Alright, I finally plugged in my XBOX after months of other distractions and down came a big update. After the update I noticed that there was a link for NetFlix in the menus…interesting and exciting. Well as you might have noticed from my previous posts I have been in search of the right media player for a while. I have used a Windows PC with 3rd party software (JRiver MC), Windows with media center (WMC), and of course my Apple TV with the Boxee. 

The only one I could stand was the Apple + Boxee. And even though Boxee is still in Alpha, it is a crap load better than using WMC. It is the integration of video sources like Hulu that really make it great + the ability to view my local media makes it indispensable. If you couldn’t tell yet, my goal is to get as much media as possible to my TV with the least amount of BS.

I also like to have a variety of media sources like internet based as well as my local media files. Just video though, audio is all handled by my Sonos. Anyone who knows the Sonos, knows I am not in the market for a new audio streamer as I already have the best. I love it so much I am gonna name my first born Sonos. But where is the Sonos for Video? 

OK so I still don’t have that all in one solution I am looking for. I don’t believe there is a way for me to play my local Xvid – DivX files via the XBOX MC (I haven’t looked yet), but NetFlix on the XBOX is awesome. Go online, and drop something in your ‘Watch Instantly’ queue and it immediately populates on your XBOX, ready to play on your TV, in HD in some cases. It is quick and easy and it doesn’t even take long to buffer on my shitty Time Warner connection. Well worth the $8.95 a month for so many high quality movies and tv shows sent right to my XBOX. Yesterday I watched 11 episiodes of Jericho and the movie FEDS with Rebecca DeMornay, and I have about 100 things after it in the queue including the full seasons of about 10 other shows.

Well worth $8.95. Plus I still get movies sent to my house if it is not available for instant streaming, like Ed and his Dead Mother. A classic for any fan of Steve Buscemi or the walking dead. (sitting in my mailbox now!) 

So I guess I am going to mess with my XBOX to see if I can get it to play movies requiring codecs, I am sure there is hack around by now. If I can make that happen, it has a chance of being my perfect media player. Oh and if you don’t want to mess with your XBOX for movies, Roku makes a box for $99 that will pull down NetFlix instantly in the same way; sans all the Microsoft gaming malarky.

This is how media viewing was supposed to be all along, local files and internet media living together in 1080i (mostly). I think that the Apple TV should be free, and Boxee should be $250; because the Apple TV is pretty much a doorstop until you install it. The ATV fulfills almost none of my media viewing needs until this beautiful application is introduced.

This makes me want to get rid of my cable service, but who knows what will happen if and when Apple releases a new update? Let’s not think about that now. This is indeed a major step forward in integrating all the media you would ever want into one place. And as far as installation and usability, I have no complaints. I mean it is still in alpha and it is this good! The install was not bad at all as long as you follow the instructions on the Giz, and make sure that you update all the components of Boxee before running it. So take a look at the video below, as I detail the install and the usage of Boxee on the Apple TV.

Great news everyone, it’s my lucky day!! Someone nice was listening, and I was able to get a Boxee Alpha invite. I can’t tell you how exited I am about this! I just went out and purchased my Apple TV; I have been waiting for something like Boxee to make it worth it to own one. Anyway, I have hacked my ATV and installed Boxee and I will post a full review of it tomorrow in the next day or two! So far it is amazing! I am watching Starship Troopers on Hulu as I type this.

Click here for an update!

I decided in my article ‘Apple TV or Western Digital TV or Windows Media Center‘ that I would go with the Apple TV. I went with the ATV because of the recent ability to hack it into playing all formats, and files over the network or external USB. That sounds like exactly what I need, and without the crappy interface of WMC to piss me off!

Well in order to live the dream with my ATV I need to first hack it with Boxee. With the addition of Boxee to my ATV I will be able to use a multitude of online video sites, such as Hulu. That in itself is amazingly cool, and add that to the reasons I mentioned above and I am sold! 

Well Boxee is not for sale. It is currently in alpha, and as much as I want to hack the shit out of my ATV to start enjoying my media again, I am stuck on a waiting list for alpha testers. Which after this article on the Giz, I can only imagine is about a bazillion people long. 

Anyway, Patience is a good thing, so I will wait. But hopefully Boxee won’t make me wait too long. A nice picture to look at while I am waiting…

A perfect rainbow over the Boxee offices in Tel Aviv, Israel. I have been to Israel a couple times, going again in 2009. I need to get to Tel Aviv this time!

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