Boxee has finally launched a version of its internet video to TV software for PCs and the product is maturing well.
Last week I installed a tiny Dell desktop PC at home and linked it up with my LCD TV using a HDMI cable. The sound chip on the PC supports HDMI audio, but I diverted this through the MP3 amp I have to improve the quality and.. hey presto I have full screen video on my TV.
Easy enough, but there are a number of issues:
The first thing I did was build a web page that loads as default that has links to all of the web pages where I watch video and set it as my home page (Boxee's selection of content in the UK is still very limited); what I want is a unified EPG where I can browse between the cable content and the internet content.
Secondly, there's no remote control, and the snazzy mini wireless keyboard I have isn't quite the same; Boxee does have a remote app for iPhones, but not for my Android.
There's no 'record' option on many web video clips so I load them into Real Player which enables me to download them for future viewing.
But it does annoy me that Virgin still haven't got around to merging the delivery of cable TV and internet TV on their platform. It was an area where they had a clear lead over Sky, but it looks like Sky and their 'tv everywhere'-like approach are taking the lead in the provisioning of cross platform content, but perhaps it's ironic that users like myself are having to rig together the television service we want.
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