Boxee Box
If you don't know what Boxee is, read our original post about it.
Although Boxee has been changing the home media center scene for a while, recently they took a big step towards making IPTV ubiquitous. At CES2010, Boxee was showing off three main things, a new set-top-box, a new remote, and new software.
Follow after the break to see what might be the future of TV.
The New Set-top-box
The Boxee Box is a really small and light Boxee 'appliance'. I say appliance because it doesn't need any setup or maintenance, it just works. Although it is designed to be easy to use, they didn't leave out any performance. It uses the new Nvidia Tegra 2 so that it can play 1080p without breaking a sweat. The box will be release Q2 of this year for under $199.
The New Remote
To compliment the sleek box, there is also a sleek remote. This remote has a simple d-pad with a home and play button on one side while the other side boasts a full qwerty keyboard. The whole thing communicates via RF so you don't have to be in sight of the box. Another nice feature is an accelerometer that turns off the buttons on the downward facing side. The remote will be included with the box.
The New Software
Though the box and remote are both great steps toward Boxee's goal, the software is still the foundation, as it should be. The latest release is only a beta release and they don't plan to release version 1.0 until CES next year. With that in mind, the software is great. A work in progress that is better than many finished projects. The user interface has been completely renovated and now adds a quick menu for accessing any type of media. My favorite new feature is the way you browse and select media. Instead of selecting your source (i.e. Netflix, hulu, local) and then selecting your media from that source, you select your media and Boxee figures out which sources can provide that media for you. The best way to learn is to explore, so go make an account and download Boxee for free at boxee.tv.
Make sure you come back and tell us your favorite feature in the comments below.
I was told that it wasn’t an accelerometer, but when asked what technology it actually used the only response I received was gravity and/or magic. I prefer to believe the latter.
Boxee is a cross-platform freeware home theater PC program with a 10 foot user interface and social networking features designed for the living room TV. Backup Software
Will the Boxee remote will be available by itself? . I heard that we might be able to buy just the remote, for our software Boxee installations.Windows 7 Upgrade Price..
The Boxee Box model DSM-380 by D-Link is an open Linux-based set-top device and media extender currently in development. Designed to bring internet television and other video to the television via Boxee.square peg web
Post a comment