Introduction
In this article I'm going to give a quick overview of three readily available smart set top boxes which can be used to extend the functionality of your existing TV.
The Boxee.
Something strange is happening in the world of IT and gadgets - The idea that you always must be online and logged into some service even if you're not doing anything online. The Boxee is another step in that direction. You've purchased the boxee, brought it home and now....you have to register with D-Link before you can use it. Sure you can link it to your Facebook account, and no doubt there are those who relish the idea of sharing their viewing habits with that person you met on whilst trekking in the himalayas, but it's not really for me. Obviously you need to be online to access online services but registered with the manufacturer? Anyhow, I digress.
I liked the remote, a simple idea of having a keyboard on the flip side make all that typing of network names and login details a breeze. Also this kept the "remote" side uncluttered.
I then plugged in an external hard drive and clicked to add a local data-source. The Boxee scanned the drive and lo and behold the media appear in the Library. I repeated the same process to access a windows share and away it went and scanned the directory. I'm not sure it could be much simpler. Suppport for both Linux and Windows shares are included.
Another pleasant surprise is the inclusion of AirPlay. Which, though not seamless - Two Boxee devices showing up on the iPhone, worked after the second device was selected.
The Boxee has more Apps than I knew what to do with. Many of these are for content from channels I'd never heard of. But if you look hard enough the main providers are there: YouTube, Flickr iPlayer etc.
AppleTV
I do like Apples approach to styling. Who would have though you could make a small black box stylish? Well Apple can!
Again the setup was fairly straightforward with all keyboard functions taken care of using the onscreen virtual keyboard. Once configured you're greeted with the reassuringly familiar standard Apple App's screen layout. Services like Netflix, YouTube and iPlayer work via the built in Apps. Apple have a great eye for detail, little things like the reflections of the Movies cover artwork, just make the device feel more polished than the other two.
You couldn't get a much simpler remote than the AppleTV one, but that's not a criticism, it looks great and does the job.
AirPlay worked flawlessly (as you'd expect). Well except when my iPhone decided to drop off the wireless network and switch to 3G, but I can't blame AirPlay for that.
The thing Apple doesn't do is play well with others. Or indeed play with other at all. If you want to stream media off anything other than the main providers you have to use iTunes on the device you're playing off. No support for windows sharing (SMB) or Linux (NFS), which for me was a big drawback.
WD TV Live
No problems getting the WD TV Live configured. It can be attached either using a network cable, or wirelessly. Access to content providers is in the services section where there are a wide range of Apps to provide access to the likes of YouTube and iPlayer.
One word I'd use to describe the WD TV Lives remote is "functional". It's not got the styling of the Apple remote or the ease of use of Boxee's. But it does do what it's mean to i.e. navigate round menus play, stop, rewind and fast forward media.
The WD TV Live supports reading media from locally connected storage, or on a NAS/Server. It supports NFS and SMB. Though you are unable to assign mount points to specific parts of the interface. i.e. mount you videos in the video section in the interface. For me this results in having a music folder in my videos and visa-versa.
The WD TV Lives interface just didn't seem as polished as the other two. That's not to say it doesn't look nice. In parts, especially the landing screen, it looks better than the other two. But once you get past the first screen I just felt I was using a glorified file browser. (In know I am on the other two, but you feel they at least make the effort to pretend otherwise).
Conclusion
Despite my dislike Boxee's registration requirement, I think overall I'd have to say my preference is for the Boxee, with second place going to the WD TV Live, Apple having a more polished feel, but being much more limited.
In this article I'm going to give a quick overview of three readily available smart set top boxes which can be used to extend the functionality of your existing TV.
The Boxee.
Something strange is happening in the world of IT and gadgets - The idea that you always must be online and logged into some service even if you're not doing anything online. The Boxee is another step in that direction. You've purchased the boxee, brought it home and now....you have to register with D-Link before you can use it. Sure you can link it to your Facebook account, and no doubt there are those who relish the idea of sharing their viewing habits with that person you met on whilst trekking in the himalayas, but it's not really for me. Obviously you need to be online to access online services but registered with the manufacturer? Anyhow, I digress.
I liked the remote, a simple idea of having a keyboard on the flip side make all that typing of network names and login details a breeze. Also this kept the "remote" side uncluttered.
I then plugged in an external hard drive and clicked to add a local data-source. The Boxee scanned the drive and lo and behold the media appear in the Library. I repeated the same process to access a windows share and away it went and scanned the directory. I'm not sure it could be much simpler. Suppport for both Linux and Windows shares are included.
Another pleasant surprise is the inclusion of AirPlay. Which, though not seamless - Two Boxee devices showing up on the iPhone, worked after the second device was selected.
The Boxee has more Apps than I knew what to do with. Many of these are for content from channels I'd never heard of. But if you look hard enough the main providers are there: YouTube, Flickr iPlayer etc.
AppleTV
I do like Apples approach to styling. Who would have though you could make a small black box stylish? Well Apple can!
Again the setup was fairly straightforward with all keyboard functions taken care of using the onscreen virtual keyboard. Once configured you're greeted with the reassuringly familiar standard Apple App's screen layout. Services like Netflix, YouTube and iPlayer work via the built in Apps. Apple have a great eye for detail, little things like the reflections of the Movies cover artwork, just make the device feel more polished than the other two.
You couldn't get a much simpler remote than the AppleTV one, but that's not a criticism, it looks great and does the job.
AirPlay worked flawlessly (as you'd expect). Well except when my iPhone decided to drop off the wireless network and switch to 3G, but I can't blame AirPlay for that.
The thing Apple doesn't do is play well with others. Or indeed play with other at all. If you want to stream media off anything other than the main providers you have to use iTunes on the device you're playing off. No support for windows sharing (SMB) or Linux (NFS), which for me was a big drawback.
WD TV Live
No problems getting the WD TV Live configured. It can be attached either using a network cable, or wirelessly. Access to content providers is in the services section where there are a wide range of Apps to provide access to the likes of YouTube and iPlayer.
One word I'd use to describe the WD TV Lives remote is "functional". It's not got the styling of the Apple remote or the ease of use of Boxee's. But it does do what it's mean to i.e. navigate round menus play, stop, rewind and fast forward media.
The WD TV Live supports reading media from locally connected storage, or on a NAS/Server. It supports NFS and SMB. Though you are unable to assign mount points to specific parts of the interface. i.e. mount you videos in the video section in the interface. For me this results in having a music folder in my videos and visa-versa.
The WD TV Lives interface just didn't seem as polished as the other two. That's not to say it doesn't look nice. In parts, especially the landing screen, it looks better than the other two. But once you get past the first screen I just felt I was using a glorified file browser. (In know I am on the other two, but you feel they at least make the effort to pretend otherwise).
Conclusion
Despite my dislike Boxee's registration requirement, I think overall I'd have to say my preference is for the Boxee, with second place going to the WD TV Live, Apple having a more polished feel, but being much more limited.
About the Author:
Want to find out more about Leading Smart Boxes, then visit Tim Gaskins's site on how to choose the best Online TV Equipment for your needs.
