Boxee Box Pre-Orders Start At $229 266
Engadget is reporting that Boxee is taking pre-orders at $229 for their set-top box that is utterly guaranteed to not fit into any stereo component rack you might have. They also have switched chipsets from the Tegra 2 to the CE4100. I'm not sure about this thing, but I'd sure like to play with one as I lust for the day when every piece of media I have can be played from a single device. I suspect it'll never happen.
'All in one media player' exists already... (Score:5, Informative)
Seriously, the 'all in one' solution you dream of exists - in XBMC. A cheap Atom/ION nettop for ~$200, install XBMC (live, ubuntu, win7, doesn't matter) and go to town.
You already can (Score:3, Informative)
I'd sure like to play with one as I lust for the day when every piece of media I have can be played from a single device. I suspect it'll never happen
HTPC = every piece of media you have can be played from a single device.
With the advent of how powerful (and inexpensively) you can build miniITX systems now, plus being able to buy 2TB hard drives for around the $100-$110 mark, building an HTPC has never been cheaper, easier, or smaller.
Re:'All in one media player' exists already... (Score:2, Informative)
Not trolling, but how's 1080p x264 playback with that setup? I have a Popcorn Hour A100 (old-school) that does it all except DTS audio... :\
Re:Intel CE4100... Where Can I find more about it? (Score:5, Informative)
Hardware acceleration. The CE4100 is an integrated CPU + GPU package from what I can tell - the Atom core itself is kind of weak, but the integrated GPU on that particular part is what handles all of the heavy lifting for VC-1, MPEG-2, and H.264.
A normal Atom CPU can achieve the same thing when paired with a capable video chipset - however it usually doesn't have a capable video chipset paired to it.
Details from the article (Score:4, Informative)
"Update: We just learned that Amazon will be selling it for $199, though the MSRP will remain $229.
At a rendezvous in San Francisco, Avner Ronen told us the decision to abandon Tegra 2 was about performance and nothing more: "The major problem we had with the Tegra 2 was support for high-profile HD playback," he said. "You can do high-profile VC-1 with Tegra 2, but not H.264." It was a problem of bitrate, he told us, and while NVIDIA's dual-core Tegra T20 was apparently not up to the task, the team had internally tested Intel's CE4100 decoding streams at up to 90 megabits per second. The newly revamped Boxee Box is now capable of 1080p H.264 playback at 60fps, and... well, that's actually about it."
Re:Intel CE4100... Where Can I find more about it? (Score:3, Informative)
Block Diagram here. [hothardware.com]
That "Multi Format HW Decoder" block is probably Imagination Technologies' VXD core.
Re:It's not a settop box and it's not a setbottom (Score:5, Informative)
So you make a device that's stackable, and you know that a good number of customers prefer to put their equipment in a cabinet, and yet you blame the customers when they do so, the device creates enough heat to cook it, and it fails?
Problem 1: not enough fans or vents / device designed for too low of a temperature envelope
Problem 2: No hardware fail-safe / device can go into thermal run-away and not shut down before permanent damage is done
I say that lack of very easy fixes for these two problems are *definitely* the manufacturer's fault.
Re:'All in one media player' exists already... (Score:5, Informative)
Not trolling, but how's 1080p x264 playback with that setup? I have a Popcorn Hour A100 (old-school) that does it all except DTS audio... :\
Fantastic.
The important bit to note is the ION. If you have a NVidia GPU, you can use the Live or Linux (And at this point, I think the Windows version supports GPU acceleration) versions, and if you enable VDPAU (Or the Windows equivalent), and it will happily accelerate the video. I get full 1080p playback with no dropped frames or stuttering on a Asus AspireRevo that is almost completely silent.
Re:Every piece of media played from a single devic (Score:2, Informative)
"A mouse is better at a computer interface than a remote but most people don't want a computer interface when dealing with a media center"
But a computer in your living room necessarily is a computer interface. So what's the problem. And I don't care what "most people" think or want. Most people are idiots.
"If you're watching a show and you decide to fast forward, how do you do that with a mouse?"
God, can't you read?! I specifically addressed that. You use the scroll bar feature on the bottom of Media Player Classic.
