It’s about that time again… time to start getting ready for SxSW and our 2nd Annual Road Trip to Austin with stops/meetups at Washington DC, Memphis and Dallas.
Photo Licensed under Creative Commons from Slideshow Bruce
Besides doing a meetup in each one of these cities we’d like to meet and talk with users, students, and developers. Keeping with the tradition of a relaxed backyard party for a few hundred people… we’ll be throwing a kegger in Austin with great BBQ again – start getting your stupid human tricks ready : )
With this in mind, we need some help from Boxee fans out there. Please leave a comment if you can help with any of the items below:
Venue for meetup in each city – if you live in Washington DC, Memphis or Dallas and have an idea for a venue (bar, big office, club, university) that can host ~ 100 people
A fixer – in each of these cities would be great if we would have a local “fixer” that can help secure the venue, arrange for drinks, food, sound system and in general be able to hustle.
Great stops along the way – any good ideas for must-stop spots along on our way. this is our current drive plan: http://b0x.ee/zzh3FE.
Bail agent – as a cab driver in vegas once told me “when in a new town, it’s always good to have a phone number for a good bail agent”
On the morning of March 5th we will pick up a GMC Yukon (or something similar Hertz tells us) and get going. We will drive it like a rental, play loud music, moon fellow travelers, eat greasy food, stay in cheap motels. We’ll also be giving out T-shirts, Boxee Boxes by D-Link, Boxee Live TV along the way.
Currently our schedule looks like this (click on a Meetup to RSVP):
March 9-12th (Fri-Sat) – Drink. Party. Meet with people. Dance.
March 11th (Sun) – The 2nd Annual Boxee SxSW Kegger (1p – 6pm)
If you were there last year you know it was a good time. We’re going to try and keep the same easy going atmosphere this year so you can just come out and meet good people, have some food, and have a few drinks. We’ll send out more updates as the date gets closer.
March 12th (Mon) – Fly back to NYC. Start cleansing process.
With the addition of Live TV, the Boxee Box holds the distinction of being the only mainstream set top box that blends both over the air (OTA) broadcast TV with Internet content (over the top or OTT). We believe the OTT+OTA combo is the best way to get the most entertainment while paying only for the stuff you want to watch.
If you missed our earlier posts on Live TV / Cutting the Cord, and our Facebook integration – the gist goes something like this: the way we want to watch video has drastically changed over the last 10 years. We want to devour seasons all at once. We want to watch the same video on our TV, tablet, phone, and treadmill. We want to be able to watch in our homes, on an airplane, in our offices, and wherever else we might end up. We want to bookmark things for later. We want mainstream shows along with stuff from the web like TED, WSJ, and FunnyOrDie.
The web has given us this freedom. Cable TV has not. The web has made it easy and affordable to find what you’re looking for and enjoy it wherever you’d like. Meanwhile cable’s pushing the same boring interface and charging you even more for it ($75 / month on average) while you’re really only watching 14% of the channels you’re paying for. There’s a percentage of the population that’s realized this and decided to cut the cord and get rid of cable.
Boxee Live TV is a perfect alternative to cable for them.
Live TV Features
Way better than just plugging the included antenna into the back of your TV, Boxee Live TV kicks it up a notch with:
Social Channel Listings – We’ll show you what’s on, what your friends are watching, and how many people total are watching a show as you flip through channels.
Sharing – Share the traditional Boxee way on Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr AND you can now passively share to Facebook using our Live TV Timeline App – turn sharing on and whatever you’re tuned into will post to your Facebook ticker automatically. It’s easy to switch off too so your friends don’t need to know about your addiction to HSN.
Edit Channels - Quickly hide channels from your lineup that don’t speak your language or have pissed you off with bad programming decisions like taking Arrested Development off the air. Easily rename WNDHCTA 7.2 to NBC.
All-In-One Interface – done watching a show on broadcast, easily jump into more episodes from the web. It’s the best of both worlds all on the same remote.
While Live TV does not currently have DVR functionality, we’ve heard your feedback and are examining if we could provide it. We’ll make an announcement later this year about DVR support if we can make it happen.
