UPDATE: We had an issue with TVs that were set to 1080i. We fixed the issue and testing with our Early Access users. Hope to post it back up soon.

We have released a new version of the Boxee Box firmware. Your Box will update automatically within the next 24hrs or you can manually check for the update by going to Settings>System>Update. This latest Boxee Box firmware update has many bug fixes and in this case lots of work on the Boxee Browser.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth at CES to ask questions, make suggestions, sing praises, and generally give us energy on the show floor for 9 hours a day.

The change list is below, but we do have one frustrating bit to share with you that while we’ve been demoing VUDU without a hitch this week at the show, there’s still a few issues the technical team is trying to get to the bottom of. We’ll push the app out to you as soon as it’s ready and send out an email so you know the moment it goes live.

Enhancements:

• Settings to control de-interlacing and video filters configuration
• Support for language selection in subtitle/audio
• Forced subtitle automatic selection during MKV file playback
• An option to ignore the prefix in the sort order for movies/albums/artists which start with ‘The’ and ‘A’ (big one!)
• Enhancements to Browser performance
• Browser opens in lower resolution to allow easier reading of text
• Browser is zoomed into Video by default for non auto full screen websites
• Direct launch of website when defining full URL in the search bar
• Preselecting the current chapter when opening chapter selector for MKV/BluRay

Bug Fixes:

• HTTPS support for the browser
• 4:3 Videos Stretched to 16:9
• MKV Chapter Time is Displayed Incorrectly
• Audio dropouts in DTS-HD audio
• Improved WTV support
• 3gp playback errors
• Improve BluRay titles loading time
• Allow larger subtitles time offsets
• Audio re-buffering when entering commercials in TV episodes.
• Viewing “Info Menu” while watching 24hz videos cause temp reversion back 60hz
• With playlist over 999 items, track numbers overlap repeat icon in OSD
• TV Shows no longer show as watched and can’t set to watched/unwatched
• Crash at manual resolve if the user rapidly presses the menu/back button whilst the OS tries to apply details to files in a folder
• When choosing from search suggestion list -> update the search editbox
• Embedded fonts ignored on MKV playback with embedded SSA/ASS subtitles
• SSA/ASS Subtitles position and font
• Overlapping text when network settings changed
• Empty state for App Favorites appearing for empty third-party repository
• Crashing while resolving metadata for movies from UPNP
• Listview mode is not preserved when returning from an artist selection
• In certain cases video freezes when selecting play after pausing
• Playing a video and after several times of pausing and skipping the video freezes and audio continues
• Boxee remembers wrong PGS subtitle track in MKV file after leaving and then resuming playback
• All subtitles (PGS) appears as ‘unknown’ for some BluRay titles
• Crash when attempting to identify media via UPNP
• Some .mkv and .m4v files with 2.35:1 AR are playing back vertically stretched to 1.78:1
• Hang and video freezes or black screen when Pause Resume and or seeking FF/RWD during playback
• Hang on WMV Stream Seeking
• Crashed on shutdown and restarted automatically
• Scrolling in Files Browse list results in partial control of Files menu and also crash
• SMB credentials are not saved on reboot
• When deleting an item from the watch later list the focus location of the last item is not remembered
• Music tracks which are longer than an hour appears as “01:00:…” on the OSD
• Rear channels on AAC 5.1 are not played properly w/ LPCM 5.1 out
• Prompting user for credentials that are not used in accessing shares
• Can’t access network share due to Window Live on Windows 7
• large flash videos stop playback when reaching Boxee file system limit
• Reconnecting to disconnected shares disables selection in the Movies database view
• Subtitles is disabled in the playback OSD for local content
• No video only audio while playing certain m4v files
• Flash video audio drops out for long length online videos
• Disconnects from OSX SMB sources
• Occasional loss of focus on main menu
• Unidentified files in File Source with “Movies” in path name are being identified as a title called ”Movies”

From the early days of Boxee the CES Show as always been great for us. It’s a time for us to meet with partners, press and users and show off some our latest stuff. It’s also a time for us to party (but i’ll leave that for a different post…).

We already announced new device partners, Iomega which is building a Boxee-based NAS and ViewSonic which is building a Boxee-based HDTV, but these devices also need access to content, which is why we are excited to announce that we have a new partnership with CBS, Americas most watched broadcast network, and we have extended our partnership with VUDU to also include 3D titles.

