On 07/13/2011 07:31 PM, Michael Rasmussen wrote: > On Wed, Jul 13, 2011 at 05:49:02PM -0700, nathan w wrote: >> On 07/13/2011 07:13 AM, Michael Rasmussen wrote: >>> Who here using Boxee and what kind of hardware do you have it installed on? >>> >> >> i use boxee on my laptop, and i also purchased the D-Link Boxee box. >> question? > > Do you like it? What stumbling blocks have you found? >
overall, i'm solidly pleased with my purchase. things i like: TONS of channels, and apps of which my favorites are: netflix, ted, pandora, flickr, Yahoo Developer Network, lots of other apps/channels, too many to name (they have lists on the boxee.tv site). paid video services other than netflix (Vudu, and some others) are available it has great built-in support for networked filesharing/streaming, so i can watch my movies/listen to music from anything accessible on the LAN. the remote is AWESOME, check some pics online to see what i mean. the only way it could be better is if it mixed the buttons/keyboard with an accelerometer so that you could wave a pointer as with the Wiimote. great form-factor. it's way smaller than you'd think, and fits very well in the components shelf along with everything else boxee UI scales very well. it looks great on my 15" laptop and it looks great on my 42" tv, which i consider a testament to smart design and a lot of attention to detail on the part of the developers. things i think could be improved: using UDLR arrow keys to find/click links in the bbox browser is really... hard. intermittent wireless connectivity loss. it only happens once in every ~6 hours of use, but it's irritating to have to restart a movie because the network died. if you get one and can run it over cat 5, do so. not really a fault of the boxee box, but some of the content they get from xfinity online, cbs, etc is *loaded* with advertising, and while the boxee is *really* close to being "there", i don't feel it provides a complete replacement for a cable plan (though i have been very disappointed with comcast's programming quality and content:advertising ratio lately as well). <aside> i guess i don't really know if comcast is specifically to blame for this. i suppose it is FOX, FX, SHO, and especially HI that are responsible for the terrible show quality, and i don't know whether it's the networks or the service provider who determines advertising content and schedules does anyone else know? </aside> all that being said, in the general net-tv-appliance market, i think the boxee is the best in class at the moment, though i'm not sure that will last. i am very interested to get my hands on a google tv applicance sometime in the next few months, but i don't think they're going to match the content selection, though i expect they'll beat the overall platform quality. they do have a history of showing that they know how to do-it-right. i won't even consider apple tv. if you want to ask me again in a few months, i could give a better review/comparison, because google tv will have been out for a while and boxee's next big release is coming "in the fall"... we'll see what happens, but i'm getting closer everyday to finally being rid of comcast. heh, this is longer than i'd planned. hope this information helps inform your decision :) -- nathan w _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list [email protected] http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
