...just a regular USB stick drive, at least 1GB, they're really inexpensive but not all of them will work... don't ask me why, I created the Patchstick last night but it wouldn't boot on the ATV... gonna try again tonight using a different USB stick. I also tried to get Boxee account and got the email that it can take weeks....Good luck all!
Sounds cool. Please can you expand on this section:
"For Apple TV, Boxee has a new interface tailor-made just for its widescreen HDTV audience and puts a link to the app within the main Apple TV menu so that users can keep to the default interface if they prefer."
So one can flip back and forth between current ATV interface AND Boxee ... right? It's the 'if they prefer' that puzzles me. What is the alternative if 'they don't prefer', to have only Boxee interface I assume?
you can ALWAYS use your Apple TV interface, boxee is added as another app you could launch
i received mine on monday as advertised! working on it.
(quoting myself)... easiest install I've ever done. the only glitch I came across was somehow I missed that the patchstick flash stick needed to be formatted HFS. Once I had that it was about 35 seconds to patch, then a couple of menu options to download and uncompress. Very slick.
The boxee UI is somewhat odd after using the Apple TV, but its nice. Great job.
Ever since I got my AppleTV I have had it hacked in this way.
Being able to stream HD content from a file share meant that I could watch downloaded TV - without having to use iTunes.
The hack required installing SMB and the ATVFiles player. It turned the device into something that I actually used. And the addition of 5.1 audio made it even better.
The Boxee and XBMC applications are a welcome addition.
I have not used Boxee, but I have been trying out XBMC over the last week.
The XBMC application is a new way of offering the same sort of functionality. Without any additional software it will let you play media from an SMB share.
Better than that, it scans your library of files, identifies shows, and presents this content in a cool way, with synopses, cover-art and other metadata. It's almost like a DVD menu experience.
And in some ways preferable to the built-in AppleTV menus.
There are downsides...
It stubbornly refuses to identify some shows using its "scraper".
The most disapointing aspect is that HDTV content plays back less smoothly than with the native Quicktime player which ATVFiles uses. That might be addressed in a later build.
after a few uses, boxee/xbmc don't do a lot for me. the interface is confusing, kind of slow, and not even close to as user friendly as the standard Apple TV.
That said, I am quite thankful that Boxee is working on the Apple TV, I hope the team keeps working on it, its a cool product, just needs some refinements.
after a few uses, boxee/xbmc don't do a lot for me. the interface is confusing, kind of slow, and not even close to as user friendly as the standard Apple TV.
That said, I am quite thankful that Boxee is working on the Apple TV, I hope the team keeps working on it, its a cool product, just needs some refinements.
To me the one killer feature is the fact that it identifies and plays content on a shared drive.
I have now persuaded XBMC to recognize my whole media collection. So I have cover-art and synopses for just about everything.
The interface is a bit clunky, (especially how it deals with the menu button).
There is a new beta and the interface is a bit faster.
My only gripe is that HD content is handled a little less well than with Quicktime. Daylit scenes (particularly) seem to cause it to lag a bit. Although the picture/audio lag corrects itself.
Comments
Sounds cool. Please can you expand on this section:
"For Apple TV, Boxee has a new interface tailor-made just for its widescreen HDTV audience and puts a link to the app within the main Apple TV menu so that users can keep to the default interface if they prefer."
So one can flip back and forth between current ATV interface AND Boxee ... right? It's the 'if they prefer' that puzzles me. What is the alternative if 'they don't prefer', to have only Boxee interface I assume?
you can ALWAYS use your Apple TV interface, boxee is added as another app you could launch
if you want to shorten the waiting process just email me at avner [at] boxee d0t tv
i'll send you a personal invite
you can ALWAYS use your Apple TV interface, boxee is added as another app you could launch
Yes that was answered in the thread after I asked it a while back thanks, but thanks for your time
i received mine on monday as advertised! working on it.
Mine should be here today or tomorow, cant wait
______________________
i received mine on monday as advertised! working on it.
(quoting myself)... easiest install I've ever done. the only glitch I came across was somehow I missed that the patchstick flash stick needed to be formatted HFS. Once I had that it was about 35 seconds to patch, then a couple of menu options to download and uncompress. Very slick.
The boxee UI is somewhat odd after using the Apple TV, but its nice. Great job.
Being able to stream HD content from a file share meant that I could watch downloaded TV - without having to use iTunes.
The hack required installing SMB and the ATVFiles player. It turned the device into something that I actually used. And the addition of 5.1 audio made it even better.
The Boxee and XBMC applications are a welcome addition.
I have not used Boxee, but I have been trying out XBMC over the last week.
The XBMC application is a new way of offering the same sort of functionality. Without any additional software it will let you play media from an SMB share.
Better than that, it scans your library of files, identifies shows, and presents this content in a cool way, with synopses, cover-art and other metadata. It's almost like a DVD menu experience.
And in some ways preferable to the built-in AppleTV menus.
There are downsides...
It stubbornly refuses to identify some shows using its "scraper".
The most disapointing aspect is that HDTV content plays back less smoothly than with the native Quicktime player which ATVFiles uses. That might be addressed in a later build.
C.
That said, I am quite thankful that Boxee is working on the Apple TV, I hope the team keeps working on it, its a cool product, just needs some refinements.
after a few uses, boxee/xbmc don't do a lot for me. the interface is confusing, kind of slow, and not even close to as user friendly as the standard Apple TV.
That said, I am quite thankful that Boxee is working on the Apple TV, I hope the team keeps working on it, its a cool product, just needs some refinements.
To me the one killer feature is the fact that it identifies and plays content on a shared drive.
I have now persuaded XBMC to recognize my whole media collection. So I have cover-art and synopses for just about everything.
The interface is a bit clunky, (especially how it deals with the menu button).
There is a new beta and the interface is a bit faster.
My only gripe is that HD content is handled a little less well than with Quicktime. Daylit scenes (particularly) seem to cause it to lag a bit. Although the picture/audio lag corrects itself.
C.