CBS

We have signed an agreement with CBS that will give Boxee users the ability to purchase full episodes from CBS starting later this year. We are excited about the opportunity to work with a major network on offering premium content to Boxee users, as well as create new revenue opportunities for both sides. As part of the deal, users will have the ability to purchase hit CBS television shows both current (The New Hawaii Five-O) and old (hello MacGyver!).

VUDU + 3D

The VUDU service will soon be made available to Boxee Box users (it is already available on PC and Mac), but we have some more good news. VUDU just announced they’ll start streaming movies in 3D, which will also be available on the Boxee Box, so if you have an HDTV you will be able to enjoy the largest HD VOD library with the newest releases (as soon they come out on DVD) in the VUDU HDX format, and if you happen to have a 3D TV then you’ll be able to tap into a growing 3D movie library.

Boxee for iPad

We have been working the past few months on Boxee for iPad, and while it is not ready to launch we are giving people at the CES Show a sneak peek of the App. It enables you to access videos from your Watch Later list as well as from your Feed (stuff shared from Facebook / Twitter), and staying true to Boxee roots also enables you to  stream videos directly to the iPad from your PC/Mac (without requiring you to sync).

You can watch videos on the iPad using the new app, but it only takes one click to send that video to your D-Link/Iomega/ViewSonic Boxee device. “Ze nice,” as we say in the office.

So 2 new devices from new partners, an iPad to accompany them all (including the Boxee Box by D-Link), and some great new content on its way.  It’s going to be a big 2011 for Boxee and our users – and we’re happy to be starting the year off with a bang.

In the market for a new HD TV? Want to get one powered by Boxee? Well we’ve got some great news for you.

Today at CES ViewSonic is showing a 46″ HD TV that is powered by Boxee.

Like in the case of the D-Link and Iomega boxes the ViewSonic TV has Intel Atom CE4100 inside, which means it can deliver the ultimate Boxee experience, playback of 1080p, browser, accelerated Adobe Flash, HTML5, apps, local, Internet, etc.

The Internet is becoming a key source for video for the main stream consumer and it is reflected in the demand for a connected living room experience. People will get connected in different ways and our goal is to try and make Boxee available on a multiple categories of devices.

If you already have an HDTV and want to get connected than Boxee will be available for you on a variety of standalone boxes, but if you are in the market for a new HD TV you will soon have the option to get one based on Boxee’s software, which is perfect for people who want to reduce the number of boxes in their home theatre setup.

If you happen to be at CES this week you should stop by the ViewSonic booth (South Hall #30873) and see the TV in action.
Pricing and availability will be announced later this year.

We are happy to announce that Iomega will be bringing out a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device running the Boxee software.

Boxee is a software company (even though some people mistake us for a set-top box maker) and we would like to get our software embedded into as many devices as possible: set-top boxes such as the Boxee Box by D-Link, NAS devices such as the upcoming Iomega TV with Boxee, TVs, BluRays, Game Consoles, etc.

Iomega will be our second device partner and we hope to continue to grow the list in 2011 and beyond.

We love the idea behind a NAS device running Boxee. For people with media storage that’s running low, it’s a perfect place to expand their collections while giving them wireless / wired access to their existing collection on a TV.  The Iomega product will come with 3 different configurations: Diskless, 1TB and 2TB. If you have large HD files that are just too much for your WiFi network to handle then having them stored locally is a perfect solution.

Like the Boxee Box by D-Link  the Iomega TV with Boxee is powered by the Intel® Atom™ processor CE4100, bringing the fire power required to play 1080P HD videos, run a TV browser, play Adobe Flash 10.1 and more. Having both Boxee-based devices running the same system-on-chip is also making life simpler for us, since we can develop virtually identical firmware for both.

Iomega is a worldwide leader in storage solutions, with a variety of NAS, external hard drives, multimedia drives, and removable  storage solutions.  We are excited about the partnership and the opportunity to bring Boxee goodness to a new type of device, giving users more options for getting Boxee to their TVs.

The pricing of the Iomega TV with Boxee will be (MSRP):

• No disk – $229
• 1TB – $299
• 2TB – $349

We expect the product to be available in the first half of the year.