This Just In... (and first on my list of "What It Does" items from my welcome article)...
At $199 this network based media playback device has great promise for the living room media portal. And it even comes with a fantastic remote control with a built-in keyboard for easy searching of shows and movies!
Click here for the Amazon.com pre-order page: Boxee Box Pre-Order
Its got a great user interface for browsing thousands of television episodes available for online viewing via Hulu, PBS, Discovery Channel, NHL Game Center, MLB, ESPN, and many more. You're sure to find enough content for the entire family, and its super easy to search and navigate. According to the Boxee staff, they also plan to have Netflix integrated -- expect a press release on that soon!
For the rare occasion you can't find a show your interested in, you can always download almost any episode in HD quality using a tool like TED -- the Torrent Episode Downloader available from http://www.ted.nu/ (it also requires a bit torrent client like uTorrent). More about TED in a future posting...
So with just one piece of equipment connected to your network, you can play thousands of online TV shows, Movies, and it also organizes and plays every file I've tried on it from my local sources including DVD VIDEO_TS folders, MP4 videos, AVI movies, etc making it a perfect player for your own locally stored content as well.
If you're interested in testing out Boxee software on your computer without ponying-up the $199 and waiting for your pre-order, you can download Boxee Beta 0.9.22.13692 for FREE from http://www.boxee.tv/
Just select the downloads button and pick your operating system (it runs on Windows, Mac OSX, ubuintu, and even the current AppleTV hardware.
Installation is a breeze, and those of you with iPod touches and iPhones already own a remote control -- just download the FREE Boxee Remote Control app from the Apple iTunes App Store -- and it even includes an on-screen pop-up keyboard for typing text into the search box!
Give it a shot -- download it, and if you like it, order one for yourself -- you may even find that you can cancel your cable or satellite in which case, if you're like me, in 2-3 months the thing will pay for itself!
Update:
ReplyDeleteAccording to the official "Boxee Box By D-Link" FaceBook page, Netflix, Hulu, and Network storage are all supported!
http://www.facebook.com/BoxeeBoxByDlink?v=wall&story_fbid=146459552050766
Quote:
William Alves: Does anyone know if it will run netflix or access a NAS? Really hope it does.
Boxee Box by D-Link: @William yes and yes
Okay.
ReplyDeleteSo.
I'm a complete neophyte when it comes to this sort of thing. What I WANT to do is to build a video library consisting of entire seasons of shows that are not available in the US on conventional TV, but are out there via torrent. Shows like the British series "Red Cap", the Canadian series "Intelligence" and the Aussie drama "Sea Patrol".
So how would I do that?
I plan on buying the Boxee Box for its other uses, but my question is: how would it fit in to the kind of set-up I would need to download and store shows? And what other components would I need?
I like to watch anime, and I usually download dual audio versions as .MKVs
ReplyDeleteHow do I select which audio and which subtitle track to use from within Boxee?
@Jim O'C I had a similar concern with US shows. For example, not much PBS or Discovery Channel content is available as streams to choose from.
ReplyDeleteThe easiest way to download additional TV shows is by using TED which I mentioned in the post.
TED is the Torrent Episode Downloader and it works with online episode guides to scan for new episodes of shows and downloads them using a tool like uTorrent.
My next posting will shed additional light on this, but, in a nutshell, you'd need a computer somewhere on your home network running uTorrent and TED. One the show is downloaded, Boxee can automatically find it and add it to your TV shows. Its wonderful!
Once the Boxee Box is available, other solutions may also be developed by third parties.
Click Follow Me on Twitter or as a Blog Follower to be notified of my article about TED as soon as I post it!
@Jack
ReplyDeleteBoxee does have some interesting tools for subtitles but I don't have any personal experience with it and it will be based on your content.
From what I understand, it can retrieve and display subtitles from multiple sources and you can choose them from the player controls.
Check out this thread from the Boxee Froums: http://forums.boxee.tv/showthread.php?t=13733
The easiest way to find out is for you to download the free Beta and try it with your .MVK's -- post back and let us know how it goes!
I have seen some 'Buffalo' Linkstation and similar products which are similar to this but 'Buffalo' is less expensive!
ReplyDeleteAlso with 'Buffalo' which is a storage device you can access your computer or movie files from anywhere in the world and it also caters to your whole home network.
I do not have any of these systems since my 47" LCD TV is already hooked up to a computer and I can watch Netflix or any other free shows which Boxee can download.
Surely any system can do this given a good internet connection?
Since I use Utorrent (which I'm told also comes with Linkstation) I can watch many downloaded movies and British TV series utilizing a site called UKNova.
What are the extra benefits of Boxee?
A cheap CPU connected to your TV should do the same and be able to sort all your movie and photo files.
What are the extra benefits of Boxee?
I'm still wondering if either of these systems are useful to me.
Can I watch one program on a home network while others watch different ones in other rooms within the home?
First, the Buffalo Linkstation and the Boxee box serve completely different purposes.
ReplyDeleteThe LinkStation is whats called a "NAS" -- Network Attached Storage. It connects to your network, and has a hard drive that can store data and make it available to computers and media players.
The Boxee Box is a Media Player that connects to your TV and plays audio and video over your network from a NAS, computer, or the internet.
What are the Benefits of Boxee...
For $200 you get a CPU with 1080p HD output, a wireless RF remote control, and a great user-interface to watch content from your computer storage, a NAS, or online content from sources like Hulu and Netflix. Thus, freeing up your computer for its job as a computer (or even running things like uTorrent to get additional downloads that Boxee can play).
There are other Media Players similar to Boxee (and even some new TV's have built-in media players). Unlike Boxee, many of these have limited, primitive user interfaces to choose filenames from your computer; some have nicer interfaces but are limited to services like Amazon On Demand or Netflix, but none have the rich user interface that Boxee offers.
If your computer is already hooked to your TV download the free Boxee Beta and see for yourself. Its really easy to fall in love with it.
You don't have to think about "where" the media is coming from, local or internet...Netflix or Hulu...you just pick the show you want from the thumbnail images and play it. It even builds a "queue" of new shows you have told it to add when new episodes are available.
Hope this helps!
Craig,
ReplyDeleteWhat's the purpose of the shape? Seems like a strange engineering design.
It is a strange shape! Good question for the Boxee folks...
ReplyDelete