Short Version The Boxee Box is here. I unboxed the device yesterday and have spent pretty much every moment since poking around and I’m impressed. It’s not the mind-blowing experience you get from the desktop app, but the dead-simple setup compounded with the clever dual-sided remote makes for a superb user experience. It’s still Boxee at the core and that’s all that matters. The Boxee Box brings broadcast shows along with web video to your HDTV through the magical Internet tubes. Disney, News Corp, NBC Universal, CBS, they all work – not through Hulu but Fancast, and this is could be a problem (more on this later). People love Boxee because it is one of the best options for watching any sort of video on your computer. The program is the heart of many HTPCs. Sadly, the Boxee Box isn’t a true, ready-made Boxee HTPC. It’s still worth your time, but don’t expect to replicate the same experience of Boxee installed on an HTPC. That said, it is without a doubt the best stand-alone media streamer on the market and will only get better. → Read More
Got a few minutes around 2pm EST? You might want to watch a livestreamed Boxee Box Q&A session hosted by the company’s CEO, Avner Ronen. Click through for the embedded video. → Read More
The Boxee Box is tiny. Most of the Internet knows that. But when compared directly to standard A/V devices, its tiny stature really sinks in. (ha) It has about the same footprint as a new Roku or Apple TV, but the sinking box design makes the actual space it takes up a bit larger. Still, it’s smaller than either one of the Google TV boxes and just about every other AV device. The same goes for the remote. I’m not sure if this is a good thing though. → Read More
Oh boy. The Boxee Box is finally here. More to come later today. Drop your questions in the comments for me. → Read More
Tomorrow, the first shipments of the $199 Boxee Box go out to people who pre-ordered them. I got a preview demo today at Boxee HQ from CEO Avner Ronen. Check out the video. → Read More
The Boxee Box will hit retailers and livingrooms with in the coming weeks and because of Vudu, it will be a bit more versatile thanks to the addition of Vudu. The service provides 1080p movie streams with Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound for a reasonable $2 for two nights of viewing. This isn’t your average HD-lite movie, either. It’s a high-quality stream that will probably satisfy most viewers.
Plus, seeing how it’s owned by Walmart, Vudu tends to have first run movies right away making the Boxee Box a legitimate contender in the media streamer pageant. The service should hit the platform within the coming weeks. It’s not clear if it will launch alongside the Boxee Box, but it will be available this November according to the press release. → Read More
Once upon a time, Microsoft backed a format called HD DVD and, well, that didn’t turn out so well. But the departure from focusing on high-density physical media early on might have forced Microsoft — and the Xbox team — to look towards digital downloads for future products. UK Xbox chief, Stephen McGill, seems to agree and recently stated to gaming site Xbox Achievements that “People now recognize what a smart decision it was to keep the [Xbox 360] pricing low,” in reference to not including an advance optical format within the Xbox 360. Then he goes on to properly slam the Blu-ray format. → Read More
You might want to hold off on that Apple TV purchase. The Boxee Box is on its way and should drop this coming November. Want one of the first ones? Well, jump over to Amazon where it just went up for pre-order. The box will ship with a QWERTY remote, 802.11N connectivity and the upcoming Boxee 1.0 release, which Boxee’s VP of Marketing told NewTeeVee will bring a “new look and feel” to the software. Just as Avner Ronen promised, the press release indicates that the “average street price” will be $199 in North America although that wording could mean MSRP might be a bit higher. → Read More
Plex is about to get big. The offshoot of the XBMC project just announced that LG will be using its media platform in upcoming Netcast HDTVs and Blu-ray players, in turn, making these devices about the best media streamers imaginable — even better than the upcoming Boxee Box or just-refreshed Apple TV.
After all, Plex already works with Netflix, Hulu, BBC’s iPlayer, and supports playback of just about every media format ever created via the best interface in the business. There’s even an iOS remote viewing app coming soon. Forget about having an extra box sitting on your TV stand just to stream random content, it’s going to be built into your HDTV. Welcome to the future, ladies and gentleman. → Read More
The other players are scrambling to set themselves in opposition to the new Apple TV: earlier this week, Roku dropped their prices preemptively; Amazon is touting 99-cent shows; now, Boxee is pricing their long-awaited Boxee Box. It’s $199, and they defend the price in a blog post, saying that people really do want the extra features it offers. I’d tend to agree, but in the end it’s the consumers who will decide it. → Read More
The Boxee Box is now one step closer to your livingroom seeing as the FCC recently put the remote through its testing process. There’s not a whole lot of new info to be found. It still sports the oh-so-helpful QWERTY keypad on one side and simple navigational controls on the other. The FCC boys did find it necessary to tear it apart, reveling the single circuit control board. Hopefully this means Boxee will meet its November launch window. I for one wouldn’t mind seeing a sinking box wrapped under my Christmas tree. [FCC via Engadget] → Read More
There’s a looming battle on the horizon: The Syabas Popbox vs the Boxee Box. Both are fighting for living room dominance, but the Popbox has made the first move as it’s finally available directly from Amazon. → Read More
Read the headline again and smile. This little box just got a whole lot cooler. Now, how about the price. → Read More
D-Link just went official on the Boxee Box. But they still didn’t answer our only last question: the price. All they said is that it will be less than $200. Thanks, we kind of figured that along with that the device will stream media from various big-name sources like Netflix, Pandora and Last.fm. Stay tuned though, more info is likely going to drop at CES in a day or two. → Read More
Everyone, where everyone means Internet nerds, has been talking a lot about the Boxee Box the last few days. For good reason too. It brings the ultra-cool software to your living room in an official product. AppleTV hacking will soon not be required to use Boxee on your HDTV. But with all the talk recently, some points have been missing. No more, Andrew from Boxee just posted a bunch of info concerning the upcoming digital appliance. → Read More
We know Boxee. We like Boxee. And when we heard Boxee was planning on dropping some dedicated hardware, our hearts… well, maybe they leapt a little bit, but there was also some skepticism there. Part of the fun of Boxee has been its hardware-agnostic nature. Put it on your AppleTV, put it on your micro-PC, put it on your iPhone — whatever. Would dedicated hardware take away the fun? Probably not, I just like to be a naysayer now and then. The Boxee Box looks pretty awesome. → Read More
Boxee, everyone’s favorite HTPC software, just announced that the company just partnered with its first CE company. But that’s all the company is saying. We don’t know anything else. However, there is an event coming up on December 7th right around the corner from John’s house where we should learn more. I’m already excited though. Just think what this means. → Read More
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