Ask Engadget HD: Boxee Box vs A-200 NMT vs. Popbox, which media streamer to choose?
By Richard Lawler 
posted February 17th 2010 5:20PM
posted February 17th 2010 5:20PM
"With the A-200 already on sale, I'm not sure if I should pick it up, or wait for the Boxee or Popbox to ship later."
So, as a discriminating buyer, what are you planning to do? Sticking with an existing media streamer setup or do you think any of the new hardware coming down the pipe will coax you into a purchase? Let us know about your early impressions of these products in the comments, and check out a video sneak peek of the new UI coming to the C-200 and A-200 embedded after the break.
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I'll keep my Mac running Plex except for Netflix HD. I use the PS3 for that. I am competely satisfied. No worrying about running out of storage space and compatibility.
I could find a device that did Netflix as well as Hulu when I had $200. I wouldn't pay any more then that.
@EM1
*couldn't find a device.
@EM1 the boxee box plays hulu fine and will so netflix hd when it comes out
@gamedude360 the Boxee will also support any other website that has videos...not just Netflix and Hulu.
@abedinthehouse
I know this, but saying the boxee box will get netflix hd support, since its a settop box, boxee are working on that with netflix. netflix doesnt support hd on pc or mac though
@gamedude360 yes but netflix is said to support full 1080p HD streaming with Flash10.1 --- and you have to remember the boxee essentially is NOT a PC/Mac. It just incorporates a firefox browser, nothing more. Netflix will be supported, Im pretty sure Boxee itself stated that they will.
Seriously waiting on the Boxee Box! Has almost everything you could ask for except built in storage, but that can always be solved by a cheap NAS (WD My World Book Edition 1TB is like $90 on ebay). Make sure your NAS can stream media to other devices (look for UPNP support). You should be set. The Boxee is small, cool looking, and has lots of support behind it. Apps, built-in browser to visit (virtually any) websites, Netflix (I think--dont quite remmbr), Hulu, and social media integration. I really think the Boxee is the best bet, Im anxiously awaiting its release. Plus, Im pretty sure there will be frequent updates and such seeming as how boxee box first started off as a software and is being imported to a device unlike the others which are starting off as devices.
@abedinthehouse
I know it's not on the list here, but I really want the AC Ryan PlayonHD mini more than any of these.
http://engadget.com/2009/12/15/a-c-ryans-playon-hd-mini-player-is-tiny-still-pushes-1080p-wo/
@The Dead Marxist Trio that actually looks pretty bomb, but there still remains certain things missing from that article such as specs, hardward, apps, netflix/hulu/etc, its ability to stream NAS, ability to grab video from other websites, social integration, and the whole works. Also in my opinion if I were to buy something other than the Boxee, the devicein question would have a DTV tuner and some sort of DVR capability (be great if it you DVR to a NAS). Also how does the UI and the remote look for this device?
There's a good thread on AVS Forum on Popbox vs Boxee. One major takeaway is that the Boxee box uses a NVIDIA Tegra 2 chipset - basically netbook parts. The thing with netbooks is that they don't do well on HD video, and early demos of the Tegra 2 seem to indicate it won't handle high quality HD. Boxee software has been so-so on the PC, and I'm not optimistic about their first outing in the embedded computing world, where interface = king. While not perfect, Syabas (Popbox company) has had more devices fielded and has all that feedback to work off of. Personally, I'm looking towards the Popbox.
@tw1tch
that was mostly aproblem with flash, but the new version of flash uses hardware acceleration. so hd will work fine
@gamedude360
I'm not talking about flash, I'm talking about high bitrate H.264 encoded video.
@tw1tch Boxee showed it can play almost every HD format video streaming at CES 2010. The tegra 2 processor is a beast and its shown it can do a wonder on the Boxee...maybe you should take another look at the videos from CES.
@tw1tch what are you talking about, the tegra 2 DEVOURS HD H264 video, and flash video in HD as well now that they enabled hardware acceleration on it...
I saw a tegra 2 showing some INSANE bitrates dont remember the exact numbers, but it was way more than any of my HD rips...
@cchance
10Mbps. That's about as high as Tegra 2 can do, and what was demo'd at CES. Yes, that's high. But it means for a real high def video, it can't do high def audio as well. Considering these have no blu ray drives, a lot of folks are going to want to play their BR iso's. Notebook parts aren't as video specialized as embedded Sigma or Realtek chips. Tegra 2 doesn't change that.
@abedinthehouse
As has already been stated those CES videos were limited to 10 mbit/s bitrates. That is quite low for 1080p mkv rips at any sort of quality. Tegra 2 chipset will not be near the video cruncher that the sigma 8643 is.
@roper Prolly not, but from the looks of it, that should be enough for most end users, the fact that it has no BD player means people will most likely use the BD player they already have...also Boxee stated it will be able to implement most USB devices...which prolly means an external BD drive that you can buy for alot cheaper then a full fledged player. Honestly I dont think anyone will truely be able to say what any of these boxes will or will not be able to play until they hit the stores and are reviewed and used personally.
