed by the first version of their product -- I don't blame them for wanting to get this version right.

That said, I don't know why you have to go from one extreme (lots of promises and release of a product too early) to another (Apple-like silence). Don't release until its ready, but you can provide status updates and some idea of what the product will do and what it (currently) is going to look like. Look at Microsoft's XBox One announcement. 6 months away from release and not a lot of details but enough to whet everyone's appetite.

Just don't promise functionality that you have no idea how you are going to provide, such as the originally promised Web browsing on the Echo. Better to release it with a previously undisclosed feature than to have to scramble to pull features off the Web page after release!

They should be embarrassed. It was a piece of crap when they shipped it to the beta participants, and it was still a piece of crap when it was "released". Comparing the Echo to anything Apple/Facebook/Linkedin is just plain wrong. The first release of every product from Apple, Facebook, and Linkedin was FAR, FAR better than the Echo.

I'll bet you $100 that the initial release of the XBox One will be 99% closer to Microsoft's promises than the Echo was to Ceton's promises. The Echo couldn't even play live/recorded TV without crashing. There hasn't been an improvement in months! They promised that it would play anything that the PC could play (assuming that the appropriate codecs/splitters were installed on the PC). Not even close. Every extender ever released before the Echo beats it for stability, and the HP X280N beats it for media compatibility still today! The Echo was released 7 months ago... the HP X280N was released in 2008/2009? The XBox360 is still king for media compatibility, and it was released in 2005!

You'd think that after 8 years, that the Echo could do at least what the XBox can do. That's what Ceton promised! But it STILL DOESN'T DO IT!

[ajhieb]

Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn said:
If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.

I agree with that, with the caveat that you are pioneering into a new market.

In this situation the quote is laughable.

[Gustovier]

It seems that Ceton is learning from its previous mistakes. It makes no sense to announce a product and give out dates and updates that could easily be missed. It all just ends up with unnecessary pressure and disappointment from potential customers. By just announcing the product when its ready and actually shipping it in short order pretty much everyone wins. The only people that don't are folks that invested in something that newer product is better than and possibly ceton themselves by a competitor that does announce a product that might cause potential customers to hold out. In the small market space that we play in theses downsides are pretty small.

Look at how the handled the 6 tuner Ethernet device. Nobody knew it was coming (although talks of 6 tuner version was around for a while), it was just announced and shipping to begin in short order. Beautifully executed.

It's just disappointing for us because we know about the echo and the purposed plans now we have an expectation. If we didn't have an expectation we would be in naive bliss. So bottom line is just suck it up and throw away your expectations and move forward. Then be surprised IF something is ever announced, because most likely it will be released in a week or two afterwords.

[warpster]

It's just disappointing for us because we know about the echo and the purposed plans now we have an expectation. If we didn't have an expectation we would be in naive bliss. So bottom line is just suck it up and throw away your expectations and move forward. Then be surprised IF something is ever announced, because most likely it will be released in a week or two afterwords.

BS! I have expectations that have been leaving a bad taste in my mouth since last October and those are yet to be addressed!

My feeling...CETON Sucks and have failed big time with the Echo and they have no clue about customer service, none! They continually shoot themselves in the foot...over and over and...screw them and their garbage!

[Gustovier]

It's just disappointing for us because we know about the echo and the purposed plans now we have an expectation. If we didn't have an expectation we would be in naive bliss. So bottom line is just suck it up and throw away your expectations and move forward. Then be surprised IF something is ever announced, because most likely it will be released in a week or two afterwords.

BS! I have expectations that have been leaving a bad taste in my mouth since last October and those are yet to be addressed!

My feeling...CETON Sucks and have failed big time with the Echo and they have no clue about customer service, none! They continually shoot themselves in the foot...over and over and...screw them and their garbage!

See you prove my point, it's already too late for folks like you. But their new strategy will stop new you's from being created.