We're already gone hands-on with the
Boxee Box and its sweet QWERTY RF remote, but now that we know there's a dual-core Tegra 2 in there it's time for a little interface demo with founder Avner Ronen. First things first: yes, it ran Hulu in the browser -- but the network connection on the show floor was acting up, so we couldn't demo it very well. Avner tells us the built-in browser IDs itself as essentially standard Mozilla, so we'll have to see if Hulu goes out of its way to block it --it's definitely still possible, but it'll take some work. Apart from that minor drama, we've got to say we're incredibly impressed -- the interface was lightning fast, the remote's keyboard felt great, and we're liking the Facebook / Twitter integration, which mines your feeds for videos posted by your friends and displays them on the home page. Avner tells us he thinks D-Link will be "aggressive" with that under-$200 price point when the Box launches in Q2, and there'll be tons of content partners at launch. Video after the break!
posted January 8th 2010 6:41PM
Why does it say Sarah Palin at the top?
@gadgetdevil Why not??
@(Unverified)
Why not? Because she has nothing to do with televisions, set top boxes or streaming video, that's why not! Please, if I wanted to read about my former governor, I would get on twitter.
@gadgetdevil Normally it would be your Boxee username for the social parts (see what friends are watching) and queuing video from the web, etc. They did Sarah Palin as a joke.
@DavidCDean Oh, and I noticed that they still haven't discussed Netflix support on the appliance, which I'm guessing has not been squared away yet.
@gadgetdevil
Maybe someone hacked her Boxee account just like her web e-mail. She's not too good with those things, ya know.*
*(in all fairness, it's the fault of the lame password reset tools being based on common information like hometown or birthdate. But.. whatever..)
Uhmmm... you guys mind explaining why I see the name Sarah Palin under the Boxee logo? LOL! Loving the interface, btw.
Remind me why I bought an Apple TV?
@himynameissam i don't wanna be prejudice, but maybe you would buy anything with a apple logo?
Pretty cool actually. Great price point too.
@RenonX yeah ima have to grab one o these
Perhaps its a build name nickname. Engineers are like that ;)
With a bit of luck, the beta will be coming to the ATV soon. The question is WHEN!!! :D
the boxee software is crap though doesnt play video files, i mean audio is there but no video...the alpha version was much better had none of these problems...btw the iphone app is really easy to use...hope they fix the video problems on the beta quickly...
@epoch24 What hardware are you on because I'm on an iMac 2.4 and it all works perfect. And I am using the beta 9.20….
@epoch24 having no problem with the beta on an ASRock ION 330, including HD rips.
@epoch24 Before you tear apart the software, you should do some research. It's not playing video because you don't have the latest version of DirectX. I believe the Alpha used OpenGL.
sooo how long until vanilla xbmc gets put on one of these things?
Boxxy, my Queen!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bMLrA_0O5I
I have a tablet or netbook or pc attached to my hdtv. anything i can do on the pc.. including the internet.. is there. so....why would i need a boxee?
and yea WHY THE HELL would anybody try to advertise a hot new product using that idiot's name?
@(Unverified) because of the interface. Easy to navigate, and automatic metadata downloads.
Do you want to copy/paste dvd and album covers from the internet one by one and go to 15 different websites to get video from all those sources?
-PS, I'm a very happy Boxee user.
@jimmylittle well you can run boxee program or xbm, windows media player on a pc or netbook
but the purpose of a boxee device is for people that do not want to plug their laptop to a tv or they don't have a dedicated htpc. This product is supposed to be under $200 and should be plug and play.
@(Unverified) "I have a tablet or netbook or pc attached to my hdtv."
Is that supposed to be a hypothetical, or do you actually have all of them attached to your TV?
Personally, I have an Atom/ION setup with Windows 7 and launch Boxee directly from Windows Media Center when I'm not watching live or recorded TV.
That being said, if someone just wants access to internet programming and files stored on their network, the Boxee Box is a great solution.
Does it work flawless in most media format from usb? like mkv, mov etc..?
I try several media player, always has issue playing certain media files or subtitle is hard to read.
@techlord Well atm it does not give any video on any of those formats but maybe once its fixed, that problem will go away.
Nothing works flawlessly
@epoch24 actually my Windows Boxee Beta had no problem playing a ripped MKV... what platform are u using?
