Anti-consumer legislation SOPA and PIPA might be all but dead, but there isn’t time to rest. There is a seemingly never-ending flow of proposed legislation, statutes and bills queued up, ready to bust down doors and storm living rooms. One of the latest involves the forced transition from analog to digital cable — something I wrote about back in 2008. If the FCC caves to massive lobbying from the cable companies, the days of unencrypted cable stations in the US will be numbered. Cable subscribers would be required to have a cable box (which will likely cost money) or CableCard-compatible box to receive even local network stations.

Boxee just recently started taking an active role in this fight. The Boxee Box has always been uniquely positioned as a legitimate cable alternative, but it wasn’t until Boxee Live TV launched last month that the company has gone against cable companies face-to-face. But if this proposal passes, it will stifle products not only from Boxee, but also products from El Gato, Silicon Dust and others — and let’s not forget about the likely millions of cable TVs currently enjoying living a box-less life.

Right now most cable providers are required by a 1996 FCC rule to provide a basic set of unencrypted stations. These are most often just local broadcast stations also available through an OTA tuner (think ABC, PBS, and a random religious station). Under the current rules, cable companies are not allowed to encrypt these stations, therefore allowing them to work with any TV, tuner, or as the FCC calls them, navigation devices like the Boxee Live TV. As cable providers started transitioning to a more efficient digital signal, these channels remained, able to work with older TVs most often found in guest bedrooms, garages and the like. But soon even those stations might go dark.

This process started several years back when Cablevision became the first provider to petition the FCC for a waiver (pdf alert) allowing the provider to completely ditch analog channels in some markets. The FCC granted the request, which caused several other providers to file similar petitions.

But this isn’t as nefarious as it sounds. Analog cable systems are notoriously inefficient. Cablevision went on to launch the US’s first residential 100mbps service way back in 2009. This was partly possible because the company freed space by using an all-digital TV transmission. At the time Verizon’s FiOS topped out at 50mbps, and as former TechCrunch writer Nicholas Deleon found out, the service lived up to its expectations. Plus it was only $100 a month. In 2009.

Comcast pointed out in 2009 that the provider can fit 10-15 digital stations or 2-3 HD stations onto a single analog transmission. Per AllVid’s press release citing Comcast’s Comments on the FCC’s docket number 11-169, Comcast went on to respond to the FCC in November 2011 that the digital transition goal set by Congress was achieved. So if the leak was fixed, why completely shut off the water now?

The National Cable & Telecommunications Association argues it’s time to move forward. Digital boxes allows cable companies to remotely troubleshoot problems therefore reducing the amount of trucks needed to respond to service calls. You know, it’s better for the Earth. Each time a cable truck is saved from rolling out to a subscriber’s house, Al Gore plants a tree — or something like that.

The NCTA goes on to state in its comments to the FCC that 77% of cable subscribers are already on a digital service, more on the larger providers: it’s 90% for Comcast, 95% for Cablevision, and 74% for TWC. The trade association insists that it’s time for the FCC to drop outdated rules and allow for a level playing field. Netflix has more subscribers than any cable provider, it states. As “the marketplace is robustly competitive and video services are being delivered over a range of different platforms to a wide array of different devices” a level playing field is warranted. Yes, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association says cable providers need the FCC’s to help stop people from cutting the cord.

Comcast started implementing a mostly digital line-up in my area in 2008. I was furious. I was going to lose service on several TVs. Now, my TV in my garage and office sit unused (first world problem, I know) because I’m not going to pay the $3 a month for additional boxes. The march to 100% digital will raise rates and alienate millions, I said. Now, Comcast and others are marching up the FCC stairs again, fueled by nearly endless lobbying money.

Boxee points out in their blog post that cable companies spent more the $50 million on lobbying. That’s $50 million, that rather than improving their service, was spent on courting the FCC and legislators into redefining consumer friendly statutes. Boxee doesn’t have that kind of cash. They instead received an audience with the FCC Chairman and staff and presented their argument that modifying the existing rules will slow innovation, harm start-ups and hurt consumers by raising rates. But moreover, the move to an all-digital service can be achieved in different means.

The CEA agrees. The Consumer Electronic Association indicated that the proposed ruling should not be enacted by itself. There are other, more pressing matters that the FCC must address alongside this issue. Granting cable providers a sweeping ruling does not solve the underlining issues of lack of competition, “downloadable security”, and allowing the private sector to enact their solutions (AllVid). “If [the FCC] is going to continue with fixes that are only “interim,” it should proceed, as well, with a true solution,” says the CEA at the end of its comments on the matter.

