7 Reasons Why You Should Buy The Boxee Box Over A Roku

7 Reasons to Consider a Boxee Box over a RokuBy Mark Krynsky – December 30, 2011I’ve been on the hunt to find a web enabled media streaming box to add to myhome theater. After much research I narrowed down my decision to 2 devices I feelthat are the best out there. Those devices are the Roku 2 XS, the Boxee Box. TheRoku and Boxee have a set of common features between them so I wanted tothoroughly test both to determine which was the one I’d like to keep. The Roku is acheaper and simpler device to setup and use, so in my comparison I decided tofocus on the distinct features that the Boxee box offered to see if it was a betterchoice for me. Below I’ve identified the unique features Boxee offers. Page 1 of 4

1. You can stream your own videos, music, and photos on it I feel that thisfeature is a must for any home theater today. We have all now amassed personalcollections of photos, music, and home videos. Some of you may have setup otherboxes you already have such as an Xbox 360 or PS3 for streaming these files. Iwas streaming using my PS3 and the PS3 Media Server. But as you may havefound, this method isn’t ideal. The Boxee was built for sharing your own mediafrom its inception. They also offer you several different ways to get the contentfrom external sources to it. I’m using the built in SMB sharing to access the filesfrom my NAS. It’s nice not having to have a program running on a computer thatneeds to be on to share content. So while there isn’t a native way to do this on theRoku, if you’re willing to hack a bit there are several third party apps (privatechannels) to do this. Probably one of the best options is Plex which is also based onthe same XBMC software that powers the Boxee Box.2. The remote has a keyboard I feel this is a very important feature that shouldn’tbe underestimated when considering a streaming box. I have experienced thefrustration of the single letter hunt and peck process of virtual keyboards onenough systems to know that I don’t want to continue wasting time using thatprocess in the future. You will need to type words more often than you think onthese boxes. Whether you are logging into a service, or trying to type in searchwords for a movie you want to find on Netflix, or if you need to type in the url of awebsite into the browser. You will need a keyboard to do this without losing yourhair. And speaking of browsers…3. It has a web browser So you have a box connected to the internet. Might aswell offer the ability to browse the web too right? Well with a Boxee Box you cando this and with the keyboard on the remote you can rest assured that it won’t bean awful experience like it is on other devices without one.4. You can bookmark videos on the web to watch on it Boxee offers abookmarklet for your browser that provides a feature called “watch later” whichallows you to be on any web page and when you click on the bookmarklet it willadd any videos on the page to a view later area of the Boxee box to watch nexttime you fire it up on your couch. These videos can also be accessed via the iPadapp. Wait what? They have an iPad app?5. They offer a full featured iPad app add-on for free There’s an iPad app thatprovides access to some of Boxee’s features. This includes the “watch later” videosyou bookmark functionality I mentioned above as well as accessing your personalmovies, photos, and music. Another feature offered here (and also on the Boxee Page 2 of 4

Box) is the ability to see all the videos shared by your friends on Facebook,Twitter, and Tumblr. You can also start watching something on the iPad and easilyresume where you left off on the Boxee Box or vice versa.6. You can send video to your Boxee Box from an iOS device using AirPlayThis is an experimental feature and I’ve had some mixed results but it’s prettycool. I’ve successfully sent videos from apps that support AirPlay to the Boxee boxand this is a great feature that I hope improves over time. I also am not sure ifthey’ll support the mirroring function that came with iOS to send content to a TVbut that would be great too.7. You can watch live broadcast TV Boxee just announced their LiveTV $49add-on which adds the ability to watch local broadcast stations (like ABC, CBS,FOX, NBC) for free. This feature will go a long way to attract cord-cutters whoseprimary concern for eliminating their cable subscriptions is the loss of being ableto watch live news and sports programming.There is one major feature on the Roku that the Boxee doesn’t have. The Roku 2XS comes with a remote that includes a gyro built-in accelerometer for gaming.Included with Roku is the ever popular Angry Birds. It was lots of fun to kill thepiggy’s on my big screen. Roku also aims to bring many more games to utilize thisremote. So if this is appealing to you it may be something to sway you into thedirection of a Roku.So there you have it. A little deeper dive into the unique features of these devices.One thing to keep in mind when comparing them is that the Boxee Box doesrequire a little more work to setup and access all of these features. The Roku isalmost half the price so you need to determine whether these features offer enoughvalue for you. Also, If your household has children or slightly less tech savvyusers, the Roku may still be a better choice. Page 3 of 4

Click On The Image Below To Get Your Boxee Box or The RokuClick Here to Get the Boxee Box Click Here to Get the Roku Page 4 of 4

7 Reasons Why You Should Buy The Boxee Box Over A Roku

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