@techlord
It plays every video type i've thrown at it - inc, mkv & mov
@techlord Just tried the new Boxee beta on 64bit Linux and it played 1080p MKV files fine
I like the Boxee Box, but at this price what is to stop me from buying something like an Inspiron Zino HD for a little extra and allows me to do a little bit more especially since it has storage and then installing Boxee onto it.
I guess what I am getting at is, what is the incentive other than a snazy remote which I could use my iPhone to do the same thing?
@7egend The remote, netflix (soon), not having to support your own hardware (I built an HTPC...right now it is dead because either the PSU or the Mobo has issues).
@7egend Nothing is stopping you and they actually promote you doing so. They recommend ION based hardware like Acer Revo, HP Mini 311 or Zotac ION
http://blog.boxee.tv/2009/12/11/boxee-for-the-holidays/
@jcrash
The Boxee remote will be available with a USB dongle as a separate purchase, allowing any PC to use it (I'm almost more excited about that than the Boxee Box itself). If the Zino's PSU goes out then Dell will take care of it just the same as if the Boxee Box had a hardware issue. The cheapest Dell Zino (which can support 1080 and a bluray drive added later) only costs $230 when it's on sale (which is often). Still, if you don't need the optical drive, saving $30 (or more) could be worth it if you have multiple TVs and just want to extend your in-house/office/hotel/whatever media network.
If it were my only HTPC, I'd probably go with a Dell Zino. But we'll see..
@7egend honestly, if you want the Zino, or another SFF PC (I'm using an ION/Atom 330 with no probs), I'd highly recommend it. There's a simple script that lets you launch Boxee from the Windows Media Center interface, and when you quit Boxee, it goes right back to WMC (which is especially handy if you have a TV tuner).
Wow. Under 200 bucks, Tegra 2, firefox, an awesome remote, and Hulu?
I've offiially put off buying an aspire Revo or one of the zotac HTPCs. Completely behind this.
@Nerdtalker
"I've offiially put off buying an aspire Revo or one of the zotac HTPCs. Completely behind this."
Same here!
But why Q2? Come on boxee/dlink crew, get it going.
Your not the only web2.0/network-media streamer coming up
Sounds to me like the guy was very unsure about where it pulls the video from. Especially if it is Hulu or what have you. The camera guys game him a little bit of a hard time... but it sounded like Mr. Adner was reluctant to say things.
@Tweak589
I was thinking the same thing, it's probably because some of those sources are of questionable legality.
"Under $200"...also known as "$199.99".
@Spectracide and that is not reasonable to you how exactly...?
@peetuhr
Dell Zino + Boxee for $230. Plus you can add a cheap bluray drive later on. But I agree, $199.99 is nothing to sneeze at, and I would still consider getting a Boxee Box.
@Ned Scott
Zino is not yet proven. Not to mention, search for Dell Zino Delays and you will find lots of unhappy customers.
thats way better than apple tv
@funnywow
I actually loved the Apple TV when it first came out and thought it was a very good/reasonable device. Now it's... dated... and still costs the same. Even if you hack it and load up XBMC or Boxee(if you can do one then the other normally isn't far off), it still won't be the better deal.
Boxee GUI looks like the lovechild of Zune and NXE. I like it.
@Nathan V Yea i think its not even close to that. Its more like Stephen Speilberg and Michael Bay.
What I want to know is if this is just like the normal PC/Mac version of Boxee which allows you to use other skins. If someone at CES could swing back to the Boxee booth and find out.. I'd love you forever.
@Ned Scott
That's the same question that I had. I have an old Xbox modded with XMBC and just really love the different skins, some of which are quite stunning. I'm all for standardized ease of use, but there is something to be said for the "cool Gee Whiz" factor. Especially if it's going to be in HD. But I am really interested in the Boxee Box either way. Although the PopBox is pretty tempting also for my relatively basic needs, at a significantly lower price point.
@Charles
yeah but no Hulu or other online media support via firefox. think bang-for-buck would have to = boxee box. i'm pretty hooked but knowing boxee, this thing will be delayed for about another 9 months....
Boxee has really grabbed my attention with this interface overhaul. I downloaded it a few months ago and, being very unimpressed, uninstalled it soon after. It just didn't seem useful to me at all. With the newest update, I have since reinstalled Boxee and I adore it. It's very relevant to my interests and once I opened it, I couldn't put my laptop down. From TV shows to web content to music videos, Boxee has definitely become more full-featured. I'll be a repeat user for sure.