I just wanted to write a little something here in regards to this. I'd be all over a Boxee "box" - and I think that the potential of building such a box is not far off. Since boxee is a "network" enabled software, perhaps it could be offered in a few configurations: harddrive included, harddrive not included, harddrive not included - with the option to add a hard drive.
tung
· 11 months ago
I have mine on an apple Tv and love it, I just wish I had netflix support. So a separate box would be perfect, that was fully optimized. I can't drop $500 bones on a mini so apple tv was the only way to go. I got 99-199 would be perfect. Getting higher in cost and I may consider just getting a mini. But I think this all depends on what happens with the new apple tv. maybe it will break this hack, so a boxee box would be a safe bet to ensure this actually hits the mainstream!
krat
· 11 months ago
Just add some usb ports (no hard drive, keep it simple and cheap) and let the user plug any device into it(external disks, mp3 players, digital cameras).
WilliamTM
· 11 months ago
I think it should be a basic box with a standard DVD drive, however with the option for a BD drive when you buy it.
Also, any idea if this would be available in the UK?
DouglasGottlieb
· 11 months ago
I wish Neuros OSD had Boxee. Their current ui is really weak
Nicole_Rae
· 11 months ago
I think a boxee box would ROCK. I talk about boxee all the time but dred the idea of buying an appletv for ONLY BOXEE - because due to the awesomeness of xbox w/netflix... the only thing I'd use it for is the GREATNESS of boxee -soooo, I think a boxee device that you can plug directly to your tv with wifi and a kickass remote would be amazing... I'd pay no more than $199 for it... and I liked the opinion above of offering hard-drive, no hard-drive w/usb ports AND the option of regular dvd or blu-ray... DO IT!!!!
dan
· 11 months ago
probably not a huge deal for everyone but I would be considered about the openness of the box. Would I be able to SSH in and compile boxee myself if I wanted to?
dan
· 11 months ago
*considered should be concerned
I'm an idiot
frank
· 11 months ago
how possible would it be to sell refurbished dual core computers at a low cost? slap a green sticker on there and call it a boxee box.
option8
· 11 months ago
i think grabbing the segment of the market for your service that isn't willing or able to buy a full-featured computer or appleTV is a great idea. however...
i don't think your current users will be very forgiving if future versions of the software are delayed or crippled because of issues or limitations of the hardware you end up shipping. features that aren't supported on the BoxeeBox, but will work just fine on an Apple TV or Mini, shouldn't be held back for the sake of parity across all the platforms.
parity should, however, be considered to some extent. branching or forking the development process to concentrate on separate codebases for your hardware vs. third-party hardware has the potential to very quickly cripple development for one or both.
an example to look at is ReplayTV (though, they went the reverse direction). i have a replay box from several years ago, when they were still shipping hardware. since then, the company has been sold, and is now only creating software for HTPCs, based on what went into their old boxen. even with the updates and changes to their dev process, they still support those of us with replay boxes, continuing to provide guide and channel information, as well as occasional software updates.
Bernhard Rode
· 11 months ago
I really would love to see boxee on nvidias upcomming ion platform *dream*
I also have concerns whether i will be able to use to box like i did with my xbox years before ???
will it be closed like a tivo or what else? Imho this would be a dead baby...
Jon B
· 11 months ago
Your own device could be something really impressive - given the formats Boxee already supports (all of them inc. mkv) and the acces to net services, I'd like to see from a boxee device more in the way of a definitive hardware setup. This would include some form of surround sound output, even if this over the HDMI with the video that is cool for me. I'd like to to see TV Tuner for OTA transmissions inc slick EPG (it would be so cool if it was both freeview and freesat compatible in the UK - both use DVB-X) This way I could replace my digibox too. Secondary features would be things like built in HDD, DVR/PVR functionality and BluRay (I'd love BluRay, but it's not essential unless you can do it well and for cheap(ish) hardware I think it may be pushing it)
Oh, and a good remote (or specialised iPhone app) would be grand :)
Ari Braunstein
· 11 months ago
A Boxee settop box could be a killer app/hardware if: 1.Built in DVR with a CableCard 2. Plugin Archetcture so that all downloable/streaming sites and services can be used on Boxee 3. Home Media Hub/Server 4. Easy access to News/Weather Widgets / RSS Reader for quick access to news 5. HDMI, in & out to be able to control Blu Ray player through Boxee. 6. ESata and USB 3.0/Fireware 800 support for optional external hard drives 7. Bluetooth support for use with any Wireless keyboard(optional requirement if user chooses) 8. Like Multi Room-DVR, a Multi Room Boxee so that you can access Boxee services on all tvs through one box (I guess this would be harder as you would need to use cable wires in the house and/or work with cable companies)
Thats my list so far, but it could definitely blow Apple TV/Roku out of the Water if done right. Good Luck.
Webomatica
· 11 months ago
Interesting! I'd like to see better hardware - right now I use the Apple TV and playback is kinda slow and glitchy at times. If it ran more smoothly (like how it does on the Mac client) that would be a huge incentive to buy.
Other than that keep it very simple and easy to use. A cheap bare minimum box with a dead simple remote like the Roku / Netflix player.
oren
· 11 months ago
For me, ideally you'd have a very cheap box with a small (or possibly no) HD, that can stream media from a different PC on my home network in addition to working from the local drive.
If I can then plug in a standard HD for more capacity (either directly or via a USB port) that would be perfect.
That would be great as a media center that starts small/cheap (but with an awesome interface), focused on getting my stuff on the TV easily and later on becoming the actual media store for my home...
tung
· 11 months ago
the only reason I bought an apple TV was for boxee. I would rather be supporting boxee then apple.
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
yes, i agree.
it seems the best would be to have a basic box with optional add-ons
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
hope boxee will continue to run on Apple TV. just wish we could make it run faster on it and take advantage of the GPU
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
agreed
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
depends on who the hardware partner will be..
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
i think boxee will be able to run on their Link2 device
Jon
· 11 months ago
I use apple tv for boxee, and have a tivo. If this box would get rid of both of those I would be in.
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
i think that whom ever we end up partnering with keeping boxee open will be a pretty basic requirement
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
i guess you could. playing HD stuff may be a challenge.
Jerry
· 11 months ago
Wow, put Boxee on a PS3 and it would be the ultimate device: HD-gaming, boxee media center, and a blu-ray player. One device in the living room to cover all of that. I like the idea, and I'd buy a PS3 just for it.
Joel
· 11 months ago
I think it's a great idea, especially if I can replace any other box at home. the AppleTV is too limited (no web video services), the Roku Netflix box is WAY too limited. I'm not a gamer - so if console owners can still install boxee and use it, awesome for them. But I've been waiting for a while for a box that will do everything.
DVR would be sweet. That would seal the deal no doubt for me. If no DVR, but it could handle Netflix streaming well, I would go out today. Especially if it was around the $200 pricepoint. With a blu-ray/dvd player... geez. I think you'd decimate the homebrew HTPC market.
Jerry
· 11 months ago
On a side note, do you (boxee guys) know the fit-PC? I like what they are doing with a low-power unit, maybe they have something you could use for boxee.
micahtc
· 11 months ago
Youselves... don't get into building hardware yourself. Stay focused on software, and enabling partners to build hardware that works with boxee.
Don't work with a single hardware maker. Instead, create a very clear hardware spec (perhaps even make a reference module), and offer a certification program for products that embed the capabilities needed to run Boxee natively. Make the use of this spec and the certification a source of royalty revenue for Boxee. Vendors such as HP, Dell, Roku, MSI, LG, Vizio etc can build "Boxee-ready" hardware that consumers can look for in the type of device they want.
People don't want "another box". They want your "service." Figure out a way to get them your service on boxes they will already be buying.
I could see Boxee-readiness finding its way into TVs, set-top boxes, game consoles, BD players, HTPCs, Soundbars, Home theater audio systems...
I can help you with this if you want. I know hardware an I'm NY-based. ;-)
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
i also don't think that crippling boxee is a good idea.
we should try to optimize boxee to run on lower end platforms, but we should not compromise on the boxee experience.
in any case we plan to stay focused on developing the software and let people who know hardware make the devices
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
yes. we need to get our hands on that ion platform. anyone from Nvidia listening?
not closed. never closed.
