AvnerRonen
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Boxee, Comcast agree to a workaround for encrypted basic cable channels on third party boxes
Boxee usually doesn't get along with the existing media / pay-TV conglomerates, but now it's telling the FCC it has come to an agreement with Comcast. The solution agreed to lets live TV-friendly Boxee access encrypted basic cable channels thanks to a DLNA-controlled high definition digital transport adapter that would connect to the box via Ethernet, with an eye towards no longer requiring an adapter at all down the road. Multichannel News quotes Boxee CEO Avner Ronen as saying it was "good to work with Comcast" on a deal that gives third parties like his company continued access to basic cable. The benefit for Comcast and other cable companies is that they could progress with encrypted all-digital solutions that would open up bandwidth for things like higher speed internet, something Boxee was arguing against previously. What this means for existing standards like CableCARD or the long awaited AllVid is unclear, but if it's one step closer to a legitimate option to ditching the cable box, we'll take it.
Cloudee beta gets Boxee into the video sharing and cloud storage game
Media center software, a streaming set top box and a TV-tuning USB dongle -- Boxee already has a pretty decent amount on its plate. But don't think the company is done just yet. This isn't about products, this about an ecosystem, and the next step in building that out is Cloudee. At its heart Cloudee is a cloud-based video hosting and sharing service, not terribly dissimilar from YouTube at first glance. But, the vision here is more focused and more narrow than simply having a public space to post your viral clips and home movies. There is the ability to comment on and like videos, but sharing is focused on limited groups of contacts, borrowing some inspiration from Google+. After recording a clip it can be uploaded directly to Cloudee where you can organize your creations into collections, which can not only by shared but have multiple contributors. Boxee's Avner Ronen gave us an example of a recent company outing, where the whole staff contributed videos to a collection shared only internally. He explained that, "video is very specific, a special use case and it deserves its own treatment," something he thinks other services have fallen flat on. When asked about the future of the service he only said only that it will be a "big part of the boxee experience going forward, tightly integrated with Boxee Box." We can't help but hope this is the first step towards a cloud-based DVR service, which we felt was sorely missing from the launch of the Live TV dongle. %Gallery-156759% For now the service is in closed beta, with only an iPhone app available. During the testing period users will be provided with unlimited storage for free, but Ronen hopes to move Cloudee out of beta quickly and begin offering it on a freemium model. All users will get a limited amount of storage for free while more demanding uploaders can purchase unlimited hosting. Just how much free storage will be provided or how much the premium level will cost is still up in the air. Boxee plans to closely watch how testers use the app and decide how the best price and storage points before officially launching and expanding and opening up to other platforms like Android. Once our beta invite arrives we'll be back with a hands-on and you can sign up yourself by heading over to Cloudee.com.
Boxee 1.5 nears release, will be final desktop version
We have some good news and bad news. The good news is: Boxee 1.5 will be entering public beta soon, with a proper release scheduled for January alongside Live TV. The update will finally bring the desktop software up-to-date and deliver the more streamlined UI found on the Boxee Box to your Windows, Mac or Linux computer. The bad news is: this will be the final version of the HTPCsoftware. Going forward Boxee plans to focus all of its efforts on streaming appliances, like its namesake Box and connected Blu-ray players and TVs. The software will also lack access to premium apps like Netflix, thanks to the tangled web of DRM woven by content providers. When CEO Avner Ronen said that the downloadable app would, "most likely lag behind the versions of Boxee for devices," we didn't realize just how far behind he meant. On the plus side, you will be getting that open source release.
Boxee Box remote gets dedicated Netflix button
When technology company executives want to show their dedication to an idea, some get a tattoo. Boxee's Avner Ronen, apparently, puts a giant button on his media center's otherwise minimalist remote control. The image above may well be 'shopped, but the man's dead serious about the final result -- not only is Netflix coming to the Boxee Box, we've confirmed it will be front and center on future remote controls. Hit up our full Boxee liveblog to find out what else we learned!
