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D-Link's New Boxee Box Runs Linux, Eyes Netflix

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the one-ui-to-rule-them dept.

DeviceGuru writes "OpenBoxeeBox.com is reporting that D-Link's new DM-380 Boxee Box, demonstrated last night in New York at Boxee's Boxee Beta unveiling, runs Linux but does not yet stream Netflix video-on-demand titles. However, according to an unnamed Boxee insider, 'the goal is to have the device support Netflix.' The DM-380 features ports for HDMI, optical digital and analog audio, dual USB, and wired Ethernet, plus it has an SD card slot and built-in WiFi. Photos and screenshots are at OpenBoxeeBox, and additional details are on D-Link's website."

23 of 138 comments (clear)

  1. Uhh... So, Hi guys. My name is boxxy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    I aint trollin...

  2. wifi, hdmi, usb... by gad_zuki! · · Score: 2, Funny

    What? No Lotus notes and a machine gun?

    1. Re:wifi, hdmi, usb... by truthsearch · · Score: 4, Funny

      If it came with Lotus Notes the users would only need one bullet.

      --
      Developers: We can use your help.
  3. It looks like crap by MistrBlank · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This will never sell. It doesn't fit into the entertainment center paradigm. It looks like a puzzle box and a toy.

    1. Re:It looks like crap by ottothecow · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Granted it isn't large enough that you would try setting some other full sized entertainment device (dvd player or such) on top of it but....damn guys, you couldn't even set your remote control on top of that thing

      --
      Bottles.
    2. Re:It looks like crap by manyxcxi · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This will never sell. It doesn't fit into the entertainment center paradigm. It looks like a puzzle box and a toy.

      I don't think it looks like crap, but it definitely doesn't look like it belongs in my A/V cabinet. Just make it look like a DVD player or something close and I think it would have a better chance of taking off. But, then again, the only people who will be buying this to begin with already know what Boxee is, which means this thing was never going to sell well anyways.

    3. Re:It looks like crap by qortra · · Score: 5, Insightful

      the only people who will be buying this to begin with already know what Boxee is

      You may turn out to be right if D-Link doesn't market this properly, but your underlying assumption is false. By way of example, most people who buy Nokia phones didn't already know what Symbian is. All people have to know to buy it is that it can stream "CNN, Hulu, CBS, YouTube, MLB.TV, Netflix (coming soon), Comedy Central, and more!"

    4. Re:It looks like crap by elrous0 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Reminds me of a couple of years back when we hired a designer fresh out of art school. He had plenty of artistic and creative energy, but little to no concern with what consumers actually wanted or needed. I think he lasted about 6 months. I guess he's not compromising his vision in the unemployment line now.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    5. Re:It looks like crap by uglyduckling · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This is TINY. It's not meant to fit into any 'paradigm', it's meant to live behind the TV amongst the cluster of cables, or else in the gap between the TV panel and the shelf/table it's on, if you prefer to see the unit. Check out TFA, the device is the size of a coke can.

    6. Re:It looks like crap by uglyduckling · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What were you hoping to stack on top of a box that's about 5cm wide?

    7. Re:It looks like crap by sootman · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It doesn't fit into the entertainment center paradigm.

      FFS, it doesn't fit into an entertainment center, period. Nor can anything be stacked on top of it. Plus it's needlessly hard to manufacture, find components for, and assemble. This is quite possibly the most horribly designed piece of consumer gear I've ever seen in my life.

      ATTENTION LOSERS WHO WANT TO COPY APPLE: Design doesn't just mean making it look neat. Apple's stuff looks flashy but it actually works. (Most of the time, anyway.) And if your design only looks "neat" to 14-year-old males, you should throw it right the fuck away and never venture down that path again. Seriously, this thing looks like a prop from a bad SciFi (excuse me, SyFy) movie-of-the-week, or maybe a Roomba from Eureka that gains sentience and starts causing problems.

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  4. Re:HD Limitations? by jedidiah · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...anything interesting hardware-wise most certainly has binary proprietary drivers with no interfaces available for hackers or non-corporate programmers.

