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Boxee over Apple TV
- Thread starter pizz
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I've been using Boxee for a while hooked up to my TV through my Macmini. Best thing is it's FREE and can run on any mac.
From what I can see Apple TV is essentially the same as Boxee. Is there any reason to get an Apple TV
i can answer that. I'm moving from a acer revo with boxee to the new apple tv. the acer is becoming my media server.
1. The interface, boxee is great but doesn't hold a candle to the Atv
2. The ability to rent any movie, can't do anything like that with boxee.
£99 for the Apple TV, Boxee wouldn't run on my old G4 Mac Mini. I'm not spending £650 on a new Mac Mini for it to sit there doing the work of a £99 device.
It will use less power than the Mac Mini, which I hear you say 'but you need a computer running so you can access your iTunes library'. I would have my computer running as well if I also had a Mac Mini at my TV, so I would be saving on energy.
I don't see the reason for spending £199 on a boxee box whenever they decide to be released. Especially now they have put an Atom into it.
It will use less power than the Mac Mini, which I hear you say 'but you need a computer running so you can access your iTunes library'. I would have my computer running as well if I also had a Mac Mini at my TV, so I would be saving on energy.
I don't see the reason for spending £199 on a boxee box whenever they decide to be released. Especially now they have put an Atom into it.
Yes, you can watch movies from Netflix, but you can not rent newer movies which the AppleTV can.
have you taken a look at the features boxee has? I mean if you want something simple, in a nice interface and tied to itunes..appletv is nice. If you want flexibility with file formats and greater support via plugins..it's not even close. appletv most likely does what it does very well, but it's also very limited.
Can someone explain fully how the rentals work on aTV. Is it different than iTunes? In iTunes I see very little content to rent, mostly to buy (especially TV shows). Is the aTV content different when you're using it than what I'm seeing in iTunes?
The one major hangup I have with AppleTV that's keeping me from buying it is on the surface, it seems to me like having Hulu + Amazon on Demand + Netflix is superior to AppleTV's iTunes + Netflix.
Am I off on that?
The one major hangup I have with AppleTV that's keeping me from buying it is on the surface, it seems to me like having Hulu + Amazon on Demand + Netflix is superior to AppleTV's iTunes + Netflix.
Am I off on that?
Until boxee can have play counts for all of my media across all of my devices, apple is going to win on this I think...
I would like to migrate from apple eventually, but iTunes/iPad/iOS/Aperture all make it too difficult.
When this changes, i would switch to Linux.
I would like to migrate from apple eventually, but iTunes/iPad/iOS/Aperture all make it too difficult.
When this changes, i would switch to Linux.
I'm using the old Apple TV for some months now and I cant wait to get the Boxee Box. Apple TV is nice and has a great Interface (not overloaded). But for me it is useless. Cant ripp my BD to mp4 with DTS-audio. Cant play most of my mp4-movies (even if they fulfill the video format requirements)........
I dont wanna set up everything before I can get started.
What i want is a stylish box that plays everything, has a nice interface and a good remote => Boxee Box.
By the way:
Whats wrong with the Atom?!
Your point is exactly why I'm so hesitant to buy aTV. Because I feel like once I make a choice, I really am making a long term decision on how I'm going to buy and consume media.
Currently I'm a PC user that may be moving over to Mac on my next purchase, but own an iPad.
On the one hand, let's say I choose aTV. Right now, all I have is DVDs and no movies to speak of on my computer. Going aTV immediately starts me down the path of buying content off of iTunes (movies, etc). Moving to another platform, like Roku, Boxee or insert other new device here makes many of my purchases a massive hassle to get converted over.
Then on the other hand, let's say I go the Roku / Boxee route. My main source is going to be blu ray digital copies and Amazon's market. These really aren't all that movable to other formats, and I really won't gain access to them on the ipad. So either way you are sacrificing usability.
I think the biggest issue is the idea of even more fragmentation of media on multiple platforms and file types that don't move into different formats or applications.
Currently I'm a PC user that may be moving over to Mac on my next purchase, but own an iPad.
On the one hand, let's say I choose aTV. Right now, all I have is DVDs and no movies to speak of on my computer. Going aTV immediately starts me down the path of buying content off of iTunes (movies, etc). Moving to another platform, like Roku, Boxee or insert other new device here makes many of my purchases a massive hassle to get converted over.
Then on the other hand, let's say I go the Roku / Boxee route. My main source is going to be blu ray digital copies and Amazon's market. These really aren't all that movable to other formats, and I really won't gain access to them on the ipad. So either way you are sacrificing usability.
I think the biggest issue is the idea of even more fragmentation of media on multiple platforms and file types that don't move into different formats or applications.
If you want your legacy media either way you're going to have to rip and probably transcode it.
I'm not a fan of buying movies/TV, let alone low iTunes quality media. So, that's kind of a wash. If I do anything, it will be rent which is fine with any solution.
I would suggest keep buying physical disks and ripping them for your needs today, but keep the disk. Boxee and ATV for example, doesn't do HD audio and some day down the road you'll probably want to go back to the disk for a better version.
