Boxee Box Quick Review

I walked into my local Best Buy, asked if they had any stock of the new Boxee Box, and it took them a few minutes to realize what i was looking for.  Then it took another 5 minutes for them to locate the Boxee Box in the store. Quite a different experience then when I got my 2nd gen Apple TV.  I didn’t let that get me down though. Upon hooking up the unit, I was prompted to update to the latest version which was a very quick process. After entering in my local sources for Movies and TvShows, I was presented with a list of unidentified files. After identifying just a single episode of an entire series, Boxee was able to identify the rest of the episodes automatically.

Playback Quality – Very, very impressed. I have been able to rewind, fast-forward, jump to time, you name it, and experienced no freezing or audio sync issues. (After my Markus 800 experience, This is very important test). I have been able to play xvid, mkv, ts, with no problems what-so-ever.

Remote Control – Where do I start. The presentation is great, however I find myself fumbling with the remote as it is easy to be holding upside down and pressing incorrect buttons. Also the keys are not backlit so using the remote in the dark has not been a great experience. In terms of range, the remote is great. I was able to enter keystrokes from 2 stories below the base with no problem.

Overall, Very satisified, and this may just replace my Xtreamer as my primary streaming device.

Stay tuned for full review tomorrow! Back to the Boxee!