The second half of 2010 is being dominated by set-top boxes that will give you the ability to playback streaming, on demand video, save movies and TV shows on your device, rent for a small fee, etc.
Of course each product has different functions. We aren't here to tell you which device is better, that's for you to decide based on your needs. However, we are here to compare some of the features of two popular upcoming set-top boxes:
MSRP:
Apple TV – $99. Just under $100 is an excellent price. It's very tempting, because even average consumers can justify the price. It's much less than most set-top boxes run. Your cheapest bet next to this is a dedicated DVD player or a PlayStation 2.
For the price, you get:
- Apple TV
- Apple Remote
- Power Supply
Boxee - $199 – Boxee costs twice as much as Apple TV. $200 isn't a lot of money, but it feels like a much larger chunk of cash than the $99 that buys Apple TV. However, there are so many features packed into this box, that it may justify the price.
For the price you get:
- Boxee Box
- HDMI Cable
- Power supply
- Remote.
Content:
Well, Glee isn't a favorite around iSmashPhone, but we won't deny that it has a huge fanbase
Apple TV – The iTunes library is constantly growing, as is the amount of content available on Netflix streaming. Some of the biggest advantages of Apple TV come from the deals that the company was able to work out with movie studios. 99-cent rentals of TV shows, ad-free is a great start.
Movies will be priced a bit higher, $3.99 for a rental, but the advantage is the delivery time. These movies will be available the day that they land on DVD and Blu-Ray. Owners of other devices running on iOS will also appreciate the integration between their various gadgets. Keep in mind that Apple TV seems to run on iOS, so Flash content is probably out of the question.
Boxee - Boxee is not nearly as limited as Apple's box, and depending on who you are, that can be the factor that makes one better over the other. Also worth noting is that Boxee delvers a lot of free content. Want Hulu on your TV? Here it is! Yes, that content is ad-supported, but it's all worth the ability to watch what you want when you want it. If it lets us view content from SouthParkStudios.com, we're in.
Note that Boxee also plays all DRM free content. This means any web video, music and all other media from the internet. That's a lot of content. Even if it just seems like "amateur hour."
Remotes:
Apple TV - Apple TV has a more traditional remote with the up and down buttons, and simple navigation. The play and pause buttons are there, a menu button and not much else. It's apparent that some of the design comes from the iPod line, and Apple's philosophy of simplicity in their devices. Remember that you can also download the Remote App, which will let you control your Apple TV over wifi with an iDevice.
Boxee - This remote is very cool. One side of the remote goes for the simple design elements similar to what one would find on Apple TV. A button for navigation, a button for play/pause and what looks to be a menu button.
Flip the remote around….
Full QWERTY keyboard. This comes in handy for searches. Anyone with the older model Apple TV knows how much of a pain it is to do a search using the packed-in remote.
Size -
Apple TV – Let's face it, the Apple TV is kind of cute. It's little, and weighs only half a pound. It won't take up much room no matter where you put it, because it's just short of four inches wide and four inches deep with a height of just under an inch. The thing is barely noticeable wherever you put it.
Boxee – Well Boxee is kind of a big boy compared to the new Apple TV. The set-top box isn't very much bigger than Apple TV:
Height: 4.5 inches
Width: 4.5 inches
Depth: 4.6 inches
Weight: 2.5 pounds
However, it's the weight and height. No doubt there is a lot going on inside Boxee, it has a lot more in the way of functionality. It still doesn't weigh nearly as much as most devices that sit alongside your TV set, but it's doesn't fit in your pocket either. (Then one could argue you don't NEED to carry either of these devices around in your pocket, in which case we would say, "You are right.")
Ports/Specs:
Apple TV – The following comes directly from Apple
- Processor A4 Chip.
- HDMI
- Optical Audio
- 10/100BASE-T Ehternet
- Built-in IR Receiver
- Micro USB
Wireless
- 802.11n Wi-Fi (a/b/g compatible)
– 2.4GHz and 5GHz
Video formats
Audio Formats
Photo Formats
Boxee - The following information is from Amazon's product description
Product Specs
Note: Neither device has internal storage, but Boxee's two USB ports allow for external storage. It doesn't seem that there is a way to connect such devices to Apple's mini-USB port. But both devices should get very interesting as soon as the modders get a crack at them.
