Boxee Review: Good At One Thing, Bad At Everything Else

Theoretically , Boxee is like a cheaper Google TV that can play back every data file type imaginable , as well as current internet videos through its internet browser + Flash player setup . In reality , it only does one of those things well .

D - Link Boxee Box HD Media Player

Size : 4.5″ x 4.5″ x 4.6″ , 1.57 lbs .

Ports : HDMI 1.3 , 2 x USB 2.0 , S / PDIF

Optical & rCa l / r Analog Audio

Connectivity : 802.11n / g , Ethernet

Greenworks

terms : Currently $ 199.00 at Newegg

Boxee , the package , was the first suite to give people a 10 - pes TV experience on their Macs and PC , taking WWW video and hiding it under a pretty UI for couch viewing . Removing the computer from the picture and putting all this functionality into a $ 200 loge is a recipe for achiever — that is , if the major program networks were n’t so damn hostile towards Boxee ( and Google TV ) . Something about the fact that a Boxee is a standalone , made - for - your - telecasting experience — as opposed to a computer — really pisses off content supplier . And they ’re one - by - one blocking access to their appearance from these web browser - based streamers .

Boxee ’s UI is decent , and get you where you need to go — Flash - based web video — in minimum dog . It nicely aggregate TV shows and picture show into a large puddle , rather than having to make you care about the fact that 30 Rock is useable via Fancast , but The Daily Show stream via Comedy Central ’s web site .

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You navigate using Boxee ’s proprietary RF remote control , which means you do n’t want assembly line - of - muckle to your corner when you ’re typing in searches on the built - in keyboard . It ’s a uncanny setup , because on the front side of the remote you ’ve got a D - Pad , the play clit and a menu / back button , and the back side gives you a QWERTY keyboard . You might hit keys by accident when you ’re navigating , but overall , the keyboard is hunky-dory for the small amount of type you ’ll do .

play back local internet video is extremely gentle , even if there are casual audio / telecasting sync problems for the first few second . Unlike other streaming loge , you do n’t have to occupy about which file format it supports , because it tolerate them all .

I really bang that Boxee can deal any random video recording file you throw at it . It is a fantastic boxwood for play back downloaded picture , and most potential the most robust filing cabinet banner I ’ve used . It spiel over the web ( SMB shares ) , and it plays via the South Dakota card slot in its side . Pop a board out of your television camera and into Boxee to see the dwelling house videos you ’ve just record .

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I also like that it ’s a browser app , and can play back Flash video from random places . Comedy central work . Random shows purportedly work , like Fringe on the WB site , but it crashed my Boxee corner entirely , for some understanding . retinue work out finely . A passel of these are just random , sporadic sequence scattered around the web , made to get people hooked on the concept of a serial , rather than a “ last few appearance ” like you get from Hulu or Fancast .

There are also apps , like Pandora , which work in the background in multitasking mode . It ’s still unclear how many apps will total to Boxee , but if they can lure companies like Spotify in , it ’ll be a nice fillip .

verbalize of apps : YouPorn ! felo-de-se girls ! world queen ! These adult website have specialize version of their page made for Boxee . unluckily , YouPorn gave me video errors whenever I examine to wager anything . Technically , as long as Boxee ’s web browser and Flash plugin remain standard enough , it should be able-bodied to cover any of the major smut sites as well as any other on-line Flash video subject matter .

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Hulu Plus is n’t coming until later . Netflix is n’t come until later . Comcast ’s Fancast service , which is like Hulu , only works sporadically ( act upon just fine on my Mac ) . It ’s unreadable why Fancast seems to struggle to diddle its video , but because it is the prominent repository of videos that Boxee has entree to , the fact that it ’s not work right hurts the platform a lot . I hope Boxee can check that that Fancast is n’t blocked , like it is for Google TV .

But if you do n’t have Fancast , you ’re left with a mish - mash of random net video , like Rocketboom and Geek Brief . They ’re not forged , but they ’re not really what you build a video cyclosis political program on . The short of it is , until Netflix and Hulu Plus total , you do n’t have a lot of high - quality content for Boxee , especially since Fancast is tally - or - lose .

The web web browser is n’t too fast , and seems slightly underpowered equate to a Google TV . Boxee does n’t scale WWW pages like Google TV , and I ’m still too young to have to squinch at my video . Boxee apparently does n’t really call back you ’ll use the web browser for browsing , so they did n’t spend much prison term optimizing page , which is kind of a shame .

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What ’s worsened is that Boxee is precarious . It freezes . It crashes . Your cursor vanish sometimes , so you have to reset the box . I ’ve used Logitech ’s Google TV box for a lot more hours , and I ’ve passably much never had to readjust that one . I ’ve had to hard readjust Boxee about once an hour .

The industrial design is quite interesting , but you ca n’t stack it with your other box , so you might have to hide it in a corner or a drawer . You also ca n’t control it with universal remotes . Speaking of remote , the D - Pad on Boxee ’s is not a trackpad , like on the Logitech Google TV box , so affect the mouse around in the web browser is horrifying and tedious .

The only people I would advocate the Boxee box to is someone who torrents a pot of shows and pic and want one box to play back all the various data format . Everyone else , whether they ’re looking for a good way of life to encounter video , or to stream Netflix , or to get Pandora on their TVs , have many morechoices to out there , most of which are cheaper . If Boxee can secure solid tidy sum for Hulu , Fancast , Netflix , Amazon and other video providers , this would be a self-coloured box , but until then , it ’s just a really good way to keep an eye on pirate videos . [ BoxeeandAmazon ]

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