How Many Returning Boxee Box

[RICK430]

Hi,

Like to know if anyone is returning the Boxee Box. I for one am immediately. Since I am sure Amazon is going to get bombarded with refund orders.

I, unlike many, have a tech background and it took me one full day just to connect the boxee box to my apple extreme so that it could see the content. How the average person is going to stream local video wirelessly is beyond me.

Also, this thing is is so slow and sluggish its almost laughable. Are the boxee people actually expecting us to put up with this crap! There is no organization, navigation is slow, they changed the interface completely without notice, video playback freezes and crawls occasionally, Netflix is expected, who knows when and how that would stream. If netflix streaming on the boxee is anything like its current video freezes, then Netflix experience would be crap also. Not to mention cnn and many other apps are missing.

And since Hulu is not available on it, whats the use. If you cant watch tv content from hulu.com the box becomes useless. Anyway, sorry for the ranting but I am so frustrated with the people at boxee due to the fact that they have decided to insult their consumers intelligence so that they can make a quick buck. Unfortunately, for them, this mess will be blowing up in their face within a week. The problems with the boxee box cannot all be fixed with firmware and updates only.

[tkreagan]

I agree with most of what you are saying. Netflix functionality is not an option at this point. Not sure I agree about the interface changes - these things happen, some positive, some negative, but it is innovation.

But the Hulu thing is just not kosher. I am just surprised that Boxee is going to roll over and die like this. What kind of a business model supports NOT providing access to content people want to watch? THE WHOLE POINT OF A BOXEE BOX IS TO AVOID BLANKET SUBSCRIPTION FEES! Why would I now want to pay for Hulu plus?

I am going to take my box and try it for 30 days. If I can live without Hulu (or if someone wises up and figures out how to hack it back in, which seems likely), then I will keep it. But it seems pretty likely that for $200 I'll just cut bait and get a device I know will work - a used Mac Mini.

Very disappointing.

[RICK430]

Completely agree. Mac mini connected to your tv will give you a 100 times better experience both in the easy networking to local content and video playback not to mention you will have Itunes content as well. You will also be able to connect to Hulu. ALL CONTENT FOR FREE !!!

[pcm2a]

I think you get till the end of jan to return it cause of re holidays?

[mserabian]

RIck

How did you end up getting the Boxee to see your mac share?

thanks

mal

[RICK430]

Here how you connect boxee box to airport extreme time capsule drive

Open Airpot Utility application
double click on your router
select Disks on the top
click the file sharing button
choose read only from the Airport Disks Guest Access drop-down menu.

go back to boxee and under setting and select file sources. now click add sources. you shoud see:
router name/ harddirve name
click on one and select the directory containing the movie files.

cheers.

[leahcim]

What kind of a business model supports NOT providing access to content people want to watch?

I understand your frustration, I likewise would love to be able to watch tv shows for free. But if that scenario continues nobody would ever pay to watch tv. Who is going to pay for new shows?

I would guess boxee needs to get really friendly and gain the trust of the tv networks and content creators to survive. Even google tv and apple tv are getting blocked from accessing tv content.

I'd say give it a few weeks and the boxee box will have been hacked to allow all kinds of blocked content, I cannot see boxee themselves being the ones doing it.

[dylm]

Keeping mine now that I've got my PC shares working and I can stream Bluray bitrate movies with no lag. Interface is smooth too (maybe try power cycling your devices after the update...).

Little unhappy with the UI change but I can live with it for now. Also, surprisingly the youtube leanback was a hit with a bunch of friends who popped by yesterday.

[TheCanadian]

Keeping mine now that I've got my PC shares working and I can stream Bluray bitrate movies with no lag. Interface is smooth too (maybe try power cycling your devices after the update...).

Little unhappy with the UI change but I can live with it for now. Also, surprisingly the youtube leanback was a hit with a bunch of friends who popped by yesterday.

I agree the interface is smooth on my end...no lag. I was finally able to connect online last night thanks to Network Magic. Anyways, I had no problems with the device (knock on wood :o). Played some movies, was able to get cover art and information with no issues.

Overall, I'm satisfied. I do admit the beta interface was more visually appealing, but I'm fine with the version 1 look.

[hawkesbury]

If the Boxee browser didn't go "OHAI I R Teh Boxee!" to every web page it visited, Hulu would have a much more difficult time blocking it. It should make itself appear as a generic Webkit browser or better yet, emulate Chrome or Safari.

[iRoNBiLL]

How about changing it so the Boxee box browser claims to be Internet Explorer or Firefox and not the Boxee browser. Then they would have to either block everyone on these browsers as well or stop offering their services via the internet entirely. I know we can change the declaration of the browser in webkits, so how come this hasn't been done already?? It would certainly be a game changer for Jason Kilar over at Hulu, that's for sure.

Again, I am no coding genius but I been told it's possible by a coding genius. Thanks.

iRoNBiLL

[hawkesbury]

How about changing it so the Boxee box browser claims to be Internet Explorer or Firefox and not the Boxee browser. Then they would have to either block everyone on these browsers as well or stop offering their services via the internet entirely. I know we can change the declaration of the browser in webkits, so how come this hasn't been done already?? It would certainly be a game changer for Jason Kilar over at Hulu, that's for sure.

Again, I am no coding genius but I been told it's possible by a coding genius. Thanks.


If the Boxee browser didn't go "OHAI I R Teh Boxee!" to every web page it visited, Hulu would have a much more difficult time blocking it. It should make itself appear as a generic Webkit browser or better yet, emulate Chrome or Safari.

