Anyone tried Boxee yet, any opinions?

[Locut0s]

http://boxee.tv/

Looks like it has great potential to be a freeware killer app for HTPCs. Don't have enough media right now to make use of it but this is something I'd be very interested in down the line. Anyone tried it out yet?

 

[mrSHEiK124]

I "submitted my contact information"

I've got a Vista MCE and Vista x64 MCE rig, we'll see how it works on both.

 

[echoplex]

I've been using it on Ubuntu 8.10 for the past few days and so far I like it. The interface is intuitive and clean, and can be used without a keyboard. Someone even got a wii-mote working with it.

I've currently got 15G of music and 25G of video that it has cataloged so far. I've watched some video on Hulu and CBS, which is nice. If you've got friends in Boxee, you can choose to display the media you've watched/listened to recently, and make recommendations to your friends.

There are flickr and picasaweb plugins to view your shared images as well as search for others users. I use the picasaweb plugin to view my pics and I have no complaints.

You can set up as many media sources as you like including local folders, network shares, and RSS feeds.

That said, there are definitely some issues. Here is what I've found so far:
* Media cataloging doesn't always use the metadata within each file, so you might get some incorrect movie thumbnails (e.g. The Office episode "Halloween" gets a thumbnail from the movie "Halloween") and they aren't sorted into TV shows/movies - you have to do it manually.
* So far, all of my video has been cataloged as a movie, but they are actually television episodes. I'm not sure if the video type saved in ITunes is saved to the file metadata, but I have to manually set each episode to be displayed as a tv episode and I must type in the chow name, season and episode title. It's tedious to say the least.
* If you use it with Ubuntu, there are issues with Pulseaudio that can crash Boxee - there are ways around this though.
* Boxee has crashed on me a few times for no apparent reason, but it starts back up with no problem.

There are definitely some things that need some work, but it's a good start. The cataloging and metadata problems are just frustrating because it can take so much time to correctly catalog everything. If these two things get some attention by the developers, I'll be putting an HTPC box running Boxee in my living room.

I was able to email a developer and get an alpha invite pretty easily. I'll see if I can find it for you.

 

[TwiceOver]

Yeah I am using it on Ubuntu 8.04 and it works, but seems sluggish and the Hulu video can be kinda choppy (even though it has plenty buffered). This is more of an issue with Ubuntu than Boxee IMO.

 

[QurazyQuisp]

I have it for my apple tv. I like it for the streaming abilities, however hulu is a little choppy.

If you want an invite, I have them.

 

[newb111]

Originally posted by: QurazyQuisp
I have it for my apple tv. I like it for the streaming abilities, however hulu is a little choppy.

If you want an invite, I have them.

I'll take an invite if you still have one.

 

[KeithP]

Originally posted by: QurazyQuisp
I have it for my apple tv. I like it for the streaming abilities, however hulu is a little choppy.

If you want an invite, I have them.

Yes, please, if you have one available.

Thanks!
KeithP

 

[QurazyQuisp]

Both of you have been invited.

 

[nobody554]

If someone's got an invite, I'd like to try this out.

 

[skypilot]

I'd love an invite if anyone has one - obrienmd@gmail.com

 

[stelleg151]

I would also love an invite. I'll give them back on this forum, and we can turn this into an invite thread like the good ol' early gmail days.

 

[EvilYoda]

It's always fun seeing who pops up for the invite threads.

 

[MichaelD]

I made the switch from briefs to boxers back in 1993. Best thing I ever did. The boys have breathing room now...not to mention the "stylish cool points" for my patterned/logo'd/cool boxers.

And that's my contribution to the Boxee thread...which clearly was MEANT to say "boxers."

 

[echoplex]

I've got invites. PM me with your email address and I'll send you one.

 

[shamgar03]

ygpm

 

[BKLounger]

i am running boxee on my appletv. I find it to be a very useful interface but can sometimes be sluggish (possibly a hardware issue). But being able to stream hulu and revision 3 is a blessing.

 

[Barfo]

Thought you were talking about that annoying boxxy chick.

 

[HopJokey]

"You so trollin!!!!!"

 

[Ramma2]

I signed up, looks like they don't have a windows client yet?

Edit: Ooooh I see I'm not cool enough to download the windows client. If anyone has a cool person invite I'd be delighted.

 

[aircooled]

Love it. Great interface for an HTPC.

 

[Ruptga]

Dang, I was hoping for more lulz from that troll. This thread disappoints

 

[alkemyst]

i <3 BOXXY!

 

[biggestmuff]

Boxxy?

 

[silverpig]

I prefer plex for OSX... *shrug*

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: biggestmuff
Boxxy?

Thank god....The URL contained a malformed video ID.