CPAPtalk.com

Until (if/when) Respironics decides to whip up a watered down version of Encore Pro for cpap users...they could make a couple of quick changes to the existing Encore Pro that would eliminate the two things that probably have the DMEs and doctors yammering at them:

1. Remove "Make new prescription" so that pressure changes can't be made through the software. (Psssttt...people can still use the buttons on the machines to make those changes.)

2. Change the default to "Don't erase after each download" so that if the doctor or DME wants to download a card that the user has been downloading, all the data will be intact.

Call it Encore Pro Lite.

Hey, Respironics...just do that and you'd never have to even think about whether you want to design another type of Encore Pro from scratch for cpap users.

Not that you have to bother with "patients" anyway. It would just be a nice gesture on your part. A way to show a bit more interest in the people who actually USE your machines than the little "r" company does.

To keep the lowly end users out of your hair, put a disclaimer on each Encore Pro Lite CD. Something like:

"Encore Pro Lite is offered as a courtesy to CPAP users who wish to download their own data from the Respironics Smart Card. RESPIRONICS DOES NOT PROVIDE ANY SUPPORT FOR ENCORE PRO LITE."

rested gal wrote:2. Change the default to "Don't erase after each download" so that if the doctor or DME wants to download a card that the user has been downloading, all the data will be intact.

I agree with you 100% RG. I'll go one step further though. Remove the ability to delete from the card at all, except for formatting. Then it should be obvious to those users that do erase that that's what they're doing.

My guess though is that the B&M crowd will never be happy until they can dictate pressures as proclamations from the mount and give us no evidence to argue from.

rested gal wrote:Not that you have to bother with "patients" anyway. It would just be a nice gesture on your part. A way to show a bit more interest in the people who actually USE your machines than the little "r" company does.

Ahhh, RestedGal. Which "R" company gave us a good size, easy to read LED screen w/lots of pertinent info (such as Leak rate, AHI, AI, HI, etc.) first?? Oh m'goshes, it was RESMED!!

I don't expect to see a "lite" version of the software in less than 6 months and a year may be more likely. Hopefully they'll announce their intentions sooner than that though.

Where do I get those time estimates? I've been working in software for over 20 years in a variety of settings (company internal software, commercial engineering software, contract software). Even though it seems like a simple thing to remove a few options from the software, there are probably more steps involved than most people would expect.

I was diagnosed with apnea less than two months ago, so I don't know how often new releases of Encore Pro come out, but I'd bet that there were at least 3 or 4 months (more likely 6 to 9) between 1.5, 1.6, and 1.8. (Anyone ever wonder what happened to 1.7?)

For every release the software has to be written, tested, and packaged. Documentation has to be written, edited, and verified. Packaging has to be designed or at least updated. AND the company has to do all that without spending more than they'll make selling the software. (Or at least without spending too much more - it's possible that Respironics loses money on the software but views it as a necessary cost of doing business.)

Add on to that the fact that the current Encore Pro is clearly intended for use by someone who'll be tracking numerous patients while a lite version will probably track only one or maybe two and you can see that just releasing a lite version is not necessarily a trivial task.

Great. Now you can buy an older version of Encore Pro for more money. Cpap.com is gouging because of limited availability.

hhopper wrote:
Great. Now you can buy an older version of Encore Pro for more money. Cpap.com is gouging because of limited availability.

Hey!.....at least it's available and it works.
Like the sleep labs and DMEs don't "gouge" people (insurance)?????

How much is your health worth?

Den

I'm inclined to agree that it was pretty tasteless of cpap.com to jack up the price of the old v.1.6 of EncorePro - especially since when I heard Respironics was discontinuing the "tank" in favor of the M series and called cpap.com to verify I mentioned that maybe I'd wait as the price should come down and was told that often when something is discontinued the price RISES. I call that taking advantage!!

My first thought was that perhaps the rise in price had to do w/some agreement cpap.com reached w/Respironics - but that comment about the price rising on discontinued products kept ringing in my ears.

Maybe its time to start passing around pirated copies!

Maybe its time to start passing around pirated copies!

It would be a shame if we were driven to civil disobedience as a result of arguably unfair restriction of trade of items not limited from sale by regulatory agencies, but limited by mere company policy. But these things sometimes happen.

I don't have the least intention to be without the software whenever my current rigs need replacing. Hopefully this will be all straightened out by then, but I regard the software as being necessary to my health, and I'll use any means necessary when push comes to shove. Not a threat, not bravado, just fact. I'm not likely to be forced into using a bricks and mortar DME, and I weep for the newbies who may not currently have access to the software. I know how valuable it's been to me.

This discussion may soon be best moved to email.

I ordered mine today from directhomemedica.com. It is $178 for 1.8 and the usb card reader. If they hadn't pulled it here, I would have ordered it here. But it looks like I saved moeney, so won't complain. About that anyway.

Paying more for an older version is crap.

I bought my Encore Pro Data Management Software 1.8i from https://www.cpap.com on 4/26/07 for $183 (with the Mako Technologies DT3500 Infineer Smart Card Reader).

The package arrived today, 5/2/07, and installed as Program v1.8.49, and Database v13.4. The cover listed it as "Compatible with Windows Vista" and has a label saying "Reorder #1009583". Good luck ordering it directly though.

Here's their info if it helps:

Respironics Inc (http://www.respironics.com)
1001 Murry Ridge Lane
Murrysville, Pennsylvania 15668-8550
US/CAN: 1-800-345-6443
GLOBAL: 1-724-387-4000

Now all I have to do is find out how to get this Encore Pro Analyzer software add-on. Apparently the MyEncore software add-on won't work with the new database files used in v1.6+...

Ergin wrote:I think even if they pull their sw, they should still post the updates on their web site, as before.

Do u have the link for the updates? I can't recall ever seeing any updates on their website? I still have V 1.6

SleepFitness wrote:Now all I have to do is find out how to get this Encore Pro Analyzer software add-on.

A google search with the words "Encore Pro Analyzer" yielded:

http://james.istop.com/EncoreProAnalyzer/

[quote="Slinky"]I'm inclined to agree that it was pretty tasteless of cpap.com to jack up the price of the old v.1.6 of EncorePro - especially since when I heard Respironics was discontinuing the "tank" in favor of the M series and called cpap.com to verify I mentioned that maybe I'd wait as the price should come down and was told that often when something is discontinued the price RISES. I call that taking advantage!!

[quote="BadThad"][quote="mth712"]You must have a really good DME provider. Did you have to pay for the software?

MyEncore didn't work well with v1.6. There were lots of graphs that were blank. I haven't even checked to see if it works with 1.8 yet. Jame's Analyzer is the BOMB! Thank you Mr. Skinner!!!!!

Linda