Maybe the title of this new Technologizer series is unfair. I don’t despise Comcast, the company who I’ve been paying for cable TV service for the past six months. (Until then, at my old pad, I was a DirecTV man.) But I don’t love it, either–especially the part about paying it a large amount of money each month when I watch maybe .000001% of what it offers.
And oh, did I mention the remote control that came with my Comcast high-def box? Worst piece of technology I use regularly–every time I pick it up, my blood begins to boil a little.
Anyhow, with the wealth of TV now streaming over the Internet courtesy of services such as Hulu, it doesn’t take that much imagination to see the day coming shortly when the Internet will be an extremely satisfying substitute for cable or satellite, especially once you figure out how to get Internet TV on a TV set, without a PC in the equation. So why not jump the gun a tiny bit and try it right now, I figured?
Enter this series of articles, in which I’ll write about the experience of using Internet TV as a Comcast substitute. Step one was to pick out the hardware I’d need, wire it up, and attempt to make it all work together. I started with…
A 19-inch 720p Toshiba LCD TV. With a built-in DVD player. (DVDs remain a pretty darn handy way to consume entertainment–if they’d never existed and came along in 2009, I’d be impressed…)
An Apple TV. There are a bunch of boxes that bring Internet video into the living room in one intriguing way or another. I decided on trying this with an Apple TV in part because I mostly use iTunes to wrangle media, and Apple TV is essentially iTunes-in-a-box-that-connects-to-your TV. Between the iTunes Store’s for-pay movies and TV shows and its bevy of free podcasts, I’d also have access to a wealth of programming. But there was another reason I chose Apple TV. Which is…
Boxee. Which is a nifty piece of software, currently in closed alpha test, for OS X and Linux that’s a sort of open media center, letting you watch stuff in all sorts of formats via a remote control. Boxee also lets you stream TV and movies from Hulu, Joost, and other video sites, providing access to a fair amount of the programming I might otherwise be watching on cable. And with a little bit of hacking it works on an Apple TV (which is really a cheap Mac-in-disguise that’s dedicated to TV watching).
I’ve set my hardware up as a second TV (in my bedroom, if you must know). Full disclosure: My 42-inch 1080p HDTV, Comcast box, and various other fancy hardware remains connected and available down in my living room.
So how easy was my gear to set up? The Toshiba set and Apple TV were a cakewalk to connect (via HDMI cable) and get up and running. (Although the Apple TV occasionally can’t find my wireless router for a few seconds–I’m not sure if that’s due to coverage glitches or some other hobgoblin yet.) Putting Boxee on the Apple TV, however, was a tad tricky–which I knew it would be, judging from tutorials on doing the job. It involves booting up your Apple TV using a thumbdrive with a specialized copy of Linux on it; that software thenpatches your Apple TV to install Boxee and to let you launch it from the Apple TV’s main menu.
Putting the software on the thumbdrive went well. The patching seemed to go fine, too–I found Boxee in my Apple TV’s menus. But…Boxee wouldn’t launch. I got a black screen each time I tried to load it.
Turned out there’s a known bug, which I resolved (I think) by reinstalling the Boxee software in a slightly different manner. It’s working now–I just proved it by streaming Muppets in Space via Hulu. And once I’ve done a little more TV watching, I’ll continue this series. In the meantime, if you’ve dumped cable for Internet TV–on a TV, or just on a PC or Mac–I’d love to hear about your experiences…
January 16th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Hey, me too!
January 16th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Just a slight correction to your post. Boxee is available to the public now. I just signed up last weekend. Great software!
January 16th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Thanks for the update, Pytho…
January 16th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
I’ve had the ATV+Boxee (and ATV+AwkwardTV before that) since it was available. Recent updates seem to have fixed the bug you experienced where Finder can’t get control of the screen back when you exit Boxee. I sometimes have issues getting Hulu programs to stream (30 Rock and Fringe are both recent examples), but that seems to be specific episodes, not whole series.
