Slashdot Log In
Build a BoxeeBox and Wean Yourself From Cable
Posted by
CmdrTaco
on Wed Feb 11, 2009 08:52 AM
from the but-what-about-chuck dept.
from the but-what-about-chuck dept.
Since I've been having serious problems with satellite all week,
DeviceGuru's submission was really interesting to me. He says "Inspired by Roku's awesome Netflix video download box and impressed with Boxee's free A/V media center platform, it was merely a matter of time before DeviceGuru blogger Rick Lehrbaum would create the BoxeeBox, an Ubuntu-powered HTPC with Boxee serving as its primary media center UI. Based on a 2.5GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, the BoxeeBox has the look and feel of consumer A/V equipment and packs 2GB RAM, 1TB HDD, CD/DVD drive, USB, Firewire, HDMI, DVI-D, RGB, and 8-channel surround sound audio."
Related Stories
[+]
Boxee Drops Hulu Support 375 comments
frdmfghtr writes "According to a boxee blog entry, Hulu will no longer be supported. From the post: 'two weeks ago Hulu called and told us their content partners were asking them to remove Hulu from boxee. we tried (many times) to plead the case for keeping Hulu on boxee, but on Friday of this week, in good faith, we will be removing it. you can see their blog post about the issues they are facing.' Reading the hulu blog post, the only 'issue' I see facing Hulu is that content providers have (once again) shot themselves in the foot, switching off a media conduit they should have been promoting." Update: 02/19 14:31 GMT by T : Jamie points out this interesting (speculative) piece at O'Reilly Radar about the thought process that may have driven the decision.
[+]
First Impressions of the Neuros Link 64 comments
DeviceGuru writes "Having recently constructed the BoxeeBox, DeviceGuru blogger Rick Lehrbaum naturally was eager to check out Neuros Technology's somewhat similar IP-TV set-top box. Lehrbaum's first-impressions review of the Neuros Link describes the device's hardware and Ubuntu-based software, shows screenshots of its functionality, identifies a handful of weak spots, offers some specific suggestions for improvement, and shares a few hacks (including adding an HDD and Boxee). All in all, he concludes, the Link's hardware is more than worth its minimal $300 pricetag."
[+]
Hulu Again Removed From Boxee and Again Added Back 220 comments
An anonymous reader writes "In a mouse and cat game, Hulu the popular online content provider of shows, movies, and more has blocked Boxee yet again from accessing the Hulu content from the Boxee application. Just as Boxee added RSS feeds to include Hulu content, Hulu responded with blocking Boxee users from accessing the content via RSS feeds the very same day. RSS feeds are publicly available and it's really disappointing to hear that a site would block certain applications from accessing their content in such a manner. I would assume that the Boxee development team is currently working on disguising its browser to look like Firefox, Internet Explorer, or some other known browser in an attempt to fool Hulu."
[+]
Entertainment: Linux Boxee Users Get Hulu Relief 78 comments
DeviceGuru writes "The Linux version of Boxee's eponymously-named multimedia platform has finally been updated to include several new features introduced into the OS X and Windows versions over the past few months. Key additions include an App Box and restored support for Hulu, which disappeared several months ago. Still lacking in the latest Linux release, however, is the long-awaited addition of Netflix movie and TV show streaming for subscribers to Netflix's monthly service."
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Full
Abbreviated
Hidden
Loading... please wait.
Sub $500? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
You would need to sacrifice some components for cheaper ones and sometimes these systems are tweaked so they do one thing and they do it well, but just barely.
Which reminds me, from what I read of the article (before I restarted my browser and discovered the site was Slashdotted) they spent something like $190 on THE CASE! Why the case? I'm thinking I should start making cases in my garage out of plywood and selling them for $100 each.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm thinking I should start making cases in my garage out of plywood and selling them for $100 each.
I got tired of cutting myself on the card slot openings on those metal cases. I'd rather try splinters for a while.
Re:Sub $500? (Score:5, Interesting)
I couldn't agree more. A $500 box would free me from cable, at the price of about 18 months worth of cable. That's not a very good ROI. $300 would at least break me free in a year or so. (I don't have digital cable, if I did, it would probably be much quicker) Also, why do you never see these set top boxes with the over the air tuners? I would love one that acted as my digital TV tuner too
Parent
Re:Sub $500? (Score:5, Interesting)
I've got an old Athlon with Mythbuntu and XBMC sitting in the living room streaming content off my home network, and I'm quite content not having cable. People who visit that do have cable with all the trimmings want to know how they can buy what I've got because it's better than what they have at home.