The AllVid Tech Company Alliance, a group of industry leaders founded to advance the FCC’s proposed AllVid standard, also oppose the ruling. The alliance states that the FCC should continue issuing waivers on a case-by-case basis. Anything less would stifle competition and force more consumers to rely on “proprietary leased devices.”

Boxee is winning. Consumers are winning. Cable companies are starting to feel the heat from people tired of paying for hundreds of stations but only watching a few. Cable companies need to do what ever they can to lock consumers in, but they’re driving them away at a faster rate. Prices constantly rise without any noticeable improvement in service.

Consumers deserve choices. Sure, they have a choice whether to subscribe to a given cable company, but they should also have a choice to use 3rd party hardware and boxes. In 1996 Congress entrusted the FCC with the task to adopt regulations that would ensure commercial availability of navigation devices such as set top boxes. As Boxee, the CEA, and AllVid point out in their FCC comments, caving to the cable companies would be in direct violation of these instructions.The FCC is supposed to look out for the lowly consumer, not the mighty cable company. Hopefully they’ll keep this in mind as Comcast and others wine and dine Washington DC.

Boxee just reinvented the box. The Boxee Box is no longer just a media streamer, thanks to the just-released Boxee Live TV. The little USB ATSC tuner integrates OTA HDTV and basic cable seamlessly into the Boxee Box’s menu system, and I found it’s as wonderful as it sounds. The little box is now the cord cutter’s best friend (if it wasn’t already).

Setup is easy. Connect an antenna or cable line to the dongle and then plug it into one of the Boxee Box’s two USB ports. From there, just select Live TV from the main menu to start watching after an initial channel scan. There’s even a basic content guide like that on most cable boxes.

The Live TV dongle ships with a small, passive antenna (pictured top), which managed to pull in just two ATSC stations in my area. The ancient aerial antenna on my roof pulled in eleven. But that’s to be expected; the dongle is simply an ATSC tuner. Like any over-the-air tuner, the bigger the antenna, the better the reception you will receive.

But the tuner isn’t just for OTA TV. It also pulls basic cable stations, too. Some cable providers provide a basic channel lineup with cable modem service for little or no cost. These stations (there are usually between 10-25) can be picked up with any TV tuner including Boxee’s Live TV dongle. Other companies pipe a full complement of unencrypted stations including HD stations through their wires that will work, too. Your mileage will very.

The tuner works as advertised but there are still several features missing for the Boxee Box to be the ultimate cord cutting device. For one, DVR functionality would be killer if, say, the Boxee Box could schedule and record live TV to a local or network drive. The Boxee team says they’re looking into the feasibility of a DVR so it could be in the works. The content guide could also use a little work. Right now, it’s just a list of stations on the left side of the screen. Boxee should look to TiVo and others to build a more complete guide.

As with the rest of Boxee, the app is social. Users can share what they’re watching on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook.

The bottom line is Boxee Live TV works. Plug in the dongle to bring live, somewhat traditional content to the Boxee Box. It’s that simple. Sure, most HDTVs already have a ATSC tuner built-in but using it is often a hassle. Boxee Live TV is as easy as the rest of the media stream. The Boxee Box was already the best device to rid oneself from the chains of subscription TV. Now it’s just that much better.

Boxee Live TV will ship this week for $49.99. It’s a tough sell to those that use a Boxee Box for a cable TV supplement, not a full replacement (like me). However, it’s a no-brainer for Boxee Box owners without any other form of pay TV.

SOPA protests are everywhere today. The Internet is collectively up in arms about the proposed legislation. Major sites are shut down, banners are everywhere, but that’s online. Boxee is taking the fight to living rooms.

Turn on a Boxee Box today and you’ll be greeted with three large black boxes that clearly state STOP SOPA. There’s no way to miss them. Featured videos generally occupy the prime real estate on the home screen. But not today. Today they direct viewers to a Vimeo video (embedded below) explaining the downfalls of Protect-IP.

Boxee would be uniquely affected by the proposed legislation. The company is built around the idea of open video sharing. SOPA and PIPA could utterly disrupt this practice. Most of Boxee’s video sources are legitimate but many of the service’s apps would no doubt fall victim the purposed legislation’s murky wording.

Boxee’s message is mostly preaching to the choir at this point. Chances are owners of Boxee Boxes are well aware of the horrors of SOPA. But it shows the sheer depth of today’s movement. The message is everywhere: Stop SOPA.

Many people think of television antennas as relics of the past: bunny ears and ugly wires, black and white, and fuzzy snow pictures. So, instead, we’re happy to plop down upwards of $50 (or $85, or $100) a month to get cable, which comes loaded with HD content and (sometimes) high quality programming.