The Verdict:
There you have it, tech specs for each of the two set-top boxes. Know that this isn't the definitive guide to what you should buy. The devices aren't even shipping yet. This is more of a spec sheet that tells you what comes with each. Your best bet is to hold off on a pre-order, unless you are absolutely positive you want to choose one over the other.
Have a look at the boxes after they launch. See which fits your needs. As we mentioned before, we are sure there will be hacks and mods for these devices sometime after launch. That's when things should become very interesting.
Another simple solution if you don't have Apple TV is to grab some of those iPod/iPad to component cables for about $50 bucks. If you already own the iDevice, may be a decent way to do it.
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“Your cheapest bet next to this is a dedicated DVD player or a PlayStation 2.”
Don’t forget about the Roku boxes. Cheaper than either of these and tons of content.
I am a big fan of Divx Cds, I play them on Divx capable DVD player.
Boxee’s spec page is as bloated as its size; it would have been nice if you had weeded out the fluff (ICMP support – obviously any networked device is going to include that). It just makes your statement that the boxee device packs more features seem like a reach.
Hulu!!!!
Apple is not going there, I can only hope there will be a hack, as I pre ordered mine. To break the comcast chains Hulu is a must!!
i am personally preferred Boxee which is easy to use. if you buy a AppleTV, you have to deal with the iTunes and DRM. Usually i have to convert my iTunes video(mostly m4v) to MP4 for playing back on my MP4 player ,which takes time and effort.
Great article! Definitely going for the Boxee box. DLink is reliable hardware, though their modems have been known to be Mac unfriendly. Good to hear the Boxee box is Mac friendly. Love the idea of wireless streaming on the local network, which your article didn’t mention, but I figured it out on the Boxee site. Also, standard sized USB 2.0 port? Way better than a micro-USB port.
I’ve used Boxee software, and though I didn’t like it on my Mac running with only 2 GB of memory, I’m sure that using hardware designed for its purpose will be much smoother running.
Apple has some sexy stuff, and I like Macs and iPhones a lot, but Apple TV and iTunes are quite limited in content they can handle. I don’t want to have to convert movies to mp4 to stream on my local network. Boxee sounds like the one for the job.
Boxee wins my vote 100%. Thanks for this article; you’ve helped me out in my shopping for a new media box. The WD HD Media Player just isn’t doing it for me…
I own both of these products and I am going to say that the Boxee is better hands down, no comparison needed. It’s controler is an A while apple is sensitive and annoying and I really hate using a remote to joystick to a letter and hitting enter then going to the next letter. Setting up Appl was time consuming and tedious. Boxee remote, genius, takes me seconds to search.
Apple, go ahead and rent a movie, then wait hours for it to download. Your best bet it to do it on your computer, have dinner then come back and stream it to you box… if you dont have play around with it to get it going. I find half the time I have to re set up something with apple to get it to work.
Boxee works off my computer and the files I have there. Downloads are just as long but not rented (I have yet to rent a movie from either box) But any new movie I get stream nice and easy to the box. I never have to reset up any thing. I turn it on and its works….
Apple will not play your files unless they are from ITunes and if you comvert your files to play on apple then you can no longer play them on conventional means, unless you copy them first… thats a lot of hard drive space though…
Just my two cents.
AirVideo server and iPad or iPhone will allow streaming of any file format.
Yes but acording to the websight and most of the forums I have gone to this does not apply to Apple TV just the Ipad and phone.
You can AirPlay from iPad/iPhone to apple tv, sorry if I was not clear.
Read more here on the recommended set-up
http://ismashphone.com/2011/07/ultimate-media-center-guide-ios-apple-tv-mac-os-and-windows.html
This is what I have and it works for me.
That’s a round about way of doing it… Im not sure if I follow so correct me if I am wrong.
You stream to your Idevice (Phone or pad) then use that device to stream to the Apple TV. And this will stream none DRM protected videos… cause my Apple TV will not play my files unless they are DRM protected.
And also just to note LG has the smart TV which boast its own networking and file sharing and browsing capabilities..
http://www.lg.com/ca_en/tv-audio-video/discoverlgtvs/smarttv/index.jsp