CG reader Shaila was kind enough to send in some early impressions and info about the Neuros LINK box that we reported a couple of weeks ago. Keeping in mind that Neuros is currently in a gamma testing phase and is offering a generous four-month, no questions asked return policy on the $300 pre-production units, it seems that the system currently consists of little more than a small form factor PC running Ubuntu off of a USB drive and using Firefox for the interface, according to Shaila.
Here comes yet another set-top box that connects to the internet and streams web video. Thankfully, this one looks pretty cool. It’s called the Neuros LINK and it’ll leverage the Neuros.TV interface to stream shows to your TV from sites like YouTube, Hulu, NBC.com, CNN.com, CBS.com, and Fancast. Oh, and it’s an open platform.
It appears that the Neuros.TV part of the equation will do most of the heavy lifting associated with getting you what you want to watch with the least amount of resistance, which should be a welcome and refreshing change, as you won’t have to download or convert stuff first. Hallelujah.
The box itself costs $300 and includes a wireless “keymote,” HDMI out, and 1080p support. It’s currently in a pre-production “gamma” phase, so Neuros is offering a four-month, no questions asked return policy in case you run into too much trouble while all the kinks get worked out. This will all be interesting to watch, as Neuros is calling it “the most open platform around.”
The Neuros set-top box is an open device allowing anyone to modify it anyway they see fit. One example is demonstrated above that I’m wondering if it’s more of an annoyance than anything else. Granted, maybe it’s the source material, ’cause a group TV chat would have been great back in Lost’s heyday. Now that the latest from Neuros is shipping, we should see more of these apps. All I want is an RSS feed reader on one side of the HDTV while the HD picture shows proportionality smaller. Make one of those Neuros and I’ll buy your box.
The second generation OSD box is now available from Neuros intended for developers. The OSD 2.0 first popped up a month ago and nothing has changed since then. The DIY set-top box still encodes high-def at 720p in MPEG 4, and supports H.264, MPEG2, MPEG4, and WMV. So if assembling a set-top box is on your to-do-list, you can now order the OSD2 developers kit for $249, but just don’t forget to bring your own HDD and optical drive.
We’ve featured Neuros’s wares on Crunchgear before, so we’re glad to see the DIY Linux systems mature to high definition age. Their latest box, the OSD2.0, aimed at developers is going to have the capability. Yeah, you read that correctly, as of right now it doesn’t but as soon as the functionality is available, a firmware refresh will add it. Once you throw in the ‘coming-soon’ HD specs, this is one nice platform.
D1(720×480) H.264 or SVGA (1024×768) MPEG4 + AAC/AC3/MP3 encoding
720P playback, up to 1080i with certain content
Support H.264, MPEG2, MPEG4, WMV codec
Composite/Component Input: 2 composite input, 1 component input, all with dedicated stereo audio
Composite/Component/HDMI Video Output
RCA Audio I/O
2 USB ports in rear, 1 in front, and 1 internal to housing
The unit is retailing for $249.99 and by the end of the month, Linux PVR coders should be able to get the first batch. The Inquirer happened to get an early unit for those wanting for a closer look.
We’re fans of Neuros here at CrunchGear, not just for the cool hardware its developing but also for its anti-DRM themes. The idea of applying open source to open content is a no-brainer, and it makes it look easy. And cool.
So when Neuros published its new logo for un-DRMed media, we figured we had to share it. And the logo itself is hoped to spread to cover all non-DRM media, and we like the idea.
It appears that the Neuros.TV part of the equation will do most of the heavy lifting associated with getting you what you want to watch with the least amount of resistance, which should be a welcome and refreshing change, as you won’t have to download or convert stuff first. Hallelujah.
