Hasta La Gadget!

When there’s a sea of shows to dig through in Boxee TV’s web interface, finding one won’t always be easy without knowing the exact name. A range of updates hitting the servers should put an end to the guesswork while throwing in a few extras at the same time. The freshened portal brings an autocompleting search box that should speed up finding shows in the guide and, eventually, cloud DVR recordings. Viewers with a load of archived episodes aren’t left out to dry, either — the recording viewer now stuffs TV shows and movies into a more compact grid view, and offers a quick recording override if there’s suddenly a more important show in the same time slot. While deeper, firmware-based updates are still on the way, it’s nice to have the web update as a prelude.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD

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Source: Boxee

Up’n’coming streaming box company Boxee isn’t content sitting next to your TV. Instead, it’s firing up an initiative to get inside your TV by offering an embeddable option to manufacturers. More »

Launch day has finally arrived for Boxee’s second hardware effort and now we’re finding out even more about it. As we heard yesterday, the $99 Boxee TV will be a Walmart exclusive at retail (also available via Boxee’s website), however early adopters in the holiday season can also expect a three month period to try out the “No Limits DVR” for free, plus a discounted service rate of $9.99 (normally $15) for life, three months of free Netflix access and a $5.99 Vudu credit. After the holidays, buyers can still expect free DVR trials, but there’s no details on exactly what is in store. The list of supported apps has also grown, with Spotify, MLB, TED, Wall Street Journal, Accuweather and Boxee’s own Cloudee joining the previously announced Netflix, Vudu, YouTube, Pandora and Vimeo on day one. Finally, we’ve got our first look at the HTML5 webapp that serves as a guide and second screen remote control.

For owners of the original Boxee Box, the company posted in a blog entry (the link appears to be down at the moment) that all back end support will remain running “for the foreseeable future” and an updated Flash Player is on the way. The bad news is that due to a lack of updates from Intel, it will not be able to upgrade the Netflix app for access outside the US and Canada, and agreements with premium content providers prevent opening it up for root access. The project has evolved a long way, from XBMC spinoff with a focus on support for locally stored and streaming video, then moving to a set-top box, offering OTA live TV viewing, and now its latest incarnation as a more conventionally shaped box built for OTA and ClearQAM channel viewing with the possibility of easier cable access in the future. We’ll be reviewing the new hardware soon, potential buyers (especially in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Washington DC where they can access the Cloud DVR) can check out the galleries for one last look or hit the link below to try out Boxee’s take on the future of TV viewing.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Boxee TV hits Walmart aisles today, flashes more apps, guide webapp and 3 months free DVR service originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Nov 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Boxee has some fairly grand plans for its Boxee TV set-top box, and it’s now set to get a sizeable boost from the biggest retailer around. According Bloomberg News, the device will be available at more than 3,000 Walmart stores in the US starting tomorrow, where the retailer is also said to be setting up displays to demonstrate the device and provide marketing materials. As Bloomberg notes, the deal comes at a fairly critical time for Boxee, which sold some 120,000 devices in the past year compared to 1.4 million Roku boxes and 5.3 million Apple TVs. It also comes on the heels of another attempt by Boxee to win over customers, with it announcing just a few days ago that that it’d be handing out free Boxee TVs to some early adopters.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Boxee TV heads to Walmart shelves in time for the holidays originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Oct 2012 12:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are a number of set-top boxes on the market today that allow you to stream content from different services such as Netflix or YouTube. One of those devices is the Boxee TV. Boxee Inc has scored a major win with the announcement that Walmart will be selling its latest device, the Boxee TV, in its 3000 US locations starting tomorrow.

The Boxee TV will be in stores at a price of $98 just in time for the holiday shopping season. Walmart plans to put significant weight behind the product with marketing materials being sent out for the device, and displays set up in the stores. The Boxee TV is a black set-top box that comes with a remote control. The Boxee TV can access free HD broadcast channels as well as streaming Internet content.

The idea is to bring free over the air HD programming and basic cable programming that’s not protected to viewers as well as streaming content from Netflix and other sources. The Boxee TV has dual tuners and will allow you to record one program while watching another live. However, the set-top box has no internal storage device.

All programs that are recorded using the DVR feature are recorded to the cloud. Buyers of the device will get unlimited storage space on the cloud and will be able to watch the recordings on a laptop, tablet, or the TV. There is a $14.99 monthly charge for the cloud-based DVR service, which is only available in certain markets.

“It’s going to be a big launch for us,” Avner Ronen, Boxee’s chief executive officer, said in an interview. “There’s a big difference between having your product being carried by retailers, where it sits on the shelf, and getting real marketing behind it.”

[via BusinessWeek]

Walmart to sell Boxee TV starting tomorrow is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
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