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
iPhone remote is in the works.
i think OTA, extra storage, BluRay should all be optional add-ons for the user
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
well lets see what hardware partners we can line up
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
i agree we need to keep it simple.
Apple TV is great. the only issue is that boxee is not optimized to run on it..
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
:) thanks man. i told the Apple guys people are buying Apple TVs just to run boxee on them. they should help us get boxee running more smoothly on it
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
you're spot on. lets grab coffee in the city.
my email is avner [ a t ] boxee d0t TV
Eefrum
· 11 months ago
My take away from CES this year was this: "set-top" boxes are dead. LG, Panasonic and Vizio showed us the future with their networked enabled TV's and not too long from now (hopefully) all TV's will come out of the box with this capability. In the interim, while manufacturers play catch up and change their lineup of TV's, i can understand the need/desire for a Boxee set top box.....but with Boxee's ability to work on a network and with the driving idea that set top boxes are dieing i stand firmly in the camp that says Boxee should be courting the TV manufacturers to install their "platform" as the default TV network solution. I see the future of Boxee not as a hardware device sitting on top of a litany of other hardware devices underneath your TV, but as a software platform found on all network enabled televisions. This idea will clearly not plug any short term cash flow needs that Boxee may have (the TV market is very slow to become saturated with new technologies) but in the interim if getting the gospel of Boxee out to as many people as possible means a set-top box, so be it. But Boxee needs to blaze a path beyond the set top box for the long term - who wants to buy yet ANOTHER box to plug into their TV after all? Not me, not when Boxee can be embedded into my TV directly.
Eefrum
· 11 months ago
Amen micahtc - i just wish i had seen your comment before i began typing my diatribe.
Ravi U
· 11 months ago
I've been struggling with this recently myself -- I simply have too many boxes under the TV!
I've got an Apple TV for iPhoto/iTunes integration with my MacBook and to play videos via Boxee (streaming over the home network and the internet); an Xbox 360 for online gaming, DVD player, and Netflix streaming; Dish DVR for satellite TV; and a Wii for recreational gaming.
To me, a killer Boxee box would need to replace at least 2 of these devices. An upgraded version of an Apple TV seems like a good place to start (something with enough horsepower to play 1080p HD and stream Netflix). Add either a DVR or Blu-Ray player and I'm sold (I figure Blu-Ray's a lot easier to program, if not more costly). Add both and I could easily seeing myself pay $300, if not more -- definitely worth it to achieve the holy grail of a single, unified, set-top box.
For what it's worth, the PS3 could be a great box to target in the meantime -- enough horsepower for HD videos, Wi-Fi & Blu-Ray built-in, interchangeable parts (HDD and Bluetooth), and it's even got a supported Linux mode that could be easiest to port Boxee for. I'm a die-hard Xbox Live guy, but I'd definitely buy one to get that kind of STB integration for Boxee.
Mohan
· 11 months ago
I must say that mockup...is mush slicker looking than my Boxee setup (Asus EeeBox). I would something up to $300 (that is how much I paid for my EeeBox), and one that has hard drive, but I really don't care about an DVD/Blu-Ray drive. But must have HDMI (IMO) and network adapter and a wifi, of course USB, and an SD slot for pics.
Irving Isler
· 11 months ago
Another voice for the Boxee set-top box. Not much else to add.
Great work Team Boxee!
Dan Nabavian
· 11 months ago
I don't think a box is necessary. As a matter of fact, it is a foolish move! If you notice the trend, almost any hardware that can be connected to a television is gaining network/wifi support. I'm happy with my apple tv setup and am confident that boxee with run better on it as programming progresses and apple eventually upgrades its hardware specs. If you don't have an apple tv (which many dont), i'm sure you have a dvr and/or a game console of some type connected. Even more, I've noticed that some TV manufacturers have added network capabilities to their televesions. So why should boxee add yet another 'standalone' device to the mix? I think consumers are going to have either a apple tv like device, a dvr, or a gaming device with network capabilities connected to their televisions. These devices now act as 'swiss army knives' in that they can perform multiple tasks other than their primary. Boxee should make themselves compatible with as many devices as possible.
Mohan
· 11 months ago
Forgot to mention, when you guys do make a set top box, might I suggest going with Ubuntu as the core OS. The user doesn't need to see it, as it boot only into Boxee interface. This would easy for you guys, as updates can be sent and all the user has to do is click on update icon and update the system. Boxee on Ubuntu has been really good and solid experience for me.
I agree, don't partner with a single vendor (or make a big investment on a single standard) make the software/service as portable as you can and keep your options open. (this is Joe Born from Neuros)
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
i'll tell that to the Sony people :)
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
don't know em
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
our goal is for the boxee software to run on whatever has a CPU, a remote control and is connected to the TV screen.
we don't care whether it is on the TV itself or on a separate box.
in any case we're not going to make the hardware ourselves
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
sounds like too many boxes in your living room.. i agree that a box running boxee should come in place of an existing box/es in your case
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
we don't plan to make the hardware on our own. we stay focused on the software.
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
hi joe,
100% agree. no reason to tie ourselves to just one hardware partner. we should work with a few.
avner
Matthew
· 11 months ago
Boxee is content and web-service dependent, and as such must be highly adaptable in order to endure. There's no guarantee that netflix or hulu will be serving video in a year, not to mention the likelihood of a competitor stealing a huge market share from one of the many content services. Boxee needs to continually write portals for all the latest content sites. For this reason, I think that a computer is really the only realistic platform for software like this. A boxee box is an attractive idea, but it needs to be able to update itself regularly, and boxee staff need to be up on it for a long time to come. Updates on a tv or game console will likely be much more difficult to implement. The last thing I want is a tv with a kick ass front end that connects to tons of dead websites. But, if it can be done then I'm all for it.
jon
· 11 months ago
A Boxee box is a good idea. you need something with a little more punch than an Apple TV.
- scrap the hard drive, use a 16gb flash drive for the OS etc... - usb ports and card reader slots. - HDMI output giving a true clean 1080p signal - keep the remote simple (like the Apple Remote) but maybe add a numeric keypad for typing...
I would not want to buy a Boxee 'box' which already came with a large harddrive but I would however like the option to install one myself of my choosing at a time that suits me. So please include an open harddrive bay like Popcorn Hour has.
I think that a Boxee 'box' should come in two models, one with a built-in harddrive and one without a built-in harddrive, but the end-user should still have the option to install any harddrive inside it themselves in the model that comes without the built-in harddrive, ...again, that is how Popcorn Hour is sold.
Though all Boxee 'box' models should also come with at least a 8GB flash memory for the operating-system, Boxee software, covers and posters thumbnail cache, metadata databases, and storage for plugins, skins and other possible future addons.
Analog Stereo RCA and SP/DIF audio outputs for those of us who owns televisions/recievers which do not support audio over HDMI. Composite, S-Video, and VGA output is also a given for those with old displays, ...that is a mistake on the Apple TV they lost quite a few customer on.
Anyway, I would pay $199/€199 for the model without the harddrive.
PS! @Avner, as you know I still much more prefer the "Tilt" design of the proposed designs, at least if it came without the 'tilt' on it, ...now lets hope we will see the a Boxee box before the end of 2009 or maybe for CES in January 2010 :D
Andreas Setterlind
· 11 months ago
Oh! I forgot, what about an iPod/iPod port built-in or as an addon?
...and I would also like to see a built-in multi card reader :)
Peter Lundin
· 11 months ago
Boxee has to use a hardware decoder chip like Sigma Designs or similar because as otherwise you have to pay for all codec licenses seperatly per box. Like MP3, AAC, MPEG-2, H.264, etc. and they are not cheap if you add them up.
If you buy a hardware decoder chip like Sigma Designs then the license fee for all those poular codecs are included in the price, making that hardware decoder chip practically pay for itself.
Jason
· 11 months ago
What was their response?
I'd love to see Boxee running more smoothly on my ATV.
crazyj
· 11 months ago
I would love to see boxee on TiVo with streaming from a local computer/NAS.
SeanO
· 11 months ago
Make it a streaming box like the Roku. No hard disc or optical drive. But... include USB ports so that standard external drives can be used. Even an external Blu-ray. The decoder chip could already handle it, and you could simply charge an extra fee to download Blu-ray playback software which would cover the licensing.
