Boxee Box Review: Not Ready for Primetime

The set-top box/streaming device space has really heated up in the last 12 months. What once was just a "hobby" for Apple and a few other players, including Roku and Boxee, is slowly, but surely becoming a legitimate product category.

Given our recent time with the Boxee Box though, it looks like it isn't quite ready for primetime yet.

THE SETUP

Boxee uses individual logins for the device. For a little bit of hassle up front, you'll be able to keep each user's bookmarks etc. separate. This is especially useful if you use the device's social networking hooks.

One major stumbling block with our review unit: Despite repeated attempts, we were never able to connect to the wireless network, or even see any of the dozen or so networks that show up on other devices. More frustratingly, creating a fake network name returns an error that the network was found but the internet connection failed. This can add a lot of time to troubleshooting if you have an invisible network, and you are manually entering the name/password. So bear in mind the video playback results we got were from a hard-wired connection.

THE DESIGN

The box looks great, and with a few frustrating exceptions, the menus are designed smartly. From purely a design standpoint, the box looks good, and the menus look polished. These are probably the two biggest factors allowing the box to "demo well."

THE CONTENT

The 1080 HD video rom the box (depending on the source, more on that in a bit) looks stunning. Vudu movies, just added in an update, look much better than anything you've rented on an Apple TV lately. This gives us a hint of what the disc-less future will look like. Disappointingly despite promises of an update, Netflix is still a no-show on the Boxee. For a device that's competing against not only the Apple TV, but also the PS3, xBox, and even Wii in terms of streaming content, the absence of Netflix is a deal breaker for most.

But what content is available? A majority of the programs (usually wrapped in "apps") are tech/web related. While that is fine for those of us who live and breathe on the cutting edge of technology, it doesn't offer much diversification for a more diverse audience: Grandma isn't going to find a great show about knitting on the Boxee today.

The fact that so much of this content is web related brings into question whether it is really better to watch it on the TV. If I want to watch a Revision 3 show, I already do that online. I don't know that changing rooms and firing up the Boxee (or any similar device) is worth it. Apple TV has a definite advantage as iPhone app developers can now integrate Airplay to send audio/video to Apple TV.

While the experience with the content bundled in apps is generally great (exceptions including a resolution issue with the NHL app, and the inability to pause some content) content served from the web is a different story. Clicking to watch The Daily Show, for example, fills your screen with the show's webpage. You must then navigate the on-screen cursor to the full screen button in order to have the video fill your screen. Unfortunately, you also cannot leave this content and keep your place in the clip. Since this is all being served through a browser of sorts, it would be nice to implement a tabbing system to allow you to return to a clip and pick up where you left off.

THE HARDWARE

As mentioned earlier, the design of the Boxee is great. There are two practical issues though. First, the remote has a large center button, and two smaller buttons, each placed an equal distance above and below the middle button. As a result, you need to look down at the remote repeatedly to see which direction you're holding it. Unlike an infrared remote, there's no physical hint as to which end of the remote is the "front." It's a shame because otherwise the two-sided remote (the back houses a QWERTY keyboard) is a clever and useful design, allowing you to only see a full keyboard when you actually need it.

Secondly, I tested the unit with it sitting next to the television. The design would certainly imply that the Boxee should be proudly on display. The fan inside the box would beg to differ, as it was just audible enough to be bothersome. Losing the fan in a future version should be high on the Boxee to-do list.

THE VERDICT

At twice the price of Apple TV, Boxee could still make a case for a $199 device, provided they squash software bugs, make the "feel" of the remote more intuitive and add elegance to the playback of web-based content. Those are great places to start, but it will ultimately be exclusive/diverse content that will differentiate the box as more than just a Netflix (when it arrives) streaming device, and/or a box solely for those tech enthusiasts who don't mind several rough edges.