Boxee Box ditches NVIDIA's Tegra 2 for Intel CE4100, pre-orders start today at $199
The wait for the Boxee Box is nearly over -- pre-orders begin today -- but before you drop a stack of change on D-Link's half-sunk cube, know that there's no longer an NVIDIA Tegra 2 under that tiny hood. At the last minute, Boxee switched to the Intel Atom CE4100, the same up-to-1.2GHz Sodaville chip powering Google TV. That's not all, as manufacturer D-Link told us our good friend Avner Ronen may not be able to keep his promise -- though the company still expects the Box to hit the streets at under $200, we're now looking at a $229 suggested retail price. What could possibly have happened to make these drastic changes? We visited Boxee in person to get an explanation, and you'll find the surprisingly simple (yet NVIDIA-damning) answer right after the break. Update: We just learned that Amazon will be selling it for $199, though the MSRP will remain $229. %Gallery-101976%
Boxee Box priced at $199, Avner Ronen says it'll give users 'freedom to watch what you want'
Well, what's this? Our homey Avner Ronen from Boxee just posted up a little response to Apple's $99 next-gen Apple TV announcement, and he's letting it slip that the much-anticipated Boxee Box will be $100 more than Apple's device, or $199. Avner says Boxee has a "different view of what people want in their living rooms," and that while his device might be more expensive, it'll let you watch anything you can watch on your computer on your TV in 1080p -- the ATV is still limited to 720p. We certainly know a lot of passionate Boxee fans who agree -- now all Avner's got to do is ship the damn thing and let this play out in the actual market. P.S.- Yes, we will cover almost anything that includes a YouTube embed of "Rudie Can't Fail." Well played, Mr. Ronen. Well played indeed.
The Engadget Show - 006: Avner Ronen, the first Windows Phone 7 Series device, Dell Mini 5, and more!
Truly our craziest show yet. In case you didn't tune into the livestream of The Engadget Show on Saturday (and if you somehow didn't hear about the news), then you're in for a real treat. The crew gets especially wild on this episode while talking Hulu and plans for world domination with Boxee's Avner Ronen, revealing the first partner handset for Windows Phone 7 Series with Microsoft's Aaron Woodman, and playing around with the Dell Mini 5, as well as the forthcoming Engadget app for Android. Oh, and there's also a fascinating short piece on chiptune music and visuals and the folks who make the magic happen. If you do one thing today, make it The Engadget Show. You won't be sorry. The full video is available to stream after the break, or you can download it below. Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Paul Miller, Nilay Patel Special guests: Avner Ronen and Aaron Woodman Produced and Directed by: Chad Mumm Executive Producer: Joshua Fruhlinger Edited by: Michael Slavens Music by: Nullsleep Visuals by: Paris and Outpt Opening titles by: Julien Nantiec Download the Show: The Engadget Show - 006 (HD) / The Engadget Show - 006 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) Subscribe to the Show: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V). [Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (M4V). [RSS M4V] Add the Engadget Show feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically. %Gallery-86746% %Gallery-86693%
The Engadget Show Live! With Avner Ronen, WP7S demo, and more...
Keep your eyes tuned to this post -- because at 5:00 PM ET, we'll be starting The Engadget Show live, with Avner Ronen of Boxee, Aaron Woodman showing off Windows Phone 7 Series, plus much, much, more! You seriously don't want to miss it! Of course, if you're in NY we'd love to have you attend the show in person at the Times Center. It's absolutely free! We'll start handing out tickets at 2:30PM, open the doors for seating at 4:30PM, and the show itself starts at 5PM. There will also be giveaways from Boxee and Microsoft after the show, but you obviously have to be here to participate! All the info about attending can be found here. Can't make it? We forgive you, and there's a live video stream that can be found after the break. In the spirit of awesome, we've enabled tweeting directly to the live stream! To be a part of The Engadget Show broadcast, just include the hashtag "#engadgetshow" and watch for your tweet on the ticker at the bottom of the screen. One thing to note, The Engadget Show is a family program, so any single instance of swearing or trolling will force us to turn off the ticker... and it won't come back on. So, keep it clean and have fun! Click "read more" for the stream!
