How to get software for Remstar Pro CPAP machine

[goshayndel]

I am a newbie; this is my 4th night using CPAP.

A few nights ago I was on the Live Chat, and some wonderful people there encouraged me to upgrade from the Remstar Plus to the Remstar Pro machine so I could get the software.

I did that, and got the new machine today. However, I don't know how to get the software. My insurance doesn't cover getting the software.

I thought someone said there was a way to download it. Does anyone know how I can do that and what else I would need?

I'm still desperately trying to get used to the mask, but I'm hoping this machine will give me some feedback on if it is leaking, or how I am doing.

Thanks for your help!

[Hawthorne]

You will need the software AND a card reader. Cpap.com has a bundle of the software and reader for $199 I think it is.

Most insurance companies will not cover this but it is well worth having.

You will get some data on the LCD screen if it is setup to show AHI, Leak and 90% pressure. The DME may have not turned on that feature and may not have set it up so that you could get into the setup menu and do that. You can get those reading without software on the Pro.

If you need the 2 page Clinician's Setup guide, PM me your email address and I can send it to you as an email attachment. You will not get detailed data without the software but this will give you some information.

I should have said that the software you need is "Encore Viewer".

[El Pap]

I thought someone said there was a way to download it. Does anyone know how I can do that and what else I would need?

Just in case the people in live chat didn't make it clear, downloading the software (whether via peer-to-peer channels usually used to steal music and movies, or by getting a copy from a fellow patient) is not a legal method of acquiring it. PLEASE do not do it. Just because your insurance doesn't pay for the software doesn't give you a legitimate excuse to pirate it. If you wouldn't steal your CPAP machine, then don't steal the software either. Purchase the bundle that Hawthorne recommended, or if you can't afford it, simply ask your DME to print out the reports for you.

[janp]

I thought someone said there was a way to download it. Does anyone know how I can do that and what else I would need?

Just in case the people in live chat didn't make it clear, downloading the software (whether via peer-to-peer channels usually used to steal music and movies, or by getting a copy from a fellow patient) is not a legal method of acquiring it. PLEASE do not do it. Just because your insurance doesn't pay for the software doesn't give you a legitimate excuse to pirate it. If you wouldn't steal your CPAP machine, then don't steal the software either. Purchase the bundle that Hawthorne recommended, or if you can't afford it, simply ask your DME to print out the reports for you.

Sorry ... I've got to jump in here in defense of I'm sure a lot of members on this forum.

First of all, Encore Pro has not been available for purchase to us mortals for a number of years.

Secondly, the Torrents (where I assume they got their software) is a SHARED function. The software is being SHARED ... not sold. It is also an older version ... 1.8.48 (last one offered for sale), while the current version is 1.8.69.

By the way Encore Pro is not copyrighted.

It is piracy when the software/song/etc is copied and SOLD. The courts have already decided on that issue. That's why it is now legal to "share" songs via the Internet.

The key word here is SHARED. I've seen Encore Pro for sale on EBay ... that's piracy.

By the way ... before you ask ...my copy of Encore Pro WAS bought legally!

Jan

[elader]

Secondly, the Torrents (where I assume they got their software) is a SHARED function. The software is being SHARED ... not sold. It is also an older version ... 1.8.48 (last one offered for sale), while the current version is 1.8.69.

By the way Encore Pro is not copyrighted.

It is piracy when the software/song/etc is copied and SOLD. The courts have already decided on that issue. That's why it is now legal to "share" songs via the Internet.

The key word here is SHARED. I've seen Encore Pro for sale on EBay ... that's piracy.

By the way ... before you ask ...my copy of Encore Pro WAS bought legally!

Jan

Jan, sorry, that's just not true. Theft is theft. It's not legal to share songs on the internet. You can stream them - like Pandora, but Pandora are PAYING for the rights to do that. If you download a program or a song from limewire, you are stealing it if you didn't pay the company for it.

Not being copyrighted also doesn't matter. It only means that you can write your own version and sell it or give it away if you want, not that you can steal theirs without paying.

[TheDreamer]

I'd guess you actually have the Remstar M Series Pro, and not just the Remstar Pro....otherwise, you might not want to get software, since the Remstar Pro only has compliance info. In non-M Series, think its the Remstar Pro 2 to have apnea/hypopnea/leak data....

I have both a Remstar Pro and a Remstar M Series Pro.

The Dreamer.