I could use another terabyte drive on the thing though...
Why isn't the free distribution of cultural content considered part of a countries diplomatic budget? It should be...
Parent
Re:Sub $500? (Score:4, Insightful)
Because we operate under the premise that things like movies wouldn't be made in any meaningful quantity if people weren't going to pay. True some people do create low budget films for free, but the number is pretty small and the production quality isn't usually as good. Plus some types of movies are just too expensive to do right, even if you're being budget consious.
The only reason we had protections for Copyright, Trademark and Patent in the legal code originally was to ensure that there was an incentive to produce. Even if you're wanting to give away your code, photos, books, what have you, the protection does ensure that you have legal redress should somebody use it for purposes you don't approve of.
Were we to have that level of deregulation in the IP market, you'd have only the choice of produce or not produce, with no option to control it at all.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
A $500 box would free me from cable, at the price of about 18 months worth of cable. That's not a very good ROI.
Mod parent up! That's exactly what I'm talking about.
Not only is it not a good return on investment, but you also have to worry about it breaking.
What about channel guides? All of the MythTV users I've talked too complain about them being unreliable, or having to pay a subscription fee for them. It totally defeats the purpose!
You're really at the whim of these content providers to continue to provide programming for free. One little disagreement with your ISP, etc. could render this thing useless.
Re:Sub $500? (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Re: (Score:3)
What good would a channel guide do you if you cancel your cable and no longer have "channels" to tune into?
Free-to-air television still has channels, and DTV has three times as many as analog did.
Re: (Score:3)
Actually OTA HD has been the way to go for quite a while, mainly because most of the Cable providers were compressing the signal down to somewhat lesser quality than OTA. The only problem is a lack of selection, last I checked there was only one genuine HD channel available here.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
In this case, the OTA's often about as good as basic cable these days, with the TV stations providing multiple feeds in addition to the network one. I'm only missing a few things like Discovery at this point- not sure if it's worth the $30-50/mo for Dish to get it.
Re:Sub $500? (Score:4, Funny)
My big road block to ditching cable? My wife.
Specifically, the fact that her main use for the cable is watching those god-awful HGTV/TLC shows: "John and Kate Plus Eight", "Flip that House", "Property Virgins", "Clean House", that kind of thing.
If she likes that crap, you have grounds for divorce right there. No judge would deny it.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Why? The point of Roku is that you can get netflix content. The BoxeeBox is not going to do that.
Re:Sub $500? (Score:4, Informative)
Why? The point of Roku is that you can get netflix content. The BoxeeBox is not going to do that.
Umm, yes the Boxee Box WILL get NetFlix streaming content. It can connect into your NetFlix account and it displays all of the Streamable content presently in your queue. It will also let you browse other streamable content. I have used Boxee to access my NetFlix streamable content on my Mac connected to my TV. It is an amazing application!
Parent
Re:Sub $500? (Score:4, Insightful)
Buy and old xbox. It's not going to do HD content, but Boxee is a fork of XBMC. [xbmc.org] Using XBMC+rtorrent+pytvshotws [sourceforge.net] I have what can be assumed to be a near identical setup. The 'server' is in a different room and it has 2TB of space.
Parent
Version 1.6 Warning (Score:3, Insightful)
Buy and old xbox.
Any ideas on how to buy an old Xbox console without buying one that has version 1.6 firmware [xbox-linux.org]?
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
That's not the firmware version, it's the "version number" of the motherboard given by the scene/community to differentiate between the different boards as they were revised/changed/made cheaper over time. It's not official Microsoft version numbering. Also, no matter which board you end up with, there are mod chips available. Divineo still sells them, whether you're in Canada, US or Europe. I'm sure you could find some on Ebay/Kijiji/Craigslist or even at a game shop in your area.
I bought mine in 2002. It'
Re:Version 1.6 Warning (Score:4, Insightful)
Buy a used xbox from someplace that lets your look at it first.
Who has tried this at a local GameStop or somewhere? Or where else would you recommend that would be available to people in most parts of the United States?
Short version: if it was made before 2004, it's pre-1.6
The Version 1.6 Warning page states that Xbox consoles can be updated to 1.6 through the Internet. By "look at it" do you mean "turn it on before paying for it"?
You can still use a hardware mod chip on a 1.6 box.
For many users, it takes less time==money to buy a Popcorn Hour box than to learn to solder.
Parent
Re:Sub $500? (Score:5, Interesting)
XBMC Live - Better than Boxee and uses far less Horsepower for 720p HDTV.