Andy
· 11 months ago
About a year ago, I got tempted to invest in an Apple TV, but was discouraged by it's price tag ($300). I felt I could get a brand new machine with a little more money. It also prompted me to ask a great question -- what is the most basic machine required to serve as a media center? In other words, could I build a really cheap PC that could do the same thing an Apple TV does?
Turns out that I was able to put together an AMD Dual Core machine with 2 gigs of ram and a 160gb hard drive for less than $150 (Ubuntu). I didn't even need a dual core with that much storage (all I need is something that runs a media center)
So, now I have this PC running Boxee attached to my TV -- and it works great. Even though I mostly use it for Boxee, I have the ability to launch whatever application I want -- a web browser, my email client, or even play a game.
So investing $100 in a boxee client is nice -- that's nice, because it'll probably have a small form factor and some other nice things like a TV tuner card or whatever -- but given a choice, I'd rather just assemble a new machine.
Of course, most people aren't as inclined to do so.
Kenny Carlson
· 11 months ago
I would not buy the box if it had that green color!
Boxee can choose any color they like for it as long as it is black! ;)
Seriosly though, please make it black and only black, and make it have smooth large surfaces so that those who want another color or design can put stickers on it, this was very popular in the old Xbox modding days as companies sold stickers with all kinds of designs that one could buy to put on the entire cover of the Xbox console. I believe that HP had or has a similar sticker skin concept for their laptops covers and a service where you could design you own stickers to put on your laptop, very large stickers which covered the entire laptop cover.
Kenny Carlson
· 11 months ago
Wife Acceptance Factor for putting a green colored box in front of the livingroom TV = Zero or less than zero
Kenny Carlson
· 11 months ago
and the box can not have any lights on it either as the ruin the mood when you are trying to enjoy a movie in a darken room if you see that light which makes to you look at it instead of the movie.
NT
· 11 months ago
whatever the hardware, for the pro a/v community it would be GREAT if whatever box had built in capacity to mount rack ears for rackmounting, as well as remote control receiver capability that is IR, RF AND bluetooth.
RS232 would be great also, but seriously who am i kidding.
Andreas Setterlind
· 11 months ago
Bluetooth support would be great, but I don't see it supporting both Bluetooth as well some other type of RF for remotes, instead why not just use Bluetooth for the Boxee remote (the latest Bluetooth standard supports low-voltage mode and long standby in order to support things like remotes).
Plus there are a multitude of other RF standards and Boxee couldn't support all, so if you wanted a other standard you would have to plug in an USB dongle in any case, which should not be a problem as long as the Boxee box is Linux based.
Bluetooth could also be used for keyboard and mouse options, wireless stereo earphones, external speakers, headsets for VoIP, microphone for karaoke, game controllers (PS3 gamepad and Wii Remote uses Bluetooth), sharing and synchronizing media files with Bluetooth cellphones and PDA's (like iPhone/iPod), and much more.
Mike
· 11 months ago
I must be missing something. You lead with the statement that "you need to connect a mac/windows/linux computer to your TV, or install boxee on an Apple TV", but all the comments are about boxes. I couldn't find anything on your website about how to make the physical connection - what type of cable, if that is what is needed?
bmoura
· 11 months ago
Agreed, more power is needed than what Apple TV offers.
Suggest a box that has: * a powerful processor * plenty of RAM memory * powerful graphics processing * HDMI out for audio and video * a simple remote.
Other features could be add-on options.
Very cool !
Graeme
· 11 months ago
Needs an internal storage because of playing full HD properly. USB2 just doesn't cut the grade.. maybe USB3.x ??
Andrew
· 11 months ago
I've been imagining that a boxee set top box could be in every dorm room and in every twenty-somethings' Manhattan apartment. To make this happen, I really figure you need three (extra) things:
1) A simple coax for the "basic" cable service. I desperately want to live off of my high speed internet only, but realize that this is probably unrealistic unless things get so bad that I really need to save the extra $50 or so a month. 2) dvr software to complement my access to "live" television 3) dvd drive because everyone still needs one... plus a price tag of no more than $249
I really don't get using Boxee on anything but a set top box/media center. It's nice on my laptop, but not nearly as practical as on my Apple TV. I also think limiting the scope of the software to local/online media and rss feeds is way to small. Avner, do you plan on focusing Boxee towards other content as well?
Pat
· 11 months ago
it depends on what type of computer connection and tv you have, google is your friend.
Skorch
· 11 months ago
Great poll. Stop taunting us with those great looking mock-ups of a future hardware device!
The future lies in streaming video. On-board storage will be less important in the future. Support for high quality Internet video feeds will quickly become the norm. Samsung is already starting to equip their tvs with online content from yahoo MySpace and YouTube. It's not long before they start supporting the likes of hulu or iplayer. Once people realize they can get video on demand at quality rivaling their satelite or cable, they won't look back.
larrydavis
· 11 months ago
This is exactly what I'm talking about. Boxee can be great, but will always be relegated to "geeks" unless it has a delivery platform. Simple and cheap is the way to go. People (not the geeks here) don't want a million things in one box. They want a box that is simple, easy to use, and cheap. Skip the DVR, no one cares outside of some in this group. Skip the Blu-ray unless embedded in some other manufacturer's player as Netflix has done.
Look at the Roku (also, examine the platform they use). That's what people want. Don't make Boxee be all things to all people because it will suck, quite frankly. Make it do a few things really well. In particular, bring Internet video services to the TV. That's it. Keep it simple. A method to stream (not store) local media would also be good and not detract. But DVR, BR, Tuners, etc are just worthless features once you give everyone access to the world's largest DVR and high quality movie archive, the Internet.
Abdon
· 11 months ago
I saw lots of TV manufacturers at CES making their sets with browsing capabilities; streaming youtube, picasa, flickr...etc. I think Boxee should be available to them so that they can build it right into their displays. Boxee is way better than anything they could develop on their own. I would totally buy a TV that had Boxee built in. A cheap box would be great for those who don't want to buy a brand new set.
da7id
· 11 months ago
1080p h.264 playback with digital audio (ac3, dts, whatever) over hdmi.
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
i agree a 100% re the modularity. $199 seems like a magic number for many people
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
all should be add-ons
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
it is also part of the Intel Canmore and Nvidia Ion designs
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
TiVo could be a good partner. no question. have never spoken with them.
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
we should probably have 16GB SSD and the rest should be up to the user.
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
that's a good setup, but as you pointed out it is out of reach for the mainstream consumer
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
i hear ya.
and in any case the box needs to be very basic. no point spending any dollars on doing something fancy. the remote is much more important than the box.
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
what do you mean by other content? OTA broadcast? cab/sat feed?
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
we need to get boxee on some of those next gen TVs
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
agreed that we should keep it simple. but i think we should never ignore the media the user has at home.
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
we need to start talking with the TV makers. the issue with the TV+CPU combo is that the replacement cycle of the TV is long (5-7yrs), and CPUs get obsolete much quicker than that.
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
yup. all are a must have.
larrydavis
· 11 months ago
I do agree, you have to have a method to play home media. I do think storing it internally is silly though, and would add cost. Either a way to stream or connect an external USB drive should be included.
Justin Larsen
· 11 months ago
I think a boxee box would be awesome! On a side note thou, I still think the original idea behind boxee on having it run on as many platforms as possible is they key to success in the software.
I know you mentioned that installing boxee on the apple tv is still not as simple for your average user, and I am not sure the legal precautions of this idea. But what about offering a Boxee USB stick with simple instructions and a nice clean interface during the install process so people wouldn't flip out when they see all the code running down the screen. Obviously the software still needs to expand (auto-updates, better UI, ect.)
Anyway, I am rambling. The Idea of a Boxee Box is great, as long is it doesn't sidetrack the ultimate goal of getting the software saturation to as many devices as possible.
Andrew
· 11 months ago
maybe craigslist/classfieds, real estate listings, anything that could be casually browsed while listening to music or watching tv in a smaller screen. i have a few other ideas as well.
MN
· 11 months ago
How about a TI DaVinci-based hardware platform, similar/identical to the Verismo box?