"Also with a mouse you need some sort of surface."
The arm of the chair. Next to me on the couch. My leg. On the floor. We keep two blu-tooth mice around like remotes.
"Most consumers use remotes because it's rather simplified."
I've already explained how using a mouse is more simple. I can double click an icon on my "desktop" it opens and I have access to hundreds of movies. I then use the scroll wheel to find the one I want, double click it, and I'm watching. I can quickly skip through using the scroll bar on the button and not have to waste time fast forwarding or rewinding.
So I can access hundreds of movies or shows in under ten seconds. How fast could you do that with a remote?
"A mouse while workable isn't what they want."
Once again, I don't care what they want, but at least you agree that it's "workable."
Re:It's not a settop box and it's not a setbottom (Score:4, Informative)
Lust for the day? (Score:3, Informative)
I lust for the day when every piece of media I have can be played from a single device. I suspect it'll never happen.
Um, I bought a Mac Mini in 2006 that does exactly that.
Re:'All in one media player' exists already... (Score:1, Informative)
Popcorn Hour A100 (old-school) that does it all except DTS audio... :\
The A-100 will pass the DTS signal via optical or HDMI for your receiver to decode which is generally what you'd do with a DTS signal. It doesn't have a license to decode it internally and send it to its analog audio (L+R) outputs.
Re:It's not a settop box and it's not a setbottom (Score:3, Informative)
Re:You already can (Score:3, Informative)
Not even close for 99.99% of the population. Hell, I'm a tinkerer and have been for 30 years and I can't get a box to play everything that is also stable enough for my wife and daughter to use for more than a month or two without having to update or reset something.
Setup linux without ever having used the OS? Good fucking luck - you'll end up buying $200 extra in compatible components because you're almost guaranteed to get a device that isn't compiled into the standard kernel on the first try out. Especially if you want to use an old or wireless network card. Played many encrypted bluray discs recently (i.e. stick in your 6 year old's new BR from WalMart and have it play seamlessly?)
WMC can't play shit out of the box. Mkv? nope. FLAC? nope. Anything apple? nope. Sure, you can go get codec packs, but most cause as many problems as they solve. Shark mostly "just works," but you'd better strip out all the subtitles and extra audio streams from them, 'cause WMC can't choose either on the fly.
Apple? Right - you'd better just start recoding now.
Re:Lust for the day? (Score:3, Informative)
4.5 x 4.5 x 4.6 inches ; 2.5 pounds (Score:3, Informative)
uh... so I turn it on its side, what did that gain me exactly?
Its a cube. It is also taller than many other components in most TV stands which are modeled to hold dvd players; most are slim; and receivers/av which stack nicely with other components.
This device is just odd for odd's sake. At least the new Apple TV is black meaning I no longer have to work to hide it, it blends now.
There just is no point in making this device in the shape it is. Its more gimmick than anything else.
Oh, Amazon sells it for $199 and has the dimensions and pictures
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038JE07O [amazon.com]
Re:Troll! (Score:3, Informative)
Boxee is a fork of XBMC with social networking addons much like what Apple has just been credit for inventing.
The Boxee box would be a nice box if not for it's "we aren't going to let you put anything else in the media cabinet" approach to design.
Re:You already can (Score:3, Informative)
> Setup linux without ever having used the OS? Good fucking luck - you'll end up buying $200 extra in compatible components
Nonsense. You can get an entire box that is that much that is VERY Linux friendly.
All it takes is a little research. You would need to it for a Windows based setup anyways because some hardware just isn't up to the job regardless of what OS you're running.
Admittedly few consumers want to put any thought into what they buy (especially research).
> Not even close for 99.99% of the population. Hell, I'm a tinkerer and have been for 30 years and
> I can't get a box to play everything that is also stable enough for my wife and daughter to use
> for more than a month or two without having to update or reset something.
You should turn in your "tinkerer" card. You don't deserve to tell anyone that you are such a thing.
Re:It's not a settop box and it's not a setbottom (Score:1, Informative)
it's the height of a can of soda....it'll fit just fine in the cabinet. everyone acts like this thing is the size of a PC. It'll fit in the cabinet just fine. plus it's got an RF remote. put it wherever the hell you want.