[El Pap]

Sorry ... I've got to jump in here in defense of I'm sure a lot of members on this forum.

I sure hope it's not a lot of members -- I'd like to think the majority of cpaptalkers are law abiding people who PAY for the software they use.

First of all, Encore Pro has not been available for purchase to us mortals for a number of years.

The current version of the software, called Encore Viewer, is available for purchase by all mortals with a credit card or checkbook from our forum sponsor here: https://www.cpap.com/productpage/respir ... e-1.0.html Old versions of software are still protected, and do not revert to public domain for 50 years.

Secondly, the Torrents (where I assume they got their software) is a SHARED function. The software is being SHARED ... not sold. It is also an older version ... 1.8.48 (last one offered for sale), while the current version is 1.8.69.

By the way Encore Pro is not copyrighted.

It is piracy when the software/song/etc is copied and SOLD. The courts have already decided on that issue. That's why it is now legal to "share" songs via the Internet.

The key word here is SHARED. I've seen Encore Pro for sale on EBay ... that's piracy.

By the way ... before you ask ...my copy of Encore Pro WAS bought legally!

Jan

Jan, I'm glad you purchased your copy of the software, but most of what you said here is completely wrong. Peer-to-peer file sharing of protected works is most certainly illegal. In fact, congress passed the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) in 1998 specifically to address this high tech crime. Sharing of music, movies, software, etc., even if no money has been paid, is very much illegal, and violators have paid some very large settlements and fines for their transgressions.

Beyond the (admittedly small) risk of prosecution, I think those of us on cpaptalk.com should be particularly careful of our behavior. We want the equipment manufacturers to consider the patient their customer, not the DME, not the doctor, not the insurance company. The medical establishment rewards cost-cutting by providing the same reimbursment for any cpap equipment that meets minimum specs. We, on the other hand, reward innovation by our willingness to pay out-of-pocket for better products that enhance the comfort, efficacy and monitoring of our treatment. The potential customer base for cpap monitoring software is pretty small. Your decision on whether to buy or steal your software speaks very loudly to the equipment manufacturers, who are in business not just to treat your OSA, but also to make money.

[janp]

Sorry ... I've got to jump in here in defense of I'm sure a lot of members on this forum.

I sure hope it's not a lot of members -- I'd like to think the majority of cpaptalkers are law abiding people who PAY for the software they use.

First of all, Encore Pro has not been available for purchase to us mortals for a number of years.

The current version of the software, called Encore Viewer, is available for purchase by all mortals with a credit card or checkbook from our forum sponsor here: https://www.cpap.com/productpage/respir ... e-1.0.html Old versions of software are still protected, and do not revert to public domain for 50 years.

Secondly, the Torrents (where I assume they got their software) is a SHARED function. The software is being SHARED ... not sold. It is also an older version ... 1.8.48 (last one offered for sale), while the current version is 1.8.69.

By the way Encore Pro is not copyrighted.

It is piracy when the software/song/etc is copied and SOLD. The courts have already decided on that issue. That's why it is now legal to "share" songs via the Internet.

The key word here is SHARED. I've seen Encore Pro for sale on EBay ... that's piracy.

By the way ... before you ask ...my copy of Encore Pro WAS bought legally!

Jan

Jan, I'm glad you purchased your copy of the software, but most of what you said here is completely wrong. Peer-to-peer file sharing of protected works is most certainly illegal. In fact, congress passed the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) in 1998 specifically to address this high tech crime. Sharing of music, movies, software, etc., even if no money has been paid, is very much illegal, and violators have paid some very large settlements and fines for their transgressions.

Beyond the (admittedly small) risk of prosecution, I think those of us on cpaptalk.com should be particularly careful of our behavior. We want the equipment manufacturers to consider the patient their customer, not the DME, not the doctor, not the insurance company. The medical establishment rewards cost-cutting by providing the same reimbursment for any cpap equipment that meets minimum specs. We, on the other hand, reward innovation by our willingness to pay out-of-pocket for better products that enhance the comfort, efficacy and monitoring of our treatment. The potential customer base for cpap monitoring software is pretty small. Your decision on whether to buy or steal your software speaks very loudly to the equipment manufacturers, who are in business not just to treat your OSA, but also to make money.

I beg to differ.

As I write this, I'm downloading music from the "Songza" website .. no charge. It's not illegal. If it were, I wouldn't be doing it.