Andreas Setterlind (a.k.a. Gam
· 11 months ago
I understand having an iPod/iPhone port in a cradle as an addon (though it would be very cool to plugging in your iPod/iPhone directly into the top of the Boxee box, if the Boxee box was lying down like the Apple TV instead of standing up like in your mockup picture), this is all the rage these days, every gadget has to have an iPod/iPhone port! ;)
Out of an design point of view I do however not like the idea of having a multi card reader as an external addon, I think that it should be built-in, even if it is for no other reason than aesthetics.
Andreas Setterlind (a.k.a. Gam
· 11 months ago
I knew that Intel license a H.264 decoder that runs on the Intel Canmore integrated GPU as well as on , but I did not know that NVIDIA Ion also featured a such license.
By the way, I understand that Intel Sodaville has the same feature. Intel Sodeville is a a System on a Chip (SoC) product for consumer electronics devices, arriving in 2009, it is basically the Intel Atom CPU with the GPU and southbridge/nothbridge all on the same chip.
The benefit with using a Sigma Designs, Texas Instrument, or Broadcom decoder chip for consumer electronics is that they also supports the Blu-ray encryption and I believe you also get a Blu-ray decryption license included in the fee for the chip. They also not only include license for the H.264 decoder but MPEG-2, MPEG-4 ASP (DivX/Xvid), WMA, WMV, VC-1, MP3 and AAC, again all included in the price of the chip. This is a major reason why Popcorn Hour, Ruku, and others use these types of chips, as they don't have to deal with codec licenses.
I suggest that Boxee checkout Broadcom's BCM70010, BCM70012 and BCM70020 chips as they could be used in combination with a Intel Atom, NVIDIA, and VIA Nano platform because those Broadcom chips are PCI or PCIe based (or mini-PCI/mini-PCIe), they are designed to be used in media center computers, and again they support Blu-ray with the license fee included in the price of the chip.
Broadcom BCM70012 chip looks like a real good compromise. The chipset is available for motherboard designs as well as in module form:
PCIe mini card PCIe desktop adapter ExpressCard 34
Features: * Multistandard high definition video decoding in the following formats: H.264/AVC HP at L 4.1 1080i, 40 Mbps H.264/AVC HP at L 3.0 480i H.264/AVC HP at L 3.2 720p SMPTE VC-1 AP at L 3 1080i, 40 Mbps WMV9 (VC-1 SP and MP) MPEG-2 MP @ ML and MP @ HL * 720p, 1080i and 1080p support * Blu-ray disc playback on PCs/x86 * Protected media playback on PCs/x86
Ryan F
· 11 months ago
USB2 goes up to 480mbit/sec, I think the highest bitrate HD tops out at 30, maybe 40mbit/sec. As long as the physical storage medium has a high enough read rate, such as a hard drive, you should have no trouble with HD over USB.
S
· 11 months ago
I feel that gpu acceleration is key. It would make for a less expensive, less power consuming and more silent box. Some people also might not need 1080p as their tv's do not support it. So maybe a hd-ready and a full hd version? :)
bmoura
· 11 months ago
The Verismo box/form factor is pretty interesting - and very low cost!
Does it have enough processing and graphics power to run Boxee?
bmoura
· 11 months ago
GPU acceleration is important - as is HDMI out for audio and video.
I'm surprised how many "Mini PC" makers go with the on-board low power GPU vs. offering a more powerful Graphics processor as an option.
The Nvidia Ion looks interesting. So maybe things are a changin' soon.....
bmoura
· 11 months ago
Love the Roku box. But does it have enough processing and GPU power to run Boxee?
If yes, bring it on !
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
the goal will be for us to focus on the software, and work with device makers to get boxee on their hardware
james
· 11 months ago
One feature overrides all else for a media machine.
Silence.
It doesn't matter if the hdd is small or it doesn't include a tuner or bluray drive. As long as boxee runs flawlessly and as quietly as a mouse that's just had a laryngectomy, I'll be a happy man.
Oh, and it needs ssh out of the box ;D
Hugh Isaacs II
· 11 months ago
About running Boxee on as many platforms as possible, will you support the original X-Box just as XBMC did?
and for the Boxee box, I'd say a DVD drive, ethernet and USB ports would be enough to get me to buy one.
and also could you add Google Gadgets support to Boxee?
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
don't think boxee will ever run on the old xbox..
what would you do with google gadgets on boxee?
mosten
· 11 months ago
How about getting the bugs fixed and adding obvious functionality before even considering such a thing?
avner ronen
· 11 months ago
bug fixing is our first priority. getting boxee on hardware devices is a long-term project. and if we want to get there we must take our stability and finish to the next level.
Joshua Jonah
· 11 months ago
I think the BD is just a price jacking feature. I really wouldn't care if it came with one, I'd never use it. If i bought a pretty, well made box that archived all my movies and music in a nice detailed library, why the heck would i want to walk up and put a disc in the thing. The whole point is to be remote operated, physical media is obsolete.
mikie
· 11 months ago
the power of boxee is that it's just software running on any box. the fact i can run it on my laptop while traveling, my appleTV (which just died), or a mac mini is what makes is so powerful to me.
I have enough boxes and I'm looking to reduce. appletv+boxee+netflix streaming (will replace appletv w/ mac mini for netflix) drove the return of a bluray dvd player w/ netflix streaming. the ps3 already is a better bluray player.
better yet, put boxee on the ps3, and that'll reduce my number of devices even more. it's all about aggregating all the devices (disc players, appletv, roku), service (hulu, joost, cnn, etc) into a single stop shop. that's what gets me excited.
so, i'd love: - bluray playback support (bd live, etc) - ps3 integration - netflix hd, youtube hd - facebook video - ability to record video to interface with seesmic, etc
mosten
· 11 months ago
Every update I've seen has additional "gee-wiz" functionality but has the same bugs and lapses in most basic features. The most obvious of which are the functions that XBMC had but that have been ripped out of boxee (the ability to stack movies correctly, resume files, delete files, set a default resolution for all videos).
Rich
· 11 months ago
Please follow and improve on the niche business model of the Networked Media Tanks(NMT)...Be a TRUE media player/portal...internet, web services model for extensibility(see Syabas' Media Service Portal), maintain OpenSource
Options to keep things stable, upgradeable, affordable and max your market potential:
1) Proper ports/chipsets: Multiple USB ports , 1-slave, 2-for ext. drives, place 2 in front (1 or 2 for HDD, 1 for optical); HDMI 1.3a, optical 7.1/coax 7.1, component out, Y/R/W analog, Gigabit ethernet, 2) Option for 1 internal SATA (2.5" laptop size, lower profile, lower noise) 3) Consider this as a portable device versus stereo component (see WD TV HD design) 3) NO fans, design case with aluminum/alloys to dissipate heat, large heatsink inside to prevent overheating (learn from the lessons of the NMT space), test, test, test 4) Formats, formats, formats - maximize and TEST the video formats that will be recognized and decoded (build a permutation list and enlist an alpha community to test) 5) Firmware update-able for years (memory space allows for significant growth) 6) Manage your code branches for firmware! Don't let disparate vendors to funk up your base code, keep it locked but allow them to brand via config files, skins and provide input between releases 6) Revisit the UI for usability, the HT experience is all about usability and convenience (build in user customization like options for rows/columns to display, icons, text only/both, standard for album cover display, smart choices for music navigation considering 1000's of albums/songs AND performance in navigating, search functions!; modes for video format, 4x3, 16x9, normal, zoom1, zoom2, stretch; user modifiable skins 7) Allow external optical drives to be added/developed, partner with a H/W distributor to develop a cheap alternative(BR drive/ext. USB case) or test with at least one home brew drive (lowest cost BR and a reputable case)...ask the community for input on the 'standard' components, this would be very important to many for formats(should play BROAD format set from media) and performance reasons 8) A bittorrent client/service to improve value prop.
Finally, to those readers that doubt this is all possible for around $199, take a look at Popcorn Hour A-110 and think of it with the Boxee interface and capabilities :)
I would drop those dollars so fast for Boxee in a robust media player appliance like that!
Keep up the great work!!!