I built one for $190.00 with a P4-3ghz proc and motherboard, all the goodies including a 8600gt video card and MCE remote. expense was the hard drive to hold all the 5Gig AVI HDTV movie rips. I use a python script with command line bittorrent and wget to silently pull all podcasts and tv shows I am after to the box. works great and I dont have to have a tuner card. Add an additional $99.00 of you want it to look like a stereo piece, or buy a old replay TV for $20.00 and hammer everything inside that case.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Well, since I can't RTFA since it was slashdotted I can at least help you out there, bud. I have built an HTPC for around the price you state. The reason I say around is simply because you know how volatile PC prices are and can vary wildly day to day. Anyway here is how I did it.
Lets start with the case. Here is the cheapest [newegg.com] HTPC case I can find, but if you don't mind fugly you can go even cheaper and get a running box to boot. Simply look up "Compaq Deskpro SFF" or "Compaq Deskpro EN SFF 733" in Google.
popcornhour rules (Score:5, Interesting)
If you don't want DIY and something non-geek friendly for ~$200 check out the popcornhour network media tanks [popcornhour.com]. Streams from a server or user-installed hard disk. Plays x264, divx, xvid, wmv, etc all at up to 1080p.
We own two and just love them.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
The Popcorn Hour boxes look very nice. Still, they are rather limited by their lack of ability to play web based video. I'd like to see a box around the size and cost of the Popcorn Hour box, which adds the following:
1. Runs Boxee, in order to give access to Hulu, YouTube, and many other online videos.
2. Is a licensed Netflix device.
Maybe they are working on it, or Roku is, or someone at Boxee is. Whoever gets there first should find plenty of waiting customers.
What's in a name (Score:2)
A 2.5GHz Core 2 Duo based system isn't going to be silent.
I think THE requirement for a media centre is silent operation. (and I don't mean silent 2.0 as defined by the marketers these days)
Also, stupid name.
Re: (Score:2)
Good article if... (Score:3, Interesting)
You're looking to build a media PC but I couldnt help but be disappointed by the use of a micro-atx rather than mini-itx motherboard. While we may have to wait for Nvidia's Ion platform before mini-itx can do HD playback the current batch of boards are quite nice for SD playback.
Boxee looks interesting...are there any comparisons out there between it, Freevo and MythTV?
HDTV channels not possible though (Score:2)
Sadly, without the ability to get HD channels like Discovery, HBO, etc, these boxes will always be at a serious disadvantage.
Boxee for Developers (Score:2)
I have been in touch with the Boxee people about sourcing content on Boxee, and they pointed me to their API for Developers [boxee.tv] and an RSS format [boxee.tv].
What's not clear to me why there aren't templates or the equivalent for common video sources such as H.264 or Flash. (I.e., if I am sourcing a standard video stream, why do I even need an API ?
Since we can't RTFA, I don't get it (Score:5, Interesting)
TFS makes it sound like you can replace your cable (or satellite) provider with this box. Where is the (non-OTA) broadcast content coming from. Has he made a wife-capable Hulu scraper? If so, and Hulu agrees not to break the box every couple of months, then I'm interested. If it's just "you can download stuff that's a year old and on DVD from netflix, do OTA, and access your personal media collection," then it's really not much better than what already exists.
Unless it's that he's put it into a nice looking box. In which case...he's just discovered the world of HTPC cases.
I'd love to believe, but without an article I'm puzzled at where the novelty is.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Could someone fill us in? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Could someone fill us in? (Score:4, Insightful)
So then it doesn't free you from cable since you cannot reliably download copyrighted content.
Bittorrent? Ok..if you don't mind waiting days for it to dribble down to your PC. And that's if the file is actually what the title says it is. Not that anyone would offer a file for torrent with one name and have it be something completely different.
Usenet news suffers from the same problem. Trying to decipher some of the file names people use can take longer than the actual download.
Hulu? Nice start. But so much is missing and content is getting rotated off pretty quickly lately.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Hulu is good in that its free.
1) Hulu works with OSX, Windows, Linux, PS3, and some other Set Top Boxes.
If you don't mind paying a few dollars to watch a program or movie:
2) Amazon Video has a lot. They work with OS X, Windows and TiVo.
3) iTunes has a lot. They work with OS X, Windows and AppleTV.
4) PlayStationNetwork Store has a lot of Video content. Works with PS3/PSP.
5) MicroSoft's MarketPlace has a few programs that you can download to XBox 360s.
6) NetFlix streams video to subscribers and works with O
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Try http://www.tvrss.net/shows/ [tvrss.net]
They even offer RSS feeds so you can subscribe to them with your torrent client and download automatically.