Boxee is great, but can still use plenty of improvement in terms of stability. One feature I would love to see is ESPN360 integration. I haven’t tried to add it manually yet, but that would be the nail in the coffin for cable. I haven’t ditched RCN just yet, but probably will when I start my next out of town project for work.
If Apple builds some of these features into the next ATV update, the product will be in great position to take hold of this emerging market.
January 16th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
I have the AppleTV, with ATVFlash and Boxee. I find Boxee to be interesting but the interface is very slow. The range of content is fair, with Hulu, but not great. I couldn’t even find Extreme Makeover:Home Edition. For those I tried streaming, it was a little choppy at times. I have Comcast with 20MB burst service. I don’t know if I get throttled when I stream. In time, I think this type of service could take over from cable, but, for now, it’s not real competition.
January 16th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Get a TiVo HD XL Harry.. I ditched that stupid box a long time ago! :)
January 17th, 2009 at 3:19 am
Yup been doing this for awhile (http://techavid.com). Mac Mini connected to LCD TV; wireless handheld mouse as remote.
I video blogged a how/why to here..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-IryK4wsUM
More should follow in this tough economy. Though in the end as more do this cost of Internet will increase. Enjoy it now while it’s cheap!
January 17th, 2009 at 8:14 am
This is great, Harry; thanks. I look forward to the next article in the series.
For me, it’s more about picture quality, and the streaming options provided by the Boxee software just don’t come close enough to high-definition (which, we must agree, is more than the pixel dimensions of the picture) for me to enjoy.
What I appreciate the most from Boxee/XMBC (and also aTV Flash from Fire Core) is access to network storage and the ability to play additional video formats. Capabilities that the Apple TV lacks.
January 17th, 2009 at 8:53 am
I did this for the last three years, but switched to real IPTV a week ago when AT&T turned on Uverse service in my neighborhood. Hulu is indispensable. I also made use of abc.com, video.discovery.com and the Netflix streaming service. I wanted to try but didn’t get around to Amazon’s U3 service. A guy I work with said this site is new and streams HDTV. They claim it’s legal: http://www.graboid.com/
January 17th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Ed: I actually have an HD TiVo that has been sitting uninstalled for months–I haven’t gotten around to making the appointment for Comcast to come out and help me install it. That’s a different rant…
–Harry
January 18th, 2009 at 11:34 am
I have tried most everything and apple tv is lightyears ahead, highend audio 7.1 surround decoder,my music,vedios everything sounds better,hd looks super,photos picture show(your friends will be WOW)and then Boxee,great product,userfriendly,Hd on the web never look so good!!!tks.
May 2nd, 2009 at 6:31 pm
I just tried to install the boxee software and it did not work as well..how do you fix this by reinstalling it a different way..anyone know??
May 8th, 2009 at 3:38 am
S1QQz5 comment4 ,
July 3rd, 2009 at 6:17 pm
I believe Comcast may be blocking Boxee and would be curious if anyone else is experiencing the same. The symptom is that each time we try to get content using Boxee we lose internet connectivity and the router needs to be reset. No other programs do this, i.e. Hulu. However, as Boxee is a peer based network I believe Comcast may be playing the Bit Torrent card. Any thoughts?
We have a Mac Mini which also takes HD broadcast feeds using Elgato’s Eye TV software turning the Mini into a DVR as well. We get about 20 channels of HD TV totally free and will never look back!
November 8th, 2009 at 6:40 am
I attached an S video cable and an RCA 2 way signal splitter to my tv, the cable hangs down permanently, and when I want to watch hulu or netflix I attached my laptop which is connected to the internet wirelessly. I left click on the desktop and choose the tv as my screen. Works beautifully, the picture come through perfectly. I recently added a wireless keyboard so that I can work the computer from my couch. Most newer laptops do not have S video but match the cable to your computer output for even better results. I haven’t used it yet, but Windows 7 is supposed to make it easier to output to television.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006HVWL/ref=ox_ya_oh_product
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005T3EV/ref=ox_ya_oh_product
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001TPXP6G/ref=ox_ya_oh_product