AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
D-Link Boxee3/28/2021
That account stores your information, including your account data for services such as Netflix, Pandora, Vudu, and YouTube.The Boxee Box by D-Link (199, as of March 28, 2011) has finally become the first-rate media streamer that should have shipped last fall.
Firmware updates since its initial release have boosted its appeal, even though the Boxee Box still had trouble delivering on its ambitions when I last tested it out: I ran into glitches with streaming 1080p content, and watching video on major network sites remains either impossible or difficult (thank the networks for that). But as of this writing its the most full-featured and user-friendly set-top box around. You have to give the Boxee and D-Link points for appearance alone. ![]() Rather, its a shiny black polyhedron--a cube with a corner lopped off, which makes for an amusingly off-kilter shape when you set it on its rubberized green bottom. Once connected to your HDTV, however, the Boxee Box works much like other set-top boxes that stream media from your network and from the Internet to your TV. You connect the box to your HDTV using the included HDMI cable, and to your network via either 2.4GHz-band 802.11n Wi-Fi or ethernet. D-Link Boxee Trial Design ThatFour features distinguish this streamer from the competition: an impressive range of Web video offerings, both free and paid; support for 1080p video, which remains unusual in a set-top box; a slick, videocentric user interface; and an attractive industrial design that includes, besides the box itself, a petite, candy-bar-style remote with a keyboard on one side (to facilitate data entry) and a couple of simple navigation buttons on the other. Boxee has a built-in desktop-quality browser that supports Web-based streaming. Unfortunately, I couldnt play CBS or ABC shows at all (my attempts to do so produced messages saying that my browser wasnt supported), and NBC and Fox shows looked awful. On the other hand, the update has generally improved the Boxee Boxs overall Web performance, while addressing a number of usability problems that I experienced when the Boxee Box debuted last fall. The update also delivers the Netflix and Vudu high-def on-demand commercial services promised (but not present) in the original version. More annoyingly, my first experience with the Vudu HDX 1080p streaming service (the best of three video qualities that Vudu offers) was somewhat disappointing. Things started off fine when I used a complimentary 6 credit that comes with the update to rent Never Let Me Go in HDX: Noting that this was my first attempt to stream 1080p media, the Boxee Box offered a bandwidth test to determine whether my Internet service meets HDX requirements--and my hookup (Comcast top-speed cable and HomePlug AV) passed with flying colors. Ive read that 4.5 mbps is required, and 6 to 9 mbps is optimal.). D-Link Boxee Movie Started AndThe movie started and looked pretty good (because the Vudu stream uses compression, its image quality isnt as good as a Blu-ray Discs, though it was a definite improvement over 720p on my 1080p set). But 10 to 15 minutes into the film, the Boxee Box froze and I had to reboot to restart the movie (which appeared under the My Rentals section in the Vudu app. This happened three times before I could finish watching the film, which doesnt exactly inspire confidence in the service. I dont recommend trying Vudu HDX with the Boxee on a Wi-Fi connection. Boxee tries very hard--and for the most part succeeds--in eliminating the geek factor you see in many set-top boxes, mainly through its use of attractive graphics. That said, the streamer is complicated enough that it would benefit from a full-blown user manual, as opposed to the tiny setup booklet that comes bundled with the product. ![]() And documentation would have helped me get familiar with the many settings (including some calibration tools not typically seen in set-top boxes). Setup is easy, though: Once you connect the cables and power the Boxee Box on by pressing a button on the box (or thereafter by pressing the menu button on the remote), the software directs you to adjust the display to fit your TVs screen, and to create a Boxee account.
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |