I felt that one of the major factors in the Boxee box was going to be price and I think $199 is spot on. They will have to market it correctly, but I think they could be on to something huge here. Something that finally solves that problem of easily marrying the computer and Home Theater for a number of common users.
This thing could be a household name if they play their cards right.
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ChoochK-Pop authority™, Pho KingMadison Heights, MIIcrontian
edited January 2010
i approve of this list and i agree there wasn't a lot of technology that was omg...unless you were in the central hall and saw the endless amount of 3d tvs...even those got old...
You know, the Boxee is the first set-top box I've seen that I've been tempted by. Like a lot of us, I've got lots of spare computer parts lying around. It's not hard for me to slap something together to stick next to a TV. But the Boxee is just a really elegant solution, and the price is a great deal.
It doesn't matter. The Boxee Box comes with an RF adapter which lets you control the device no matter where it's placed. If you wanted to bury it behind all your AV gear, you can.
I'm still not sold on the Boxee box over the myka.tv box yet... myka.tv seems to have more to offer for the same price. Though the netflix streaming would be nice if it actually works on the Boxee box. Last I checked Netflix streaming ONLY works for the Windows boxee client and nothing else.
Mistakes get made. Asterisks get overlooked. Did they actually demo Netflix playback on the Boxee Box? If not, I'm going to remain skeptical until someone gives me 100% confirmation that they have seen Netflix playback on the box.
Boxee and Sheeva Plugs are my biggest excitement from this years shows. Sheeva was already around last year but this year they have several new models out and the development community for them is ramping up big time.
Sony's 3D technology is pretty cool but it's still at least 2 years away from being relevant beyond being neat, but gimmicky.
You gotta understand: for those of us who didn't see it, Boxee just seems too good to be true. I mean: We've been promised integrated entertainment devices before, and it's never really been delivered. I think a bit of Boxee skepticism is understandable.
Keep in mind the boxee is just an appliance tailored to run the newest version of boxee (which is just a modified version of xbmc). The biggest advantages to boxee and newere versions of xbmc is that they now include a webkit. Which means that if you background scripts don't work to play internet streams you can always open up the webkit broswer and play them. It registers itself as firefox on a website and you are good to go.
It's worth noting that Tegra is not designed for consoles. You'll see it in media players (Zune), maybe some handhelds (the rumor is a Tegra 2-based Gameboy, which would fucking rule), STBs (Boxee Box) and tablets (NVIDIA's core focus).
As the article points out, it's about the size of a softball, but its size and appearance is irrelevant because of its RF adapter.
The placement of the box is relevant if you intend to use it to play memory card or USB HD content. Also, the appearance of a gadget is very relevant to its sales, if not its utility.
I personally like the way it looks. I'd display it prominently, probably right in front of the TV on the stand, since it isn't large enough to block the screen.
I think the point is that you leave an external HD connected and just shove it in a corner. I personally like the way it looks, and would display it prominently as well, but I understand that certain AV nerds get angry at the very thought of their gear not matching.
allow me to procure you a spoon so you may eat my ass Thrax. Netflix hasn't exactly been overly supportive of non-microsoft platforms. I'm still waiting for Netflix streaming for Linux. Wasn't this supposed to be the point of Flash? So that content could be delivered via the web in a platform agnostic way? Don't roll your eyes at me for being skeptical especially when you don't mention actually seeing Netflix playback working in the firstplace. Boxee has actually been touting Netflix support for some time but you had to dig into the fine print to find where it said that it was ONLY on Boxee for Windows.
I've been a Boxee tester since early beta and the damn thing never worked well for me from the lack of x64 support in Linux to the fact that it handles multiple monitors by spanning across both of them making it unusable to the "We support Netflix*" crap they pulled, I don't exactly trust them to deliver on what they say. I was especially disappointed that access to the beta for Linux didn't get me into the beta for Windows as well thus making it so I couldn't even try it on my Windows box at home.
I know that when I cover a trade show, it's my #1 priority to write about things I haven't personally seen and experienced for myself. I find that this is the most reliable and informative way to bring information to our readers.
Then perhaps you shouldn't roll your eyes at me like I'm some sort of moron for asking if you actually saw something demonstrated or are just reporting the sales pitch a company gave you.
Thrax
🐌Austin, TX Icrontian
Comments
This thing could be a household name if they play their cards right.
You know, the Boxee is the first set-top box I've seen that I've been tempted by. Like a lot of us, I've got lots of spare computer parts lying around. It's not hard for me to slap something together to stick next to a TV. But the Boxee is just a really elegant solution, and the price is a great deal.
I have not seen one, but my imagination says its not larger than a gamecube, but I could be wrong?
Thats exciting. I know I have been known to be critical of Nvidia, but let it be said that the Tegra platform is really something.
I'm excited about Boxee, I really think it could become one of those must have items for any home.
And the Z-drive p88 looks SICK!
Sony's 3D technology is pretty cool but it's still at least 2 years away from being relevant beyond being neat, but gimmicky.
You gotta understand: for those of us who didn't see it, Boxee just seems too good to be true. I mean: We've been promised integrated entertainment devices before, and it's never really been delivered. I think a bit of Boxee skepticism is understandable.
Boxee delivers.
We came in as total skeptics too, but left with a complete change of heart. I don't think we can be much clearer.
How is Tegra 2 graphics performance when compared to XBOX 360 or PS3? It looks comparable to me.
But consoles? neh.
Fully enclosed $75 water cooling? DO WANT.
I better prep my wallet to take a couple of hits soon.
The placement of the box is relevant if you intend to use it to play memory card or USB HD content. Also, the appearance of a gadget is very relevant to its sales, if not its utility.
I personally like the way it looks. I'd display it prominently, probably right in front of the TV on the stand, since it isn't large enough to block the screen.
I've been a Boxee tester since early beta and the damn thing never worked well for me from the lack of x64 support in Linux to the fact that it handles multiple monitors by spanning across both of them making it unusable to the "We support Netflix*" crap they pulled, I don't exactly trust them to deliver on what they say. I was especially disappointed that access to the beta for Linux didn't get me into the beta for Windows as well thus making it so I couldn't even try it on my Windows box at home.
*but only on Windows