Has the "Q" totally given up the ghost?

[slowbiscuit]

One would think that he'd be active in his own AVS thread just to keep everyone updated on progress (and interested in the product), so the disappearing act leads one to believe that it's vapor. Not to mention he also bailed on the threads started here and elsewhere and their website was useless. But who knows, richard may know something about Ryan and the product that we don't.

Back on topic, it's a damn shame that Ceton shelved the Q because competition in this space is sorely needed. Tivo continually releases half-baked products at premium prices because they can.

[richard1980]

I don't know anything more than what is publicly available.

[leonpress]

I was sad when they gave up the "Q", I have an InfiniTV 4 USB on a Dell Optiplex 960 SFF, DC 3.0, 8GB ram, 128GB SSD & 1TB Hybrid drive, ATI Video. I use an Echo in the LR. I also have a Tivo under the Echo in the LR for the wife. The Tivo has been there for several years and except for a dead hard drive once it runs flawlessly. My Media center PC has burped, gurgled and crapped out numerous times. It overheated the hard drive somehow and I had to replace it with the current config. Windows 7 makes a great computer system if you are using it as such but it makes a LOUSY Tivo type system. If Ceton have made the Q like a real set top box with Windows 7 and it worked properly I believe it would have sold great. There are a gazillion DVR's on the market from many different cable operators and they last. Most are based on Linux which I think Ceton should have gone to by now. Their idea is great but giving up the Q was wrong! Just this man's opinion.

[adam1991]

I was sad when they gave up the "Q", I have an InfiniTV 4 USB on a Dell Optiplex 960 SFF, DC 3.0, 8GB ram, 128GB SSD & 1TB Hybrid drive, ATI Video. I use an Echo in the LR. I also have a Tivo under the Echo in the LR for the wife. The Tivo has been there for several years and except for a dead hard drive once it runs flawlessly. My Media center PC has burped, gurgled and crapped out numerous times. It overheated the hard drive somehow and I had to replace it with the current config. Windows 7 makes a great computer system if you are using it as such but it makes a LOUSY Tivo type system. If Ceton have made the Q like a real set top box with Windows 7 and it worked properly I believe it would have sold great. There are a gazillion DVR's on the market from many different cable operators and they last. Most are based on Linux which I think Ceton should have gone to by now. Their idea is great but giving up the Q was wrong! Just this man's opinion.

7MC isn't inherently worse than tivo. Either you used cheap hardware or you're using the box for multiple non- 7MC duties.

[richard1980]

If you select the correct hardware, your hardware will perform just as well as (if not better than) any STB (TiVo or otherwise). Additionally, if you treat the software like an appliance instead of like a computer (which means you set everything up, then don't ever touch it again), there's no reason for anything to go wrong.

But therein lies the problem. A PC offers a lot of flexibility, which translates to a lot of opportunity for things to go wrong. That's why a PC makes a terrible appliance. A good appliance is one that just works, and in order to ensure a product just works, you have to control every aspect of that product, including what hardware and software is used with that product. That is exactly what would have happened with the Q.

As for the underlying OS, it doesn't really matter if you use Linux, Windows, Android, iOS, or any other OS. Ultimately the only thing that matters is whether or not the end-user has a good experience, which is possible on any of the aforementioned OSes as long as you have talented developers.

[adam1991]

well, richard, you may remember the moment info about the Q started coming out many here started talking about "breaking the glass". They wanted to treat it as a general-purpose PC and start fiddling and twiddling with it, because they couldn't keep their hands off of it.

I found that very strange. After all, the Q was never aimed at people here. It was aimed at their families and friends, but not anyone who hangs out here.

Ergo, the Q was destined to be the appliance that got a bad reputation from people who turned it into a non-appliance yet wanted it to retain 100% of that appliance behavior. Can you imagine the posts we'd see here? Judging from what we've seen about the Echo, my guess is that those who "broke the glass" wouldn't hold back at all about how "the Q sucks" after they've installed all sorts of non-Q things on it.

[staknhalo]

I don't disagree with you adam, but the Echo would also have had added functionality when paired to a Q that wouldn't exist when paired to a HTPC. That's another reason people here were looking at one. They then on top of this, like you mentioned, were looking to shoehorn any existing functionality they already had that this setup wouldn't cover/include into the Q.

[barnabas1969]

@leonpress: If the hard drive in your PC quit due to overheating, then you have to blame the person who built the system for not providing sufficient air flow.

[richard1980]

well, richard, you may remember the moment info about the Q started coming out many here started talking about "breaking the glass". They wanted to treat it as a general-purpose PC and start fiddling and twiddling with it, because they couldn't keep their hands off of it.

Yes, I remember that.

I found that very strange. After all, the Q was never aimed at people here. It was aimed at their families and friends, but not anyone who hangs out here.

Ergo, the Q was destined to be the appliance that got a bad reputation from people who turned it into a non-appliance yet wanted it to retain 100% of that appliance behavior. Can you imagine the posts we'd see here? Judging from what we've seen about the Echo, my guess is that those who "broke the glass" wouldn't hold back at all about how "the Q sucks" after they've installed all sorts of non-Q things on it.

I completely agree.

@leonpress: If the hard drive in your PC quit due to overheating, then you have to blame the person who built the system for not providing sufficient air flow.

I agree with that, too.