Hello Remote Central family,

I know this is a ridiculous long shot, and I will probably get laughed at, but here goes....

Has anybody out there hacked an Escient MX752 or similar Escient product?

Does anybody have a work around for updating title info and cover art for DVDs and CDs in an Escient system?

Here's the back story...

A client of mine just got their MX752 back from service and it could not retrieve title info and cover art for DVDs and CDs. After speaking with Escient tech support (yes, they are still answering the phones and helping coordinate repairs), they explained to me that the Escient servers that are required to retrieve title info have been taken off line. Additionally, Escient's contract with Gracenote has been terminated as of about a year ago, thus no ability to retrieve title info and cover art.

The goal is to see if anybody out there has hacked an Escient controller/server and might be able to figure out a way to redirect the Escient unit to Gracenote directly instead of being routed to the (now defunct) Escient server and then to Gracenote.

One potential obstacle is that Gracenote may require a subscription or fee to perform title updates, but the first issue is getting the Escient unit directed to Gracenote via the internet.

Hoping someone is this wild and crazy...

Thanks!

On some models you could edit album and cover art into in the web browser interface.

Most likely not worth the time or effort. The money spent on this science project could easily take a good chunk out of a newer server system.

Fins, thanks for the suggestion. The client was all ready doing that for some obscure titles before the motherboard swap wiped out his library and cover art. At this point it somehow recognized about 450 out of 1900 DVDs so you can imagine the chore ahead of him. Do you know is there a way to upload cover art through the web login?

lippavideo, I agree. This could be very expensive for one or two people who still use their Escient units. I was hoping that there are enough end users out there that the cost would be defrayed enough to be affordable and possibly done on an annual subscription basis with Gracenote and the developer who creates the hack/fix.

Yes, there is a way to upload cover art. But I dont remember the process. Its been years since I did it.

There couldnt possibly be enough of these units out in the wild still functioning.

not to mention, a $69 apple TV or Roku and $9.99 a month netflix account gives you 99% of the functionality nowadays as well.

Greetings,

If you want to join a group of like-minded Escient owners that are banding together to figure out what the options are, going forward, please check out the Google Group: [Link: groups.google.com]

I am not the starter/owner of the group, but I took the liberty of posting here, hoping that we could increase the membership.

The current members are making progress with various aspects of such an undertaking. They have established a software/documentation repository, for example. And there is ongoing discussion of various topics like those in these (remotecentral's) threads...

Note that I have posted that link because it is, in no way, a competition for your attention to be drawn away from remotecentral.com... This is simply a gathering place for like-minded Escient owners, which in no way detracts from remotecentral.com. So, I hope the moderators allow it to stand.

See you there.

- s.west

[Link: remotecentral.com]

any new suggestions on hooking up with gracenote using escient products as there is no escient server now and if one bought an old escient on can not get gracenote data. WILLING TO PAY TO BE ABLE TO CONTROL UNITS AND SONY CHANGERS Thanks my escient E2-80 just died and no power so I have 3 sony 777 es changers with 1200 cds and no way to control these thanks jbcrespo

jbcrespomn,
That member name is a mouthful!

Would the information in Post 8 be of any help to you?

. . . . . . . << Those are periods. Please use some, appropriately, in your next posts. Remember that you're asking for expertise to be extended to you for free, and please make your posts a bit easier to read.

That's the main reason Escient is not really an option any more.

Pretty cool for its time but they get pulled on a regular basis because they are not being used or quit working.

Streaming video pretty much took its place.

Easier to use and the cost is easily within every budget with very few headaches.

On a side note,I still have over 300 audio CD's and pulled my CD changer out of the rack 7 years ago because it was never used and I still listen to a ton of music!

I fully respect you desires and wish you luck on your adventure but really wonder if it is worth your time although that is for you to decide.

Find a control4 dealer.
The 777es changer hooks up to a controller or two and C4 handles the rest.
If you can't find a local dealer to help you, we can provide remote support.
I still have a 777 running in my system as do a few clients.

Hello there! I know it's been a long time and not sure if you figured out anything. I have been working on same problem and might have some info that might be useful. Let me know.

Just read previous old posts. Someone has not been doing their homework as it does not cost any money to edit cover art and info. Each Escient has its own IP address. You can easily go into cover art/movie info etc. with any PC and make changes. Logging into Gracenote is another issue which I am currently working on with Sony and Gracenote. Also there is a numeric code sequence in Setup that allows you to alter any Escient box's configuration. Just purchased a Sony 7000 Blu-Ray which goes directly into Gracenote and updates the Blu-Ray info on it's hard drive which unfortunately the Sony 777 changer can't. I will keep Escient owners advised.