Turns out, TV antennas are a lot more useful than most people think: most of the shows people watch are actually available over broadcast networks like FOX, NBC, CBS, and NBC — Boxee says 89 out of the top 100 shows appear on these freely available networks.

And soon owners of the Boxee Box will have an easier way to take advantage of them, thanks to a new $49 USB TV tuner that’s being released in January (the feature was first spotted by GigaOm in a leaked software build last week). Plug in the USB stick into the Boxee Box, wire up the antenna, and you’re set — with one more reason to ‘cut the cord’ and rid yourself of your monthly cable bill.

Broadcast channels are generally local, so they give you access to your local news programs. They’re also home to the biggest sporting events (Superbowl, The Olympics), political events (like the debates), and so on. And, provided you have adequate reception, an HD channel received over broadcast will actually be higher quality than it would over cable (broadcast content isn’t compressed).

There are two potential caveats though. The first is that not everyone can receive broadcast channels, at least for all the networks they want — it’s up to where you live, which direction your attention would be facing and how far it is from a window, and other factors (you’ll probably just need to test it out).

And second: at this point Boxee hasn’t included DVR functionality, so you can’t yet record from over-the-air broadcasts. You can, however, take advantage of Boxee’s social features, and the company has licensed data so that the channels you receive over broadcast are clearly labeled.

Boxee CEO Avner Ronen says that the service has 2 million cumulative users, around a quarter of whom are active. Most of the active users are using Boxee’s software installed on a PC or Mac (they can’t use this antenna), but he says the dedicated Boxee Box, which launched a year ago, is the fastest-growing way to use the service.

Boxee will make a small amount of money for each USB Tuner and Boxee Box sold, but Ronen says this isn’t the way the business will scale — rather, its longer term vision is to generate revenue through its software.

TechCrunch TV is now really TechCrunch TV. When TCTV launched last year, the focus was on viewing our videos on the computer. Not on TV. Ok, we called it “TechCrunch TV” because it sounded a lot better than “TechCrunch Video”. But today, we are launching on the AOL HD platform and you can find us on your connected TV set.

Our videos are live on Roku, Boxee, Divx and Yahoo Connected TV platforms. Together, these platforms reach over 12 million devices. And that number is growing. A new report by Strategy Analytics says 42 million homes in the US and Europe are now using Connected TV devices. Don’t be surprised if more platforms get added to AOL HD as well. (AOL, the owner of TechCrunch, didn’t want me to say anything about that. Oh well.)

You can find these shows on the channel:

• Founder Stories: Chris Dixon takes and gives advice to entrepreneurs.
• Fly or Die: John Biggs and Erick Schonfeld give a “fly” or “die” verdict to new products.
• Keen On: Andrew Keen interviews leading thinkers and writers about technology issues.

We are working to get other shows like TC Cribs on the channel, but AOL HD plays only HD content and Cribs is shot in SD. We’ll be changing that soon.

Both on-stage and backstage videos from our Disrupt conferences are available, so you can watch those events from your living room.

The TechCrunch videos appear under AOL HD’s Technology channel, along with other videos from Engadget and Translogic. Robert DelaCruz, General Manager for AOL HD, says “I’m very pleased to include TechCrunch to the channel lineup. TechCrunch further strengthens AOL HD’s technology offering with the latest in technology, from breaking news to startups to gadgets.”

If you want to learn more or get installation instructions, head over to hd.aol.com. Otherwise, lean back and start watching us on your TV. Of course, you can continue to watch on your computer, mobile phone or tablet as well. Those hackers out there who were already using Airplay, or Apple TV, or other means to view our content on TV, will now be joined by a much larger group who can see TechCrunch TV on TV.

Boxee Box owners who are also paying Spotify users, rejoice, for the two have been combined into one sweet music streaming app.

Boxee users with a Spotify Premium subscribers ($9.99 per month) can now enjoy on-demand access to Spotify’s millions of available tracks directly on their TV.

Just last week, Spotify announced a deal with Western Digital to make its way onto television screens in the United States, and the partnership with Boxee is a sign that the company is further intensifying its efforts to make TV its third screen.

And boy has this Boxee deal been a long time coming.

I suspect that has something to do with the fact that Spotify wasn’t available in the United States before (they finally landed there on July 14, 2011). And according to Reuters, 250,000 users in the U.S. are already paying for the service.

Other music streaming apps available on Boxee include Grooveshark and MOG. Next up, Rdio?

