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12 Jun 08

Scoop: Boxee to Go Alpha on Monday « NewTeeVee

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Written by Chris Albrecht

Posted Tuesday, June 10, 2008 at 4:43 PM PT

Scoop: Boxee to Go Alpha on Monday



Boxee wants to be the Firefox of the connected media home, and it wants you to join its alpha testing this Monday. I caught up with Boxee founder and CEO Avner Ronen at the On Hollywood conference in L.A.
Boxee is a free, open-source software platform that lets users control their media from a PC-connected TV. Like other media applications, you can watch movies or web video, listen to music, look at photos and more, all with your remote control. The platform also sports social features so you can make recommendations and share your media with friends.
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- Though Boxee is currently built for computers, the goal is to get it on any set-top or Internet-connected device plugged into your TV. The company wants to be the Switzerland of the connected media home.
- Boxee’s interface looks clean and, using an Apple remote, easy to navigate.
- Because the platform is open source,
- This is in contrast to the cable companies’ tru2way, which is an open platform, but cable companies will ultimately decide which applications get to run on their boxes.
- There are a few roadblocks in Boxee’s way. The software works with just about any video format — except DRM’d ones — so no accessing your iTunes library (at least your movies and TV shows). It has to get all those cable companies, networks, and movie download companies to sign on. And while installing an open-source application and connecting your PC to your TV might be easy-peasey for people who run Linux, the process will need to be greatly simplified for it to reach mass adoption.
  
  But these are issues Ronen and his crew are aware of and working through. Right now, the company is looking for alpha testers who can connect a computer to a TV and have lots of media. The software launches Monday, and interested parties can sign up at Boxee.TV.