Rich
Jan
· 11 months ago
I would love to see something very barebone for under 100 dollar. don't even need a HDD, can be server via network. based on linux. everything else should be optional, modular and open. HD Capable would be nice, but probably not possible for that pricetag. personally i think bluray will never take off. i think the physical content delivery is almost dead. it's all internet now. so i would not want to waste money with that. in a dream world i would love to see boxee somehow getting together with the dreambox system. i'd still like to have some satellite tv programs and the idea of dreambox is great, they just suck in their user interface, which is was boxee makes great. they could be a perfect match. but i know that wouldn't be an easy job to combine.
ChrisL
· 11 months ago
Keep it cheap and simple. A BIG problem with the CE industry is they keep coming out with products with little to no regard to the realities of family budgets. Most families can't afford to keep dropping $300+ every time the industry comes out with a new device. For your average Gizmodo reader it's not a problem but for the other 99.9% of America it is. Don't forget that most people don't know (or care) what CES is. Keep it cheap. Keep it simple.
I'd run with a few safe assumptions: 1) Most people already own a DVD player. Be it in their 360, home theater receiver, or a stand alone player. Safe to say having one in a Boxee box isn't really a value add. 2) Most people have a computer and wireless connection. Why force people to store their media in a different location? Skip the hard drive. 3) Most people receive cable or satellite. Make Boxee readily compatible with both. Would be nice to have just one interface to deal with. 4) Do include USB ports. 5) IR receiver for programmable remotes.
Keep the price to $200.
Last but not least, develop a strong brand that focuses on usability (without using the word "usability"!!) and personal empowerment. Don't underestimate the power of brand and marketing the way too many tech companies seem to. Focus on creating a consumer product, not a technical product. This is what Microsoft got right with 360 and horribly wrong with Media Center! It's also what Apple does better than anything else.
Jan
· 11 months ago
i know the vendors would love to see everyone get a new tv. but fact is that most people do not even own a flatscreen. i would rather get a dedicated 99-199 box from a userinterface expert like boxee that getting an all in one tv with a wifi antenna but from a vendor who has no idea what the internet is really like. the fact is: most tv companies have no clue how to design a slick user interface, just look at the standard remote control. didn't change over the last few decades. still confusing like hell.
hackmeister
· 11 months ago
An affordable set top box based on Nvidia Ion would be awesome. It should be open as possible. If I can run Boxxee as well as MythTV (frontend) I would buy 3 of them. Flexibility and price are key. Encourage community involvement and hackability. DO NOT LOCK THE DEVICE! You will be amazed at what people come up with.
craig
· 11 months ago
Boxee should steer clear of developing their own box. Perfect the software and a certification process for manufactures and others will do the hardware work for you.
With the increasing development of wifi-enabled products, set-top boxes are going to be yesterday's fad soon enough. It wouldn't be a stretch to imagine "Boxee certified" wifi-enabled TVs and blu-ray players in the near future.
I also think Boxee should break out of the internet-to-tv-only model and work it from both sides. It would be great to see Boxee also partner with cable-box manufacturers to put Boxee on cable STBs.
bgregoire
· 11 months ago
I would love a boxee box for some situations, like the bedroom or guest room TV. It would be a great way to stream music videos to rooms that do not currently have that option. I wouldn't use a boxee STB for my theater room, I already have built my own.
mclanem
· 11 months ago
This would be GREAT. I would keep the cost down, yet let you expand it.
Jerry
· 11 months ago
I love the Boxee idea and Love the proposed features, but for the love of god CAN WE HAVE SUPPORT FOR CANADA!!! get on it FCC and CRTC need to apporve this!
giyad
· 11 months ago
I agree... if you can find a cheap way to include BD, do it, but its not a priority. The whole point of Boxee is not having physical disc anymore (at least the way I see/use it). This means I'm gonna have my content ripped onto my computer anyway, so I don't need a Blu-Ray drive. I've gotten rid of all my physical media thanks to Boxee!
ReynaldoRiv
· 11 months ago
I wouldn't pay for a set-top box, and I certainly wouldn't pay the "magic" $200 price tag when you offer it for free.
I *WOULD* pay 4.99 for boxee as an application on the PS3 online store. As the survey suggests, I don't need another box, I'd rather just upgrade the most powerful one connected to my TV.
Pitch this idea to Sony; they already have the killer hardware and this would help unify the PS community through media. Also, if you can ensure the PS3 exclusive console support they may be more willing to jump on the idea since it will distinguish them from the competition.
If you could just get Sony to help you out w/ hardware issues the PS3 is your ultimate set-top box
CATO
· 11 months ago
as long it can play 720p & 1080p MKV files thats all we need, right now apple tv can't handle it.
It has HDMI output (only 720p, I think), some hardware accelleration and Linux.
It would be almost all you need, but I guess there isnt't an official ARM Linux FlashPlayer available yet :(
j won
· 11 months ago
I believe the best device would be a small Roku style box, possibly with a small hard drive. Make a barebones kit for enthusiasts to pop in their own HD and a finished package my Dad could use out of the box. I would infinitely prefer a BT/Wifi remote over any IR, get people to use any controller they like.
Kilde
· 11 months ago
I would love a Boxee Box. Currently I am using my old Xbox with XBMC. It's becoming outdated now that I have an HDTV and want to play HD content. I just want a cheap $200 machine to put Boxee on that will easily work out of the box.
petyr
· 11 months ago
Guys and gals, I have way too much hardware in my entertainment center already and everything does part of what i need. If boxee does make a box, in order for me to be interested, it must replace everything except my PS3 and Wii. For posterity, the things it must replace is AppleTV (streaming boxee and media library playback), TiVo (DVR), Cable Box (on demand and HD TV), GbE network switch, and fiberchannel audio mux. OK, the last 2 are nice to haves, but why not have one box. I have a NAS, so on the box storage is not that important. Huge thanks for all the work you've done so far!!
TJ
· 11 months ago
I'd buy it in a heartbeat. That said, I do have a couple requests:
1) Ability to mount any standard DVD/Blu-ray drive in the STB (unless the STB is very small, in which case, I'd be happy to forgoe) 2) Ability to use said drive to rip media to the... 3) Internal HDD, preferably accessable/changable 4) USB/eSATA for when a friend comes over with a portable drive 5) Ability to output over HDMI and composite A/V at the same time (I've got a channel modulator that used to serve my DVR to the bedroom. It's been unocupied since I canceled my pay-TV service).
Oh, and keep it under $300 if possible.
julia
· 11 months ago
I would love one. I've been looking for a good open source media center for my tv. and it seem simple. PLEASE make one! and if its under 300, i'd buy it.
LAGamer
· 11 months ago
I would buy one, can you toss one together for me right now. I am more than happy to beta test the thing. As others have said, keep it simple. Allow the user to expand it via USB or even an Ethernet port to add external storage options. I would want to connect mine to my extisting network to read my movies and music that I already have. Output to HMI, Component and composite of course as well.
Reallytnotnick
· 11 months ago
I think it should be as customizable as possible. Have a base that really just streams from the internet, then have add on features like a DVD or BD drive, Tuner card, HDD (for DVR or ripping DVD/BD movies).
Derek
· 11 months ago
Are two versions too much to ask?
1) Simple & Cheap. Boots off of an SD memory card, gig network, expandable RAM With USB ports to add hard disk, memory sticks, usb tv tuner, blu-ray, and/or external dvd player. Priced < $200
2) The high-end version that includes everything (and a remote control). That costs $649 and supports HDMI.
I would buy 2 cheap ones and 1 high end. It would replace my current XBMC Xbox1 setup. Simple aesthetics to the physical box are also key to the not-as-geeky demographic.
CouchGuy
· 11 months ago
I love Boxee - but I already have a box. Boxee and the Apple TV are perfect together. I don"t want or need another box.
Andreas Setterlind
· 11 months ago
I think built-in 802.11n wireless as standard is probably a must as well today(?)
Matt R
· 11 months ago
A box is an option, but I think the best bet to get a wider acceptance of boxee is to make it available for the major game consoles (PS3, Xbox, Wii). These devices are already attached to a TV, and have much, much larger install bases than a boxee set-top would ever probably achieve (or that PCs/Macs attached to a TV have now).
And if you're looking to monetize boxee (as it appears you are considering by licensing it to set-top box OEMs), then you could charge for the app and sell it through each console's online store. (I love that boxee is free now, and would hate to see that go away, but boxee needs $$ to continue to grow. To do that, you either need to sell adds to run on boxee, or license or sell the software itself).