Grooveshark is now singing and swaying with Boxee as the music streaming service just hit the platform. The somewhat-underground music service streams lands on Boxee in a slightly different form than its online counterpart. The service not only looks different, but costs $9 a month after a free trial. Ouch. Grooveshark likely wants a slice of that sweet revunue pie Spotify is currently enjoying.

In fact, the Boxee version looks a feels totally different from the traditional online service. Gone is the iTunes-style interface as a, well, orange-ified version of Rdio takes its place. The new tabbed interface brings up user-selected music, playlists, and popular music. Like the traditional version, it allows for easy playlist creation and sorting.

I must point out, seeing how this app carries a monthly fee, that normal Grooveshark works fine in the Boxee Browser. It can be slightly slow navigating as the interface is designed for a mouse, but the whole streaming service works fine and I use it quite often on my Boxee Box. Just saying.

There’s so much more, though, too. The browser reportedly got a massive upgrade and now fully supports bookmarks, browser history, and HTML 5 for sites like HBOGo. The browser’s OSD also got a new coat of paint, including the web video playback screens that now include more content controls.

Speaking of new on-screen displays, Boxee reworked the local video screens too, adding a new scrub bar and moving all the buttons to the bottom of the screen. Media collectors should appreciate that the Boxee Box now allows users to add custom artwork and info through NFO files and 1.1 brings HFS support to the streamer.

The release notes indicate 1.1 kills 43 bugs so chances are the streamer should feel and run a bit more smoothly. The update should hit every Boxee Box within in the coming days, or it can be manually downloaded from the Boxee forums.

Boxee Box 1.1 Release Notes

New Features / Enhancements

1. Browser enhancements

1. Faster Browser Launch
2. Faster Page Loading Speed.
3. Improved HTML 5 support.
4. Added “Refresh” button to browser OSD.
5. Added ability to “Favorite” web sites for quick access.
6. New “Favorites” section in the browser.
7. New “History” section for browsing previously visited web pages.
8. New confirmation pop-up when exiting HTML applications (YouTube Leanback, Netflix, etc.).
9. Support for drop down lists.
10. Current URL is now displayed in the address bar
11. Removed auto full screen button for consistency across websites

1. *NEW* – Trailer Library – added a trailer section to the Boxee movie library.
2. Enhanced UI look and feel.
3. Modified look & feel for On Screen Display (OSD).

1. *NEW* Seek Slider allowing for precise fast forward and rewind.
2. Reduced OSD size so users see more playing content.
3. Added Seek ability for Music playback

1. *NEW* “Share” menu allowing users to select where there message will be shared (Facebook, Twitter, and/or Tumblr).
2. *NEW* Support for NFO files (see this support entry on how to use.)
   Boxee uses IMDB and other sources to identify and tag files.  This meant that Boxee could not identify home movies and that correctly identified files were not able to be customized.  This new release allows users to:

1. Tag home movies with custom meta-data and artwork
2. Update movie metadata with alternate artwork and information
3. Customize the genres of films, TV shows for better personal categorization
4. Customize how TV Show Episodes are tagged and displayed in Boxee.

1. *NEW* Support additional languages and keyboards

1. German
2. French
3. Italian
4. Spanish
5. Swedish
6. Hebrew
7. Danish
8. Dutch
9. Turkish
10. Russian
11. Arabic
12. Portuguese (Brazilian)
13. Czech
14. Norwegian
15. Finnish
16. Polish

1. Keyboard shortcuts during playback:

1. I – Video info
2. Z – Toggle zoom
3. Numeric keys – jump to time in video in minutes:seconds

1. Ability to filter local content by source (USB, Network, SD).
2. Remote control low battery indication.
3. Ability to delete browser cache and cookies (Settings -> System -> Browser)
4. Removed volume control to maintain consistency across playback experience
   Without the ability to control volume in HTML 5 apps like Netflix and YouTube Leanback and apps like VUDU we decided to remove the volume control to make the experience consistent across any app, movie, or show on Boxee.  Now, volume control is similar to that of a Blu-Ray player or game console where users can control via their TV or A/V receiver.
5. Added Leave/Stay pop-up when exiting Apps
6. New MLB application

1. Watch live and recorded games
2. Improved ffwd and rewind functionality
3. Ability to jump to a specific inning or game event
4. Added pitch f/x statistics overlay

