http://www.boxee.tv/box
The middleman in the TV business is about to feel the threat of an up and comer. Media center maker Boxee finally starts shipping the Boxee Box by D-Link a couple weeks ago and the two are hosting a big shindig in New York to celebrate. Boxee has also struck a partnership with online video platform Ooyala to give publishers a way distribute and monetize HTTP-formatted TV content to the device using its Backlot TV video solution. This means that indie programmers will now have an easy way to get their shows seen on television either for free with ads, as a subscription or as PPV offerings. The system operates a full paywall with TV Everywhere-style authentication that is seamless for the producer. Now at $200, the Boxee Box is not going to exactly fly off the shelves. And it's just one of a dozen devices designed to bring broadband content to your home set; even Apple has yet to drag its Apple TV box beyond the "hobby" stage. But consider the Boxee Box an important evolutionary step that will reignite much enthusiasm among indie producers and tech-savvy early adopters. Boxee, which counts about 1.4 million PC and Mac users today, sees its brightest future in having its software pre-installed on broadband-connected TVs, Blu-ray players and game consoles. If it can manage to become as ubiquitous as, say, the Netflix streaming app, things could get interesting. The United Football League (UFL) is the first Ooyala publisher to begin "boxcasting," distributing a full slate of league games through a UFL Boxee app.