CNET test drives the Boxee Box, the first dedicated hardware to run Boxee's innovative Web-streaming software.
John Falcone
John P. Falcone is the senior director of commerce content at CNET, where he coordinates coverage of the site's buying recommendations alongside the CNET Advice team (where he previously headed the consumer electronics reviews section). He's been a CNET editor since 2003.
The Boxee Box by D-Link was first announced in December 2009, but more details were released at CES 2010.
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RF remote
Boxee is all about its innovative onscreen display, which you can easily navigate with the included remote.
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QWERTY keyboard remote
Flip the remote over, and you'll find a QWERTY keyboard--far superior to the clumsy onscreen keyboards found on most media boxes. The remote is RF (radio frequency)-based, so you don't need to worry about pointing it at the Box when typing.
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Rear panel
The Box connects to your home network via Ethernet or 802.11n Wi-Fi. But if the Boxee Box has a weak spot, it may be the AV connectivity. HDMI is the only video output option (analog RCA and optical digital are available on the audio front). That means, unlike the Roku boxes, you can't use the Boxee unit with older, non-HD TVs. There's a pair of USB ports as well.
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On-screen interface
The Boxee's home screen provides quick and easy access to a wide range of Web and local media, including the user-generated queue (on the right).
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Plenty of apps
You can't have a device or a media platform these days without apps--and Boxee's got 'em. The system can accept media plug-ins from a variety of third-party sources, including the ones shown here.
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Even more apps
Another tier of available content providers is shown here, including MLB, BBC, and NPR.