1. All 2 channels PCM audio is output as DD 5.1 (on Dolby Digital capable receivers)

Bug fixes

1. Sorting by “Recently Updated” in Unidentified Videos actually sorts Z-A.
2. Occasionally when trying to download and install applications result with signature failed message.
3. Doubled options (All, Favorites, Categories, etc) in the menu drop down makes the menu non functional
4. USB IR receiver double button pushes
5. Visiting teamcoco.com & vbox8.com crashes Boxee browser
6. HTTPS URLs cannot be invoked from search bar.
7. Update is prompted during paused video
8. Emergency error reported on Boxee Box bootup in syslog.
9. Special characters displays are displayed wrong.
10. Playback of some overlay ads in Flash video stutters.
11. “Audio Offset” setting did not work.
12. Boxee Box doesn’t recognize two USB drives with the same drive label.
13. Folder.jpg/.nfo will not work with BluRay Disc folder structures.
14. When Boxee resumes from ‘sleep’ mode all artwork is gone from library view.
15. HTML apps revert to mouse mode when a link is navigated.
16. Rescanning a source before all items identified results in duplicates in Movies.
17. If a show has multiple episodes with same title only latest is displayed.
18. iPhone remote does not refresh the available host names.
19. Display file name with Chinese/Japanese/Korean characters.
20. Remove audio dropouts during HD audio playback.
21. Music is playing 2x speed after movie playback.
22. Boxee loses permission when using HFS+ non journaled USB drive.
23. When playing DTS-HD on DTS capable only receivers, there is no audio
24. Series specials showing up In movies list.
25. RSS feed URL cannot contain a space.
26. MKV DTS Core audio dropouts.
27. Vimeo Couch Mode not playing next video automatically
28. Issue rewinding MP4/MKV files with first 30 seconds of playback.
29. Launching a Test App from Boxee Apps results in two entries of the app shown in the list.
30. Boxee re-adds previously scanned DVD folders on each scan.
31. Unable to use local folder.jpg when manually identifying.
32. Favorite apps disappear and missing.
33. SMB shares reported as disconnected shortly after creation or reboot.
34. SMB shares will not reconnect if SMB source is restarted/goes offline/online
35. Boxee is unable to play mono 1 channel LPCM audio from .M2TS files
36. Handle opensubtitles response error and prompt a correct message to the user.
37. ‘Unable to bring the movie details’ error when manual resolving TV show for files with unknown naming convention.
38. Remove check Internet connection when playing.
39. Default subtitle language is ignored.
40. Pause break subtitles display
41. Odd subtitles display on pause break.
42. Switching audio and subtitles tracks in MKV files takes very long and freezes menu
43. Can’t login to HBOgo.com and MAXGO

Known Issues for Beta release

1. Pairing Devices (under Settings ) is just a place holder and functionality will be implemented in the near future.
2. When adding UPnP source it is recommended to add the UPnP “All Videos” or any “All….” folder as the defined source (using  the sub folders or root can cause reboot)

Talk about timely. Boxee’s Avner Ronen just posted the worklist for the next Boxee Box firmware, which is schuduled to drop in May. Among other fixes the browser is getting a major update that seems to address many of my concerns. Also, Boxee Box support for the iPad app is coming. May can’t get here soon enough.

I’ve thrown big props towards the Boxee Box lately calling it the best media streamer for cutting the cord. It’s a solid device that provides a memorable user experience. That’s rare these days but the Boxee Box nails it, which is why I give it so much credit.

But it’s not perfect. I seriously believe that the pros greatly outweigh the cons. Still, there’s room for improvement and I pray that Boxee addresses these four issues in the next update.

A proper web browser

You can browse the web on the Boxee Box, but it’s more of a utility than a causal experience. This is partly because the browser is a poor performer and the remote doesn’t lend to a natural control scheme. However, the second point could be easily countered with a smart skin.

Right now the browser doesn’t have basic functions found in modern browsers. No autocomplete, multiple tabs/windows, or Flash support. Of course these aren’t exactly must-haves for the Boxee Box. This is a media streamer, not desktop so the focus should be as such. Performance and usability is paramount. Bookmarks would be key here – think smartphone-ish bookmarks with large, easily-selectable thumbnails. This would at least place commonly accessible sites within reach.

Some sort of trackpad would be a huge improvement as well. Look at the Google TV remotes. They’re wonderful and make web browsing easy-peasy.

Of course I’m not a UI engineer. I’m just a lowly user dying for a better Boxee Box web browser. At least Rdio.com works right now although a Rdio app would make me a happy sailor.

Better remote options

Google TV’s secret sauce is the huge range of controllers including very clever iOS and Android apps. Logitech offers a full size QWERTY keypad and a small keypad style controller. Sony’s GTV units use a PS3-style keypad with an optical trackpad. If those aren’t enough, the platform supports most USB input devices.

