

You can install the third-party Hulu Desktop launcher app, use it to launch and close Hulu Desktop from within Boxee, and you've got a seamless experience and the best video quality you're going to get out of that service using ANY interface. Hulu works within Boxee, but only for videos that don't require that you confirm you're over 18 because there's no way to sign in to Hulu using Boxee's interface.īut that's what the Boxee apps are for, and there's a LOT of them now.

But standard (accelerated) Flash playback is surprisingly robust on most media sites. Hardware Flash video acceleration is still very much experimental and is not available even with this new build unless you want to pry the new Flash 10.1 dlls into the Boxee application folder(s) and, well, pray. That means HD playback on the Atom and other low-power processors when paired with a decent video adapter.įlash sites are still a bit more iffy.
Boxee tv dvr review series#
On Windows, they moved the rendering engine from OpenGL to DirectX so that Boxee can now use hardware video decoding on most modern video cards (GeForce 8*** series and up, check details for ATi/AMD, but it's about the same age of cards). This was a big sore spot with the alpha: that it required significant customization on each client. If you reinstall or if you use your profile on someone else's Boxee, all of your stuff will appear automatically.

It now stores your RSS feeds (including your podcasts), your playlist (queue), your list of installed apps, your custom repositories for third-party apps, and your subscribed TV shows in the Boxee "cloud". All of the changes are pretty darned major, and it looks very little like the alpha version. It'd be more apt to call it "Boxee 2.0 Beta". And while the alpha was nice, this new beta version blows it away. You can now specify which display Boxee will appear on.īasically, I used Boxee to replace my media player (Zoom Player and MPC), my podcast catcher/player (Miro and iTunes), and my web browser (Last.fm, Hulu, YouTube, etc) on my home theater PC. "If you are living in the U.S., we would love for you to continue our journey with us and order Boxee TV when it comes out.Well, it's been a while, and I use this program more than most, so I thought I'd offer up a review of this new version since I've been using it for a couple of weeks, now.įirst off, I should mention that my complaint below was fixed LONG ago. "We hope you have enjoyed and will continue to use it in your living rooms, dens, bedrooms or wherever else you set it up (I met one guy who installed it in his yacht!)," Ronen stated on the company's site. While bug fixes will still happen time to time, there updates will no longer happen as Boxee focuses its attention on its new TV. To make room for the new Boxee TV, the original Boxee has discontinued its Box starting immediately.īoxee is also drawing back the amount of support existing Boxee Box owners receive. Though it's unlikely cable providers will work out a deal with Boxee TV over their signals, the inclusion of these apps (and the others reportedly coming) is a good start for the new device. It's a good thing too, as Boxee TV will only be able to pick up non-encrypted and local television signals (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC) with its antenna, though there Boxee will include an input for basic cable subscribers to hook up. Netflix, Vudu, Pandora and moreĪlong with being able to watch standard television broadcasts, Boxee TV allows its users to utilize over-the-top services like Netflix, YouTube and Vudu for video, as well as Pandora for music streaming. Most importantly, the broadcast signal will never be compromised, even if the internet connection is lost, as Boxee uploads all DVR'd programs directly to its servers.īoxee hasn't revealed how much space non-subscribers will be able to utilize as of yet. In addition to watching recorded programs on the television, users can also stream the content to any laptop, tablet or phone through Boxee's website. for $14.99 a month, any Boxee TV owner will have unlimited storage space for shows digitally recorded. Launching in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. One of Boxee TV's main draws is its new cloud-based DVR, dubbed No Limits DVR.
