OT – Boxee Box

[evolusd]

I’m trying to cut the cable cord and the Boxee Box seems to be a good solution. I don’t have any music or video libraries – all I want to do is stream from Netflix, Hulu, Vudu and all the broadcast station websites (CBS, ABC, MTV, Spike, etc). This gadget seems to bring all that together into on user interface.

Any Pigg experiences with the Boxee Box or Boxee software?

[Downtowner]

Boxee is good, but you might want to look at a Tivo. It gives you all the streaming stuff and a TV tuner you can hook an antenna to and get over-the-air stuff – not to mention the DVR capability.

[SmellsFeeshy]

Never heard of Boxee but you might want to also consider a home theater PC solution (if you like playing with computer stuff). I have an old PC hooked up to my TV and I can stream videos from any website or watch any video that I like. It seems most of the plug and play boxes always have some kind of limitation, such as not supporting certain stations (ESPN3 comes to mind specifically) or requiring a subscription fee (like with XBox 360). Home theater PC may not be a great idea though if you have a non-techie spouse that will be using it also though.

[evolusd]

Cost is a key factor for me – this seems like a relatively inexpensive way to go with most of the functionality I’m looking for.

Thanks for the feedback!

[SK in CV]

Isn’t a boxee box an old volvo?

[all]

How is Boxee better than Roku or Apple TV?

[BoomerAang]

I have an HTPC…costs around $200~300 for a simple one. I use it to stream hulu, netflix and watch anime. If you have some front-end software, then that will make it easier for your wife to use as well. We also have an ir-remote that we use so that it feels less like a computer. I haven’t had the need for cable tv for a couple years.

[evolusd]

[quote=captcha]How is Boxee better than Roku or Apple TV?[/quote]

People argue about which is best. I like this one b/c it has a web browser so you can get anything and everything out there.

[CardiffBaseball]

I like Roku2 but it’s not for everyone. They have 1080p and 5.1 Dolby in their netflix app.

The mlb.tv interface is nice and there are a ton of channels you can add. However Roku makes it slightly tougher to watch your own stuff like you might with an HTPC. However many are using some apps like Plex for that type of functionality. I rented an Amazon movie the other night and the picture was sweet.

[sdduuuude]

I don’t think there is 1 thing that can do it all right now, which is why you have an input selector on your TV.

I tried an HTPC a few years ago and hated it for several reasons.

First of all, off-the-shelf DVR software sucked.

Second, getting a real remote – like one you would use with a TV – was a pain. I could probalby have figured it out, but there was no simple solution

Third, having the fan noise drove me nuts. I’m not a true audiophile, but only because I can’t afford to be so my picky ears didn’t like this at all.

I could never get a remote, wireless keyboard and trackball to work very well either

Again, that was a while ago. Things have likely improved to make building an HTPC is easier, but I really love my HD Tivos, though they seem more error-prone than the early generation Tivos. The DVR interface on the Tivo is unsurpassed.

—

Need DVR for cable/sat or antenna, plus Netflix and Pandora ? Use Tivo. A bit expensive. I buy lifetime memberships. Has a You-tube interface but it sucks.

Need just Neflix and Pandora ? Use a Blue-ray player with it built-in.

Need ESPN3 or online programming ? Boxee sounds like a nice substitute for this and you have me interested. Otherwise, you need the PC with the noisy fan and clumsy remote-control issues. Someday I may try a wireless HDMI connection from the PC in my office to the TV plus a wireless keyboard.

Need to play media from a server on your home network? Media players are nice. Hard to find one that will play ripped DVD .iso files, though.

[sdduuuude]

Boxee sounds cool. It will play a .iso file from regular and Blue-ray DVD’s, too so I could replace my media player with it and get the web-based content. Nifty.

I may be out of HDMI ports, though. Hmmm.

[newcomer]

I like the Logitech Revue at $99, s/w upgrade to be expected in a couple of weeks, with some new features and more apps…
http://www.google.com/tv/index.html

[SmellsFeeshy]

[quote=sdduuuude]I don’t think there is 1 thing that can do it all right now, which is why you have an input selector on your TV.[/quote]

I agree, I currently have a DVR from Time Warner to supplement my HTPC. There are hardware solutions (Hauppage makes one I believe) that bundle with an HTPC to allow it to function as a DVR but they all have bugs/limitations. The biggest issue being that even with a cablecard you might not be able to get all of the channels that you would using the TW box.

But the OP is not looking for DVR functionality since they want to “cut the cord”. If you don’t need DVR an HTPC is a great solution IMO.

[UCGal]

[quote=SmellsFeeshy][quote=sdduuuude]I don’t think there is 1 thing that can do it all right now, which is why you have an input selector on your TV.[/quote]

I agree, I currently have a DVR from Time Warner to supplement my HTPC. There are hardware solutions (Hauppage makes one I believe) that bundle with an HTPC to allow it to function as a DVR but they all have bugs/limitations. The biggest issue being that even with a cablecard you might not be able to get all of the channels that you would using the TW box.

But the OP is not looking for DVR functionality since they want to “cut the cord”. If you don’t need DVR an HTPC is a great solution IMO.[/quote]

You need to see if your solution works with SDV if you plan to stay with Time Warner. In order to get switched digital video (SDV) channels on our Tivo – we need a tuning adaptor.

It’s a total kludge. I’m not a fan. I probably have to powercycle the tuning adaptor at least once a month. But Time Warner has been switching more and more channels to SDV.
Here’s a list of channels that are SDV (so you’d need a tuning adaptor.)
http://www.timewarnercable.com/sandiego-desertcities/support/policies/cablecard_unavailable_channels.html

And here’s a list of what devices work with the tuning adaptor (to allow you to get the SDV channel.s)
http://www.timewarnercable.com/sandiego-desertcities/learn/cable/sdv/

[SmellsFeeshy]

[quote=UCGal]You need to see if your solution works with SDV if you plan to stay with Time Warner. In order to get switched digital video (SDV) channels on our Tivo – we need a tuning adaptor.

It’s a total kludge. I’m not a fan. I probably have to powercycle the tuning adaptor at least once a month. But Time Warner has been switching more and more channels to SDV.
Here’s a list of channels that are SDV (so you’d need a tuning adaptor.)
http://www.timewarnercable.com/sandiego-desertcities/support/policies/cablecard_unavailable_channels.html

And here’s a list of what devices work with the tuning adaptor (to allow you to get the SDV channel.s)
http://www.timewarnercable.com/sandiego-desertcities/learn/cable/sdv/%5B/quote%5D

I’ve heard the exact same things from other people. The SDV adapters seem to be very buggy. I doubt TW is in any hurry to fix them since it means that you’re stuck with their crappy Cisco/Scientific Atlanta DVR boxes if you don’t want the hassle of an SDV adapter.

Not sure if you still need an adapter for DirecTV or Dish. I would consider switching but unfortunately TW has a monopoly on certain channels like NBA TV that I’m not willing to give up.

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