How does this rid oneself from cable? (Score:2)
Boxxee on AppleTV $229 option? (Score:2)
Look here: http://forum.boxee.tv/showthread.php?t=5773&highlight=AppleTV [boxee.tv]
Seems like using an AppleTV with Boxxee provides a nice elegant $229 Boxxee box. I haven't used it, but friends tell me its great and dirt easy todo.
Linux as an HTPC frontend (Score:3, Insightful)
And this basically sums up my experience with these devices over the past couple of years. Getting any pc to do decent tv-out is a nightmare (Modeline Hell as he calls it). Getting sound on both regular outputs and digital outputs with Alsa is "challenging" to say the least. And then I just want the box to suspend and wake-up using a remote. Again, that's possible in theory, but somehow I've never found a board that will reliably go into S3 and wakeup from S3 over and over again. If you finally get it to work once, it suddenly doesn't work the second time.
Finally, I've just switched to a UPNP frontend for my Mythtv backend. It turns on and off in 5-10 secs, does both analog and digital audio outputs and I've never had issues with its tv outputs. I've lost some functionality, but at least it's reliable and "just works".
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
>> Getting any pc to do decent tv-out is a nightmare (Modeline Hell as he calls it).
This sounds like you're trying to use some horrible analog interconnect like S-video or something. Last time I remember modelines was on my Amiga.
Funny how connecting my PC to my TV has never ever been a problem for me. But then I have always used newer (nVidia) videocards, and have a TV that also supports DVI.
If you really want decent TV-out then upgrade to 1990's tech and get a video card and a TV that supports DVI o
Re:Linux as an HTPC frontend (Score:4, Interesting)
Parent
An easier solution (Score:4, Insightful)
As someone who's done this (for a few years now).. (Score:4, Interesting)
Disclaimer: your mileage, needs and interests may vary.
1) I liked MythTV [mythtv.org] on Ubuntu which I most recently installed using Mythbuntu [mythbuntu.org]. The Xbmc derivatives look nice, but never so compelling I actually used one (because I was already using something I liked).
2) If you plan to use it, consider not fscking with it. Having a TV on the fritz because you tweak the software constantly can sometimes be pretty annoying (maybe mostly to the *other* people).
3) Consider 2 disks. Maybe it's just me, but after a few reinstals/etc I occasionally get sloppy and screw up my partitioning.
4) Keep a hobby PC to play around (if you like to) with and let the HTPC just work TM.
5) If you have a (non-geek) wife, consider not going the home-build route and using a Xbox or something like (which, after 4 or so years is what I use, exclusively) the D-Link DSM-750 [dlink.com] (along with a DNLA [wikipedia.org] server like the cross-platform Twonky [twonkymedia.com]) this way you end up with a slim, attractive, wireless (803.11n), fanless, HD streaming media device that will allow you to plug your previously computer-bound content (Ogg and MKV included) directly into your HDTV (without having hassle with it).
Of all the solutions I've used this has worked the best for me. But like I said, your ymmv (and I'd be curious to hear about it).
Re: (Score:2)
I've always thought it was ooo-bun-too
Like Goo bun too, which apparently, makes me sound like a chimp ;)
Re: (Score:2)
All three 'u's are like 'oo' in 'moon'. The pronunciation of 'u' as in 'unique' is pretty much unique to English.
Check out this video of Mandela [wikipedia.org] talking about Ubuntu (the concept, not the distro). He's a Xhosa speaker, so he should know.
Re: (Score:2)
Third one down
Re: (Score:2)
Apparently slashdot has determined how fast one can think and type and then deemed any faster "too fast". I guess it keeps out the trolls, LOL!
Re:This Account Has Exceeded Its CPU Quota (Score:5, Funny)
Skipping unnecessary characters such as "b", "e", and "," can make all the difference!
Parent
Re:This Account Has Exceeded Its CPU Quota (Score:5, Informative)
It's back up for me, but here is a cached version just in case:
http://74.125.47.132/search?sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.deviceguru.com%2Fthe-boxeebox-cookbook%2F
Parent
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Here was their list of recommendations:
The solution would be to optimize your applications to use less CPU. .html documents instead of painful .php scripts will practically eliminate CPU usage.
Adding appropriate indeces to your SQL tables can often help reduce CPU.
Using static
Painful? I think someone enjoys Perl a bit too much :)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
"Inspired" by this little $100 box, I decided to make a clone that's 30x bigger and only cost me $600.
Damn, I'm impressed. That thing must be HUGE.
Where do you put it? In spare room? In a shed out back? Please, let us know.