Ceton Echo – Windows Media Center Extender Watch Live & Recorded TV/HDTV Access Personal Media Libraries on Any TV on Home Network, HDMI Interface, Remote Included
A great addition to your home entertainment, the Ceton Echo is a network-based extender that brings Windows Media Center experience to any TV in your home. Compatible with Windows 7, it allows you to watch live and recorded TVs, stream photo, music and video from connected computer, without cable box fees and DVR taxes. The ultra low power consumption and petite size contribute to a great saving on electricity cost and space, compared with Xbox 360 used as an extender. This unit is powered by USB connection without additional adapter, allowing enhanced placement flexibility and ease of use. (Live and recorded TV/DVR features require a TV tuner with your PC)
Works with any tuner!Connect the Ceton Echo to a TV set and enjoy live TV, DVR and all your personal media in any room. Transform your Windows Media Center PC into the whole-home entertainment box you’ve always wanted. And for a lot less than you’re probably paying today. (Live and recorded TV/DVR features require a TV tuner with your PC)
The Ultimate Media Center SidekickBring your Windows Media Center experience to any TV in the home. Watch live and recorded channels without needing a set-top box. (Live and recorded TV/DVR features require a TV tuner with your PC)
Echo-Friendly & Echo-NomicalSave up to $60 a year on electricity alone compared to using a cable box or an Xbox 360 used as an extender. (Power savings based on U.S. Department of Energy published electrical rates, April 2012, comparing Ceton Echo to a high-definition DVR cable set-top box and an Xbox 360 used as a Media Center Extender.)
Access Your Personal Media LibrariesEnjoy all your music, photos and videos on any TV in any room.
Works great with Ceton CompanionUse you mobile phone or tablet to manage your media library, select shows and play using the Echo and even use your mobile as a killer remote control.
Premium DVR Capability without Cable Box Fees and DVR "Taxes"Enjoy DVR on every TV set without having to lease a set-top box or pay DVR fees. You can also watch your recordings on every TV set. You can even pause a show in one room and resume in another. (Live and recorded TV/DVR features require a TV tuner with your PC)
Learn more about the Ceton 6100-MCX
Model
Brand
Ceton
Model
6100-MCX
Details
Type
Windows Media Center Extender
Others
Display with HDMI input Wired Ethernet network A PC with a TV tuner is required for TV and DVR features.
Specifications
Product Size: 4.3" x 3.9" x 0.8" Power Consumption: less than 5 watts Outputs: HDMI, Optical Digital Audio (TOSLINK) Other Connectors: USB 2.0, Mini USB (for power) Network: Ethernet (10/100/1000)
TV
Remote Control
Remote Included
Tuner
Interface
HDMI
Video Format
MPEG-1, MPEG-2, H.264, WMV9
Audio
Dolby Digital AC-3, MP3, PCM, WMA, WMA Pro
Image Format
BMP, GIF, JPG, PNG, TIF
System
Operating Systems Supported
PC with Microsoft Windows 7 with Media Center.
Features
Features
Enjoy live TV and DVR on every TV set
Access your photos, music, videos and movie libraries
Get rid of your cable box fees and DVR taxes
Works with any Windows 7 PC with Media Center
Supports PCs with Ceton TV tuners, with non-Ceton TV tuners and without TV tuners
Package Contents
Package Contents
Ceton Echo Remote control USB power cable and adapter HDMI cable Ethernet cable Quick Start Guide
Pros: I like the idea behind the Ceton Echo. It's very small and makes no noise. It connects to the WMC PC without much hassle (just as easy as Xbox), and it theoretically works just like the Xbox. It's small size and power usage should make a better choice, not to mention the fact that it's slightly cheaper.
Cons: The echo worked right out of the box. Then it stopped working. It sometimes freezes up. Sometimes the plug in software disappears. H.264 video doesn't stream smoothly. Sometimes when you turn it on, it doesn't do anything (the light comes on but no signal is sent to the TV).
Overall Review: I love what the Echo is supposed to do, and I think that it will eventually be a great extender. Unfortunately it's still very buggy. If the video streaming was smoother, I would recommend buying this right now. Live and recorded TV seem to stream fine with my Ceton tuner. If all you need is an extender to watch live and recorded TV, this is a good product for you. If you have a video collection you intend to stream, this will cause you some frustration.
Speaking of frustration, if you buy this, buy a new remote control. The remote that comes with it is absolutely horrible.
Pros: Small, cool. Works pretty well, except for when it doesn't
Cons: It is slow - I hoped to replace a power hog Xbox 360 slim with this. It worked well for a while, but was very sensitive to network conditions. I have gigabit ethernet running from the media center PC to a Cisco Gbe switch, the Ceton wire directly connected works great, if I add in another switch inline, it doesn't work reliably. Not an issue for the other HTPC's that stream from that same media center host. Recently it has been rebooting itself during the first 10-15 minutes of operation. I never could get the Ceton add-in loaded on the media center host.
