Will the Echo ship on time?

[RealCodeGuy]

I was just wondering what the chances are the Echo will actually ship at the end of the month as advertised? I remember the InifiniTV release and how many times it as pushed back due to part availability. Thanks.

[Motz]

Everything is on schedule. As long as you pre-order you should be good to go for day one.

[kingwr]

I am more concerned about what functionality it will arrive with instead of whether it will arrive on time. For example, will it be Windows 8 compatible? Will it have web browsing capability? Will it play H.264 TV in a WTV container? Until the beta is over and the silence is broken, it looks like we won't be able to know exactly what the thing will be capable of.

[erkotz]

I am more concerned about what functionality it will arrive with instead of whether it will arrive on time. For example, will it be Windows 8 compatible? Will it have web browsing capability? Will it play H.264 TV in a WTV container? Until the beta is over and the silence is broken, it looks like we won't be able to know exactly what the thing will be capable of.

H.264 WTV support is working today in the current beta release. We have some European testers who are successfully watching H.264 TV (it seems to be much more commonplace there)

[kingwr]

The H.264 WTV support will likely only be of concern to Hauppauge HD-PVR and Colossus users here in the U.S. until H.264 becomes more prevalent in cable broadcasts. But this, Windows 8 compatibility, and web browsing capability are the differentiators for the Echo over existing extenders, e.g. DMA 2100s. Anything else, like faster boot-up or faster UI would just be niceties but won't drive those already with extenders to "upgrade" to Echos.

[embj]

Everything is on schedule. As long as you pre-order you should be good to go for day one.

When you say pre-orders will be good to go on day one, does that mean that we will actually receive them on the 30th? I'm really hoping so! The 30th is a Friday, and that means we'll all have to wait until Tues at the earliest before we receive them if they ship out on the 30th.

[adam1991]

Everything is on schedule. As long as you pre-order you should be good to go for day one.

When you say pre-orders will be good to go on day one, does that mean that we will actually receive them on the 30th?

Wouldn't that be a question for the vendor, not the manufacturer?

Ask NewEgg.

[embj]

Well, I would say it would depend on Ceton. If Ceton says it's OK to ship them out in advance for delivery on the 30th, Newegg could do that.

I figure that it would be up to them to discuss the logistics of that. But, good point, though...Newegg should know, too.

[adam1991]

yeah, Ceton can say "sure, ship 'em early for 30th delivery," that's all well and good--but ultimately it's a Newegg choice as to when to ship.

[kingwr]

I see all references to the Web browsing functionality of the Echo has been removed from Ceton's site. I assume this means we won't be seeing this functionality in the Echo any time soon. Couple this with the lack of Windows 8 support, and the Echo is not looking like it will be any more capable than a DMA2100, except for the H264 in WTV support.

[mdavej]

Unlike the DMA2100, it has WOL and doesn't require faking out the DNS server settings to keep it working.

It's also available on Amazon now.

[tad]

Unlike the DMA2100, it has WOL and doesn't require faking out the DNS server settings to keep it working.

It's also available on Amazon now.

I saw it on Amazon earlier today, too. It was listed as "in stock" with free Prime shipping. It already had 1 review (and not a positive one). The product page has since been pulled.

[holidayboy]

I'm guessing that the page is down due to a review being posted by somebody using a Beta Echo unit with unfinished firmware / software - which isn't what is being sold on Amazon.

[trini0]

I see all references to the Web browsing functionality of the Echo has been removed from Ceton's site. I assume this means we won't be seeing this functionality in the Echo any time soon. Couple this with the lack of Windows 8 support, and the Echo is not looking like it will be any more capable than a DMA2100, except for the H264 in WTV support.

Hi. First post on this site.
In reference to what you said about lack of Windows 8 support. Is it true? I thought I read on these boards that they would be supported by the time it was shipped.
I just bought a copy of Windows 8 Pro, so that I can start putting my rig together (First time WMC build). Maybe I jumped the gun??
Should I play it safe and stick with Win7? Since this is my first build for MC, I would rather use the latest OS. I can understand if timelines slipped. Just want to verify before I start putting the rig together and find out that Win8 isn't supported..
Thanks

[kingwr]

The specs for the Echo still say Windows 7 Media Center PC. These have been updated (multiple times) since Windows 8 release. There is a thread on here where they discuss that they are working hard on Windows 8 MC support but not to purchase based on that fact but instead purchase based on the listed specs on the Ceton website.

[kingwr]

I'm guessing that the page is down due to a review being posted by somebody using a Beta Echo unit with unfinished firmware / software - which isn't what is being sold on Amazon.

Amazon wouldn't pull the page down because of a bad review - they would just pull the review (assuming Ceton protested). Ceton is but a blip to the behemoth Amazon. The Ceton products on Amazon.com are sold by Ceton and fulfilled by Amazon. Likely that they have shipped stock to Amazon, and an error in the Ceton feed to Amazon marketplace made it available today instead of November 30. Ceton probably updated their feed to change availability to November 30 after you saw it.