boxee box

D-Link announced today its latest streaming device, which is a stripped-down version of its Boxee Box, called the MovieNite.

Unlike the Boxee, that in addition to streaming can play back content stored on a plugged-in external hard drive, the MovieNite is a stream-only device. It supports popular steaming services, including Vudu, Netflix, Pandora and YouTube.

To make up for this, the new device costs just about one third the price of the Boxee Box, at around $60.

The MovieNite comes with just one HDMI port and supports up to 1080p high-def streaming content. It supports wireless N standard and a … Read more

Boxee Box users now have a way to watch traditional TV as well as online content.

The company has just started selling its new $49 Live TV tuner, which connects directly to the Boxee Box to deliver over-the-air broadcast television channels, potentially making it a useful option for cable TV cord cutters.

Of course, as CNET's Matthew Moskovciak pointed out in a column in November, all HDTVs these days include a built-in ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) tuner, so most cord cutters already have a way to grab broadcast TV without coughing up extra dough.

Still, the folks at … Read more

Boxee co-founder Avner Ronen took to the official Boxee blog this morning to announce the Boxee Live TV tuner.

It's a $50 TV tuner dongle coming in January that connects to one of the Boxee Box's USB ports and works with either free over-the-air TV signals (which typically include the major networks, plus PBS) or unencrypted Clear QAM cable channels. (There's a useful overview on Boxee's site.)

The pitch is that the Live TV tuner makes the Boxee Box an exceptional cable-cutting device, letting you still watch major TV events like local sports and award shows, while catching up on other TV and movie content via streaming video services like Netflix and Vudu. (But not Hulu Plus, which still hasn't been added to Boxee, despite the announcement over a year ago.)

The catch? That all sounds great, until you remember that every modern HDTV already has a built-in ATSC tuner that allows you to watch live TV.… Read more

The Boxee Box has always seemed overpriced at $200, but D-Link is about to make it slightly more palatable. Effective September 4, D-Link is dropping the price of the Boxee Box to $180, down from $200.

Pricing was definitely one of our major hangups when the Boxee Box was first released, and Boxee has also made some strides to fill in its content gaps, now supporting Netflix, Vudu, Pandora, and MLB.TV. (Still no update on when Hulu Plus support is coming.) We'll be re-reviewing the Boxee Box this month in light of all the changes that have been made this year.

While the new $180 price helps, the Boxee Box still has an uphill fight against more affordable rivals like the Roku 2 or Apple TV. Boxee's big advantage has always been superior support for a wide range of different file types, but that won't be enough to transcend its enthusiast-only appeal.… Read more

The buzz surrounding the Boxee Box is at least partially because of its unique double-sided QWERTY remote. D-Link has been selling the remote as a standalone product for PCs and Macs since November 2010, but the company just got around to formally announcing it today. Connect the USB RF dongle to your computer and the remote works seamlessly with the Boxee software. Its $50 price tag is definitely high, though, especially with fully featured home theater remotes like Logitech Harmony 650 available for around $70.

While the Boxee remote is definitely more home theater-friendly than a full-size keyboard, we weren'… Read more

Well, it's about time.

Boxee announced today that Netflix streaming is finally available to owners of the company's Boxee Box. In order to access Netflix streaming, users will need to either wait for the automatic update to take effect within the next 24 hours or manually update their set-top boxes.

"Netflix support was the most common request we had on our blog comments, forum posts, tweets, etc.," Boxee CEO Avner Ronen said in a blog post accompanying the announcement. "We heard you loud and clear. We were bummed that we could not make it happen … Read more

As January came and went, those hoping for Netflix on the Boxee Box were once again disappointed.

In an early morning blog post today, Boxee revealed that its Netflix app failed to make a self-imposed January 31 deadline because "we have not yet satisfied Netflix's security requirements." Boxee didn't say exactly what the issue is, but added that aside from that hangup, the app works as expected on internal units of its set-top box.

Knowing that users wouldn't be happy to hear the news, Boxee's vice president of marketing, Andrew Kippen, attempted to quell … Read more

Boxee has added another streaming service to its set-top box, but it isn't Netflix.

After updating their Boxee Box with new firmware, customers will find movie-streaming service Vudu. To entice folks to try it out, Wal-Mart-owned Vudu is offering a $5.99 credit toward the first rental or purchase of any title to new users.

In addition to tucking in Vudu, Boxee said in a blog post yesterday, the updated firmware delivers better browser performance, improved subtitles, and a slew of other bug fixes to increase the set-top box's stability.

On the Netflix front, Boxee said it's &… Read more

The Boxee Box is finally shipping--and it's doing so with an updated user interface and some important new features.

The company held a launch party in Manhattan tonight, celebrating the availability of the long-awaited streaming media box and--finally--confirming the online content services that it will support. The two big ones: Netflix will be supported "by the end of the year," and Hulu Plus integration is also on deck. Those premium subscription apps will join Vudu's pay-per-view movie service, which had been announced previously, as well as MUBI, OpenFilm, IndieMoviesOnline, and EZTakes. Boxee also supports MLB TV, … Read more