We’ll stagger this release over the next 72 hours like we’ve done in the past so you might not get the update until later this week. Want it right away, check out these instructions in the forums on how to get it.
You can read the full release notes here.
Enjoy and let us know what you think of the new UI after you’ve played with it!
Today at CES, we’re announcing a new Facebook app to extend Live TV beyond your living room and onto your Facebook Timeline.
Boxee was built from the ground up to allow you to share with friends and receive video recommendations from them. With a Boxee Box & Live TV there’s nearly an infinite amount of video to watch. To help you sift through it all, we’re taking social one step further.
Boxee is one of the first TV apps to let you share what you’re watching on your Timeline and to help you sort through what’s on. The new TV app for Facebook Timeline will make it easy to discover new video with friends and share the experience with them. Let me show you what we’re talking about.
I’ve got Boxee Live TV tuned into the Parks and Recreation. After 2 minutes of watching, Boxee can post this to Facebook if I’ve given permission to do so and it appears like this, first in ticker, then my timeline, and finally in aggregate.
If friends click on the link, they’re taken to a brand new landing page with more information about the show including the episode and season information. In this way, I can “check into” a show.
These features are opt-in of course, so people will never know what you’re watching, unless you really want them to.
You can always edit your settings from your Application Settings Page on Facebook, or can remove specific activity directly from timeline or from your personal Activity Log on Facebook. And this new Timeline app will allow us to display what friends are watching in Live TV channel listings like we’ve talked about in previous Live TV posts.For those who have pre-ordered we’re just a few weeks away from shipping yours out(targeting the 3rd week of January). If you want to pre-order to ensure that you’re one of the first to check out the new features, you can get it here.
Version 1.5 of Boxee is currently being tested by Boxee Box Early Access users and will soon be available in Beta. We plan to release 1.5 together with Live TV later in January. Here’s some of the new features you can look forward to on the Boxee Box…
Home Screen
We’ve added links to the standard menu to launch the Browser and Live TV (once you’ve attached the dongle). We also gave the featured section a small facelift.
Menu
The Menu is now more accessible, popping up as an overlay that lets you quickly navigate between different sections or search. we also optimized search to minimize the number of clicks.
Movies & TV Shows
We updated the layout of Movies and TV Shows for easier navigation by Genre and Source as well as providing quick access to trailers.
There is also a new Movie details screen with extended synopsis and cast & crew information. For TV Shows it is now much easier to jump between seasons and see which episodes you already watched.
Watch Later & Friends
We expanded the thumbnails in Watch Later & Friends sections and now let you filter between clips, TV Shows and Movies.
PC Update
As many of you know we have been working on new versions for PC, Mac and Ubuntu. Today we are releasing a version of 1.5 for these platforms.
You can find this new version of Boxee for Mac, Windows, and Linux below:
Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7
Mac OS X 10.6+ (Intel only)
Ubuntu 11.10 (32 bit)
As a platform, we have been able to bring Boxee for Computers to about 85% of the Boxee Box in terms of features and functionality. Due to extensive DRM and certification requirements premium apps will not be available on the downloadable version of Boxee, most notably Netflix, VUDU, and Pandora (click here for a full list).
However, if you are using Boxee for file playback you should be pleasantly surprised with better file support, a new on screen display, better networking support, and a host of other features you can read about here.
Growing Past the PC
This 1.5 release will be the last version of Boxee for PC/Mac/Ubuntu. It will be available on Boxee.tv through the end of January.
We believe the future of TV will be driven by devices such as the Boxee Box, Connected TVs / Blu-Rays and 2nd screen devices such as tablets and phones. While there are still many users who have computers connected to their TVs, we believe this use case is likely to decline as users find better alternatives. People will continue to watch a lot of video on their computer, but it is more likely to be a laptop than a home-theater PC and probably through a browser rather than downloaded software.
To our computer users… to those who have come out to our NYC and SF meetups, talked with us at Engadget, GDGT, and Giz Gallery events, or enjoyed Austin BBQ with us during SxSW, or simply messaged with us on Facebook, Twitter, and our forums… thank you for all your support – we would not be where we are today without you. But we can’t stay here.