Do you think that their website would still be there if they were at risk for a lawsuit by the music companies. That issue has already been settled in the courts. I repeat what I said earlier, the music companies lost.

The Torrents are doing the same ... they are sharing. Not selling.

Respironics chooses to offer a "stripped down version" of EP to patients ... which is why most CPAP patients that take their therapy seriously search out Encore Pro.

As to the support of manufacturers ... that's being done. We all buy our equipment. You digress from the subject to manufactured goods.

You said ... "Your decision on whether to buy or steal your software speaks very loudly to the equipment manufacturers, who are in business not just to treat your OSA, but also to make money." You're absolutely right ... rest assured, if Respironics offered their current version of Encore Pro for sale to the REAL end users ... they would sell a lot of product.

By the way, you may have that a bit backwards ... they are in the business to MAKE MONEY ... BY TREATING OUR OSA, not the other way around. The FIRST objective of ANY manufacturer is TO MAKE MONEY. They do that by satisfying a market need. If their product doesn't do the job ... it doesn't sell! Believe me, they aren't as noble as you portray them.

By the way, do you think that Respironics is not aware of the Torrents sharing an old version of Encore Pro? Of course they are. Can you cite any efforts to close them down?

Regards,

Jan

[FFOGHORN]

Respironics should, of course, include Encore Pro with their machines. Alternatively, when Respironics decides to sell Encore Pro to the end-user, people should, of course, pay for it. Or, best of all, let's ask Sun Microsystems to add their version of Encore Pro to Open Office, which is free to the public.

Until that day, I would encourage apnea sufferers to secure the software any way they can. I'm sorry, but in my version of America, a person's health trumps the income statement of a company that is not meeting the needs of its customers.

Should we expect to buy a television, but a remote control and activated speakers are going to cost us extra? Should we expect to buy a computer without an operating system? And then be told we need to go pay a technician to write us a prescription for the operating system that will then cost us even more money.

Respironics simply caved to the medical industry, as auto-titrating devices make patients more self-sufficient.

[El Pap]

I beg to differ.

As I write this, I'm downloading music from the "Songza" website .. no charge. It's not illegal. If it were, I wouldn't be doing it.

Songza doesn't offer songs for download. (Other than sponsored links to other sites where you can purchase the music) It's not a file sharing service. They play music, show you ads, and use the advertising revenue to pay the artists. For heavens sake, it says so right on the site: http://songza.com/page/legal#playing

Do you think that their website would still be there if they were at risk for a lawsuit by the music companies. That issue has already been settled in the courts. I repeat what I said earlier, the music companies lost.

Saying it twice doesn't make it right. Sites like Pandora and Songza pay the artists each time a song is played. Think BitTorrent is similar? Check out this news item from a couple months back where the owners of the Pirate Bay, one of the worlds largest BitTorrent sites were found guilty, fined 3.6 million, and sentenced to jail time. http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/04/17/swed ... newssearch (Rather shockingly, the site is still in operation while the the owners appeal their conviction) You'll notice that they are located in Sweden - nobody in their right mind would run a Torrent tracker for copyrighted material on a server in the US. Show me a link to anywhere on the Internet where it says the artists lost and it is now legal to share songs without consent of the copyright holder.

The Torrents are doing the same ... they are sharing. Not selling.

The songs, movies and software are not yours to share. When you buy them, you purchase a "right to use" for yourself, nothing more.

Respironics chooses to offer a "stripped down version" of EP to patients ... which is why most CPAP patients that take their therapy seriously search out Encore Pro.

As to the support of manufacturers ... that's being done. We all buy our equipment. You digress from the subject to manufactured goods.

You said ... "Your decision on whether to buy or steal your software speaks very loudly to the equipment manufacturers, who are in business not just to treat your OSA, but also to make money." You're absolutely right ... rest assured, if Respironics offered their current version of Encore Pro for sale to the REAL end users ... they would sell a lot of product.

By the way, you may have that a bit backwards ... they are in the business to MAKE MONEY ... BY TREATING OUR OSA, not the other way around. The FIRST objective of ANY manufacturer is TO MAKE MONEY. They do that by satisfying a market need. If their product doesn't do the job ... it doesn't sell! Believe me, they aren't as noble as you portray them.

I confess that I use a different manufacturer's cpap equipment and software, so I'm not intimately familiar with the differences between Encore Pro and Encore Viewer. Looking at the sample reports on cpap.com, it certainly look like Encore Viewer is a comprehensive product that produces tables and reports that are more than adequate to determine the efficacy of treatment.

