![]() Join us as we uncover the Boxee's strengths and weaknesses over the following pages. ![]() With the rising threat of Internet-enabled TVs, the Boxee is undoubtedly facing an intense blaze of competition not just from the ranks of rival media players, but against the waxing wave of new-age HDTV displays which Sony, Samsung and LG are guilty of as well. Meaning, D-Link will have to convince consumers that its media center solution is capable of streaming as well as unifying Internet content, apart from its ability to provide extensive video support and seamless playback. The question is - can D-Link's multimedia solution prove itself against the maddening crowd of media players in the market? At S$329, it is priced marginally higher than most mid-range breeds of media tanks. However, it is not problem-free: there are some glitches with 1080p resolution and viewing videos on big network websites is still either impossible or difficult (due to the networks). The company has made firmware updates that have made the device a more attractive option. More recently, local AV punters were able to grab the Boxee when it was eventually launched at the IT Show 2011. D-links Boxee Box can finally be called a first-class media streaming device. The plot thickens though, for NVIDIA has since updated their Tegra 2 page with 1080p H.264 encoding and decoding support. Why the sudden change of guard, you might ask? According to D-Link, Intel's workhorse was chosen over NVIDIA's Tegra 2 SoC due to the Atom's ability to decode high-profile H.264 formats. We’ve yet to see a similar device that can manage this, and it’s a major plus. It scans your network shares and greedily gobbles up the media it finds, regurgitating those horrible file names as an organised library of entertainment complete with metadata and artwork. If you are wondering, the 1.2GHz CE4100 also happens to be the same "Sodaville" SoC (system-on-chip) with a 1080p video engine powering the Android-flavored Google TV. The Boxee also has awesome format support. In a Shyamalan-like twist, it was soon made clear during the US launch that D-Link has ditched NVIDIA for Intel's Atom CE4100 instead. ![]() If you recall, initial rumors about the Boxee's hardware centered mainly on NVIDIA's Tegra 2 during the early stages. Cons: No. All the keys are very responsive with a definite click to let you know that you've hit them.D-Link created quite a stir in the AV scene when they first hinted at developing a media box two years ago. Very easy to setup 2 USB ports, SD slot and can stream from other computers wirelessly Simple interface Lots of internet content. Automatically configures your Internet connection and tunes itself to your home entertainment. It's a clever idea and sure beats onscreen keyboards or entering data using a numeric keypad. D-Link - Boxee Box HD Streaming Media Player Easy installation. However, flick the remote over and it's a full QWERTY keyboard, which you can use to search for media. This RF model (which doesn't need line-of-sight) has three buttons on the front (play/pause, select and menu) and a directional cursor-pad for navigating menus, fast-forward and rewind. That makes you believe that this will be a no-brainer. The manual is one those 'dummies', minimalist documents. d-Link and the developers put more thought into the great packaging of Boxee Box than the installation and activation process. The highlight, though, is the fantastic remote control. You must have patience and determination in order to make Boxee Box work. There's also a 10/100 Ethernet port, although you can use the built-in WiFi if you prefer. D-Link thoughtfully includes an HDMI cable in the box to get you up and running immediately. At the rear you'll find an HDMI output, two USB ports for external storage (there's also an SD card slot on the side), optical S/PDIF and stereo phono outputs. Its mirrored front hides the Boxee logo which glows green when you turn the box on. The Boxee supports a vast array of formats pretty much every video file you can throw at it, and even high-resolution audio up to 24-bit/192kHz. The tiny - and there's no other word for it - box, doesn't look like a typical media player, but more like a funky clock radio or modern light. First impressions of the Boxee Box are very favourable.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |