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Boxee sees new Apple TV leaving room for Boxee Box

updated 06:55 pm EDT, Wed September 1, 2010

 

Boxee says Box better, more open than new Apple TV


Boxee founder Avner Ronen today downplayed the risk from the new Apple TV to sales of its upcoming Boxee Box. He pointed out the simple advantage of 1080p versus Apple's 720p as well as the open nature of Boxee's platform. Since it has a web browser and can be extended with more formats and services, it's inherently more open than what the Apple TV offers, Ronen implied.

"We walked away feeling strongly confident about the space it left for Boxee to compete," he explained. "We have a different view of what users want in their living rooms. We are taking different paths to get there. The Boxee Box is going to be $100 more expensive than the Apple TV, but will give you the freedom to watch what you want."

Ronen disclaimed the point of view by noting that many Boxee staffers were Apple fans, although he didn't touch on whether he thought it might be possible to hack the new model to implement the Boxee front-end that was possible on the outgoing model. The new Apple TV uses an ARM-based A4 chip and is believed to run on a heavily modified version of iOS that would prevent a direct conversion.

The Boxee Box is being developed with help from D-Link and should reach stores by November for $199.


By Electronista Staff

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industry, digital imaging, Firefox, Apple TV, D-Link, ARM, Apple, Boxee, Mozila

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Previous Comments

  1. facebook_Justin

    Via Facebook

    Joined: Sep 2010

    -2
    09/01, 07:21pm | report spam | reply

    comment title

    Oh would these companies stop with the open c*** already. I mean seriously, it's just getting annoying now. Is it going to be as open as Android, and require "rooting", aka jailbreaking, to achieve true openness? Get off the stupid open bull already. Open will never be successful, we learned that from Linux, and I've seen what open brings, a bunch of trash. Closed platforms will always be superior.


  1. graxspoo

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Nov 2008

    -6
    09/01, 07:24pm | report spam | (1 reply) | reply

    I agree

    I use Boxee all the time, and I almost never use my AppleTV. I watch new releases on AppleTV, and that's about it and the new model doesn't change this equation at all for me at all. Boxee is great because it uses open standards. You can use it to view/listen to/watch any media in your home network without having to go through iTunes or iPhoto. Boxee doesn't try to corral you into their way of doing things. I can't wait for the Boxee box! Keep up the good work guys.


  1. dliup

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jan 2006

    0
    09/01, 10:19pm | report spam | (1 reply) | reply

    clueless

    1080p content takes forever to download.


  1. caribousteaks

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jan 2004

    +5
    09/02, 12:54am | report spam | reply

    comment title

    Go Boxee Go. Very underwhelmed by ATV. Do understand Steve's logic, just disagree with him in that those of us who do want lots of functionality and really don't care if it costs 99$ or 400$ , (h*** I spend 110 clams on my iphone each month and hardly use 1/10th of what it can do) we types will move on and go for Boxee. Sad ATV is a "hobby" for Steve, its a bad attitude to take in my view, it could be an incredible product if would only let it.


  1. eldarkus

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Feb 2004

    +1
    09/02, 06:50am | report spam | reply

    openness

    this really isnt c*** IMO. But support for multiple standards is a must. From what I read, AppleTV doesnt even suport AVI's or other filetypes. I have my DVD library ripped in AVI format and to even consider re-ripping isnt an option.

    Im using the WD TV, which was $140, but does 1080 and supports pretty much any file type I throw at it. I think Seagate just came out with a similar one (GoPlex) as well as a few others on the market.


  1. facebook_Dana

    Via Facebook

    Joined: Sep 2010

    0
    09/02, 10:04am | report spam | reply

    Weak

    Boxee doesn't do a thing for me. Steve Jobs said it best... people want first run Hollywood movies and TV. When I tried Boxee It was like wading through a minefield of clips and trailers and garbage from the internet just to find a decent show to watch. Nobody wants that c***, and open standards mean nothing to the average joe who just wants to pick a show from a menu.

    The real competition to A-TV is the Roku, but I have a feeling they are not going to be able to get the same involvement from the networks as Apple will.


  1. testudo

    Forum Regular

    Joined: Aug 2001

    +2
    09/02, 10:04am | report spam | reply

    @Justin

    Oh would these companies stop with the open c*** already. I mean seriously, it's just getting annoying now. Is it going to be as open as Android, and require "rooting", aka jailbreaking, to achieve true openness?

    Um, maybe if you actually tried to read and comprehend what the man is saying, you'd get off your high-horse that somehow only Apple's way is best.

    What he is saying is that it is 'open', such that you can install programs you want. For example, you want to watch some Divx videos, no problem: Just install divx. Or xvid. Have some other codec come out. No problem.

    The Apple TV, on the other hand, is designed as a closed system. You cannot add any feature that you want, because Apple doesn't allow it. For example, want to see videos on Hulu. Oops, can't get there.

    And I didn't realize 'true openness' can only be achieved by having root access.

    Get off the stupid open bull already. Open will never be successful, we learned that from Linux, and I've seen what open brings, a bunch of trash. Closed platforms will always be superior.

    This isn't an argument over 'open source' vs. 'closed source'. For if it were, someone would have to mention to you that Apple's OS X is built on the base of an open-source operating system, their WebKit rendering engine originated from the Konqueror engine from KDE and is still open.

    And Apple talks about open standards all the time. So shouldn't you get on Apple's case when they start espousing how everyone should be using HTML5 and MP4 video because it's all open?

    But since open in this argument is about what you're allowed to do with your platform. And since you claim 'open' fails, then I guess Windows and OS X are failures. Which is true. Do you see all the crappy programs you can put on these OSes? I mean, I can't believe anyone would even think of buying a PC or a Mac. It's all iOS devices from here on out for people. That way, you don't have to worry that you might install a program that might not meet some sort of guidelines, no matter how much you really want it or need it.


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