Rob
03-05-2010, 09:03 PM
The Boxee Box is something I'm very excited about. It's a way to bring internet content onto your TV without the need for a PC. It pulls down content from many major providers (NBC, CBS, ABC, SyFy etc) and displays it on your TV without all the fuss of working with a computer and trying to get a media center set up. The Boxee Box will be a dedicated netcentric media box that has enough power and capabilities to play most anything you can throw at it, even the HD stuff you got from a "friend". :)
Here is a short list of the specs to give you an idea of what it can do.
HDMI
Optical Audio
RCA Stereo Audio
WiFi (802.11n)
Ethernet
2 USB Ports
SD Card Slot
RF Remote
QWERTY Keyboard
Here is a picture of the hardware and the UI. Notice the controller has a keyboard built into it!
http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/3874/boxeeboxfront.th.jpg (http://img715.imageshack.us/i/boxeeboxfront.jpg/) http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/4144/boxeescreenshot.th.png (http://img682.imageshack.us/i/boxeescreenshot.png/) http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/2796/boxeeboxremote.th.jpg (http://img682.imageshack.us/i/boxeeboxremote.jpg/)
For someone like myself who doesn't want or need traditional TV service, this Boxee Box is going to rock. I refuse to pay for TV channels that I don't want and there is no option to pick and choose from any Satellite or Cable providers here in the U.S. If there is one small downside it's that you still have to deal with commercials as the Boxee Box is simply a conduit for the content. Everything is still pulled directly from the providers website so you can't download the show you are watching as that would circumvent the DRM in place.
There will be applications like Pandora and Netflix that you can stream through the box as well. If you are interested and would like to know more about the ideas behind Boxee Box then definitely check out the latest Engadget show (http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/01/the-engadget-show-006-avner-ronen-the-first-windows-phone-7/) which goes into great detail about the service and hardware.
Here is a short list of the specs to give you an idea of what it can do.
HDMI
Optical Audio
RCA Stereo Audio
WiFi (802.11n)
Ethernet
2 USB Ports
SD Card Slot
RF Remote
QWERTY Keyboard
Here is a picture of the hardware and the UI. Notice the controller has a keyboard built into it!
http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/3874/boxeeboxfront.th.jpg (http://img715.imageshack.us/i/boxeeboxfront.jpg/) http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/4144/boxeescreenshot.th.png (http://img682.imageshack.us/i/boxeescreenshot.png/) http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/2796/boxeeboxremote.th.jpg (http://img682.imageshack.us/i/boxeeboxremote.jpg/)
For someone like myself who doesn't want or need traditional TV service, this Boxee Box is going to rock. I refuse to pay for TV channels that I don't want and there is no option to pick and choose from any Satellite or Cable providers here in the U.S. If there is one small downside it's that you still have to deal with commercials as the Boxee Box is simply a conduit for the content. Everything is still pulled directly from the providers website so you can't download the show you are watching as that would circumvent the DRM in place.
There will be applications like Pandora and Netflix that you can stream through the box as well. If you are interested and would like to know more about the ideas behind Boxee Box then definitely check out the latest Engadget show (http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/01/the-engadget-show-006-avner-ronen-the-first-windows-phone-7/) which goes into great detail about the service and hardware.