BeoSound 5 Encore already has 'known software faults' which are being worked on..  🙁

Lee

 

 

9 LEE wrote:

BeoSound 5 Encore already has 'known software faults' which are being worked on..  🙁

Back to us being beta testers for B&O products again. Lee, a lot of my B&O frustration is sourced from s/w issues I've had with my products (particularly BV7-40) over the last three years. Some Beoworlders view this frustration as negativity against the brand. However, when we're paying top dollar for these products, we shouldn't expect software issues. 

The Beocom 5 is a classic. I used it for a good 3-4 months and every time I put the phone on to speaker, it hung up on the other person. Basic basic phone functionality (phone + speaker != hanging up on caller)! Luckily it's all sorted now and I love the phone - recommended to all - but it shouldn't have happened in the first place. Before owning the Beocom 5's in the office, we used £80 BT phones without a single software issue (and, they had speakers and answerphones). Quality wasn't as good, sure, but they were flawless in operation.

Oh well. Hopefully they get the Encore s/w faults fixed and do not introduce new issues with the updated software, like we've found in the s/w 10.x for the BS3, where the Sky box won't come out of sleep, automatically.

9 LEE wrote:

BeoSound 5 Encore already has 'known software faults' which are being worked on..  🙁

Lee

Wasn't aware of that...say more.

9 LEE wrote:

BeoSound 5 Encore already has 'known software faults' which are being worked on..  🙁

Lee

 

 

 

Ours is off display, refuse to sell products that don't work :( (kept losing network connection)

Customers and us  are Looking forward to a fully working version :)

StUrrock wrote:

Ours is off display, refuse to sell products that don't work :( (kept losing network connection)

Customers and us  are Looking forward to a fully working version :)

 

That's is a pathetic state of affairs for this product.

All my B&O gear is a few years old and my TV is still the Beovision 3. I could afford a B&O flat screen but when I do change to a more modern set, I must admit the almost constant references to different B&O products, including TVs, having software 'issues' (for issues read problems!) does cause me to dread the time of decision and whether the high cost involved will buy the quality of product and peace of mind that it should.   

 

" No excuse for the appalling service I know, but when you told the sales you were only a visitor he clearly saw 'time waster' stamped on your forehead. "

Actually, I had been a long-time customer of the original store on Rodeo Drive since it was opened by the owner of the Paris store. In fact I had purchased a number of stereo systems there for property we had in Los Angeles ( BS3200, BL4000, and american Beoport, Beocom 2, etc. ). I was there in town when the first BV-10 arrived, and had a good demonstration by a Danish sales rep there well before it was premiered there.

The ownership has obviously changed in recent years. The young sales representative at the new location was someone whom was not known to me, nor did he ask. Had I identified myself for whatever reason, that would not have changed his knowlege of the product.

The surprise is that in September, 2011, the much heralded Encore was not working. The Cisco requirement and deflection to that company for a Cisco router (Which one ?) will not prevent a motivated customer (such as myself) from parting with 3000 CHF for an Encore. The error here is to brush off the customer to Cisco: Is the Encore a B&O product, or a Cisco product ? It would be better to have B&O coordinate that connection, rather than disjoint it.

I realise that this is a new product to the market, and I quite like the concept. A small digital unit that would connect to my B&O speakers, avoid the need for a computer, and connect to the N.Radio server at will. Brilliant.  But place it in the store window if you want to promote and sell the product, not in the back, if you will. I assumed that an Encore product orientation with all the sales staff had taken place, months before. Back to our olde Europe for answers and a demonstration.

Kokomo wrote:

StUrrock wrote:

Ours is off display, refuse to sell products that don't work :( (kept losing network connection)

Customers and us  are Looking forward to a fully working version :)

 

That's is a pathetic state of affairs for this product.

All my B&O gear is a few years old and my TV is still the Beovision 3. I could afford a B&O flat screen but when I do change to a more modern set, I must admit the almost constant references to different B&O products, including TVs, having software 'issues' (for issues read problems!) does cause me to dread the time of decision and whether the high cost involved will buy the quality of product and peace of mind that it should.   

 

Unfortunately, the trouble(s) I had with the BV-8 were what basically ended my love-affair with B&O. Maybe I was just at the wrong place in the wrong time.

SWISS_2 wrote:

The surprise is that in September, 2011, the much heralded Encore was not working. The Cisco requirement and deflection to that company for a Cisco router (Which one ?) will not prevent a motivated customer (such as myself) from parting with 3000 CHF for an Encore. The error here is to brush off the customer to Cisco: Is the Encore a B&O product, or a Cisco product ? It would be better to have B&O coordinate that connection, rather than disjoint it.

I have a hard time believing that the Encore requires a specific router.  In my experience, wireless network standards are quite mature, and I haven't seen any interoperability problem since the early days of the "n" routers.  It is probable that the Encore is using standard "off the shelf" networking hardware/software which should (and generally does) play nice with any and all players.  I put this comment down as complete BS - at least I sure hope it is because any product that in 2011 requires a specific router to work correctly is seriously flawed.  Over the years, I've heard all kinds of nonsense from B&O dealer personnel from time to time.  This sounds like more of that.

Then again, given the unruly nature of wireless networks, I have been worried about the Encore from the beginning.  I don't know if this will ever be a truly workable product in most home environments.  "Workable" meaning works 100% of the time with no hiccups when being used by a technophobe with exceedingly high expections. 

Let me brace for the onslaught of the Apple faithful who claim Apple does this, but in my experience they don't.  I live in a neighborhood with large yards so I can see only 2 neighbor's wireless networks (with only a bar at most).  However, not often and very unpredictably, my Apple based wifi network just goes all crappy - as did my Linksys system the preceeded it.  I've hunted throughout the house for this source of interference to no avail - a few months back, I was to the point of replacing my router, then it all works fine (for now). 

It has also been my experience that the protocols used to establish connectivity between servers were not designed for unreliable wireless networks (or the software is not robust enough to handle these interruptions consistently) so connections tend to get hung when wireless networks go to hell.  Sure, this doesn't happen often, and it usually just requires a reboot here or there, but that's not the expected B&O experience, and I don't know how they will ever deliver this when the underlying technology (standard networking protocols) doesn't support this.

Oh well... I wish them the best of luck with this...  I hope they can prove my fears wrong...

Stan

" I have a hard time believing that the Encore requires a specific router.  In my experience, wireless network standards are quite mature, and I haven't seen any interoperability problem since the early days of the "n" routers.  It is probable that the Encore is using standard "off the shelf" networking hardware/software which should (and generally does) play nice with any and all players.  I put this comment down as complete BS - "

Stan;

Given the manner in which this occurred, I thought the same. Unfortunately it was confirmed again at another store in southern California. Cisco router only.

I'm sure there is a work around in Europe. I exchanged to new Cat 7 cable to facilitate the Encore, adding new Netgear N/G routers. Still hot here, with prices quite reasonable compared to home. Soren must be broiling down in Mexico.

BS ?   Bad Software ?

I don't know how far back this topic goes, but the Encore doesn't require a Cisco router. I have run it in my showroom with an Apple Airport and have it in the field on a few others. The Cisco router is a reccomended router for the sole purpose that all stores can "be on the same page" and find easier support from central tech. Not every associate has a working knowledge of networking so consolidating support to one relaible model that has all the features we need makes sense.

What we do reccomend is that if there's heavy internet use in your house a subnet makes sense. For the cost of another router you can move the network traffic off your browsing network (for when music is streaming from within your house, not from N.RADIO). 

But otherwise a router is a router.