A few days ago Boxee announced two things…1) There will be a new release of Boxee for PC, Mac and Linux coming, and 2) That will be the final release of the Mac, PC and Linux version.

The reasons stated indicate that Boxee believes the future of the Home Theater will become increasingly centered on the Set Top Box and less on Home Theater PCs. This is a non-sensical and simply untrue statement as hardware manufacturers, lawmakers, and most importantly consumers are all heading quite aggressively in the opposite direction of closed media solutions.

More and more Home Theater PCs are flying off the shelves and nearly all Video Card models and manufacturers include HDCP support (allowing you to connect your computer to a TV and play encrypted content…with proper sources).

Further, we already have the laws in place that require cable companies to provide “CableCard” support so you aren’t forced to rent a cable box. CableCards go into HDTV Tuners that connect to your PC. This enables full premium cable, DVR, guide and extra capability because of the computer’s resources and connectivity. In fact, the trend is finally moving so aggressively toward this goal as more companies have released CableCard devices (e.g. ATI, Hauppage and SiliconDust), and even more have been announced.

Ever wonder why your cable box’s user experience is so antiquated? Because the cable companies and the cable set top box manufacturers benefit by giving you the absolute minimum they can get away with and still provide service. Sticking you with a proprietary, closed and expensive solution that just barely gets the job done.

However, with a central PC in your home, you can have central storage and access for video, live cable tv, music, streaming media, updated tv guides and more from anywhere in the home. And, until it becomes outdated and dies, Boxee’s PC software version could have been at the core of your “Media Center of the Future.”

Strangely enough, while Boxee discontinues its PC software, they will simultaneously be releasing a new hardware product for Home Theater PCs, a tuner device for bringing over-the-air, local HD channels to your computer.

So why discontinue the software? Because Boxee not long ago started selling proprietary hardware. You don’t need a Business degree to know that by releasing PC software they are cannibalizing their new hardware sales.

Also, their final PC software release “gesture” will strip out Netflix and other premium playback capabilities. ..they cited “extensive DRM and Certification Requirements.” Interesting these concerns all popped up for the final version of the PC software and for ALL premium apps (Netflix, VUDU, Pandora).

On the surface and underneath this sounds like a classic corporate greed sellout…maybe not even solely by Boxee. It’s too bad as I (and many other upset consumers) would have paid for the Boxee PC software as many others are begging to be able to do. (And I mean FULL Boxee software with all of the Netflix, VUDU and Pandora streaming goodness we’ve had for some time now.)

By the way, a Boxee Box is actually just a Home Theater PC. A closed, proprietary, limited PC. I don’t want one. The trend is to move AWAY from these limited, controlled and closed systems. Anyone that doesn’t see that for the long term is either brain dead or lying to you. Yep.

There are several new reports on the Boxee Forums that the new Mac OS version of Boxee 1.5.0.23267 crashes when the iPhone Boxee Remote App tries to connect to it.

Boxee is no-cost Home Theater PC (HTPC) software that is easy to use and quick to setup. It allows users that have their Mac, Windows or Linux PCs connected to an HDTV to easily navigate music, movies, tv shows and other media using a powerful and intuitive interface with large on-screen controls similar to that of a cable box or other familiar set top box.

Aside from a few tweaks to their simple keyboard interface I highly recommend this solution. And when the iPhone Remote issue is fixed, it’s a dream to use your iPhone to navigate the media on your computer without a mouse or keyboard.

Boxee can be found here: www.boxee.tv

If you have a Boxee box of your own, post your experiences, comments and opinions here. Let us know what you think!

So great to have discovered that our favorite media server and player VLC from VideoLan will be getting DLNA/UPnP media server capabilities.  On this blog entry made by Mirsal Ennaime, funded by Google’s Summer of Code 2008 program, he will be assisting VideoLan with the addition of these new server features.

Finally those of us with PlayStation 3′s can have a complete solution for our media libraries.

I know I will be on the edge of my seat waiting for this one!

Here we go again…another mis-informed industry giant making a mistake that will save them cash in the short term and cost ALL OF US money today. Paramount’s decision recently to drop support of the Blu-ray High-def format is one of the most backward business decisions I have seen in recent years.

