D-Link Boxee
Box Set-Top-Box
"We get it – you want to the freedom to watch whatever you want on your TV: Movies, TV Shows, Sports, but also any other video that is available online. You want to do it without having to connect a computer to your TV or use a keyboard and mouse. We’re all over it. The Boxee Box by D-Link: watch, organize, share – you are now in full command of your TV for the first time. No rules, no contracts."
"Best
media player that handles both offline and online content"
This review is from: Boxee
Box by D-Link
I am really impressed by this box. I've been an avid user of XBMC
(which Boxee is based on) since the original XBOX console, and I have
been using it and variations of the software on my home theater PC. Two
years setting up variations of home theater software on my HTPC, I will
say that there is no escaping the fact that it is still a Windows PC.
Boxee Box is the HTPC replacement, if you are willing to pay for
Netflix and Hulu Plus. This box is the only device that satisfied all the functionality I was looking to get out of my HTPC and still keep it simple to use with the remote. It plays every 1080p MKV file I through at it, even 1080p files using Dolby TrueHD and integrated subtitles. I had a WDTV Live and it just crashed when trying to play this movie. I will also say that the image quality is excellent, even better than my PC. You don't have to worry about screen tearing or anything else like you do on PC, its just picture perfect. WDTV Live definitely has more noticeable blocking and color issues during playback.
Complaints about the UI are justified--the one click shortcut to movies and TV shows only brings you to the online section, not your offline files. You still can't specify a folder that holds specifically TV shows and another folder that holds movies. THough the IMDB scraper is much better than the last time I tried it. Also glad they finally found a way to manually resolve unidentified movies by letting you select the unidentified file and then typing in the movie name to search. SOme also complain how slow the UI is--it seems the same speed like the Windows version.
The remote is not bad, I do wish the buttons would light up but I'll live with it. People say they have to hold the remote by the edges--I don't do that but I do have to watch my hands and not hold to close to the center of the remote. Not a big deal.
People complain about the browser, but I love it. I love that the ad-supported shows on comedycentral.com, tbs.com, tnt.com, southparkstudios.com, fancast.com are already added in the TV Shows section. I thought I would have to bookmark each of the sites but this makes it very convenient for me. Once Netflix is added, this will be the perfect box for me. It really should have been ready by launch, there are no excuses for that.
It is not perfect, but its online content is above average and offline content playback is excellent. WDTV Live online content is not fun to use (try typing on their remote), but I believe it has Netflix at least. Roku has Netflix, but doesn't do much else. Apple TV has Netflix and can play iTunes content, but cannot play many local files and only at 720p. Google TV, haven't tried yet but doesn't play local files and it seems every online content provider has blocked playback on the device. Boxee Box is the best fit for me since I play alot of local content. Those who are looking for online only boxes, you can get Roku or Apple TV for much cheaper.
You can hold off on buying this box until Netflix comes out, but you know it will come out by end of the year, so why not order now and enjoy it? That was my reasoning for buying it.
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