Boxee has grown up. It was just a few short years ago that the NYC startup was simply hawking beta copies of its innovative media center software. Then came the D-Link-made Boxee Box, which sold in limited numbers through Best Buy and several online retailers. But now, with the Boxee TV, the startup has pulled off something special (or devilish depending on your view of the retailer) and managed to get the Boxee TV into Walmart.
The $99 device should be available in Walmart nationwide as soon as tomorrow. It will be supported by a large, in-store advertising campaign including a live demo endcaps and extra signage.
The Boxee TV is the company’s third product. It follows the path blazed by the Boxee Box, and while it features Netflix, Pandora and several other streaming apps, the Boxee TV focuses on live TV rather than streaming content like the ‘Box. For $99, the Boxee TV hits for the same price as the Apple TV and top-tier Roku but offers something unfathomable in its competitors: A live TV tuner and DVR without a storage limit.
The Boxee TV’s marque features is the so-called No Limits DVR. By utilizing Amazon’s cloud services, Boxee built a DVR without a storage limit. Users can record literally as much content was they want from OTA and basic cable. But there’s a catch: The No Limits DVR costs $14.99 a month and this feature is only available in a few markets at launch.
With the help of Wally World, the Boxee TV has a solid chance to being a legitimate hit. It’s priced right, has a lot more features than its competitors and will be featured in America’s biggest retailer during the holiday season. That’s a sure-fire formula for success.
Boxee is a partially open-source freeware media player software platform that integrates personal locally stored media with Internet streaming media along with social networking features. Boxee’s social networking component allows users to share information about what they are watching or listening to with other boxee users or friends on social networks like Twitter, Facebook, etc. Since it is partially open source, users can create their own apps, plug-ins, and skins for it. The framework for Boxee is based on source...
Austin, TX
Seattle, WA
San Diego, CA
Menlo Park, CA
Boston, MA
Disrupt Europe: Berlin Hackathon
Berlin, Germany
