Boxee: I’d Cancel Cable for That

OK, so I’m a Millennial. I’m supposed to love the Internet for all its glory, and I’m supposed to browse sites like YouTube and Hulu with close to religious devotion.

Too bad I don’t. It may come as a surprise to you “older folk” (looking at you, Gen X and Baby Boomers!), but not all of us Milennial’s like spending hours browsing YouTube, or prefer watching our TV shows on our computers.

I prefer watching my TV shows and movies on an actual TV, and I know a few other people who feel the same.

Nevertheless, I attended the Boxee beta launch in Brooklyn on Monday December 7th, and saw a product that finally made me say “I’d cancel my cable for this”.

Before getting into why, let me give you some background about just how anti-”Internet for everything TV and movies” I am:

1. I just signed up for NetFlix this year. In October, to be exact. I’ve still never watched one of their On Demand movies. I get the DVD’s, the “old fashioned” way.

2. I’ve never gotten the appeal of the “YouTube rabbit hole”, though I do now have my own channel.

3. I’ve watched a show on Hulu once, and I don’t think I even finished the episode.

4. I don’t own a DV-R anymore, and rarely watch TV.

According to all things logical, I really shouldn’t be as enamored with Boxee as I am in reality.  Call it a post Boxee Beta launch party glow, or call it “finally waking up and seeing how freaking awesome this technology could be”. Call it whatever you want; I’m into it.

As a Millennial, am I pre-disposed to the “bright shiny object syndrome” (aka: BSOS)? Perhaps.  But, seeing as I’ve historically been so averse to moving my TV-viewing habits online in any way, shape or form, one would think not in this case.

If anything, I should have been skeptical. I was skeptical! I sat through the Beta presentation and thought “wow” after “wow” after “wow”. I believe I said “wow” quite a few times, as well.  My reaction wasn’t because the Beta platform is slick (it is), and it wasn’t because it’s the latest and greatest (it is). My reaction was caused by Boxee showing me that it solves my needs for movies, tv shows, music and online media in one easy-to-use interface that connects me with my “friends” when and where I want.

My resistance in moving my viewing habits online has thus far revolved around the experience.

1. Quality YouTube videos generally aren’t high quality enough to replicate the TV experience, and hanging around on the site is annoying and time-consuming. They now have HD videos, but I still have to hang around on the YouTube site, or find a link from another site and blow it up to full-screen.

2. Viewing Size My DV-R (when I had one) recorded and played back TV shows I liked, and I could skip commercials. Doing the same thing on Hulu was easy, but I had to watch them on my itty bitty laptop screen, coming in at a whopping 13″. Even my smallish TV was twice that size!

3. Annoyance and Cost I didn’t own a wireless keyboard, making it harder to operate my computer if I chose to hook it up to my TV. They just don’t make cords that long, and I didn’t care enough to search around for a cost-effective solution when I had a decent alternative (watching TV on my actual TV, via cable).

4. Complications While I’m on the tech-savvy side of my generation, I’ve never been “into” A/V technology.  My former roommate was, which resulted in a ridiculously large (60″, or something along those lines) TV with a 5-figure sound and entertainment system to match (in a 1,000sqft apartment, mind you!).  Great, but I’m just fine with my 20-something inch TV that I’ve owned for about 5 years.  It’s not even HD!  I’m just not bothered about going out to shop for a wireless keyboard, fancy cables or a remote control. I’m sure it’s easy, and I’m sure if I spent the time shopping for those items I’d be in and out quite quickly, but I just don’t have the energy to spend researching items to change my media consumption habits when they’re working fine as-is.   It’s the perception of difficulty that’s stopped me so far, the perception that “Gee golly, this will be complicated.”

Here’s where Boxee comes in.

I can tie my Netflix account to Boxee, allowing me to use my iPhone to control my laptop and select which movies I want to watch. That solves Viewing Size, Annoyance and Cost, and Quality.  Even better? Instead of spending time looking into remote options, I only have to purchase a cable.  I can do that with little to no research – solving Complications.

I can also tie my last.fm and flickr.com accounts to Boxee, allowing me to listen to music and view my photos/friends photos at the same time.

When considering what TV shows I watch, Boxee allows me to browse both local and internet content, showing me every free episode of a TV show before I decide if I want to rent or buy the DVD from Netflix. Their blog post about the Beta launch explains the details.

I can connect with other Boxee members I know and see what they recommend, and even set it up to post to Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr when I recommend, review or watch something. I can go to their App section to view/listen to content from elsewhere, like Wired or Pandora.

So. What Changed?

I still don’t like watching TV on my laptop, and my laptop hasn’t magically turned into a TV yet.

Boxee removed barriers.

They consolidated my online media habits into one platform, and effectively said “Yea, you can do that with our platform”.  All that’s standing between me and using Boxee is downloading it and buying a cable to hook my teeny laptop up to my smallish TV.

My willingness comes from the ease of use and the fact that they can solve my problems without introducing any new ones – not from being a Millennnial or having “bright, shiny object syndrome”.  I’m anti-difficulty, and pro services that make my life easier.  Frankly speaking, I like convenience! Boxee delivers.

Photo Credit: ndevil