72
Criteria
Comments
Rating
- Media support Supports almost every file format under the sun!
- Video quality Plays 1080p mkv files witout hickups, not to mention iso from ripped DVD's! Take that AppleTV
- Audio quality Optical out, crisp sounding!
- Ease of use 1.0 UI dumb down the entire interface to the point that Im in tears. SO many options that made Boxee worth using are gone.Looks like a 4yo rendered the graphics
- Design and form factor Its small and ok looking. Doesn't really fit in with the rest of my media players thought due to its awkward shape
Detailed review
Pre-ordered this product as soon as it became available on Amazon.com for it ease of use and intuitive user interface. I have been using the AppleTV hack for the past year and was hoping that the Boxee Box was going to be the exact same experience as it only Quicker! Received my Boxee Box yesterday and installed it on to my network and TV with great ease, was even happy the included an HDMI cable. I turned the device on and followed the easy to follow onscreen instructions to quickly log into my boxee account. It booted to the similar, easy to use, intuitive interface that I was so used to with AppleTV hack. I looked around and added my networked folders and decided to call it a night.
Thats when my glowing happy nirvana filled experience went to hell. The next morning I turned my TV on and wanted to play with it some more and found a little notice a the top of the screen stating a software upgrade was available. Like any good tech consumer would do, I quickly clicked the button for it to upgrade, in hopes of it adding some last minute tweaks that most 1.0 products get after shipping. Low and behold that when it rebooted, a crappy, low rendered, ugly and pathetic excuse for a user interface replaced my once BEAUTIFUL and COVETED Boxee Interface. BUYER BE AWARE! This new interface just turned the Boxee Box into a WORTHLESS P.O.S.!!!!!!! All the intuitiveness that came along with previous user interface is replaced with this experience that looks like it was baked up by some 4yo tech designer with no since aesthetics. First you'll notice that several of key Main Menu button have been buried several layers deep, such acces to your music, access to your photos, access to your friend feed, access to your to-do list! Those buttons that are left such as the TV and Movie folders drop you into a sparsely populated menu filled with online junk rather than simple to understand menus of before that first populated with your PERSONAL CONTENT, then gave you the choice to view what is available online! The I like the availability of online content when I CHOOSE to view it, LIKE the rest of the real world, need to see my personal content first and formost, and then the crap the world has to offer!
BAIT and SWITCH is what this feels like people! I will be returning my Boxee Box ASAP until BOXEE gets their UI act together!
Thats when my glowing happy nirvana filled experience went to hell. The next morning I turned my TV on and wanted to play with it some more and found a little notice a the top of the screen stating a software upgrade was available. Like any good tech consumer would do, I quickly clicked the button for it to upgrade, in hopes of it adding some last minute tweaks that most 1.0 products get after shipping. Low and behold that when it rebooted, a crappy, low rendered, ugly and pathetic excuse for a user interface replaced my once BEAUTIFUL and COVETED Boxee Interface. BUYER BE AWARE! This new interface just turned the Boxee Box into a WORTHLESS P.O.S.!!!!!!! All the intuitiveness that came along with previous user interface is replaced with this experience that looks like it was baked up by some 4yo tech designer with no since aesthetics. First you'll notice that several of key Main Menu button have been buried several layers deep, such acces to your music, access to your photos, access to your friend feed, access to your to-do list! Those buttons that are left such as the TV and Movie folders drop you into a sparsely populated menu filled with online junk rather than simple to understand menus of before that first populated with your PERSONAL CONTENT, then gave you the choice to view what is available online! The I like the availability of online content when I CHOOSE to view it, LIKE the rest of the real world, need to see my personal content first and formost, and then the crap the world has to offer!
BAIT and SWITCH is what this feels like people! I will be returning my Boxee Box ASAP until BOXEE gets their UI act together!
good review!
1 person found this review helpful
schrist
For those of us who did not have Boxee previously, it seems a bit unfair. I got the box to watch "video" on my TV and it does this. I can play music and show my photos. It's not like they don't work any longer.