I was about to order an apple tv but saw the pre orders for boxee it does everything the apple tv does and everything I was hoping atv flash could do later on only downside is I know I can trust Apples hardware not sure about a 1st gen boxee box.
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Boxee Box worth the extra $100?
- Thread starter Airforcekid
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It will be worth it to some, not worth it to others. It's a personal decision.
If you have iTunes content to play (that is DRMed) you'll need AppleTV.
I haven't used Boxee in a while, but it will take more to setup. The AppleTV is more plug-and-play, assuming your data is in iTunes already.
If you have iTunes content to play (that is DRMed) you'll need AppleTV.
I haven't used Boxee in a while, but it will take more to setup. The AppleTV is more plug-and-play, assuming your data is in iTunes already.
It really depends on your needs. If all you watch is Netflix, Youtube and itunes movies at 720p max, than it's not worth it. If you do watch anything else than of-course it's worth the extra 100$ and even more.
You can find the only hands-on review on this Israeli website:
http://www.hometheater.co.il/p1.article02056.Boxee-Box-the-first-social-media
You can find the only hands-on review on this Israeli website:
http://www.hometheater.co.il/p1.article02056.Boxee-Box-the-first-social-media
I'm interested in the Veebeam that is coming for Hulu purposes. I'm interested to know if it can transfer audio as well as video from the computer and if it is Mac compatible.
I have a question for you on this....
I can understand the compulsion to go after 1080 as it is the highest spec. Sometimes you just want to be able to say you have the biggest baddest device currently available, and I have done this myself. However, what do you say to all the tech experts when they state that the human eye can only tell the difference between 720 and 1080 if you have a very large HD panel and are sitting much closer to it than you should be? I would assume you aren't sitting 3 feet away from a 60 inch plasma, so if in 99% of cases people can't see a difference, why does it matter so much that you would eliminate a product solely on this one factor?
I have the "old school" 160G Apple TV and I must say, on my 55" Sony LCD, the picture looks great. I have been ripping DVDs using the "Apple TV" setting in Handbrake, and the rips look great on my TV, none of the problems people seem to have when they push the hi def enevelope. The new Apple TV looks like a buy for my bedroom, as soon as we get rid of the old tube 20" TV and get a new flat panel.
I say they're idiots and have no business calling themselves experts. I have access to both a 32" and a 37" HDTV, I sit roughly 5-6 feet away from the 32" and about 7-8 feet away from the 37", which if anything is farther away than recommended, and I can definitely tell the difference between 720p and 1080p content.
You've got to remember that only the hardware is made by D-Link, if it breaks you get it repaired under warrenty. As for the software, that's developed by Boxee Inc, and they are constantly fixing bugs and updating it, the same can't be said for the ATV's software.
Projector Time
I'm using a great ViewSonic, and I would venture to say many of you will be buying a projector once you see what a good one can do. Mine retailed at $1100, got it for $600 through an Amazon return. So it can be done on the cheap. Movies at 1080 are "exciting" once again. The wall in my apartment is alive. That's all I can say!
I'm using a great ViewSonic, and I would venture to say many of you will be buying a projector once you see what a good one can do. Mine retailed at $1100, got it for $600 through an Amazon return. So it can be done on the cheap. Movies at 1080 are "exciting" once again. The wall in my apartment is alive. That's all I can say!
I'll take your word for it. Personally I can't see a difference, but maybe my vision isn't as sharp as yours.
This has certainly been the case with the current (old) ATV, but definitely not for OS X or iOS. They could fall back into the mode of neglecting the new ATV, but I don't think this will happen. For most of the last 3 years Apple has been at a loss as to what to do with the ATV. I'm sure they thought about killing it off for awhile, but after deciding to invest more in it, I think it took them a painfully long time to decide what direction to go in. And I think this accounts for the lack up hardware/software updates for ATV.
Now that they have a new ATV masterplan (hardware and software) and are headed in a specific direction with development (cloud access and likely apps), I think it will get alot more software update love.
Some people might, some might not. It also heavily depends on bitrate, etc. Once you get far enough away, the human eye simply can't tell the difference. Also, you need to compare the exact same footage at the two different resolutions. And the downscaler quality also comes into play.
There are so many variables, it makes comparison tough.
I'd hardly call stripping out the storage and removing the ability to purchase content a master plan. And don't get me started on apps, it's all people went on about before the announcenment, "Oh, yes the new ATV will have all these great apps", people were so convinced that Apple would add apps when infact there was no way in hell the ATV was going to get apps, and it never will. The measure of how much software support any given piece of hardware receives is dependent on how many units they sell, the more they sell the more they tend to support it which is why OSX and iOS gets supported so well, because Macs and iPods/iPhones sell well.
More importantly anybody can write an app for it.
The last version of boxee I tried came with 204 apps including the following:-
NetFlix
MLB.TV
NBA.COM
YouTube
Revision3
MTVMusic
Clicker
Flicker
CNN
last.fm
BBC iPlayer
Vimeo
CrunchyRoll
and so on...........
Plus access to Hulu.
The last version of boxee I tried came with 204 apps including the following:-
NetFlix
MLB.TV
NBA.COM
YouTube
Revision3
MTVMusic
Clicker
Flicker
CNN
last.fm
BBC iPlayer
Vimeo
CrunchyRoll
and so on...........
Plus access to Hulu.
Thats the good thing about Boxee, it's multi-platform free software, if you don't like or trust the 1st get boxee box then just download whatever version of the software you want and run it on your own hardware be it linux, windows or mac. Just sign up for a free boxee account and download it, I've been testing it out on my Windows desktop machine.
GoogleTV should also be a decent feature rich alternative. But the question boils down to what you need it to do.
It may not be the masterplan you would choose, but streaming is part of their new masterplan. And I believe it to be just the beginning. As for apps, I don't see any reason for them to base it on iOS unless they plan to have some apps/widgets. Will these apps/widgets allow you to stream hulu and use bit torrent? Of course not. Likely it is as simple as a news and stocks ticker, weather bug, sports scoreboard, etc. Maybe even some little games. But expanded functionality is definitely coming. It will be a closed and protected environment like the iphone, but it will be useful. The most exciting part is what they are planning that we can;t really guess at this point. There are lots of good ideas being worked on, and it should be a fun ride.
I thought you might be interested...one of today's Macrumors articles disagrees with you on the App issue. it's a good read, you should check it out.
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/09/17/new-apple-tv-to-get-apps/
Still apple with never approve an app that allows storage and can play all formats like Perian. Heck I'd pay $30 for a pertain app on the new ATV via an app store.
This discussion has been beaten to death, but I have to say your claim is patently absurd. 1080p on anything less than a 42 inch TV is wasted for the most part. More importantly, unless you have taken the time to encode the same videos in both reolutions and done an apples to apples comparison, then the veracity of your statement is suspect. No offense intended...whatever works for you is great, but throwing the idiot label out there and backing it up with anecdotal observations is deserving of a reply.
That said the Boxee box is worth the extra money if 1080p is important to you. For me, it's more important to have the iTunes environment seamlessly extended throughout the house.