The Engadget Show tapes tomorrow... snow or shine! (plus livestreaming!)
Can't wait for another Engadget Show to roll around? Well you're in luck, friend. It's happening tomorrow at 5:00pm ET. We'll be doing giveaways at the show taping only, so brave the weather and join us in person for a chance to win great prizes! Josh will be sitting down with Avner Ronen of Boxee to discuss the upcoming (and hotly anticipated) Boxee Box, as well as his strategy for taking on Big Television and their army of Jeff Zuckers. Microsoft will also be on hand to demo Windows Phone 7 Series and the company's own Aaron Woodman will be sharing stories about the major changes Redmond has made to the Windows mobile OS. Also expect an out-of-this-world performance from Nullsleep complete with stunning visuals from Outpt and Paris, as well as some other big surprises... As you may have heard, livestreaming is back by popular demand, and we're rolling out some cool new features! You will now be able to tweet your comments directly to the livestream! During the show, just include the hashtag "#engadgetshow" and look for your tweet to show up on the ticker at the bottom of the stream. One thing to note, The Engadget Show is a family program, so any single instance of swearing or trolling will force us to turn off the ticker... and it won't come back on. So, keep it clean and have fun! The Engadget Show is sponsored by Sprint, and will take place at the Times Center, part of The New York Times Building in the heart of New York City at 41st St. between 7th and 8th Avenues (see map after the break). Tickets are -- as always -- free to anyone who would like to attend, but seating is limited, and tickets will be first come, first served... so get there early! Here's all the info you need: There is no admission fee -- tickets are completely free The event is all ages Ticketing will begin at the Times Center at 2:30PM on Saturday, doors will open for seating at 4:30PM, and the show begins at 5PM You cannot collect tickets for friends or family -- anyone who would like to come must be present to get a ticket Seating capacity in the Times Center is about 340, and once we're full, we're full The venue is located at 41st St. between 7th and 8th Avenues in New York City (map after the break) The show length is around an hour If you're a member of the media who wishes to attend, please contact us at: engadgetshowmedia [at] engadget [dot] com, and we'll try to accommodate you. All other non-media questions can be sent to: engadgetshow [at] engadget [dot] com. Subscribe to the Show: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V). [Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (M4V). [RSS M4V] Add the Engadget Show feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically. Update: As you guys may have noticed, New York and the surrounding areas got hit with a little snow. Never fear, because we're still doing the show, but we're going to make it easier for everyone to come out and enjoy it. If you want to see the taping today, don't worry about showing up at 2PM or standing in line -- if you come anytime before 4:30PM you will definitely get a seat! We don't want anyone standing around in the snow, and it's likely that not everyone who was going to come will be able to make it, so we should be able to accommodate everyone that does show up.
The Engadget Show returns this Saturday, Feb. 27th... now with live streaming!
We've heard your pleas, citizens of Engadget, and we are pleased as punch to announce that The Engadget Show taping this Saturday, February 27th at 5pm will be streaming live, direct to you via the internet! We'll be sitting down with Avner Ronen, creator and CEO of Boxee and taking a look at the forthcoming (and very anticipated) Boxee Box. Not only that, but we'll have a Windows Phone 7 Series device on hand for a demo and discussion, you'll be meeting our new investigative correspondent Rick Karr, and we'll have more of the classic Engadget Show shenanigans you've come to know and love. You can also expect good, clean music from Nullsleep, and stunning visuals from Outpt and Paris. We'll be doing giveaways at the live show only, so make the trek and join us at The Times Center in person! If for some reason you live in not-New York, you can catch the show streaming live, right here on Engadget -- and you'll be able to tweet comments directly to the show stream! Like Josh said, if you miss this one, you'll basically have zero good stories to tell your grandchildren. The Engadget Show is sponsored by Sprint, and will take place at the Times Center, part of The New York Times Building in the heart of New York City at 41st St. between 7th and 8th Avenues (see map after the break). Tickets are -- as always -- free to anyone who would like to attend, but seating is limited, and tickets will be first come, first served... so get there early! Here's all the info you need: There is no admission fee -- tickets are completely free The event is all ages Ticketing will begin at the Times Center at 2:30PM on Saturday, doors will open for seating at 4:30PM, and the show begins at 5PM You cannot collect tickets for friends or family -- anyone who would like to come must be present to get a ticket Seating capacity in the Times Center is about 340, and once we're full, we're full The venue is located at 41st St. between 7th and 8th Avenues in New York City (map after the break) The show length is around an hour If you're a member of the media who wishes to attend, please contact us at: engadgetshowmedia [at] engadget [dot] com, and we'll try to accommodate you. All other non-media questions can be sent to: engadgetshow [at] engadget [dot] com. Subscribe to the Show: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V). [Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (M4V). [RSS M4V] Add the Engadget Show feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.
