Babel TV set-top-box weds Freeview, PVR, and internet

We've never been much for using one's television as their primary web surfing display -- after all, how do you expect to get any work done with last week's episode of The Office drawing your attention away from that oh-so-critical PowerPoint -- but for those who'd enjoy access every now and then without having to attach a dedicated computer, Babel TV could be just the thing. Available solely in the UK, this multifaceted set-top-box enables users to tune into and record Freeview broadcasts, stream video clips / programming from the web and even make VoIP calls. Furthermore, the box is "managed remotely by Babel TV's technical team," and copies of all your files can be automatically stored at a secure location (for a price, we presume). Reportedly, the unit should be available early next month for £295 ($602), and yes, that does include a wireless keyboard and pointer to keep you firmly planted on the sofa.

[Via TechDigest]

[Chais Meyer @ Oct 25th 2007 11:10PM]

If only it would allow us to buy things online, like Wear from 3vine.com. Oh wait, there is something like that...A Computer. Price around £295 ($602)...

[JAFBC @ Oct 25th 2007 11:15PM]

So, you can buy a box that will do most of what a computer will do and store your movies for a monthly price all for the same price as a computer. Wow, some marketing manager really made his 2 quid for the day.

[Tavis Veighey @ Oct 25th 2007 11:28PM]

Well let's see, over $600 USD for that...

Or a Wii with Opera Browser and a Wireless USB keyboard. I suspect that is $150-$200 less than that box, AND you can play games!
Now I am unaware of any VOIP app for the Wii... But that could change.

[Maff @ Oct 26th 2007 2:14AM]

You can't view and record DVB-T on a Wii so it's a completely different kettle of fish.

[Tavis Veighey @ Oct 26th 2007 2:23AM]

True I can't record...

However for that price you can snag a PC to record TV Shows. ;)

[Andrew @ Oct 26th 2007 4:09AM]

How annoying when US readers forget that the equivalent in US dollars is irrelevant to UK consumers. The Nintendo Wii you mentioned costs £269, that's actually just a few quid less than this box at £295.

[Alex Whiteside @ Oct 26th 2007 5:13AM]

Err, the last time I checked (the 23rd of December), the Wii was £179.

[Simon @ Oct 26th 2007 10:45AM]

@Alex Whiteside: Can you please forward me plans for your time machine? [e-mail] Thanks!

[Alex Whiteside @ Oct 26th 2007 4:51PM]

Last December, shortly after it launched. That was a fun two weeks of early starts, I can tell you.

[Brainwave @ Oct 26th 2007 12:12AM]

This is the way TiVo should be thinking. They have the installed base. They have the brand. They have the rabid fans. Why can't they let developers (aka hackers) get in on the action; open the gates and let the free world play with their product - make it a platform instead of another cable-type set top box. Chances are, it would build a bigger user base and increase demand for their product.

Lord knows, they need all the help they can get these days.

[AndrewNeo @ Oct 26th 2007 12:17AM]

For the same reason Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, Verizon, (insert your choice of other BREW-enabled and possibly GSM phone providers here), Apple, etc. don't let you put software on their hardware/devices. Why? I have no clue.

[Brainwave @ Oct 26th 2007 12:39PM]

The difference is that those other companies aren't facing extinsion if they don't make changes. TiVO needs to ramp up their innovations to get ahead of Comcast, TWC, Charter, etc. The other option would be to broaden their product line, but I don't see that happening either.

[Lowspeed @ Oct 26th 2007 1:37AM]

For that kind of money just buy a dedicated PC or mac mini....

[Stewart @ Oct 26th 2007 3:42AM]

A Mac Mini is around £400 or $800 in the UK...

[John Bailey @ Jan 19th 2008 1:38AM]

It is a dedicated PC. The difference is that this is a dedicated silent PC which is set up to plug into a TV set and act as a video recorder/web surfing box/skype phone, and possibly a DVD player. How locked down it is I have no idea. I built my own with pretty much the same capabilities, but it cost me much more. Hook it up to an LCD TV via VGA, and you have an upscaling freeview box/DVD player/media player. For the price, its pretty damn good.

[John Laur @ Oct 26th 2007 3:08PM]

Is this really a photo of the product they are putting out? A mini-itx pc in a 5 year old el-cheapo case? As far as mini-itx cases go this particular one is among the absolute worst. Notice also the FLOPPY BAY on the left.

[Miles @ Oct 27th 2007 12:06AM]

@ John

Yes this is really a photo of what they are putting out, thank you captain obvious. It looks to be a Morex Cubid ITX case, and that isn't a floppy bay: http://www.mini-itx.com/reviews/2688R/

"Is it a slimline floppy bay?... it turns out to be space for a compact flash reader, available as an option from Morex."

I think it isn't such a bad deal if you don't want or can't roll your own ITX PC, it has a DVB-T tuner and can record the stream and play it back, that alone is probably worth the money.

I am curious to see how this plays back digital TV, and at what resolutions, I don't know of any ITX boards that can play back 1080i in software (needs 2+ Ghz K8/Core2), so perhaps this is a hardware decoder based setup.