After researching all the options out there
to stream content to my TV/Home Theatre, I ended up with Boxee Box and a slight
feeling of guilt that I didn't choose Apple TV. Roku and the others didn't stack
up once I got into the nitty-gritty of performance and options. Here's my take on Boxee Box…
THE GOOD:
·1080p resolution. Yeah yeah, not a lot of content today. So what?
When buying a TV these days you only really need to be concerned with
two things; 1080p (not just 1080i) and 120Hz (not 60Hz). Ever see 1080p content on a 1080p
display? WOW!
·Boxee Box "itself" looks
awesome! Any picture you see online
doesn't do it justice. Slick, slick,
slick!
·The remote control is smart too. Full QWERTY keyboard on the back and
"Apple-like simplicity" on the front with just the navi
functions. AND it's RF! No "line of site" limitations here.
THE BAD:
·The extra $100 for Boxee Box is only
$100. Get over it.
·Setup was quick but connecting to my
network was a nightmare. This is about
the only area that Apple TV wins the comparison joust. Apple TV syncs just like you would expect it
to; smooth and quick. Streaming from
your iPhone or other Apple product to Apple TV is straight forward. Getting Boxee Box going was not.
·Coming out of "sleep mode", has
crashed my Boxee Box enough times now to mention it in this review. Not all the time, but enough to make me think
twice about turning it on. A little
voice in my head always asks me "do I have 10 minutes do F around if it
doesn't start?"
THE UGLY:
·Despite the simple to use GUI OS,
navigating through my networked folders and files needs improvement…and
quick! Even my PS3 streams content with
more stability.
·Streaming te--nds t-o b--e ji-tt-er-y
t-oo mu-ch an-d t--oo oft-en.
·As a "test", I emailed Boxee's
customer support and although I did get a reply back, it was three days later
and the reply I received appeared to be written by someone that clearly did not
spend more than 5 seconds reading my inquiry in the first place. Fail.
OVERALL:
I would likely buy Boxee Box again but only
because Apple TV is still way behind with free content and Apps. Ironic isn't it?
PS - The iPhone app for Boxee (called Boxee
Remote) is solid…and a free DL at the App Store.
Chris...