Tim
· 11 months ago
Simple box to reduce price and ability to store movies ect. on external hard drive thru USB. Also a remote with a type pad on it for searching ect.
PS. I love the work your doing and eagerly await further development!!!
Steve
· 11 months ago
I'd like to say the following... I majorly support the idea of Boxee itself, and a Boxee box, but these are my main concerns:
1) CableCARD + + DVR would be monstrous. It's the one thing that has kept me from building a new HTPC - the barrier to entry with figuring out all of the CableCARD stuff seems daunting for most. My big beef with XBMC, Boxee etc is that I really want a dedicated box to do everything - my stored media AND my TV/DVR media...
2) If it doesn't have the juice to do glitch-free 1080p video, don't bother. I'm not interested in AppleTV specifically for this reason. Same goes for digital audio outputs - it needs the ability to do optical AND audio over HDMI (optical is important because most of us haven't spent the several hundred bucks on replacing our stereo receivers that do not have HDMI ports yet)...
I'm excited to see what you guys can come up with! What about joining forces with the Neuros LINK box team?
reinharden
· 11 months ago
With more than 140 million units floating around the world and 50+ million in North America alone, I wonder if the PlayStation 2 has enough horsepower to run boxee?
Would releasing boxee as a Playstation 2 game make economic sense?
reinharden
Matt
· 11 months ago
please Add Wii Support Fujisoft have video player for the Wii and will launch Everybody's theare in Japan next Tuesday in Japan .
The Wii is a great little Streaming box even if its Standard Def.
Glenn Snead
· 11 months ago
If you produce a Boxee box, keep the platform open for add-ons/plugins. I can understand the BlueRay encryption issue, but why pay programmers to add ogg support if someone else will do it for free? The same goes for varrious remotes, X10 controllers, IR and serial device control, etc.
Aaron Victory
· 11 months ago
Boxee already has a set top box. It's called Apple-TV. Instead of investing in a full blown PC/Mac I was able to order mine already pre-installed from boxeeonappletv.com .
Has all the right connectors and a remote. Took minutes to set up and has been working smoothly for me. What else one needs of a set top box ?
oh, yeah... get it to support Netflix already..
Ken
· 11 months ago
I would buy a Boxee Box in a flash if it was around $200 and supported NetFlix streaming. I bout the Roku box for Netflix streaming and was unimpressed. I use Apple TV as my main media source and since adding Boxee it has really changed the way I control my media. If you could wrap up a DVR and a Blu Ray player into one box I would pay up to $300 for it easily! Keep up the good work!!!
Scotty B
· 11 months ago
This sounds great. I wanted to get a Roku box last year when I first heard about them, but put it off and eventually decided not to because they just don't do enough. A Boxee box sounds like just the thing as long as it can connect through my WiFi connection and preferally would have a port to connect a portable hard drive to play movies/photos, etc.
james
· 10 months ago
I'm sure I speak for everyone in europe when I say you should partner with a hardware company over here as well. It would keep the prices down for us because shipping from the US, and import tax kill the cost effectiveness.
james
· 10 months ago
I just wanted to reiterate seeing as no one replied.
Silence is golden!
If I'm watching a film, I'd like to _only_ hear the film. Not the box. That's why I went for the appletv over something like the mac mini. If I got the boxee hardware and it was noisy, I'd have to send it back.
Jack
· 10 months ago
Agree. The only thing keeping me from buying an Apple TV for my boxee set top box is that it can't output in Composite video. Like the Roku, get it working for older hardware and get it into every college dorm room in the world.
All Comments
I'd be all over a Boxee "box" - and I think that the potential of building such a box is not far off.
Since boxee is a "network" enabled software, perhaps it could be offered in a few configurations: harddrive included, harddrive not included, harddrive not included - with the option to add a hard drive.
Also, any idea if this would be available in the UK?
I'm an idiot
i don't think your current users will be very forgiving if future versions of the software are delayed or crippled because of issues or limitations of the hardware you end up shipping. features that aren't supported on the BoxeeBox, but will work just fine on an Apple TV or Mini, shouldn't be held back for the sake of parity across all the platforms.
parity should, however, be considered to some extent. branching or forking the development process to concentrate on separate codebases for your hardware vs. third-party hardware has the potential to very quickly cripple development for one or both.
an example to look at is ReplayTV (though, they went the reverse direction). i have a replay box from several years ago, when they were still shipping hardware. since then, the company has been sold, and is now only creating software for HTPCs, based on what went into their old boxen. even with the updates and changes to their dev process, they still support those of us with replay boxes, continuing to provide guide and channel information, as well as occasional software updates.
I also have concerns whether i will be able to use to box like i did with my xbox years before ???
will it be closed like a tivo or what else?
Imho this would be a dead baby...
Oh, and a good remote (or specialised iPhone app) would be grand :)
1.Built in DVR with a CableCard
2. Plugin Archetcture so that all downloable/streaming sites and services can be used on Boxee
3. Home Media Hub/Server
4. Easy access to News/Weather Widgets / RSS Reader for quick access to news
5. HDMI, in & out to be able to control Blu Ray player through Boxee.
6. ESata and USB 3.0/Fireware 800 support for optional external hard drives
7. Bluetooth support for use with any Wireless keyboard(optional requirement if user chooses)
8. Like Multi Room-DVR, a Multi Room Boxee so that you can access Boxee services on all tvs through one box (I guess this would be harder as you would need to use cable wires in the house and/or work with cable companies)
Thats my list so far, but it could definitely blow Apple TV/Roku out of the Water if done right. Good Luck.
Other than that keep it very simple and easy to use. A cheap bare minimum box with a dead simple remote like the Roku / Netflix player.
If I can then plug in a standard HD for more capacity (either directly or via a USB port) that would be perfect.
That would be great as a media center that starts small/cheap (but with an awesome interface), focused on getting my stuff on the TV easily and later on becoming the actual media store for my home...
it seems the best would be to have a basic box with optional add-ons
DVR would be sweet. That would seal the deal no doubt for me. If no DVR, but it could handle Netflix streaming well, I would go out today. Especially if it was around the $200 pricepoint. With a blu-ray/dvd player... geez. I think you'd decimate the homebrew HTPC market.
Don't work with a single hardware maker. Instead, create a very clear hardware spec (perhaps even make a reference module), and offer a certification program for products that embed the capabilities needed to run Boxee natively. Make the use of this spec and the certification a source of royalty revenue for Boxee. Vendors such as HP, Dell, Roku, MSI, LG, Vizio etc can build "Boxee-ready" hardware that consumers can look for in the type of device they want.
People don't want "another box". They want your "service." Figure out a way to get them your service on boxes they will already be buying.
I could see Boxee-readiness finding its way into TVs, set-top boxes, game consoles, BD players, HTPCs, Soundbars, Home theater audio systems...
I can help you with this if you want. I know hardware an I'm NY-based. ;-)
we should try to optimize boxee to run on lower end platforms, but we should not compromise on the boxee experience.
in any case we plan to stay focused on developing the software and let people who know hardware make the devices
not closed. never closed.
i think OTA, extra storage, BluRay should all be optional add-ons for the user
Apple TV is great. the only issue is that boxee is not optimized to run on it..
lets grab coffee in the city.
my email is avner [ a t ] boxee d0t TV
I've got an Apple TV for iPhoto/iTunes integration with my MacBook and to play videos via Boxee (streaming over the home network and the internet); an Xbox 360 for online gaming, DVD player, and Netflix streaming; Dish DVR for satellite TV; and a Wii for recreational gaming.
To me, a killer Boxee box would need to replace at least 2 of these devices. An upgraded version of an Apple TV seems like a good place to start (something with enough horsepower to play 1080p HD and stream Netflix). Add either a DVR or Blu-Ray player and I'm sold (I figure Blu-Ray's a lot easier to program, if not more costly). Add both and I could easily seeing myself pay $300, if not more -- definitely worth it to achieve the holy grail of a single, unified, set-top box.
For what it's worth, the PS3 could be a great box to target in the meantime -- enough horsepower for HD videos, Wi-Fi & Blu-Ray built-in, interchangeable parts (HDD and Bluetooth), and it's even got a supported Linux mode that could be easiest to port Boxee for. I'm a die-hard Xbox Live guy, but I'd definitely buy one to get that kind of STB integration for Boxee.
