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Is the Boxee Box a REPLACEMENT for cable, or an ADDITION to cable?

If I install a Boxee Box, will I be able to find all of the programming I get from my cable provider? If not All...Most? Some? I'm confused by the role of Boxee...is it to provide the same viewing experience as cable, or is it to open a new world of entertainment possibilities? Bottom line for me: my cable bill is too high--almost $140/month. I want the same exact access to the major networks as cable (including local news and other local affiliate programming), and access to a reasonable amount of the programming I have with cable. Is this what Boxee provides? Also, will my internet usage with Boxee be limited by my cable provider, because it's too high?
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kris

kris

I suggest reading Peter's post about "cutting the cord," which will give you an idea of your options without cable. While it doesn't specifically address the Boxee, he does talk about local broadcast channels and some cable networks you can still watch for free (with the right setup):

gdgt.com­/discuss­/i­-m­-happy­-to­-report­-that­-i­-finall...
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igolfchip

igolfchip

I say its an addition - news and sports channels like ESPN3 can't be watched due to lack of web browser; hulu and others aren't comprehensive. Boxee (and others like this) are good ways to stream a movie and tv show collection from a home server (download via utorrent and others)
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hoopyfrood

hoopyfrood

I don't have cable currently but I would definitely say that the Boxee Box, while great for playing downloaded files, is no substitute for the real-time viewing experience of cable.
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frankspin

frankspin

it greatly depends on what type of content you're looking to view. I haven't used Boxee in sometime but it has built-in apps that support services like Netflix, MLB and Vudu. it does have built in apps for other things like CNN, Onion news, Comedy Central and some other sites. I would recommend installing it on your computer to see what types of services it provides before spending the money. The software is behind in terms of content providers but it should at least give you an idea of what Boxee is about.

Someone can't definitively say "Yes this will replace your cable needs" because every person's needs are different.
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cass

cass

I don't have a Boxee Box, but I do have an HTPC with the Boxee software and I think with all the services that the Boxee Box is supposed to support (Netflix and Hulu Plus), I think that you should be able to get a lot of the shows that you watch. I recommend that you go on Hulu.com and check out what shows they have on there and see if your must have shows are available there.

You should be able to just hook up your TV to the cable jack or hook up an antennae and you'll get all the basic channels, most in HD.
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