My Media Center Walkthrough & How To Videos

[Motz]

What happened to the Win8 version you showed to Ian at CES?

The CES Win8 version was a prototype. We anticipated a lot of change to Windows 8 and it's development tools and frameworks so we shifted focus away until things were stable on that front. However something for Win8 RT is in the works. No details besides that at this time though.

[pduncan1963]

Yeah when I demoed all of the apps to everyone here they were like hmmmm now I sort of want a windows phone

Well MS killed Windows 7 Phones few weeks ago. Nobody buying phone who is just a bit tech savvy will buy it now... ( btw , i was about to give W7 phone a go, but not anymore )

Uhhh, Windows 7 phone isn't dead by any means, but windows 8 phone will launch soon. Will the windows app work in 7 and 8?

[NWW]

What happened to the Win8 version you showed to Ian at CES?

The CES Win8 version was a prototype. We anticipated a lot of change to Windows 8 and it's development tools and frameworks so we shifted focus away until things were stable on that front. However something for Win8 RT is in the works. No details besides that at this time though.

Awesome, thanks

[Motz]

Yeah when I demoed all of the apps to everyone here they were like hmmmm now I sort of want a windows phone

Well MS killed Windows 7 Phones few weeks ago. Nobody buying phone who is just a bit tech savvy will buy it now... ( btw , i was about to give W7 phone a go, but not anymore )

Uhhh, Windows 7 phone isn't dead by any means, but windows 8 phone will launch soon. Will the windows app work in 7 and 8?

Absolutely, Microsoft has already made the promise that all WP7 apps will work in WP8. I am sure we will do some tweaks and updates for WP8 when the SDK is out.

[wally007]

So you'd buy Windows 7 Phone right now ?

Either way, great to hear that Ceton app will work on Windows 8 Phone as well. Cant wait for Metro app

Yeah when I demoed all of the apps to everyone here they were like hmmmm now I sort of want a windows phone

Well MS killed Windows 7 Phones few weeks ago. Nobody buying phone who is just a bit tech savvy will buy it now... ( btw , i was about to give W7 phone a go, but not anymore )

Uhhh, Windows 7 phone isn't dead by any means, but windows 8 phone will launch soon. Will the windows app work in 7 and 8?

[Motz]

So you'd buy Windows 7 Phone right now ?

I mean Lumia 900 is pretty awesome, but with all this IFA stuff going on and Windows 8 right around the corner I would wait to find out what everyone has up their sleeves. The new samsung WP8 looks nice and I am sure there will be a new Lumia as well.

[pduncan1963]

So you'd buy Windows 7 Phone right now ?

I mean Lumia 900 is pretty awesome, but with all this IFA stuff going on and Windows 8 right around the corner I would wait to find out what everyone has up their sleeves. The new samsung WP8 looks nice and I am sure there will be a new Lumia as well.

Well the Lumin 900 has been advertised for under a dollar at AT&T and Walmart. If I needed one, I'd buy one for sure!

[Sammy2]

Is this in the wild for android yet?

[SilverRubicon]

So you'd buy Windows 7 Phone right now ?

No one should buy a WP7 right now. It's a dead end device.

[Motz]

So you'd buy Windows 7 Phone right now ?

No one should buy a WP7 right now. It's a dead end device.

Let's not get too off topic guys and start debating phones..... Whatever your purchase decision is the Companion will work on any of them

[Motz]

Is this in the wild for android yet?

Not yet, we are planning on launching them as closely together as possible.

[erkotz]

So you'd buy Windows 7 Phone right now ?

No one should buy a WP7 right now. It's a dead end device.

Let's not get too off topic guys and start debating phones..... Whatever your purchase decision is the Companion will work on any of them

I've got a Palm Pre around somewhere

[Motz]

I've got a Palm Pre around somewhere

Alright so maybe not web os or blackberry... or symbian...

[tad]

It doesn't look like music library playback made it into the final version -- very disappointing! Is music control still planned (please say yes -- it is critical for people who have their media centers hooked to their stereos and want to be able to control playback when the TV is off). If so, any idea when this feature will be included?

I've been using Media Center Control (http://mediacentercontrol.com/en/index_android.php) for Android (also available on Windows Phone), which works great, but there is no comparable app for iOS. I'm really looking forward to switching over to the Ceton apps so I can get more of a unified experience.

BTW, all your work looks great so far -- really looking forward to seeing (and playing with) the released apps.

[barnabas1969]

It doesn't look like music library playback made it into the final version -- very disappointing! Is music control still planned (please say yes -- it is critical for people who have their media centers hooked to their stereos and want to be able to control playback when the TV is off). If so, any idea when this feature will be included?

I've been using Media Center Control (http://mediacentercontrol.com/en/index_android.php) for Android (also available on Windows Phone), which works great, but there is no comparable app for iOS. I'm really looking forward to switching over to the Ceton apps so I can get more of a unified experience.

BTW, all your work looks great so far -- really looking forward to seeing (and playing with) the released apps.

I get this functionality directly with my AVR. It's a Yamaha RX-A2010. Yamaha supplies a free Android app (and an iOS one too, I think). The receiver can play anything that is shared through Windows Media Player, and the phone app is very nice... I can see the play lists, song titles, artists, etc. It works great.

If you don't have an AVR that has this functionality, I can certainly understand the desire for a Media Center app that provides the same functionality. I definitely don't want to leave my TV on while listening to music. It's a plasma, so screen burn would be an issue... plus it's a 64" beast that draws a lot of power.

[tad]

It doesn't look like music library playback made it into the final version -- very disappointing! Is music control still planned (please say yes -- it is critical for people who have their media centers hooked to their stereos and want to be able to control playback when the TV is off). If so, any idea when this feature will be included?

I've been using Media Center Control (http://mediacentercontrol.com/en/index_android.php) for Android (also available on Windows Phone), which works great, but there is no comparable app for iOS. I'm really looking forward to switching over to the Ceton apps so I can get more of a unified experience.

BTW, all your work looks great so far -- really looking forward to seeing (and playing with) the released apps.

I get this functionality directly with my AVR. It's a Yamaha RX-A2010. Yamaha supplies a free Android app (and an iOS one too, I think). The receiver can play anything that is shared through Windows Media Player, and the phone app is very nice... I can see the play lists, song titles, artists, etc. It works great.

If you don't have an AVR that has this functionality, I can certainly understand the desire for a Media Center app that provides the same functionality. I definitely don't want to leave my TV on while listening to music. It's a plasma, so screen burn would be an issue... plus it's a 64" beast that draws a lot of power.

Good point about the AVRs with this type of functionality built-in. Like many others, though, I use my Windows media center as the source for a whole-house audio system (Niles brand in my case, but others use all sorts of different systems), and my AVR is just for living room TV/movie watching.

[Motz]

I have been using my Nexus Q for google play music playback which is nice, but yes don't worry this music is on our feature list. I don't have eta details on it though.

[docmattman]

I just want to make sure I didn't miss it somewhere, but did you post a release date for the companion apps yet? I'm definitely looking forward to it. Thanks for all the hard work Ceton, you guys are awesome!

[Motz]

Tuesday is the plan 100% for android and wp7. We are still waiting upon apple for iOS.

[Diverge]

Tuesday is the plan 100% for android and wp7. We are still waiting upon apple for iOS.

Nice, companion app on tuesday, weekend for the start of NFL, and then the next week Echo's