    OTOH, you can just get yourself an ION nettop and it won't look like some sort of an attempt at modern art.

    --
    A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  5. opengl to directx? by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Interesting bits from the Boxee beta preview page. First it lists 'Official support for OS X "Snow Leopard" and Ubuntu "Karmic"', then it goes on to say:

    Finally, Ronen notes that with the Beta release, Boxee's graphical engine has migrated from from OpenGL to DirectX, allowing it to take advantage of Direct X video acceleration.

    So the "officially supported" OS X and Ubuntu versions will be running on OpenGL, but the Windows version gets full hardware acceleration by using DirectX?

    --
    This guy's the limit!
    1. Re:opengl to directx? by LOLLinux · · Score: 2, Informative

      Yes, they re talking about DXVA support.

    2. Re:opengl to directx? by limaxray · · Score: 2, Informative

      The Ubuntu version (and I assume the OS X version) use OpenGL solely for the menus and overlays. VDPAU is used for decoding video on the GPU, and it works exceptionally well.

      Up until now though, this meant Windows users were SOL when it came to hardware accelerated video decoding - I'm guessing DirectX gives them this functionality.

      The amusing part though is that the original project (XMBC) used DirectX since it only ran on the original XBox, and the XBMC project ported to OpenGL to support other platforms.

  6. Re:Form over functionality by Nerdfest · · Score: 2, Interesting

    One could argue that the design discourages the rear vents from being covered (from what I remember of seeing the design before) but yeah, I prefer audio/video equipment (and computer equipment) to be as FSM intended ... black & rack mount.

  7. Still no Blu-Ray? by Tyr_7BE · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That's too bad. Otherwise this would have been a serious contender for my next media box.

    It seems there's no "do-it-all" media center on the market. Games, Blu-Ray, XBMC. Pick any two. I'm waiting for someone to get XBMC going on a PS3. When that happens, I will have chosen my corner in this fight.

    1. Re:Still no Blu-Ray? by crazycheetah · · Score: 2, Informative

      If you could find a USB blu-ray drive, you should be able to just plug it right in there. The wikipedia page on it says something about it being licensed for use in blu-ray players, so that should work, in theory. Though XBMC (or Boxee, comparing it to this box; it's built off of XBMC) on a PS3 would kick this thing's ass, easily.

  8. Re:with DTV/PVR? by jhol13 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Yes, for example TViX PVR M-6640N or DreamBox. I don't know where you live, those probably do not work in USA as they use DVB-S/C/T.

    It would seem that WD TV Live Full HD might be better than the "advertised". YMMV.

  9. Blu-Ray: not ready yet by Cajun+Hell · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Don't buy Blu-Ray until the DRM gets more fully defeated. When Blu-Ray becomes ready, there will be some BD library that developers will be able to use to read the discs, and people will be able to implement players without getting licenses that specify that the product is required to suck (which is why there currently aren't any good players), and then good players (all-in-one boxes, MythTV, etc) will finally appear on the market.

    Until then, if you want high-definition movies, just let pirates deal with the hassles of Blu-Ray's flakiness, and you can download them with bittorrent. You'll end up with movies that just work, including with your own all-in-one box.

    Save your money until Blu-Ray becomes a serious consumer-friendly product. Right now, it's a problem-plagued scam for suckers only.

    --
    "Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
  10. Re:Why not Tivo? by uglyduckling · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Everyone here is missing the point. This is TINY. It's the size of a coke can (look further down TFA). You don't stack anything on it - even if it were right-angled it's way too small and the vents would get covered. The idea is that you put it between the shelf/table/base of the TV is on and the bottom edge of the TV panel. Or hide it behind out of the way.

  11. This IS D-Link we're talking about. by Chas · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Marketing? Yeah right. The REAL issue will be SUPPORT. Having had to deal with D-Link support (both consumer and professional), I'd much rather be slowly eviscerated with a knitting needle.

    And if it's something that can't be reduced to a cookie-cutter firmware setting with no options available, D-Link will fuck it up.

    --


    Chas - The one, the only.
    THANK GOD!!!
  12. Popcorn Hour by g8oz · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Popcorn Hour still looks better