It’s the apps that Boxee Box should look at though. They’re fantastic as they bring to the system voice search, a trackpad and the phone’s familiar QWERTY keypad. The current Boxee Box remote is great for a basic remote, but the platform — especially for the web browser — could use a proper trackpad and these apps would solve a major issue. After all, it’s not a stretch to speculate that Android and iOS phone owners are within the Boxee Box’s niche demographic.

Improve overall performance

The Boxee Box can drag sometimes. It needs to be restarted every few days. It’s certainly not as smooth as a Roku or Apple TV. It gets a pass in my book because if the huge feature list, but I’ll agree with the haters, it’s a hog sometimes.

Somewhat ironically the Boxee Box handles 1080p web videos with ease and I’ve only had one or two massive MKV files stutter because of high bit rates. It’s the interface that drags. Switching between menus and browsing videos and apps can be frustratingly slow sometimes. The box doesn’t seem to cache box art for some reason. The slow performance is my family’s main complaint and should be addressed.

It seems to me that since the box doesn’t have an issue playing back resource intensive files that hopefully the GUI’s performance can be addressed by a firmware update.

Gmail, Facebook, Twitter

Integrating notifications and web communication apps could be an epic win for Boxee. Or it could be an epic fail. In many ways the current top streamers like the Boxee Box, Roku, or WD TV are winners because they’re one task devices. Users use them to only watch videos just like the Kindle is used just for reading while the multifunction iPad doesn’t offer the same distraction-free reading environment.

I’ve always wanted a solid way to do email and Facebook on my TV. I believe Google TV missed the mark by not including at least an app. But an Android-like notification bar would work great within the Boxee UI. Even the QWERTY remote would make communicating a non-issue.

Of course this experience could interfere with the core functions of a media streamer. I for one do not want an audible notification about new email while watching a movie. That would be horrible. But since my Boxee Box is almost always on, simple access to email/Facebook would be appreciated.

The Boxee Box is still a wonderful little streamer even with these issues. Have I said that enough yet? I hope so.

Boxee has announced on its blog that it has raised $16.5 million in third-round funding. This brings the total of capital raised by the company to $26.5 million.

The investment comes from new investors Pitango and Softbank, with participation from prior backers General Catalyst, Spark Capital and Union Square Ventures.

Read More

Boxee has announced on its blog that it has raised $16.5 million in third-round funding. This brings the total capital raised by the company to $26.5 million.

The investment comes from new investors Pitango and Softbank, with participation from prior backers General Catalyst, Spark Capital and Union Square Ventures.

Boxee points out it has grown from 12 to 34 employees since its last ($6 million) round of funding, and that it plans on hiring some more.

The extra capital will be used to enhance its software, solve bugs and build new functionality into their product(s). In the company’s words:

One of our greatest challenges will be to add more movies, TV shows, and video while at the same time making it easier to discover and watch them. We have ideas on both fronts and are excited to get to work.Many of you would like to see Boxee handle all the video on their TV with no need to switch inputs. We’d like to get there, too.

In addition to product enhancements, the funding will be used to strike more content and hardware manufacturer partnerships.

Also see: Boxee CEO To Big Media: “Resistance Is Futile”

Here’s more evidence that regular people have zero time for things like Google TV, Boxee, and Roku, if only because they’re too complicated for their own good. Hill Holiday, a “caffeine-fueled ad agency,” asked five Boston-area families to participate in a cord-cutting experiment. For one week each family was asked to forgo traditional cable TV in favor of one of the following devices: Apple TV, Google TV, Boxee Box, Xbox 360, and Roku. These devices, of course, are the premier devices for people looking to break free of their cable company while still being able to enjoy television. And how did it turn out for these five families?

They were not impressed, and for all the reasons we’ve enumerated in the past. And by “we” I mean Matt; cord-cutting is his bête noire.

If you’re someone who merely watches TV to unwind before going to bed, the absolute best device you can buy right now is a traditional cable TV box. Call the cable company, have them set it up, and you’ve got access to literally more programming than you could ever consume. Live sports, news, game shows, comedies, drama, reality TV as far as the eye can see—the works. There’s no buffering and there’s no hoping that your Wi-Fi network won’t crash. Peace of mind is a wonderful thing.

The families also complained that using these devices transformed TV-watching into an active experience. No! They used to call TV the idiot box for a reason: you sit back and let it all come to you. “Oh, look, Seinfeld is on, let’s watch that.” Or, “Wow, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is on, let’s watch that for the hundredth time.”

There’s a difference between A) channel surfing, having something catch your eye, then you committing an hour to watching it, and B) sifting through page after page of listings, nestled 400 menu screens deep, only to find that the movie you finally decided upon—an exhausting endeavor—isn’t even available in HD. Gee, thanks.