I feel that x86 is a really inelegant architecture for a set top box. Also, unless it has some kind of hardware decoder, HD playback will be really processor intensive. I guess the Boxee team had problems porting it to ARM because they had to switch to Atom late in their development of the Boxee box.
I can't see an Atom board being as energy efficient as the Apple TV.
This is true.
I went for being able to play on all of my devices with as little work as possible. With my iTunes purchased content, this is definitely true. I don't want to buy physical media ever again (unfortunately I'm tied to buying certain PS3 games on disc). I've never bought or rented a movie on blu ray and never will. They take up too much physical space and are too fragile when I eventually have children, my nephew decided to play with my old Forza Motorsport 2 disc and completely obliterated it when he was 2, it wasn't his fault - it was my sister's for not putting something I lent her out of his reach. Anyway, I don't want that problem when my kids are here. Although I'd hope apple addresses a few iTunes issues I have before then!
You are completely right about kids and physical DVDs - anyone with kids knows what I'm talking about
As I'm doing more research, it's kind of funny how each solution out there seems to boast a gaping hole.
Roku lacks any kind of real support for streaming your stored content on your computer. For me thats a deal breaker that isn't worth all the other stuff.
Apple TV is simply restrictive and has so much less content, but seems to do what it does better than anyone else. Except it does not do 1080p, which I find odd.
Boxee has no way to rent titles through iTunes or Amazon's video on demand. So it's completely subject to what you have on your computer (and if you are buying iTunes movies, it's incapable of using them, so it has to all be windows media). Boxee doesn't even sport blockbuster for some reason.
Maybe I'm looking at these things too close to their release and I need to give them time to mature for a few months. If Roku somehow gains the ability to play iTunes movies (which is unlikely unless it's some kind of huge work around), or Boxee gets Amazon VoD (which they've already said won't happen), either one of those scenarios is a hole-in-one for me.
I guess I could wait and see if Apple TV is able to step up their game and make more content available sooner and for rent.
To me, it feels like in order to get what I REALLY need is to go buy a freakin bookshelf pc (like a Zotac) and pair it with a logitech wireless mini keyboard, and share iTunes to it and you're set.... except that's like $400 right there.
*sigh*
As I'm doing more research, it's kind of funny how each solution out there seems to boast a gaping hole.
Roku lacks any kind of real support for streaming your stored content on your computer. For me thats a deal breaker that isn't worth all the other stuff.
Apple TV is simply restrictive and has so much less content, but seems to do what it does better than anyone else. Except it does not do 1080p, which I find odd.
Boxee has no way to rent titles through iTunes or Amazon's video on demand. So it's completely subject to what you have on your computer (and if you are buying iTunes movies, it's incapable of using them, so it has to all be windows media). Boxee doesn't even sport blockbuster for some reason.
Maybe I'm looking at these things too close to their release and I need to give them time to mature for a few months. If Roku somehow gains the ability to play iTunes movies (which is unlikely unless it's some kind of huge work around), or Boxee gets Amazon VoD (which they've already said won't happen), either one of those scenarios is a hole-in-one for me.
I guess I could wait and see if Apple TV is able to step up their game and make more content available sooner and for rent.
To me, it feels like in order to get what I REALLY need is to go buy a freakin bookshelf pc (like a Zotac) and pair it with a logitech wireless mini keyboard, and share iTunes to it and you're set.... except that's like $400 right there.
*sigh*
You are completely right about kids and physical DVDs - anyone with kids knows what I'm talking about
As I'm doing more research, it's kind of funny how each solution out there seems to boast a gaping hole.
Roku lacks any kind of real support for streaming your stored content on your computer. For me thats a deal breaker that isn't worth all the other stuff.
Apple TV is simply restrictive and has so much less content, but seems to do what it does better than anyone else. Except it does not do 1080p, which I find odd.
Boxee has no way to rent titles through iTunes or Amazon's video on demand. So it's completely subject to what you have on your computer (and if you are buying iTunes movies, it's incapable of using them, so it has to all be windows media). Boxee doesn't even sport blockbuster for some reason.
Maybe I'm looking at these things too close to their release and I need to give them time to mature for a few months. If Roku somehow gains the ability to play iTunes movies (which is unlikely unless it's some kind of huge work around), or Boxee gets Amazon VoD (which they've already said won't happen), either one of those scenarios is a hole-in-one for me.
I guess I could wait and see if Apple TV is able to step up their game and make more content available sooner and for rent.
To me, it feels like in order to get what I REALLY need is to go buy a freakin bookshelf pc (like a Zotac) and pair it with a logitech wireless mini keyboard, and share iTunes to it and you're set.... except that's like $400 right there.
*sigh*
Well I have a macmini as my general home computer which I have hooked to my 42" LCD TV and to my 22" monitor. I mirror both screens and have a seperate account set up just for running a media center interface like Boxee. I still can use my mac on my desk AND on the couch. best part is, im not sacrificing anything and I dont have to go out and buy new hardware