a POPCORN HOUR on steroids: the BLOBbox ipTV STB

[ilgiampa]

Today on ehomeupgrade:

...the BLOBbox is designed to be a multifunction mini set-top that can stream online media content & access web services without a PC, function as a DVB-T tuner PVR, stream media from your PC via UPnP, and much more. The other thing going for TVBLOB is that it’s an open platform ready for development. Anyone can join the BLOBforge network and create service tie-ins that leverage TVBLOB’s BitTorrent, podcast, or video on-demand delivery methods. TVBLOB also provides developers hooks for interactive features, pre-roll advertising, and even payment collection via PayPal...

Full article here (http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/2009/05/14/look-out-boxee-vudu-vunow-pod-tvblobs-blobbox-is-ready-to-challenge/)

The set-top box (http://www.tvblobbox.com/ataglance.php) at-a-glance (official website).

http://shop.tvblobbox.com/skin/frontend/default/default/img/blobbox2.png


I tried PCH and I liked it, but I always felt like I wanted more. :glasses: The other problem is my TV has only one connection (and really I don't want a bunch of hw by my TV anyway). I'm seeing a lot of new boxes that do different things - dtt, pc/nas access, email, web radio, bittorent - but this seems to be the first that puts it all together. :sunsmile:

[dave29]

It don't look too bad, if it would stream iso's, then I would be impressed.

[CCarncross]

Need a version for North America as well, there are no ATSC tuners

[phat78boy]

How is this any better then PCH, HDX, or any NMT for that matter? The h/w specs aren't even as good as current NMT boxes. On top of that, it can't even do MKV yet. I'm not impressed at all.

On a side note, I wasn't that impressed with my NMT boxes until I centralized my movie storage and added a nice GUI to get to movies and media. Since then, I have been more then happy with the boxes.

[ilgiampa]

It don't look too bad, if it would stream iso's, then I would be impressed.

Hi Dave, good news for you :), it will play iso's soon, by the next software releases. You will then be able to watch iso's on the box, e.g. when you'll download with bittorrent or copy from your PC using the web control panel.

[ilgiampa]

Need a version for North America as well, there are no ATSC tuners

This is the first box, Telsey is headquartered in europe, it's obvious that the first hardware is compatible with european specs. I've read that tvblob is looking for other box manufacturers to enter in the US market very soon.
So, you can be confident about getting you american BLOBbox! :)

[ilgiampa]

How is this any better then PCH, HDX, or any NMT for that matter? The h/w specs aren't even as good as current NMT boxes. On top of that, it can't even do MKV yet. I'm not impressed at all.


My excitement is not related to a particular hardware feature, but to the whole new approach of offering a centralized system for offline and online entertainment :joy:. You have one single box that gives you access to DTT channels and all the entertainment you can expect from the internet. And it's easy to use! :heart:
I sit on my sofa and I watch DTT channels, WEBTVs and podcasts, I access YouTube and reeplay.it, I watch the next movie trailer downloaded with bittorrent, or my movies that are streamed from my PC using UPnP. More than that, the platform is open to anybody to port an existing service on TV, or to create new services, thanks to the developers community (http://www.blobforge.com/)http://www.blobforge.com/.
BTW I've heard of MKV beeing supported soon (the roadmap here (http://www.tvblobbox.com/calendar.php)).

On a side note, I wasn't that impressed with my NMT boxes until I centralized my movie storage and added a nice GUI to get to movies and media. Since then, I have been more then happy with the boxes.

What did you use to centralize your movie storage? Did you buy an external drive with network support? Or are you using your PC with a bigger HDD?

[phat78boy]

My excitement is not related to a particular hardware feature, but to the whole new approach of offering a centralized system for offline and online entertainment :joy:. You have one single box that gives you access to DTT channels and all the entertainment you can expect from the internet. And it's easy to use! :heart:
I sit on my sofa and I watch DTT channels, WEBTVs and podcasts, I access YouTube and reeplay.it, I watch the next movie trailer downloaded with bittorrent, or my movies that are streamed from my PC using UPnP. More than that, the platform is open to anybody to port an existing service on TV, or to create new services, thanks to the developers community (http://www.blobforge.com/)http://www.blobforge.com/.
BTW I've heard of MKV beeing supported soon (the roadmap here (http://www.tvblobbox.com/calendar.php)).

NMT's do this already, so I'm a little confused why this is any better. H/W specs show less RAM them current NMT's use which I believe is key for playing HD media and streaming from the internet.

What did you use to centralize your movie storage? Did you buy an external drive with network support? Or are you using your PC with a bigger HDD?

I use a WHS for my centralizing my movie storage. It also runs my movie database, YAMJ.

[dave29]

Hi Dave, good news for you :), it will play iso's soon, by the next software releases. You will then be able to watch iso's on the box, e.g. when you'll download with bittorrent or copy from your PC using the web control panel.

It may be able to play dvd ISO's with an update, but I doubt it will do BD ISO's.

[dave29]

I use a WHS for my centralizing my movie storage. It also runs my movie database, YAMJ.

Same thing that I am doing for the last few months. WHS is pretty awesome.

[phat78boy]

Same thing that I am doing for the last few months. WHS is pretty awesome.

Agreed. By far one of the most useful tech purchases I've made in a while. Combine it with an NMT or two and its nothing short of awesome.

[durl]

While nice, it doesn't seem like a huge improvement over Popcorn Hour. It's going to take an update to play ISOs and it still doesn't play other formats that PCH does out of the box. And while you may get a bit more functionality in other areas, it costs a lot more than a basic Popcorn Hour unit.

[dave29]

Agreed. By far one of the most useful tech purchases I've made in a while. Combine it with an NMT or two and its nothing short of awesome.

What NMT's are you using?

[phat78boy]

What NMT's are you using?

I have a PCH A-110 and two HDX 1000 boxes. Insides are basically the exact same on the two, just find the HDX much more "professional" looking.

[dave29]

I have a PCH A-110 and two HDX 1000 boxes. Insides are basically the exact same on the two, just find the HDX much more "professional" looking.

Thanks, I have been leaning towards the HDX for a while now. Do you know if the HDX will ever get an update to allow BD iso playback? Or, is the hardware even capable?

[ilgiampa]

I use a WHS for my centralizing my movie storage. It also runs my movie database, YAMJ.

I'm looking for a good networked HDD with RAID and UPnP support to use with my BLOBbox. Do you think I should consider a WHS?

[Hansen]

I'm looking for a good networked HDD with RAID and UPnP support to use with my BLOBbox. Do you think I should consider a WHS?

I use a HP MediaSmart Server, which runs WHS. Does an awesome job of streaming movies, music and photos.


My preference over the PCH is the SageTV HD200 extender. I use that in conjunction with Sage Media Center for WHS on my HP MSS and it is nothing short of awesome. Plays everything including blu ray rips (m2ts).

[ilgiampa]

...H/W specs show less RAM them current NMT's use which I believe is key for playing HD media and streaming from the internet.

There is no direct link between <more ram> and <more performance>. It really depends on how the system uses the memory it has. A good memory management will provide you with good performance and stability.
In both the Popcorn and the BLOBbox the RAM is shared between the OS and the chip, which has enough memory for playing HD content.
(I wanna thank tvblob guys for their patience!) ;)

[bottoman]

Is the BLOBbox DLNA-compliant?

[ilgiampa]

Is the BLOBbox DLNA-compliant?

Sure! Get any UPnP compatible device and you'll watch movies on your TV, whenever they are! I've heard that the new fw will let you browse remote files using SAMBA, too (this is easier, so you don't have to install diversity on your PC).

bye!