The question becomes, exactly how is that better than watching regular TV? Isn’t technology supposed to make our lives easier, and not more frazzled?

Of course, none of this is to say that cord-cutting doesn’t work for some people, because clearly it does, but it does show that not everyone is as keen on the concept as some of its proponents online would have you believe.

Everyone likes the Boxee Box, even Viewsonic is adding Boxee inside their new TVs. It just that, most of the other streaming media boxes have Netflix — even Apple TV. When Boxee CEO responded to complaints about Boxee’s lack of Netflix he said, “[they] are working hard to get Netflix out the door.”

As of the latest update, they didn’t work hard enough, because Netflix still isn’t there. In the latest firmware update of Boxee Box, we get Vudu. Vudu, as you know, is the Walmart owned movie-streaming service. And not dissimilar to what Amazon is doing on Roku, is offering a $5.99 credit towards the first purchase for new users.

Also included in the update are a host of performance and other bug fixes.

Demo of the Boxee Box by CEO Avner Ronen

Matt here: Nevermind John. He meant to say Netflix, not Hulu.

XBMC, the media center for Windows, Mac, and Linux, has reached the big 10 point oh. In and of itself that’s a pretty big deal, but it’s even more, I don’t know, heartwarming, when you think of some of the services that are based on XBMC, chief among them Plex and Boxee. Xbox Media Player: your legacy lives on!

This newest release adds hardware acceleration for Windows 7 and Vista users. It also adds a new plugin interface that should make viewing things like YouTube a little less hairy.

That’s about it.

ESPN has just released a study that sheds some light on people’s cord cutting habits—or lack thereof. Using Nielsen data, ESPN has determined that a paltry 0.11 percent of U.S. households have dropped cable and/or satellite TV over the past three months. That rounds down to essentially nobody in my estimation. Even more interesting is exactly who these cord cutters are, and they’re not who you’d most likely suspect.

It turns out that, of the 0.11 percent of people who cut the cord, they’re “mainly middle-aged, middle-income households and persons who are light or non-streamers. In short, cord cutters are more likely to be recession-challenged householders making hard choices about their expenses.”

In other words, everything you thought you knew about cord cutting is probably wrong.

ESPN commissioned the study to figure out exactly where it, the top rated sports network in the country, fits in this new world of Google TVs, Boxee Boxes, and streaming Netflix. It turns out the network has nothing to worry about, given the low number of cord cutters in general, and particularly among medium to heavy sports viewers. Medium to heavy sports viewers, which make up 90 percent of ESPN’s audience, have shown “zero cord cutting.”

Remember: this is the same ESPN that’s trying to figure out how best to use 3D, too. (At least the network is pro-active about integrating new technologies!)

The results make all sorts of sense on a few fronts.

One, as I’ve suspected for some time now, this cord cutting business is for the birds. As Matt reiterated the other day, the single best way to watch television right now is to put up with a cable or satellite provider. If you think you’re going to successfully cut the cord and scratch your TV itch solely based on what’s available to you on Hulu, or available to you on your Google TV box, ha! It’s easier said than done, particularly if you’re a sports fan.

That, and there’s a certain elegance to coming home from work, plopping down on the couch in front of the TV, then watching Some Show that can’t quite be matched with any combination of streaming boxes and services.

Watching TV is a passive activity. The minute you have to start praying to the gods of technology in hopes that everything works without a hitch, you may as well be reading. And nobody reads anymore.

What has surprised me is exactly who is cutting the cord. As it turns out, no, it’s not the hip cat on Grand Avenue with blue blockers, Back to the Future shoes, and a Nexus S. Nope: it’s people who’ve been hit hard by the recession and the resulting unemployment. This goes against what’s been seen in past recessions, that people may cut down on other expenses and activities (going out to dinner and the like), but they sure as heck will keep their TV service up and running.

Apparently not anymore.

Here’s what’s going down:

• An initial setup screen that lets you choose whether Boxee should focus on local content or stuff pulled from the web, addressing a common complaint amongst the geekier crowds that the Boxee Box UI put too much emphasis on web content.
• More sort and filter options in the browse screens
• Alphabetical navigation (skip to letters)
• Mark watched/unwatched, browse only one or the other
• Hourly and manual scan options

Sounds like a substantial update. Hopefully Boxee will continue to support the software and add features like these.

Welcome to Death/Star, a new show we are testing on TechCrunch TV. It’s a product review show with a twist. My co-host, CrunchGear editor John Biggs, and I give our opinions on three hot products. In the inaugural episode we cover the Android-powered Samsung Galaxy Tablet, photo-sharing app Instagram, and the Boxee Box.