The Engadget Show returns February 27th with Boxee's Avner Ronen, Windows Phone 7 Series, and more!
If you're a fan of entertainment of the digital variety, you'd be a fool to miss the next live taping of The Engadget Show. We'll be sitting down with Avner Ronen, creator and CEO of Boxee and taking a look at the forthcoming (and very anticipated) Boxee Box. We'll also be discussing Avner's strategy for taking on the networks and cable providers, and the best methods of defending oneself from Jeff Zucker. Not only that, but we'll have a Windows Phone 7 Series device on hand for a demo and discussion, plus the regular kind of Engadget Show zaniness you've come to know and love. You can also expect good clean music from Nullsleep, and stunning visuals from Outpt and Paris. If you miss this one, you'll basically have zero good stories to tell your grand children. The Show is sponsored by Sprint, and will take place at the Times Center, part of The New York Times Building in the heart of New York City at 41st St. between 7th and 8th Avenues (see map after the break). Tickets are -- as always -- free to anyone who would like to attend, but seating is limited, and tickets will be first come, first served... so get there early! Here's all the info you need: There is no admission fee -- tickets are completely free The event is all ages Ticketing will begin at the Times Center at 2:30PM on Saturday, doors will open for seating at 4:30PM, and the show begins at 5PM You cannot collect tickets for friends or family -- anyone who would like to come must be present to get a ticket Seating capacity in the Times Center is about 340, and once we're full, we're full The venue is located at 41st St. between 7th and 8th Avenues in New York City (map after the break) The show length is around an hour If you're a member of the media who wishes to attend, please contact us at: engadgetshowmedia [at] engadget [dot] com, and we'll try to accommodate you. All other non-media questions can be sent to: engadgetshow [at] engadget [dot] com. Subscribe to the Show: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V). [Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (M4V). [RSS M4V] Add the Engadget Show feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.
NBC's Jeff Zucker talks about Boxee with congress, Boxee talks about The Facts with Jeff Zucker
So, Jeff Zucker of NBC was hanging out his new best friend Brian Roberts from Comcast today, talking up the proposed acquisition in front of Congress. A certain Rep. Rick Boucher asked "what about Boxee?" and things got a little interesting. Jeff says that Boxee was "illegally taking the content that was on Hulu," as opposed to the "many distributors of the Hulu content that we have legal distribution deals with." We're not exactly sure which deals Zucker is referring to, but Boxee's Avner Ronen takes issue with the first point: I'd like to set the record straight regarding Boxee's access to Hulu. Boxee uses a web browser to access Hulu's content – just like Firefox or Internet Explorer. Boxee users click on a link to Hulu's website and the video within that page plays. We don't "take" the video. We don't copy it. We don't put ads on top of it. The video and the ads play like they do on other browsers or on Hulu Desktop. And it certainly is legal to do so. He also takes issue with some of Zucker's other points, pointing out that Hulu dropped Boxee based on a request from NBC, while Zucker calls it a decision by "Hulu management," and he also points out that Boxee hasn't found NBC as open to negotiations as Zucker claims to be, but will be giving it another shot -- perhaps with some of that subscription fee cash mixed in somewhere to sweeten the deal? It's worth watching the short clip on C-Span and reading the entire Boxee rebuttal, even if it won't make you any less angry.