Overall Review: I finally pulled the Echo out and put the Xbox back in place...
It is a really cool idea, and I will hold onto it hoping for a firmware update.
It's so close.
Pros: Small device, low power consumption.
Familiar WMC7 Interface.
Cons: A tad slow on the interface.
Remote not responsive
Overall Review: I will stick with my ITX Jetway with i3 and SSD running WMC7 Pro
Anonymous
Ownership: more than 1 year
Verified Owner
Great potential, so little delivered.4/30/2014 10:02:34 PM
Pros: As a TV extender it works well. easy to install. Small. reasonably fast.
Cons: Whether it is Ceton's poor support on their website or the lack of media playback this box is not good. Firmware is buggy and they no longer support it. They initially sold it as something that would run androd as well. That was a lie and false asvertising imo. They dropped that a bit ago. Other than WMC extension this box offers nothing and i mean NOTHING. Spotty video playback of videos that work on the host PC.
Overall Review: There is no reason to buy this unless you want the TV function. Add Plex to any other streaming device and add recorded TV to Plex and you don't need this. So much potential and so little delivered. I am completely disappointed. 2 stars only due to live tv working most of the time. I paid twice the amount they are asking now and I would not pay more than half what they are asking today again for this.
Pros: Great concept. I am all for WMC and extenders.
Cons: Unfortunately this device only works Windows Media Center edition 7. It doesn't matter whose fault it is (Ceton claims Microsoft made it impossible for non-microsoft extenders to work with WMC 8) the fact is if your HTPC has MCE 8 this device is useless.
Pros: Works great. Was easy to set up. Have had no problems with it. Just like using WMC on the PC. I'm planning on buying another when I see them on sale.
Cons: The normal price is a little high for this. I'm guessing a chunk goes to royalties to greedy MS. But if you can get this on sale for around a hundred, then go for it.
There is also just a little bit of sluggishness when you press the remote keys, but it's not as bad as other reviews have made it out to be.
But the included remote is awful. Keys are tiny and not placed in any sort of logical order. You will definitely want to use another remote. I'm using the remote that came with my PC tuner card. I'd guess that any standard WMC remote will work fine.
Overall Review: I was a little leary about buying this because of the negative reviews. But thought I'd give it a try anyway. I was pleasantly surprised with how easy the set up was. Took maybe 5 minutes. And it works great with my smart TV. There is a little bit of sluggishness when pressing keys, but nowhere as bad as some of the reviews make it sound. And once you start using it, you hardly even notice the delay. Overall, it's much better than I thought. I'm planning on getting another on when I see these go on sale again.
Pros: Works OK for TV only as a Media Center Extender
Small/Compact
Low Power Usage
Cons: Painfully slow, like using an old original Atom based computer.
Looooooooong boot up time till live TV is available.......about 40-45 seconds from cold boot.
Very limited media type playback. No mkv, etc.
H264 playback is very choppy. This thing just doesn't have the horsepower.
No Netflix, Hulu, etc.
Sometimes acts very flaky, i.e. random freezes, random recovery mode. Frustrating.
I would have serious concerns about buying another one. In the future, I'd rather just build a cheap Baytrail NUC and at least have a Windows Media Center device that can actually do everything.
Included remote is useless.
Get a Logitech harmony series.
Overall Review: Waaaaaay too much money for something that only kind-of works.
This item should be $50 max for the performance you get out of it.
Will not work with Windows 8 Media Center.
Pros: I user Ceton Infiniti quad channel cable card I love this and my Media Center server work well with Windows 8 Pro Media Center edition.
I got this last week the I found out Ceton Echo is not supported with Windows 8 Pro Media Center
Cons: Windows 8 NOT supported, Cheep quality Remote, High $$$ price tag.
Overall Review: Raspberry Pie mini PC for win 8 extender.
Pros: I like the idea behind the Ceton Echo. It's very small and makes no noise. It connects to the WMC PC without much hassle (just as easy as Xbox), and it theoretically works just like the Xbox. It's small size and power usage should make a better choice, not to mention the fact that it's slightly cheaper.
Cons: The echo worked right out of the box. Then it stopped working. It sometimes freezes up. Sometimes the plug in software disappears. H.264 video doesn't stream smoothly. Sometimes when you turn it on, it doesn't do anything (the light comes on but no signal is sent to the TV).
Overall Review: I love what the Echo is supposed to do, and I think that it will eventually be a great extender. Unfortunately it's still very buggy. If the video streaming was smoother, I would recommend buying this right now. Live and recorded TV seem to stream fine with my Ceton tuner. If all you need is an extender to watch live and recorded TV, this is a good product for you. If you have a video collection you intend to stream, this will cause you some frustration. Speaking of frustration, if you buy this, buy a new remote control. The remote that comes with it is absolutely horrible.