I will not be buying any HD DVDs. Blu-ray is clearly superior technology. More studios back it (still) than HD DVD and counting Playstation 3′s there are more Blu-ray players by multitudes in American homes than there are HD DVD players.

Retailers count two-for-one sales figures of Blu-ray over HD DVD content purchases. Target stores announced they will only carry Blu-ray High-def products. Blockbuster video announced they will only carry Blu-ray High-def movies for rent.

Surely, this is a short-sighted move. It costs a bit more to produce a Blu-ray disc. And the players are a bit more expensive. Sounds like the big guy saves a buck at the expense of the consumer…sound familiar?

Have we not learned from betamax? Sorry, I am not ‘buying’ into this one. And I will not cave into owning both platforms, only so one can die out. Anyone reading this article should do the same. When will the consumer stand up, and show who knows better?

I am one of those PS3/Blu-ray owners. HD DVD proponents did their own research to find that most people who bought into high-def for video gaming were less likely to buy movies, than people who bought stand-alone players. Really???

Well, I own 6 Blu-ray movies and 1 PS3 game. I can’t be that rare a breed can I?

Well, Paramount, one giant leap backward for mankind…thank you. I really wanted to own Transformers when it came available…too bad for me and too bad for Paramount…lost sales for them, lost entertainment for me. Bummer.

C’mon everyone, let’s show them which platform is superior…don’t listen to me…do your own real research…once informed, you’ll know what to do.

When an AP reporter writes an article on consumers being forced to choose “HD DVD or Blu-ray”, which on the surface is poignant and interesting, then you read it and find unadulterated bias injected into every sentence, your balanced, informative article ends up oozing personal opinions instead of facts. My article here is an opinion piece, yours is supposed to be an unbiased, informed newsworthy article. After-all, isn’t that the “product” your organization sells?

Bear with me…your article starts by saying there are many more stand-alone HD DVD players out there. You continue by saying “big names like Toshiba and Microsoft” are behind it. You never make a comparative Blu-ray statement, like “however, more big industry names support Blu-ray and with all the PS3′s out there, there are more players in total” G*d-forbid that may slant too many opinions toward buying Blu-ray…THAT’S WHAT ACCURATE INFORMATION SHOULD DO FOR US, MAKE US WELL INFORMED!!!

And that is not expressing your opinion…that is communicating the facts, again the type of article you are supposed to be writing for AP.

Sorry, but the truth is, the reality is…that the market is leaning way toward one technology than the other. That’s not my opinion…that’s measurable fact!

So why is that so bad? Did M*cros*ft or T*sh*ba get to you? Are they big clients of AP that you don’t want to scare away with accurate reporting that happens to shed a slightly negative light on them?

It’s so blaringly obvious, you can’t help but be suspicious of motive.

Why not come out and say Blu-ray is winning on all fronts in the format war? Again, that’s a measurable fact, not your or my opinions…

–Technology company support, WINNING
–Major Movie Studio support, WINNING
–Market share of players (whether in a game console or not), WINNING
–Movie sales, WINNING (as you stated 2-to-1 over HD DVD).

You even took the time to quote Universal’s exec (the only studio to only support the currently losing format). The quote was about this not being about winning or losing. Isn’t that what finding the best “STANDARD” is about? The one the consumers choose? The winner?

Hmm…sounds like denial to me.

You didn’t even cover technical comparison…Shouldn’t your unbiased article inform us which has more capacity? It is a storage medium you’re reporting on…Or is that also stating opinion?

Blu-ray discs currently store more than HD-DVD, and the theoretical future capacity of Blu-ray also can store much more than future potential of HD-DVD.

Is there really a format war? If there is, I believe you are “the shot heard round the world.”

Or do the big manufacturers make more money while we fumble around buying worthless technology over and over?

We all ended up getting screwed with VHS quality nearly 30 years ago when we all should have been viewing the superior betamax all these years. Due to biased, inaccurate reporting like yours, we ended up with the lesser technology.

Please help us kind sir, just come out and say, in every way Blu-ray is superior, from technical capability to current sales figures to overall market share.

Give me blu-ray or give me death!

Don’t worry dude, that big “window” company isn’t going to kill you if you report the truth. They’ll just send their money to your competitor. Oh, I guess that is bad isn’t it. Sounds like it actually doesn’t pay to tell the truth for some people.

PEACE and HAPPY HI-DEF VIEWING!