Like they said about Volvo in “Crazy People”: They’re boxy, but they’re good. While the design is uber-hip, it seems to be that the new Boxee Box is more about form than function.
And thats what I’ve got to say about the new Boxee Box, which will be produced by D-Link and released in early 2010. It looks good, but a quick glance at the specs leaves me a little underwhelmed.
First, how the hell is that going to fit into my equipment rack? My receiver, my DVD player, my SACD/DVD-A player, my CD player, my cable box and my Playstation all have one thing in common. They are boxy. The Boxee Box, however, is not. Where does this fit in anyone’s home viewing environment? I guess it can sit on top of a DVD player, but only if you’ve got enough headroom on that shelf.
Here’s my setup, which I imagine is a fairly typical, if not rather generous, amount of space dedicated to my viewing enjoyment. If you’re nerdy enough to even know about Boxee, I’m guessing you’ve got a few other cool toys that you need to find a home for. (sidenote: the flat screen movement has essentially killed the huge home entertainment centers, leaving us with less and less room for more and more devices. but I digress)
So it can sit on the bottom shelf? Next to my HTPC? Well, no, it won’t, since I don’t actually need the Boxee Box specifically because I have a HTPC. But in a pinch, I guess thats where it could live. Moving on……
About those underwhelming tech specs. For such forward thinking, consumer electronics oriented folks, I’m surprised at some simple omissions, unless they were cost prohibitive. First, where is the eSATA connection for faster transfers of high def video content? If you are storing your collection of backed up Bluray discs (your LEGALLY backed up Bluraydiscs) on an external hard drive, I don’t think that USB is going to cut it.
Second, what about a coax digital audio out? Boxee isn’t the only company to leave me wishing for an alternative audio out connection. My receiver’s SPDIF optical connections are full, but I’ve got a coax to spare. I’m sure I’m not the only person with this problem.
Third, Firewire. Can we have one please? And lastly, about that ethernet port. That supports gigabit, right? And while WiFi is cool, isn’t this a device for the living room? Going back to the Bluray / USB issue, WiFi just isn’t good for streaming high def content. Its ok for Hulu and other web delivered video content, but aren’t we trying to unify web content with our downloaded / already owned content? I’d gladly trade that WiFi for a coax audio connection any day.
I’m still very much in the “Why not just use an HTPC if you’re taking your video viewing experience this seriously?” camp. But that leads me into the “two big thumbs up” section of my thoughts. The new UI looks great. I haven’t had a chance to install and test drive it, but I’m sure it will be a nice improvement over the previous navigation. As long as it can play my backed up DVDs in VIDEO_TS folders, I’ll be a happy Boxee Beta driver. Previous inquiries to Boxee’s support team have suggested that this issue was going to fixed in the beta, and some had suggested that it already worked in the alpha release, but my personal experience begs to differ.
So congrats to Boxee on their release, and best of luck to them with their hardware. Too bad I can’t ask Santa to put one under my Chanukah bush. Oh, and for you other PR types out there, I really got a kick out of the unaccepted changes in the version of the “partnership statement” that was sent out.
Tks!!!!
xD