ZeeVee's ZvBox spotted, demonstrated on video

As the release date for ZeeVee's ZvBox draws near (we're hearing July 31st), the company is out and about in an attempt to drum up demand as the run-up to its launch progresses. During CONNECTIONS 2008, ZeeVee was in attendance with a ZvBox on display, and aside from snapping a few telling photographs, the folks over at eHomeUpgrade were also able to capture a couple videos to give you an early feel of its capabilities (and limitations). We don't have to tell you where the goods are, but if you're new here, that read link down there is a good place to start.

[Via SlashGear]

[Haikibutsu @ Jun 26th 2008 1:41AM]

You are one disgusting little crap. People like you really do make me ashamed of being a mac user sometimes.

Oh, and before you call me an apple apologetic, how about the 15 or so others just like me I counted in the past 20 posts youve been in.

[Keith @ Jun 26th 2008 2:08AM]

Someone got their comments deleted because I swear there were some before me ..

Crazy apple people ...

[KilgoreTrout @ Jun 26th 2008 2:20AM]

enough is enough

[King Mook Mook @ Jun 26th 2008 2:26AM]

Clak is back?! Nooo!!! What is with the comment?

[jezza @ Jun 26th 2008 2:36AM]

I read engadget everyday but rarely post. Until now. Clak is such an ass, can't engadget block his IP or something. He really is starting to spoil this site.
For the record i use a macbook and iphone so i'm not a hater, but please Clak, f*** Off and let the rest of us alone!

[TheBishop @ Jun 26th 2008 3:18AM]

I have to agree. I read Engadget pretty much every day, and if I fall behind in the loop, I catch up. But it seems like more and more asshats such as Clak are what are destroying good blogs such as this one, Gizmodo, Lifehacker, Joystiq, and a few others. And now since these people have decided to invade Digg, it's like they are taking over.

I am willing to offer ONE BILLION DOLLARS (that may possibly be imaginary) to anyone who invents a stab-people-through-the-internet machine.

[Kevlar @ Jun 26th 2008 4:01AM]

I invented a stab-people-through-the-internet machine!
Although it's an early prototype, I'd be happy to sell it to you for at least $1bn.

Just a warning, it's only compatible with DEC´s PDP-1. We're working on expanding compatibility to cover most IBM System/360's model 60+. We're having some problems converting it to run with the 360's 8-bit byte, though, so it might take a couple of months.

[happy_penguin @ Jun 26th 2008 2:37AM]

I think someone is stone piss drunk.

[DefPo3t @ Jun 26th 2008 4:26AM]

i for see a banhammer soon !

[j_g_puff @ Jun 26th 2008 4:26AM]

Are you suggesting that poorass Americans and poorarse Brits can somehow obtain AppleTV even though poorass Mexicans can't?

I'm reasonably wealthyarsed, but unfortunately I'm allergic to white, so this really is the only option for me.

[DefPo3t @ Jun 26th 2008 4:44AM]

every time some does a post liek this or a similer offending post click the grey exclimation point next to the up and dopwn arrows

[Cwisfa @ Jun 26th 2008 5:04AM]

Seriously, why is Clak still here?

He's posting crap all over threads and he's disliked by a large
percentage of the userbase here.

Is there no sort of punishment system? Can I, too, post a large
amount of question-marks and not get any remand?

It's ridiculous, perhaps create a user-block function or just block
clak altogether. I don't think anyone would miss him too much.

I don't want to get started on clak's first comment altogether..

... in closing;

I'll quote NerdTalker as clak does in his signature,

? I can't figure it out. Either you're the biggest attention whore
I've ever seen on the internet, or you just don't know when the hell
to shut up. Seriously. I think it's to the point that people are
voting you down every time they see your name (I know I am) because
they're so tired of it. I mean, for crying out loud, watching you
argue here is like watching someone you hate being stoned to death;
you aren't sure whether you want to believe person is fighting back
because they were caught "in the wrong," or pick up a rock.

Moreover, seriously just THINK before you open your mouth... Are you
batshit insane or just fucking stupid? You'd think that with the
frequency you post on engadget that SOME of the information actually
presented here would soak in. ... BTW, perhaps you should show your
girlfriend how you get gangbanged by your own idiocy everyday here in
the comment section. I'm sure you'll score way better than you did
with the Lenovo X300 affair, you pussywhipped fuck. - NerdTalker?

[happy_penguin @ Jun 26th 2008 11:17AM]

If you check his profile you will see that he joined June 26th. Apparently he gets banned, comes back and rejoins.

[Kevlar @ Jun 26th 2008 9:58PM]

The question marks that Clak posts, are actually little Apple logo glyphs. Mac OS renders them correctly, but most Windows / Linux machines won't. They're a special part of the Apple core fonts, apparently.

Just goes to show how much more of a dumbass he is.

[Vishal @ Jun 26th 2008 8:02AM]

So, back to the product....For whoever hasn't yet seen the video link, this thing is pretty worthless. From what it looks like, you're required to have a host computer in close proximity to your TV so that the bundled remote can control the zbox....but if you had said computer in the first place, why not save your $499 and hook up directly to your TV? It's basically a $499 VGA-to-Coax converter. Great.

