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Boxee Sold To Samsung

New submitter TheRecklessWanderer writes "Boxee, manufacturer of The Boxee Box and Boxee DVR as well as developer of the Boxee software, has been sold to Samsung. Boxee has had a hard time adapting to the quickly changing environment where appliances have converged with televisions (morphing into Smart TVs), and I'm sure Samsung is looking to integrate the software in some form or another into their smart TVs."

4 of 128 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Smart TV? Help me understand... by MightyYar · · Score: 5, Informative

    But why on Earth would I want my media box built into my television, so that following the curve of technological advancement means pitching the entire huge TV into the waste stream?

    You don't pitch it - you use the built-in media box until it becomes obsolete, and then you hook up an external box and use it like a dumb TV. At the end of the day, you've spent money on one less media box.

    --
    W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
  2. No by yoink! · · Score: 5, Informative

    FTA: "Boxee has had a hard time adapting to the quickly changing environment where appliances have converged with televisions (morphing into Smart TVs), and I'm sure Samsung is looking to integrate the software in some form or another into their smart TVs."

    No. Boxee shunned the very people who championed their product, locking down their previously open software, based on already-open software, and mating it to poor hardware. Boxee abandoned all that made them Boxee to begin with. (I can't seem to find the multi-page comment thread from Boxee's blog when they announced EOL for the still-buggy Boxee-box - maybe someone can get it [FIXED].)

    For those who aren't in the loop, a simple (and not yet fully exploited) "hack" was found: http://boxeeplus.com/

  3. Re:Smart TV = Dumb Idea ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Is it wife and grandparent-babysitter user friendly?

    Logitech Harmony (and similar) remotes make everything but the most horribly configured A/V setups wife/kid/grandparent/babysitter friendly

  4. Re:Smart TV? Help me understand... by maccodemonkey · · Score: 4, Informative

    I'm in the market for a new TV. Since I'm very, very old, I'm upgrading from a 25-year-old CRT TV, and I don't think I care much about 4K. I'm prone to VR sickness, so I don't want 3D, either.

    I realize that I probably can't count on my next TV lasting 25 years. But why on Earth would I want my media box built into my television, so that following the curve of technological advancement means pitching the entire huge TV into the waste stream?

    Samsung TV's have upgradable motherboards so you can upgrade the hardware that drives the smart tv functions independently of the rest of the box.
    http://www.samsung.com/au/consumer/tv-audio-video/television/accessories/SEK-1000/XY?subsubtype=accessories

    I'm not a big Samsung fan, but that's your answer.