Great work Team Boxee!
we don't care whether it is on the TV itself or on a separate box.
in any case we're not going to make the hardware ourselves
100% agree. no reason to tie ourselves to just one hardware partner. we should work with a few.
avner
- scrap the hard drive, use a 16gb flash drive for the OS etc...
- usb ports and card reader slots.
- HDMI output giving a true clean 1080p signal
- keep the remote simple (like the Apple Remote) but maybe add a numeric keypad for typing...
I would pay up to $250 for this.
simple.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NVIDIA_Ion
I would not want to buy a Boxee 'box' which already came with a large harddrive but I would however like the option to install one myself of my choosing at a time that suits me. So please include an open harddrive bay like Popcorn Hour has.
I think that a Boxee 'box' should come in two models, one with a built-in harddrive and one without a built-in harddrive, but the end-user should still have the option to install any harddrive inside it themselves in the model that comes without the built-in harddrive, ...again, that is how Popcorn Hour is sold.
Though all Boxee 'box' models should also come with at least a 8GB flash memory for the operating-system, Boxee software, covers and posters thumbnail cache, metadata databases, and storage for plugins, skins and other possible future addons.
Analog Stereo RCA and SP/DIF audio outputs for those of us who owns televisions/recievers which do not support audio over HDMI. Composite, S-Video, and VGA output is also a given for those with old displays, ...that is a mistake on the Apple TV they lost quite a few customer on.
Anyway, I would pay $199/€199 for the model without the harddrive.
PS! @Avner, as you know I still much more prefer the "Tilt" design of the proposed designs, at least if it came without the 'tilt' on it, ...now lets hope we will see the a Boxee box before the end of 2009 or maybe for CES in January 2010 :D
...and I would also like to see a built-in multi card reader :)
If you buy a hardware decoder chip like Sigma Designs then the license fee for all those poular codecs are included in the price, making that hardware decoder chip practically pay for itself.
I'd love to see Boxee running more smoothly on my ATV.
Turns out that I was able to put together an AMD Dual Core machine with 2 gigs of ram and a 160gb hard drive for less than $150 (Ubuntu). I didn't even need a dual core with that much storage (all I need is something that runs a media center)
So, now I have this PC running Boxee attached to my TV -- and it works great. Even though I mostly use it for Boxee, I have the ability to launch whatever application I want -- a web browser, my email client, or even play a game.
So investing $100 in a boxee client is nice -- that's nice, because it'll probably have a small form factor and some other nice things like a TV tuner card or whatever -- but given a choice, I'd rather just assemble a new machine.
Of course, most people aren't as inclined to do so.
Boxee can choose any color they like for it as long as it is black! ;)
Seriosly though, please make it black and only black, and make it have smooth large surfaces so that those who want another color or design can put stickers on it, this was very popular in the old Xbox modding days as companies sold stickers with all kinds of designs that one could buy to put on the entire cover of the Xbox console. I believe that HP had or has a similar sticker skin concept for their laptops covers and a service where you could design you own stickers to put on your laptop, very large stickers which covered the entire laptop cover.
RS232 would be great also, but seriously who am i kidding.
Plus there are a multitude of other RF standards and Boxee couldn't support all, so if you wanted a other standard you would have to plug in an USB dongle in any case, which should not be a problem as long as the Boxee box is Linux based.
Bluetooth could also be used for keyboard and mouse options, wireless stereo earphones, external speakers, headsets for VoIP, microphone for karaoke, game controllers (PS3 gamepad and Wii Remote uses Bluetooth), sharing and synchronizing media files with Bluetooth cellphones and PDA's (like iPhone/iPod), and much more.
Suggest a box that has:
* a powerful processor
* plenty of RAM memory
* powerful graphics processing
* HDMI out for audio and video
* a simple remote.
Other features could be add-on options.
Very cool !
1) A simple coax for the "basic" cable service. I desperately want to live off of my high speed internet only, but realize that this is probably unrealistic unless things get so bad that I really need to save the extra $50 or so a month.
2) dvr software to complement my access to "live" television
3) dvd drive because everyone still needs one... plus a price tag of no more than $249
I really don't get using Boxee on anything but a set top box/media center. It's nice on my laptop, but not nearly as practical as on my Apple TV. I also think limiting the scope of the software to local/online media and rss feeds is way to small. Avner, do you plan on focusing Boxee towards other content as well?
The future lies in streaming video. On-board storage will be less important in the future. Support for high quality Internet video feeds will quickly become the norm. Samsung is already starting to equip their tvs with online content from yahoo MySpace and YouTube. It's not long before they start supporting the likes of hulu or iplayer. Once people realize they can get video on demand at quality rivaling their satelite or cable, they won't look back.
Look at the Roku (also, examine the platform they use). That's what people want. Don't make Boxee be all things to all people because it will suck, quite frankly. Make it do a few things really well. In particular, bring Internet video services to the TV. That's it. Keep it simple. A method to stream (not store) local media would also be good and not detract. But DVR, BR, Tuners, etc are just worthless features once you give everyone access to the world's largest DVR and high quality movie archive, the Internet.
and in any case the box needs to be very basic. no point spending any dollars on doing something fancy. the remote is much more important than the box.
I know you mentioned that installing boxee on the apple tv is still not as simple for your average user, and I am not sure the legal precautions of this idea. But what about offering a Boxee USB stick with simple instructions and a nice clean interface during the install process so people wouldn't flip out when they see all the code running down the screen. Obviously the software still needs to expand (auto-updates, better UI, ect.)
Anyway, I am rambling. The Idea of a Boxee Box is great, as long is it doesn't sidetrack the ultimate goal of getting the software saturation to as many devices as possible.
Out of an design point of view I do however not like the idea of having a multi card reader as an external addon, I think that it should be built-in, even if it is for no other reason than aesthetics.
By the way, I understand that Intel Sodaville has the same feature. Intel Sodeville is a a System on a Chip (SoC) product for consumer electronics devices, arriving in 2009, it is basically the Intel Atom CPU with the GPU and southbridge/nothbridge all on the same chip.
The benefit with using a Sigma Designs, Texas Instrument, or Broadcom decoder chip for consumer electronics is that they also supports the Blu-ray encryption and I believe you also get a Blu-ray decryption license included in the fee for the chip. They also not only include license for the H.264 decoder but MPEG-2, MPEG-4 ASP (DivX/Xvid), WMA, WMV, VC-1, MP3 and AAC, again all included in the price of the chip. This is a major reason why Popcorn Hour, Ruku, and others use these types of chips, as they don't have to deal with codec licenses.
http://broadcom.com/products/Consumer-Electroni...
I suggest that Boxee checkout Broadcom's BCM70010, BCM70012 and BCM70020 chips as they could be used in combination with a Intel Atom, NVIDIA, and VIA Nano platform because those Broadcom chips are PCI or PCIe based (or mini-PCI/mini-PCIe), they are designed to be used in media center computers, and again they support Blu-ray with the license fee included in the price of the chip.
Broadcom BCM70012 chip looks like a real good compromise. The chipset is available for motherboard designs as well as in module form:
PCIe mini card
PCIe desktop adapter
ExpressCard 34
Features:
* Multistandard high definition video decoding in the following formats:
H.264/AVC HP at L 4.1 1080i, 40 Mbps
H.264/AVC HP at L 3.0 480i
H.264/AVC HP at L 3.2 720p
SMPTE VC-1 AP at L 3 1080i, 40 Mbps
WMV9 (VC-1 SP and MP)
MPEG-2 MP @ ML and MP @ HL
* 720p, 1080i and 1080p support
* Blu-ray disc playback on PCs/x86
* Protected media playback on PCs/x86
Does it have enough processing and graphics power to run Boxee?
I'm surprised how many "Mini PC" makers go with the on-board low power GPU vs. offering a more powerful Graphics processor as an option.
The Nvidia Ion looks interesting. So maybe things are a changin' soon.....
If yes, bring it on !
Silence.
It doesn't matter if the hdd is small or it doesn't include a tuner or bluray drive. As long as boxee runs flawlessly and as quietly as a mouse that's just had a laryngectomy, I'll be a happy man.
