Boxee Blog » 2010

Boxee Gets a Movie Library, Actually A Few Of Them

Since the launch of the Boxee Beta in January, users been vocal about their love of the TV Show Library – one place to search and browse full-length TV Shows from major networks across the web. For episodic content online, we think it’s the best experience you’ll find.

Today we’re adding the foundations of a new Movie Library to complement the TV Show Library. This new Movie Library includes thousands of films from four great launch partners: EZTakes, Indie Movies Online, MUBI* and Openfilm. Most of these movies are available for free (supported by ads). Explore each service’s catalogue using the ‘filter by provider’ option on the Movie Library sidebar.

While it’s still a little rough around the edges, here’s a quick peek at what you’ll find from each provider:

EZTakes

No more searching high and low for art house, independent, classic and cult films, because EZTakes specializes in bringing hard-to-find movies to you. The EZTakes library contains nearly a thousand ad-supported titles ripe for the picking that you can watch on Boxee or virtually any computer, smart phone or portable video player.

IndieMoviesOnline

Since June 2009, IndieMoviesOnline has been streaming high quality independent films, documentaries, and shorts. Known for its fierce movie reviews and behind-the-scenes editorials of all the top box-office hits (and flops), IndieMoviesOnline delivers films from both mainstream talent and hot up-and-comers. With free access anywhere on the globe to hundreds of movies, there’s no excuse not to soak up these great indie flicks.

MUBI*

MUBI is your online cinema, anytime, anywhere. MUBI will give you the latest buzz from Cannes or a restored masterpiece personally chosen by Martin Scorsese (he’s a member, too!). A social network that can let you find a visual gem that will definitely not be released in the local multiplex, and allows you to find a girl in Tokyo who loves Kubrick (she actually exists, her name is Yuko and she’s into Wong Kar-Wai too…).
*NB: to access MUBI on Boxee, you’ll need to pair your account first.

OpenFilm

Openfilm.com is a fast-growing online community where filmmakers and film lovers around the globe discover and distribute independent film. Through its unique technology, live online chats, social network, extensive film festival database, unique member channels, and Advisory Board, which includes James Caan, Robert Duvall, Mark Rydell and Scott Caan, Openfilm unites the best elements of the film industry in one place.

The Movie Library makes it easy to find, watch, or queue movies you like. Moving forward, it will include movies from additional online movie services and directly from studios, so while the movie selection will grow, the experience and ease of discovery will remain the same.

So just to recap:

Boxee now has a movie library
it has thousands of movies from multiple sources
the movie library has titles available for users around the globe
we’re still making tweaks (images, film count, etc.)
we’ll be adding more movies and services soon.

As always, this latest version of the Boxee Beta also includes many bug fixes (more than 100 in this latest build). Versions for Mac, Windows, and Linux are available now while the AppleTV version will be updated next week (we’re getting to it as quickly as we can!).

Download the latest version here for free.

Sincerely,
Andrew & Team Boxee

August 25, 2010 at 11:27 am

Comments (65)

The News Comes to Boxee

by Melody

Don’t you hate it when you’re with a group of friends who are debating politics and business, and you have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about? You just smile and nod (or frown and nod, depending on the subject matter), waiting for the right moment to jump in and change the subject to something with a little less Condi and a little more Snooki. Well, you’ll never have to be left out of those conversations again because Boxee’s full of newsy goodness.

Boxee’s arsenal of news apps features free on-demand videos from top-tier sources like The Washington Post, CNN, The Associated Press, and The Onion, ensuring you’re up to date on the latest news (even if it’s fake). The Washington Post gives you your fill of national politics, while the Associated Press shows you top stories from across the globe. You can also tune into CNN to watch their whole lineup of on-demand web videos. If, after all that, the real world’s getting you down, then tune into The Onion for a nice, hearty chuckle. In fact, The Daily Show and Colbert Report in Boxee’s TV Show Library will also do the trick.

Today, we’re introducing Livestation to the bunch. Livestation delivers live news from BBC, Al-Jazeera, France 24, and Frontline, among other international news channels. The best part of Livestation is that there’s something for everyone, no matter where you are on the globe; just click a channel and watch without fear of being geolocked out. Honestly, I’m thrilled to finally be able to watch BBC Persian over the web instead of with my previous set-up, which was anything but ideal (let’s just say it involved a Pringles can, a taped up composite cable wayyyy past its prime, a screechy satellite dish passed on from a cousin’s cousin’s friend of a friend, and my darling grandmother yelling at the newscasters). The Livestation app and its free channels are available on all versions of Boxee, but its premium channels are only open to Mac and Linux users for now (don’t worry, Windows, we’re opening up Livestation’s premium content to you soon). Search for “live tv news” in the App Library to find the Livestation app on Boxee.

The news on Boxee means watching the stories you choose from the sources you want, the same way you watch everything else on Boxee: free, web-sourced, and kinda sexy. To start educating yourself on world happenings, tune into the news on Boxee today. After five minutes of watching, you’ll be the one driving those fancypants political and scientifical conversations (and before you know it, you’ll be making up words).

August 16, 2010 at 1:57 pm

Comments (12)