I can say with certainty that just because the software is no longer sold by Respironics, that doesn't make it legal for you to distribute or download a copy. And as I said earlier, I truly believe it is in our enlightened self-interest to purchase the software and offer our feedback to the manufacturer.

By the way, do you think that Respironics is not aware of the Torrents sharing an old version of Encore Pro? Of course they are. Can you cite any efforts to close them down?

Regards,

Jan

If it were easy to shut down torrent sites, the RIAA and MPAA would have done it long ago. Owners of torrent tracker sites locate their servers outside of the US, in countries with much weaker intellectual property laws than our own. That's why the content owners have been going after the end users who share the files. And doing that involves both legal (issuing subpoenas to ISPs) and computer forensic work that would cost Respironics more money than they could likely recover, which is why we're not reading stories of people being nabbed for grabbing copies of Encore Pro.

[Goofproof]

Torrent trackers, do not store media on their servers, they post info, just like the 6 O'clock news, except their news is true. Saying there would be no P2P sharing without torrent trackers, is like saying their would be no bank robbers, if we tore down the banks. Jim

[csellebrecht]

Downloading and installing anything other then "Freeware" is stealing and illegal. You can make up any excuse but the bottm line is illegal!
It doesnt matter where you get from or how you get it...it is illegal and wrong..

If your car was parked on the street and i found your keys would it be ok for me to take it for a drive?

buy it and reward the maker....But I do agree it should come with the machine...

[FFOGHORN]

It doesnt matter where you get from or how you get it...it is illegal and wrong..

csellebrecht:

Have you considered the possibility of it being illegal... but right? History presents many examples where the moral thing to do was not necessarily the legal thing to do.

Civil disobedience is sometimes the right path to take. This notion of yours that anything illegal is wrong is quite simplistic. We are living in a nation that has been crippled by corporate greed, and you are arguing to protect the perpetrator. Encore Pro is not a piece of music, it is a piece of software central to the functioning of the machine and the self-guided health of the end-user!

Regarding music, people have been sharing since the Victrola days. I personally shared my vinyls, then my 8-tracks, then my cassettes, then my CDs, then my DVDs and finally my traveldrive. I didn't tell my friends that they needed to go out and purchase their own copy; I told them I wanted my copy back. Currently, technology has provided a means to cut the creator/developer out of its deserved revenue stream, and this must be rectified somehow. However, as with every new technology, legality must be arrived at with morality in mind. Our forefathers seemed to understand. The leaders of today, unfortunately, are little more than puppets to the powerful lobbies. Most revolutions have been fought to restore a proper balance amongst morality, legality and commerce.

[El Pap]

Civil disobedience is sometimes the right path to take. This notion of yours that anything illegal is wrong is quite simplistic. We are living in a nation that has been crippled by corporate greed, and you are arguing to protect the perpetrator.

What you are engaging in is NOT civil disobedience, it is theft. People who engage in civil disobedience do not do so in the shadows. They do not try to evade detection, and they do not try to avoid prosecution. They violate the law in broad daylight, in front of the world, with the expectation that they will be arrested. Are you willing to stand up and say "My name is [insert your name here], I have obtained a copy of Encore Pro without paying for it because I believe it is my right to do so, and I am willing to take responsibility for the consequences"? Are you willing to go to jail rather than pay for the software, in order to make a point? Because THAT is what civil disobedience is all about.

Encore Pro is not a piece of music, it is a piece of software central to the functioning of the machine and the self-guided health of the end-user!

Even if true, (which I don't believe it is, since your DME will read the data and deliver the results to you and your physician), that doesn't give you a right to take the software without paying for it.

[janp]

Even if true, (which I don't believe it is, since your DME will read the data and deliver the results to you and your physician), that doesn't give you a right to take the software without paying for it.

"Since your DME will read the data and deliver the results to you and your physician" ... really! ?

I wonder how many of us have had that experience!!! Or if it actually happen, how productive it was in our therapy.

You're also implying that we don't even have a need for any software ... "your DME will read the data".

Think that may be why WE use the software to monitor/guide our own therapy!!!

That last comment (and others) makes me feel that you might be someone associated with a DME.

Mounting a very aggressive argument ... but with an agenda.

I repeat, if Respironics offered the current Encore Pro to the REAL users ... there would be a long line to purchase it.

Have a nice life.

Jan