Oh, and it needs ssh out of the box ;D
and for the Boxee box, I'd say a DVD drive, ethernet and USB ports would be enough to get me to buy one.
and also could you add Google Gadgets support to Boxee?
what would you do with google gadgets on boxee?
I have enough boxes and I'm looking to reduce. appletv+boxee+netflix streaming (will replace appletv w/ mac mini for netflix) drove the return of a bluray dvd player w/ netflix streaming. the ps3 already is a better bluray player.
better yet, put boxee on the ps3, and that'll reduce my number of devices even more. it's all about aggregating all the devices (disc players, appletv, roku), service (hulu, joost, cnn, etc) into a single stop shop. that's what gets me excited.
so, i'd love:
- bluray playback support (bd live, etc)
- ps3 integration
- netflix hd, youtube hd
- facebook video
- ability to record video to interface with seesmic, etc
Options to keep things stable, upgradeable, affordable and max your market potential:
1) Proper ports/chipsets: Multiple USB ports , 1-slave, 2-for ext. drives, place 2 in front (1 or 2 for HDD, 1 for optical); HDMI 1.3a, optical 7.1/coax 7.1, component out, Y/R/W analog, Gigabit ethernet,
2) Option for 1 internal SATA (2.5" laptop size, lower profile, lower noise)
3) Consider this as a portable device versus stereo component (see WD TV HD design)
3) NO fans, design case with aluminum/alloys to dissipate heat, large heatsink inside to prevent overheating (learn from the lessons of the NMT space), test, test, test
4) Formats, formats, formats - maximize and TEST the video formats that will be recognized and decoded (build a permutation list and enlist an alpha community to test)
5) Firmware update-able for years (memory space allows for significant growth)
6) Manage your code branches for firmware! Don't let disparate vendors to funk up your base code, keep it locked but allow them to brand via config files, skins and provide input between releases
6) Revisit the UI for usability, the HT experience is all about usability and convenience (build in user customization like options for rows/columns to display, icons, text only/both, standard for album cover display, smart choices for music navigation considering 1000's of albums/songs AND performance in navigating, search functions!; modes for video format, 4x3, 16x9, normal, zoom1, zoom2, stretch; user modifiable skins
7) Allow external optical drives to be added/developed, partner with a H/W distributor to develop a cheap alternative(BR drive/ext. USB case) or test with at least one home brew drive (lowest cost BR and a reputable case)...ask the community for input on the 'standard' components, this would be very important to many for formats(should play BROAD format set from media) and performance reasons
8) A bittorrent client/service to improve value prop.
Finally, to those readers that doubt this is all possible for around $199, take a look at Popcorn Hour A-110 and think of it with the Boxee interface and capabilities :)
I would drop those dollars so fast for Boxee in a robust media player appliance like that!
Keep up the great work!!!
Rich
personally i think bluray will never take off. i think the physical content delivery is almost dead. it's all internet now. so i would not want to waste money with that.
in a dream world i would love to see boxee somehow getting together with the dreambox system. i'd still like to have some satellite tv programs and the idea of dreambox is great, they just suck in their user interface, which is was boxee makes great. they could be a perfect match. but i know that wouldn't be an easy job to combine.
I'd run with a few safe assumptions:
1) Most people already own a DVD player. Be it in their 360, home theater receiver, or a stand alone player. Safe to say having one in a Boxee box isn't really a value add.
2) Most people have a computer and wireless connection. Why force people to store their media in a different location? Skip the hard drive.
3) Most people receive cable or satellite. Make Boxee readily compatible with both. Would be nice to have just one interface to deal with.
4) Do include USB ports.
5) IR receiver for programmable remotes.
Keep the price to $200.
Last but not least, develop a strong brand that focuses on usability (without using the word "usability"!!) and personal empowerment. Don't underestimate the power of brand and marketing the way too many tech companies seem to. Focus on creating a consumer product, not a technical product. This is what Microsoft got right with 360 and horribly wrong with Media Center! It's also what Apple does better than anything else.
the fact is: most tv companies have no clue how to design a slick user interface, just look at the standard remote control. didn't change over the last few decades. still confusing like hell.
With the increasing development of wifi-enabled products, set-top boxes are going to be yesterday's fad soon enough. It wouldn't be a stretch to imagine "Boxee certified" wifi-enabled TVs and blu-ray players in the near future.
I also think Boxee should break out of the internet-to-tv-only model and work it from both sides. It would be great to see Boxee also partner with cable-box manufacturers to put Boxee on cable STBs.
I *WOULD* pay 4.99 for boxee as an application on the PS3 online store. As the survey suggests, I don't need another box, I'd rather just upgrade the most powerful one connected to my TV.
Pitch this idea to Sony; they already have the killer hardware and this would help unify the PS community through media. Also, if you can ensure the PS3 exclusive console support they may be more willing to jump on the idea since it will distinguish them from the competition.
If you could just get Sony to help you out w/ hardware issues the PS3 is your ultimate set-top box
http://beagleboard.org/hardware
It has HDMI output (only 720p, I think), some hardware accelleration and Linux.
It would be almost all you need, but I guess there isnt't an official ARM Linux FlashPlayer available yet :(
I have way too much hardware in my entertainment center already and everything does part of what i need. If boxee does make a box, in order for me to be interested, it must replace everything except my PS3 and Wii. For posterity, the things it must replace is AppleTV (streaming boxee and media library playback), TiVo (DVR), Cable Box (on demand and HD TV), GbE network switch, and fiberchannel audio mux. OK, the last 2 are nice to haves, but why not have one box. I have a NAS, so on the box storage is not that important.
Huge thanks for all the work you've done so far!!
1) Ability to mount any standard DVD/Blu-ray drive in the STB (unless the STB is very small, in which case, I'd be happy to forgoe)
2) Ability to use said drive to rip media to the...
3) Internal HDD, preferably accessable/changable
4) USB/eSATA for when a friend comes over with a portable drive
5) Ability to output over HDMI and composite A/V at the same time (I've got a channel modulator that used to serve my DVR to the bedroom. It's been unocupied since I canceled my pay-TV service).
Oh, and keep it under $300 if possible.
1) Simple & Cheap. Boots off of an SD memory card, gig network, expandable RAM With USB ports to add hard disk, memory sticks, usb tv tuner, blu-ray, and/or external dvd player. Priced < $200
2) The high-end version that includes everything (and a remote control). That costs $649 and supports HDMI.
I would buy 2 cheap ones and 1 high end. It would replace my current XBMC Xbox1 setup. Simple aesthetics to the physical box are also key to the not-as-geeky demographic.
And if you're looking to monetize boxee (as it appears you are considering by licensing it to set-top box OEMs), then you could charge for the app and sell it through each console's online store. (I love that boxee is free now, and would hate to see that go away, but boxee needs $$ to continue to grow. To do that, you either need to sell adds to run on boxee, or license or sell the software itself).
PS. I love the work your doing and eagerly await further development!!!
1) CableCARD + + DVR would be monstrous. It's the one thing that has kept me from building a new HTPC - the barrier to entry with figuring out all of the CableCARD stuff seems daunting for most. My big beef with XBMC, Boxee etc is that I really want a dedicated box to do everything - my stored media AND my TV/DVR media...
2) If it doesn't have the juice to do glitch-free 1080p video, don't bother. I'm not interested in AppleTV specifically for this reason. Same goes for digital audio outputs - it needs the ability to do optical AND audio over HDMI (optical is important because most of us haven't spent the several hundred bucks on replacing our stereo receivers that do not have HDMI ports yet)...
I'm excited to see what you guys can come up with! What about joining forces with the Neuros LINK box team?
Would releasing boxee as a Playstation 2 game make economic sense?
reinharden
http://www.fsi.co.jp/e/solution/Video_Player_So...
The Wii is a great little Streaming box even if its Standard Def.
Has all the right connectors and a remote. Took minutes to set up and has been working smoothly for me.
What else one needs of a set top box ?
oh, yeah... get it to support Netflix already..
Silence is golden!
If I'm watching a film, I'd like to _only_ hear the film. Not the box. That's why I went for the appletv over something like the mac mini. If I got the boxee hardware and it was noisy, I'd have to send it back.