^^

The Boxee browser is webkit-based, so it would make more sense for it to spoof either Chrome or Safari which are also webkit-based. Otherwise, it would be pretty easy for a web page to detect the discrepancy.

[rpmiles]

I am overall happy with the box and many of the minor glitches and or missing apps will be fixed

[stevo81989]

If the Boxee browser didn't go "OHAI I R Teh Boxee!" to every web page it visited, Hulu would have a much more difficult time blocking it. It should make itself appear as a generic Webkit browser or better yet, emulate Chrome or Safari.

The you dont get Hulu Plus...

[stevo81989]

Sorry but thats a massive overreaction/fail...You have 30 days to return it. Box it up (pun intended :)) mark a date on your calendar. If boxee hasnt done anything to remedy the issues, send it back. Maybe they will actually go back to .9!!!!

but seriously, I would wait.

[voip-ninja]

^^

The Boxee browser is webkit-based, so it would make more sense for it to spoof either Chrome or Safari which are also webkit-based. Otherwise, it would be pretty easy for a web page to detect the discrepancy.

Google tried this and got slapped and the same will happen to Boxee if they try it.

Leave it to the hackers to come out with their own firmware for the box, Boxee is trying to survive in an extremely difficult situation. Trying to hack or spoof their way into Hulu is not going to make things any easier for them.

[maxery]

Will probably return because of the local content changes

[Ph8]

How about changing it so the Boxee box browser claims to be Internet Explorer or Firefox and not the Boxee browser. Then they would have to either block everyone on these browsers as well or stop offering their services via the internet entirely. I know we can change the declaration of the browser in webkits, so how come this hasn't been done already?? It would certainly be a game changer for Jason Kilar over at Hulu, that's for sure.

Again, I am no coding genius but I been told it's possible by a coding genius. Thanks.

iRoNBiLL

Thats the thing, if they did this say goodbye to Boxee period or any chance of premium content. Boxee like every other company needs to ake money. The way they are going to do this is via premium content providers (NetFlix, Hulu Plus, Vudu, ect). If they circumvent a premium provider on purpose theyll most likely loose their partnerships with others quickly as well.

At this point I would hope people would ahve realized its out of Boxee's hands. Hulu has made it clear what content they want on what devices. This is why we see GoogleTV\Roku having the certain issues ;).

[stottlem]

Most people were interested in Boxee as a means of replacing standard cable television. One of the biggest parts being the fees associated with cable television. With Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Vudu all being pay services, am I even able to justify spending $200 for a set top box that can do everything my regular cable can do, just a little differently?

Or should I spend $350 building an HTPC that can do everything the Boxee Box can do, plus play dvds/blurays, play video games, record my cable television, have the option to upgrade, etc?

[iRoNBiLL]

@Ph8,

The only reason it is like this is simply threat of a lawsuit... that quite frankly would be a useless lawsuit with the right lawyer in place. :D

Hulu and content providers are only making a straw man argument that only has merit to those uneducated in technology... the fact is, it is NOT ILLEGAL to link to content these providers have openly put their content on the internet. We aren't forcing them to put the content there... we aren't stealing their bandwidth... we aren't obligated to create contracts for content they openly put on the internet. They have the obligation to secure their data if they want to control who see's what...

To say this is out of Boxee's hands is only true if they don't want to hire the right lawyer for the right price... otherwise, the fight on the technology front is in EVERYONE's hands. If Hulu wants to only put content on certain devices, they should consider getting out of video playback from their website and into a closed service for devices they contract. Otherwise, ANYTHING on the internet is fair game. Whether or not you choose to believe this is your decision, not mine.

iRoNBiLL

[jinx]

Most people were interested in Boxee as a means of replacing standard cable television. One of the biggest parts being the fees associated with cable television. With Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Vudu all being pay services, am I even able to justify spending $200 for a set top box that can do everything my regular cable can do, just a little differently?

I currently have cable tv. It's somewhere around $50 per month for standard tv... plus a little extra for HD channels... plus a little more for an HD DVR. I also pay for a subscription with Netflix.

I don't know how much tv you watch, but -- for me -- most of my shows are available on Hulu. If I go streaming only, keep my Netflix subscription, and pay for Hulu Plus, I still come out ahead with Boxee Box.

The biggest hurt with BB is not so much the GUI changes and stuff. It's the fact that it's marketed as a replacement to your existing television provider's service... but -- so far -- it doesn't actually SUPPORT Netflix, Vudu, or Hulu Plus.

So... I wait.

If you're just looking for something that going to give you the same or better content than traditional television without the costs, you probably just don't have realistic expectations... There's going to be trade-offs, no matter what solution you ultimately go with.

[hawkesbury]

Boxee Team,

I still like Boxee a lot, but I am pretty upset about changing so much on launch day. However, only three things really, really bug me.


Putting our local media/'files' to the side. I want the option to make my local media front and center. I would like them to be displayed first under the main 'Shows' and 'Movies' sections, without going to 'Files' first.

Live (or more frequent) change detection for watch directories. I want to be able to drop a video into a shared folder on my PC, then go sit down on the couch and have this video appear when I browse to my Shows.

Big home screen change. I actually really liked the look of the 0.9 beta. It was fun yet classy. The new interface looks bland and like some type of 'alpha' product.


I would be totally in love with this perfect home media device if at least the first 2 of these 3 things were fixed! Thanks.