We are excited about the upcoming release of Boxee Live TV and our new product roadmap for 2012. If you are a current Boxee user on a computer we hope that you will enjoy 1.5 and maybe when you are ready to retire that good ol’ HTPC/Mac Mini you will decide to get a Boxee Box.
The Boxee crew has been hard at work polishing up Boxee Live TV for the release next month. But for now, we’re taking a bit of time to see our families and celebrate whichever holidays we choose. So from our Boxee family to yours, we wish you all a great and happy holiday, and happy New Year.
After 3 vigorous rounds of voting, and lobbying that carried on late into Friday night. We have our clear winners of the Boxee Sticker Design contest. In first place is Josh McGee who made the beast of a Cut the Cord propaganda poster posted above.
Coming in a close second was Danica’s Boxee Pop. With the amount of soda this office churns through it was inevitable that this awesome image would find a place near and dear to our hearts.
Third Place goes to the Boxee pancake stack made by Kyle Kendrick, which will go well with the Boxee sandwich that’s already on the back of most of our laptops.
Two honorable mentions that we have to shout out here is the ridiculously awesome Boxee cat, drawn by an 11 year old user who’s going to make a killer graphic designer some day:
And this one submitted by a user outside the US that was a personal favorite of a few members of the team.
Thanks so much to everyone who submitted designs. We had a ton of fun seeing what all of our users came up with. Hopefully we’ll be doing a few more contests like this in the not too distant future. Check out our Facebook page to see more of the entries, let us know which one’s your favorite!
For the past month, we at Boxee have been subjecting ourselves to “public humiliation and private doubt” by growing what are, no-doubt, ridiculous-looking Mustaches, all to help kids in need. It’s the same premise as getting pledges to run a marathon. A marathon without all the discipline, physical exertion, cramping, or dehydration.
Call it a facial hair marathon, with awkward stares at our gym in Chelsea, waning “understanding” from our significant others, and awkward looks from Boxee partners. Nevertheless we maintain our big happy family here at Boxee.
In order to justify this endeavor WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT. We are asking you to “sponsor” our Mustaches. By making a contribution of any size to DonorsChoose.org. This donation will go directly to students in high-need public school classrooms.
Consider donating now on our fundraising page.
Donate in the next 24 hours, and use the code M4KNYC to have your donation matched by the Board of Director’s at Donor’s Choose, so every dollar you give will mean $2 goes to a great and worthy cause.
Our mustaches thank you in advance for all of your support,
Andrew, Avner, Tom, Vulkan, Alon, Will, and Gervis, and the rest of Team Boxee
Last week we announced that Live TV was coming to Boxee in January. Today, the SlingPlayer app that was teased earlier this year arrives, bringing live and recorded content from your SlingBox to any TV with a Boxee Box connected. For those who aren’t ready to cut the cord, we still want to help you shave your cable bill by never having to pay for the same content over and over. Whether you’re 3 rooms from your main cable box at home, 3 states away at college, or 3 continents away from your home working, a Slingbox will let you watch your home tv from anywhere with an Internet connection. Hook up a Boxee Box in one of those locations, and not only will you get all of the top original and on demand programming from the web, but a defacto second cable box with no monthly fees.
With the SlingPlayer app, Sling Solo or Pro-HD owners will be able to use the Boxee Box to:
Control their cable box, satellite receiver, DVR, or DVD player from anywhere in the world
Program their DVR and access DVR content
Stream programming in 1080i to Boxee.
We think it’s a pretty killer combination. Whether you’re a parent looking for a present for your college student (free cable from home), or just looking to equip a second room or vacation house with more entertainment, then Boxee + Sling are a great way to go.
If you want to know more about Sling and how the SlingBox works, head on over to their site.
We are working on a new add-on to the Boxee Box that will come out in January. It is a Live TV dongle that lets you connect an antenna to your Box to watch channels like ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC in HD with no monthly fee. You can pre-order the Live TV stick for $49.
If you are like us then the way you watch TV has changed. The stuff on Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Vudu, Vimeo keeps getting better and you can watch it everywhere. You end up watching less traditional TV, but continually pay more for it, which doesn’t make much sense.