I'm extremely interested in this because I'd like to replace my old XBOX/XBMC with something that will stream all of my pictures and movies from my PC in HD. Anything else that it does is just gravy to me. I'm leaning towards the Boxee, although I don't like the interface nearly as well as XBMC. But if the PopBox is comparable, at a much lower price, I might swing that way. Hopefully this comment section will have lots of helpful input.
@Charles The popbox most likely wont be a lot cheaper. I believe the 'under $200' from boxee alone is pushing it for a 'set top box.' I too use my 360 at the moment to stream HD video, But hate the fact that the 360 cant play soo many diffrent formats. I believe, just like any new system, you just need to get used to the UI and find that youll fall in love with it. Also are you talking about the xbox interface or the XBMC interface, because the XBOX interface is rather simple and not that nice in my opinion. You might say Im a bit of a Boxee fanatic but I would love this thread to catch on and hear some criticism on teh boxee (besides the fact that the remote isn't IR lol)
@abedinthehouse
Popbox is supposed to be $130 IIRC from CES posts.
@QChronoD wow did not know that, but i guess its not all that cheaper..but nice
@abedinthehouse I got a wdtv live to hold me over till the boxee comes out, then i'll probably sell my wdtv and grab the boxee. or maybe get the boxee for living room and move the wdtv live to the bedroom
@cchance not a bad idea
Will any of these be able to support HTML 5?
@iPaul Boxee essentially usees a Monzilla Firefox Browser, so as long as firefox supports HTML5, so will boxee. Plus boxee software is only so new, its only going to be updated more and more, so chances of upgrades in the software while the box is released are high.
My PS3 with ps3mediaserver does everything I need. Haven't found anything that combination couldn't handle.
plain and simple, PCH A-200. i have an A-110, and will upgrade for the faster processor and gigabit ethernet. YAMJ on the PCH is the best movie jukebox out there. the popbox and boxee box are gonna be closed down, and easy to use for the mainstream. lame.
I'm feeling the popbox, cheaper then Boxee and normal shaped. Really all I want is the WD TV Live but I wouldn't mind the extra streaming options on the popbox.
@reallynotnick WD TV Live doesnt give you much in terms of format support compared to the newer 3 boxes mentioned
@abedinthehouse But the WD HD TV Live does everything my PCHA110 does (and slightly more since it handles subtitles).
@wryker you know I just checked a review of the WD TV Live. Its not bad..check it out you find it helpful
http://smallnetbuilder.com/multimedia-voip/multimedia-voip-reviews/31068-western-digital-wd-tv-live-reviewed
Don't forget about the A.C. Ryan Playon!HD Mini. It will make you look like a fool with your pants on the ground if you do! All the info on it is here: http://www.playonhd.com/en/#info
If the players above are still seen as the best of the best when the smoke clears, I'd probably go for the Popbox. The beauty of firmware updates, however, is that your favorite missing feature from many media streamers is probably in the works (thanks to the forums).
Using mac mini w/Plex for most HD content and hardcore HD (bluray rips) with popcorn covers my needs.
Personally, I don't stream much, but I'll second the A-200 based on my experience w/my A-100 and C-200. It's a great choice for media consumption since it'll decode pretty much any format, it'll mount ISO (e.g. DVD and Blu ray rips) and with YAMJ, a great interface. If i could only integrate my HD Homerun with it though...
@(Unverified)
The a200 will play BD iso but not with full java menus. It will have a BDlite menu interface. That will work for many, but not for all.
FOR ANY1 WANTING PROFESSIONAL REVIEWS OF SET-TOP-BOXES:
check out this site, he also reviews routers and such. I have found his reviews on products really helpful. Though hes not gona have products on boxes that have yet to be reviewed, he has reviews on almost every box that has been released....even ones u never herd of.
http://smallnetbuilder.com/multimedia-voip/multimedia-voip-reviews
PS. He has reviewed the WD TV LIVE, and the original alpha version of Boxee that came out for the Mac at first. Hope you guys find it useful.
I choose my Revo with Boxee.
I waiting for the release of the Boxee Box. $200 for the box is a good limit for me on spending. Spending over $300 for a Acer Revo to build my own Boxee Box is too much for me right now.
I'd also wait for the Boxee Box. My PCH runs great, but the interface is just too sluggish and unpolished for demonstrating a home theater. The popbox interface looks different, but the boxee UI on the PC is truly amazing.
I absolutely love Boxee's easy integration of caption (subtitle) lookup. With a deaf wife, its a must have for me.
Apple TV (Refurb $150) + Broadcom Crystal HD card ($22 Ebay) + XBMC (Free) is the best combination in my opinion... still working out the kinks for HD playback using the CrystalHD card but with the flexible skin support, large development community, and rapid forum response there is no comparison.
I would go for popbox. aside from the new UI they're coming out with and all the new features etc., they've partnered with a SW developer called Eyecon Technologies who created an app, "eyecontroller", where you use your iPod Touch or iPhone (and apparently soon Android phone) to search through your entire media network as well as online media and route content straight to the popbox. http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/index.php?pluginoption=partner&type=utilities
I use it with my pch-c200 and it makes all the difference, though apparently it works with most upnp devices, I haven't tried anything else.