Boxee Box firmware update still has no Netflix.

Boxee by D-Link shipped back in November claiming Netflix support. Here we are in January, 3 firmware updates later, and still no netflix support. Another partner, Vudu, was also promised and users in the USA can finally have Vudu with the latest firmware. Yes, Canadians, yet another site that is blocking us. Despite the Dlink Canadian site, showing Vudu in the screenshots, it definetely blocks Canadians.  We are still pleased with the performance that the Boxee Box offers. There is the occasional hiccup that requires a reboot, but there is alot of power in this streaming box and hopefully Netflix will come sooner then later.

Vudu from Walmart, is a video rental service, that provides Standard Definition(SD) , High Definition 720P (HD), and also High Definition 1080P (HDX) streaming, and the content appears to be very current. The gui is very nice, and offers alot of information including links to the movie trailer, movie reviews, and even allows for a 2 minute preview of the title. For first time users, Vudu offers the first rental free.  There is also an option to purchase titles and it appears most of the purchases were all SD video content. Vudu offers a premium content at a premium price.

  • Standard Definition Rental – $3.99 USD
  • High Definition Rental 720P- $4.99 USD
  • High Definition Rental 1080P – $5.99 USD
  • Purchase (SD) – $14.99

Are you in Canada and want to know how to access Vudu? Stay tuned for a how to guide coming soon. We will show you how to setup your Boxee Box to access Vudu, Pandora,  and other sites Canada is blacked out from.

About Jamie Forestell

Jamie Forestell is the Editor-in-chief and also the founder of Tek Tok Canada. His knowledge and aptitude for Technology led him to create a central website for all Canadians. His strong passion for the Technology world helps him stay abreast of leading-edge technologies and his desire to spread this information was the driving factor behind the creation of Tek Tok Canada.

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8 comments

  1. If you want to dump your cabe, my case it’s Shaw, and buy a streaming unit, what would you recommend not just for the box but for content as well.
    I’ve been reading about Boxee and Netflix but it seems for Canucks were not getting a bang for the buck.
    I’d appreciate your opinion.
    thanks
    d

  2. Hi Don, i think it is a bit premature to cancel cable tv in Canada. There is not a viable solution yet. If you happen to be able to pick up any OTA signals with an HD antenna, you can get about 20 channels in super HD quality, but are limited to those broadcasts. Then we have Apple TV, which was to include TV Rentals, but of course, not in Canada. If you load up iTunes on a computer, rentals are available but it is the following day. I am not sure about the Shaw on Demand service, but the Rogers on Demand is very limited due to “content licensing”. Boxee Box is also limited due to “content licensing”. Google TV is also limited due to “content licensing”. I could go on and on. Each player in the licensing game has their cards and they are holding on to them dearly. It would all depend on what channels you require and do your research to see which unit will pick them up. Unfortunately, none of the devices we have tested provide any reason to cancel cable tv.

    Hope I was able to help.
    Thank you for your comment Don.

  3. thanks for all your insight Jamie. I can even understand what you’re saying! We bought boxee from Future Shop around Christmas. Salesman checked the boxee sight and informed me that it did indeed have netflix so I bought it. Wrong!

    Overall, we have been 50/50 on the boxee box. We live in rural alberta and get two or three channels ota so we keep the boxee for whatever else we can obtain from it. It has some good shows, but next to nothing for movies. I am not paying Mubi’s asking rates for their “critically acclaimed” movies that nobody has ever heard of so we are stuck with NFB and Indi movies that are even worse.

    My question for you is how to get better performance from boxee? We have high speed internet around 3Mbps. All too often though the videos stop to buffer…screens freeze…show goes to commercial and never comes back…etc. It is great when it works, but it just doesn’t work all the time.

  4. I would assume you are running a wired internet connection, but if you are running wireless, running wired will definitely improve the performance. The Boxee Box does seem a bit laggy while it opens the browser windows and maximizes the screen to full size, but in terms of poor performance, I cannot say I have had those issues. I am also on a 50MB internet line offered through Rogers. The only thing I can suggest is what I used to do for streaming .mkv movie files through the Xbox 360 and it needed to transcode the content on the fly….just pause the show/file for a few minutes in the beginning, and hopefully it will build up enough of a buffer that you will not have any interruptions.

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