[Daron @ Jun 26th 2008 10:12AM]

This is an awesome product and with the right software or hardware it would allow you to do things that now cost thousands of dollars to implements. You could hook this think up to a Media Center PC, MAC, MythTV, Xbox, PS3, or whatever your preference and create your own interactive (in-home/in-building) unencrypted QAM HDTV channel. Example(s): 1) I have a 6 bedroom house with 4 school age children that live with me. I could hookup a Xbox 360 or PS3 at the origination point of my structured wiring. Now they can play the game system on any HD QAM capable TV in the home (I have a couple of 360s, and the range on the wireless controllers is pretty far, or you could us a wireless USB hub for the controllers). 2) I use Vista Media Center in my home with Silicon Dust HD Homerun network tuners. I could use this device to modulate my main Media Center PC (at 1366x768) on a particular channel and tune and add it to the media center guide. One problem that most extenders have it playing various video and audio formats. It would be possible to write software to create your own on-demand channel like Comcast Channel 1 and playback every file format you can think of (MKV, AVI, MOV, etc.) which exactly what I plan on doing. Anyone who has tried modulating HD content knows exactly what this device is. Prior to this production it would cost you over $1000 and that would only be component video (VGA is vastly superior to component on an LCD or Plasma because you can match the exact resolution of the display and get a much sharper picture).

[Jon @ Jun 26th 2008 10:04AM]

I, for one, see a lot of potential in something like this. I have a lot of video on my PC and trying to re-encode it to work with whatever device (Xbox 360, PS3, Apple TV) that is hooked to my TV is PAINFUL.If this thing works the way I think it does, I can just plug it into a coax drop and as long as all of my TVs have ATSC tuners then I can watch my videos from any TV in my house. My two big concerns are how it's going to scale the resolution from 1280x1024 to 1080i and whether or not the broadcast channel is assignable. I guess I'm also concerned about signal strength too. Oh, and price. Maybe a couple of other things too.That's more than two, isn't it? I'm still intrigued.

[qman @ Jun 26th 2008 10:18AM]

I don't think most people get what this is for. Its for distribution to mutiple HDTVs in the house. I have a Media Center connected to a projector in my basement. I'd like to be able to watch it in my family room, kitchen, living room and bedroom TVs. I can do that with extenders, at $250-$350 a pop and run cat-5e to each or I can use this and the coax that already goes to each TV. As an additional advantage I can watch anything I can view on the media center, without any transcoding it to work on extenders, i,e DVDs and Blu-ray. The only drawback I have is that all TVs watch the same content. Of course it all depends on how well this thing works. If it has good image quality, its a no brainer.

[ZeroCorpse @ Jun 26th 2008 11:42AM]

I love my MacBook, and my iPod, and every other Mac I've ever owned. I liked my Apple TV, but as a Roku Netflix Player owner, I have to say that Netflix has got it right.

The box is small and quiet. It generates very little heat. It's always on and uses no more than 5 watts when active (less when in standby). With a decent ISP the video quality is at or near DVD quality. The selection is decent and growing every day. The Roku box is easy to use for ANYbody; Not just tech geeks like us. My wife can pick up the remote and get a movie whenever she wants with this thing. There's no jumping through hoops or sub-menus, and best of all, there's no concern about price because every video and movie is free for the watching.

I paid for a year of Netflix at their basic level ($9.95 a month, 1 DVD out at a time, unlimited rentals and unlimited Instant Watch) and that cost less than it would cost to buy a few seasons of a TV series on iTunes. For that price, I have access to season 1 & 2 of Weeds, tons of classic shows (Munsters, Addams Family, Battlestar Galactica, Forever Knight, Quantum Leap, Sliders, etc.), Season 1 & 2 of Doctor Who, Season 1 of Dexter, and many others.

I also get a lot of great classic movies, quite few 70s/80s/90s movies, and a good collection of recent hits (not great, mind you, but there are some decent flicks in the collection so far).

If I wanted that much on my Xbox 360 Video Marketplace, I'd be spending HUNDREDS, not to mention having to put up with the fan noise and putting my 360 through wear & tear. It would also use a lot more electricity.

If I kept my Apple TV, I'd also pay a LOT more for all the stuff I watch on my Roku Netflix Player. It, too, would use more electricity and it gets HOT.

My Xbox 360 is great for games; So I use it for games.
My MacBook can do everything the Apple TV could do, so I'll use that for my iTunes & YouTube stuff (I never use Flickr).

I already had a Netflix subscription, so the Roku box is like getting a large chunk of my Netflix-available movies without having to wait for the mail. It's quick, on-demand, and works better than the Apple TV did for me.

Seriously; If you're a Netflix subscriber and have at least a 2Mbps connection, the Roku player is totally worth the $109 you'd pay for it.

[ds @ Jun 26th 2008 1:24PM]

what?

[ds @ Jun 26th 2008 1:27PM]

This is a very niche product, but for the few who are interested it really has amazing potential. I am definitely keeping my eye out for more info on this thing. To do what this box claims would definitely cost thousands currently.

[Rahabib @ Jun 26th 2008 5:34PM]

if it were about $200 less, Id consider buying it - if it works smoothly.

[Richard @ Jun 26th 2008 6:06PM]

Is thing using a TI-85 as a remote? WTF is that??

[Valgas @ Jun 27th 2008 2:54AM]

The first thing that came to mind when I saw that remote was "wtf is that"? It looks like the amalgamation of a 90's Qualcom cellphone, an industrial label printer, a handheld auditing computer, graphing calculator and cheap universal remote - to sum it up, it looks ugly.