To spice things up, we try to go beyond the traditional thumbs up/thumbs down to predict whether each product will end up in the graveyard (in which case we mark it for death) or become a bona fide hit (in which case we give it a star). Hence, the name: Death/Star. A surprise guest appears at the end and punks Biggs (the look on his face is classic).

The idea behind the show is not to do full reviews. You can read our previous review posts for the Galaxy Tab, Instagram (see more posts), and Boxee Box (see also demo video and CEO Avner Ronen interview). It is to evaluate each product’s chances for success and survival.

The full 7-minute episode is above, but we also broke it up into three shorter video segments below for each of the products. We shot the show at one of AOL’s video studios in New York City, and they helped us with the editing as well. Please tell us how you like the show in comments, what products you’d like to see us review next time, and any suggestions for making it better.

Samsung Galaxy Tab segment

Instagram segment

Boxee Box segment

Google TV is a mess. Apple TV is a joke. Using a Roku is about as exciting as cleaning my gutters. I like the Boxee Box, but my wife doesn’t understand why; she doesn’t get it and that says something. Downloading torrents or NZBs is time consuming and only a small portion of the population actually has the know-how and hardware to do it. Sorry. Cord cutting is a lost cause.

Listen, I’m all for canceling Comcast and joining the ranks of the cord cutters. I hate Comcast so much. If Comcast had a large, fluffy mascot, I would punch it in the face. That’s saying something if you know me. But the fact remains that there is simply no way to replicate Comcast’s or any other cable provider’s service right now. If you want to watch TV, you have to pay for it — but you can still complain along the way.

Cable is damn expensive and so through various media streamers, game systems, and services, I’ve tried just about everything to replace it, but nothing gives you the same experience and service as *shock* cable — or satellite — TV.

The first major media streamer for a lot of consumers was the original Xbox. XBMC converted the computer-turned-gaming system into an a full feature media box. It’s still one of the best out there, with Boxee and Plex owing most of their success to the community-developed media center.

But like a lot of other media streamers, getting content on to the box is the biggest issue. Where does it come from? Is it legal? How quickly can you get new content? There are so many questions that it’s daunting for many novice users. We’ve done a couple of guides on it, but it clearly takes the aptitude of a geek to efficiently download and then watch content from the Internet.

This is what the new crop of media streamers are trying to address. They’re attempting to bring the videos that are free on the Internet to living rooms. It’s a noble goal. Big media puts a good chunk of their content online as a half-assed counter to piracy, and so these enterprising folks built set-top boxes that can access the content and put it easily on your HDTV.

Well, alright. But even if the media fat cats hadn’t turned off the feed to these boxes, they’re still not ready to replace cable. The interfaces are clumsy and the content online is sparse anyway. The thing I like most about cable TV is that when I turn it on, the content is there. I don’t need to scroll through screen after screen after screen, trying to figure out what episode to watch.

All these new media streamers have various fatal flaws. Google TV is laggy and only a small amount of free online programming can be watched through the device. Apple TV’s available content is laughable outside of Netflix. Have you ever really used a Roku streamer? They look great on paper, but are, well, lame in practice. The Boxee Box is an awesome local media streamer, but big media could shut off access to Fancast at anytime, leaving the device with half of its original feature set.

Really, honestly, the majority of media streamers are just another Netflix device. They’re all Netflix streamers with additional features because that’s about all they do right. That’s fine for some people. Some people don’t want or need live TV and so Netflix can easily fill that void, but please don’t cancel your cable and expect to replace it with one of these boxes.

I can see the comments now. “I’m perfectly happy with my combination of over-the-air programming, Netflix, and HTPC fed with torrents automatically through RSS.” Or how your Kindle is enough entertainment for you. Sigh. That’s not really the point. How’s the average consumer supposed to avoid big cable bills?

The cord cutting movement — is it really large enough for the movement label? — is great for the industry though. I pray that more and more reports surface showing consumers are going to try it without cable TV for a while. I’ve tried it. It’s not for me or my family, but the more people that cut the cord, the better it will be for those of us still with Comcast and the like.

The whole industry needs major disruption. It’s a mess and consumers are the victims. And you can cut the cord now, but for the next six months or a year, launch jitters and licensing spats are going to make all these media boxes a mixed and difficult experience. So stick with your current 200-channel setup and three-year-old TiVo. Don’t worry, we’ll let you know when it’s safe to leave that expensive, ancient, and — let’s face it — effective cable TV connection behind.