The problem with canceling your cable subscription and relying just on the Internet has been the lack of live sports, local news, special events and live TV shows (think Dancing with the Stars). But these things are all available on broadcast TV channels like ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC for free, over the air in HD. With Boxee Live TV you can watch them all on your Boxee Box (and still get all the regular Boxee stuff you love to watch too).
Last year, 89 of the top 100 shows were on broadcast networks – they remain the most popular channels on cable. The Superbowl, the World Series, the Oscars, the Grammys, presidential debates and addresses, the Olympics… they’re all on broadcast. Yes, there are hundreds of cable channels, but make a list of the stuff you actually watch. You will probably find that most are on broadcast and the rest are available on Vudu/Netflix/Network sites.
What is left on your list? Is it really worth $85 a month?
We believe the combination of Netflix/Vudu/Vimeo/TED/etc. with over-the-air channels delivers a much better experience for less money.
Cable companies keep telling the press and investors that “cord cutting” is not real, and that if it exists then it’s limited to people who can no longer afford cable. We are sure they are conducting objective and unbiased research, but we are meeting more and more “cord never getters” and “cord cutters” every day. They are more than just people tightening their belts in tough economic times, these are people who have left cable TV behind because it does not fit their lifestyle. They are part of a changing culture, with a changing expectation of how they watch the shows they love.
The cord cutters we talk to have changed the way they watch “TV”. They don’t sit in front of it and channel surf hoping to land on something to watch, they don’t know when shows air, they sometimes don’t even know what channel shows are on. They love “TV”, but not necessarily on an actual TV. The only time they tune into a channel is to watch something live.
The cable companies’ efforts to adapt are more focused on protecting a decades-old business model than delivering a great experience to their customers. The cable companies think you should have no choice but to accept:
-high (and constantly rising) prices,
-a bad user experience on old set-top boxes,
-signing up for a $79 package but getting billed $104.26,
-taking off work to wait for hours for an installation guy who shows up late,
-pushing you to get triple-play including phone service (you don’t want) to get a lower price, only to see your bill double after 6 months,
-letting you sign up on their website, but making you call them to cancel,
-making you physically return the set-top box during working hours in a remote part of town.
There is a better way for you to get TV… and we think Boxee with Live TV can deliver that promise. We want Boxee to be your alternative to Cable TV.
It will start shipping in January, but you can pre-order it today. Here are a few screenshots of the experience.
Will Boxee Live TV be available outside the US? To begin with, Boxee Live TV will be available in US & Canada only. We will update once we have more information for international users.
Does Boxee Live TV have a DVR? No. The focus of Boxee Live TV is well… Live TV… having said that if we get enough users asking for DVR then we could take advantage of that other USB input on the back of the box and let a user connect a drive for recordings. Plus we still have all the shows the web has to offer.
Will it work with Boxee’s on PC/Mac? No. It will only work with the Boxee Box. An updated Mac/PC version of Boxee is in the works, but it will not include support for Boxee Live TV.
Will the Boxee Box support other TV tuners? Not at this time.
Will it connect to my cable box? It will support unencrypted cable channels (clearQAM), so if you get basic cable channels from your cable provider you will be able to connect the coax cable coming out from the wall to Boxee Live TV.
How can I know what channels I’ll get? We will update our website once the product launches to include an easy way for you to see which channels are available in your area. In the meantime, visit AntennaWeb.org. Click “Choose an Antenna”, input your zip code, hit continue, and you’ll see channel listings in your area.
How is this different from Google TV’s support for TV? Google TV’s set top box requires you to connect it to a cable/satellite set-top box.
It does not have a TV tuner built in.
No reception? No problem! If you don’t have reception in your area you may not be ready to cut the cord, but you may be able to give it a serious shave. Call your cable company and ask for Basic Cable. That would be a service level that includes the local ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC stations (and some others) and should cost you between $10-$20 depending on who is your cable provider. You will not need a set-top box. You just take the coaxial cable and connect it to the Boxee Live TV dongle and you should get the basic channels with no reception issues.
Been listening to this track while writing the post. Thought it was appropriate…
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