This couldn’t be simpler with links to your different types of media and direct access to network files. Switch on the Boxee Box (a slightly overblown experience lasting about 30 seconds and full of needless animations) and after a somewhat retro screen alignment wizard (used just the once) you’ll be presented with the home screen. In use keys are a little spongy, but it remains heaven sent for typing in WiFi passwords, web addresses and searching using the integrated apps such as BBC iPlayer, YouTube and so forth, but more of those later.įirst up is the UI and this is a hugely controversial area. ![]() By contrast Apple TV lacks the USB/SD card functionality and is locked to iTunes-only content while the WD TV Live Hub baffled us all by not integrating WiFi.Īnother nice touch is the controller which on one side is a simple D-Pad with play/pause and back buttons and on the other features a full Qwerty keyboard. It is flexible with Ethernet, WiFi, HDMI, SPDIF and RCA Audio inputs and can accept media either over a network (a boon for NAS owners), via two USB ports on the back or a SD card slot on the top. It has built what looks like a cube with a corner sliced off and inside stuffed a whisper quiet Intel Atom based CE4100 chipset with enough horsepower to potentially do away with a dedicated media PC. That aside, what D-Link has done with the Boxee Box is impressive. This is somewhat baffling considering the Boxee Box is essentially just a housing (an admittedly radical and stylish housing) for Boxee, a freely downloadable multimedia programme which first hit the public in June 2008. RyanSmithAT: I'm right there with you.If Apple TV is beautiful but shallow, and Western Digital’s WD TV Live Hub comprehensive but complex, can D-Link’s long awaited Boxee Box strike a perfect balance of the two? Pretty much…įirst previewed way back in December 2009, this is one media player which has been an incredibly long time in the making.RyanSmithAT: RT We're kicking off a new #Benchmark Search Program to help locate application workflows and complex #graphics models for futu….RyanSmithAT: And 8 hours later, an ASUS TUF Gaming A15 with a 7940HS is available at B&H.But unlikely, unless NV is just outright running into reticle limits.… gavbon86: Anxious? Just take your shot what do you have to lose?.gavbon86: So Conor changes his approach, and he's complaining a professional and governing body isn't ch….gavbon86: Having haters must mean you're doing something right □.Aimed for peak productivity, got peak chaos □ gavbon86: This weekend has NOT been kind to me.Thankfully the UI frame rate never drops below 38 fps so it always feels quick, the problem is more the speed at which things load (particularly over WiFi). The software is in dire need of performance optimization. Netbooks feel faster than this, which points the finger squarely at Boxee. Part of the problem is that we’re running on an 1.2GHz Atom, however even that should be enough for all of Boxee’s needs. And don’t get me started on browsing the web on Boxee. Even bringing up the Shows hub and waiting for images to load takes time. Once you start typing there’s a couple of seconds before you actually get results to pop up. ![]() While menu navigation is quick (not PC-quick but quick enough), everything else could use some work.Īdding shows to your Watch Later queue is slow, loading YouTube Leanback is slow, searching for shows is slow. Performance, as I’ve mentioned before, is a problem with the Box. This is a CE4100 limitation as I’ve mentioned before, so if you want to truly save power you’ll have to shut the Boxee Box down completely. There’s no difference between it being asleep and idle. If you put the Boxee Box to sleep it will draw anywhere from 11 - 13W, while asleep. Typically the Box likes to hang out around 13W, but I would expect much lower idle power from the CE4100 when absolutely nothing is going on. The lowest I ever saw the Boxee Box drop down to was 11.2W. While playing Flash video content via the web I measured a consistent 15W power draw at the wall and the highest I ever saw it hit was 15.2W. The Boxee Box is made out of relatively low power hardware and as a result, total system power consumption never exceeds 15.2W.
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