Boxee Box by D-Link

The Boxee Box by D-Link retails for $199 (US) and as of this writing, the unit offers content from Netflix, MLB, NHL, Vodo, Pandora, and a variety of online sources like YouTube. The Boxee Box also has a built-in browser that can play Flash video and supports a wide range of video and audio files–making it easy to play content stored on your own network.

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Boxee Box

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Caption by: Bill Detwiler

Remote - Top

On top of the Boxee Box remote are a play/pause button, directional pad, enter button, and menu button.

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Remote - Bottom (keypad)

Flip the Boxee Box remote over, and you’ll find a QWERTY keypad. This is a very nice touch.

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Right side - SD/MMC card slot

Along the right side of the Boxee Box is an SD/MMC card slot.

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Removing the bottom rubber pad

To access the case screws, we must remove the lime-green, rubber pad from the base of the Boxee Box.

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Hidden plastic cover

Under the rubber pad is a second black, plastic sheet that’s also stuck to the bottom of the Boxee Box. You’ll also need to remove it.

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Bottom rubber cover and plastic cover

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External screws

With the lime-green pad and plastic sheet removed, we can see the six Phillips screws that secure the Boxee Box’s external shell. Two of the screws are located near the outer edge of the base. While, the other four are recessed inside the plastic base.

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Outer shell opened

With all six screws removed, you can lift the base section of the Boxee Box’s case away from the other half.

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Base section

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Internal components with base section removed

With the base section of the Boxee Box’s outer shell removed, we get our first look inside D-Link’s set-top box. Immediately visible is the large heatsink and cooling fan. An oddly-shaped power board rises up from the main PCB (hidden within the internal metal case). The wireless card is located behind the cooling assembly. And, a small PCB with the USB ports is located to the right of the heatsink and fan.

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Overhead view

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Upside-down mounting

Although the Boxee Box’s odd shape makes it difficult to tell which end is up, the internal components are actually secured to the top of the unit.

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Removing the USB ports

Next, you’ll need to remove the small PCB that houses the unit’s two USB ports. It is held to the Boxee Box’s internal metal frame with two Phillips screws. Before removing the USB PCB, you’ll also need to disconnect the cable that attaches it to the main PCB.

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USB PCB removed

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USB PCB - Top

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USB PCB - Bottom

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USB ports removed

With the small USB PCB removed, we can more easily access the four Phillips screws that hold the heatsink/fan assembly and its metal shroud.

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Thin metal shroud

A thin metal shroud cover part of the heatsink and fan assembly. You’ll need to disconnect the fan’s cable before lifting it away from the Boxee Box.

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Heatsink/fan assembly removed

The Boxee Box’s heatsink uses a phase change thermal pad instead of thermal paste to conduct heat away from the CPU.

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Heatsink/fan assembly and shroud

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With heatsink/fan assembly removed

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Removing the wireless PCB

The Boxee Box’s wireless PCB is next on our removal list. Two Phillips screws hold it in place. You’ll also need to disconnect the two antenna wires and the large cable before lifting it away from the rest of the unit.

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Wireless PCB removed

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Wireless PCB - Top

The wireless card is actually made oup of two PCBs–the larger board that connects directly to the main PCB via a cable and a smaller wireless PCB that provides the 802.11 b/g/n support. The smaller PCB is held to the larger with two Phillips screws.

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Wireless PCB - Bottom

On the underside of the is a Nordic Semiconductor nRF24LU1 single chip 2.4GHz Tranceiver with USB Microcontroller and Flash Memory.

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802.11 b/g/n card removed

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802.11 b/g/n chips

With the EMI shield removed, we can see a a few of the chips on the 802.11 b/g/n card. Unfortunately, our view of the main chip is blocked by a metal cross beam on the EMI shield’s base. As I want to reassemble this unit in working order, I’m not going to cut the beam away from the card.

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Removing the external case's front panel

We can now remove the front panel of the Boxee Box’s external case. It is held in place by a single Phillips screw. Before removing the panel, you’ll also need to disconnect the thin wire that runs from the main PCB to the large, rectangular LED panel mounted to the inside of the panel. This LED panel illuminates the Boxee logo on the front panel when the unit it powered on.

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Front case panel removed

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Front case panel with LED attached

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With the front and back case panels removed

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Removing the wireless and USB PCB cable

This Y-shaped cable connects both the small USB PCB and wireless PCB to the Boxee Box’s main PCB (hidden inside the internal metal frame).

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Power board and metal tape

Two pieces of metal tape are attached to both the power board and the metal frame. I’m going to remove the long, horizontal piece at this point. I’ll remove the other piece later, when I remove the power board.

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Metal tape removed

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Removing the metal frame screws

Four Phillips screws hold the metal frame’s top and bottom halves together. One screw is located below the power board.

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Second metal frame screw

A second screw is located below the ports.

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Third and fourth metal frame screw

And, two screws are located on what would be the front of the Boxee Box.

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Opening the internal metal frame

With the four Phillips screws removed, you can separate the two halves of the Boxee Box’s internal metal frame. The main PCB and power board are still attached to the top half of the frame. We’ll remove those in a bit.

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Bottom half of the internal metal frame

The bottom half of the Boxee Box’s internal metal frame is secured to the outer shell with several Phillips screws. As there’s nothing left to remove from the frame, I’m going to leave it attached to the outer shell.

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Metal frame, main PCB, and power board

Next, we’ll remove the Boxee Box’s oddly-shaped power board.

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Power board metal tape

Before removing the power board, you’ll need to remove the thin, metal tape the runs over the board and metal frame. The tape helps reduce EMI inside the Boxee Box.

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Power board with metal tape removed

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Power board screws

The Boxee Box’s power board is held to the metal frame with two Phillips screws.

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Power board removed

With the screws removed, you can disconnect the power board from the main PCB. I was able to pry up from the bottom of the power board through a slot in the metal frame.

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Power board - Top

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Power board - Bottom

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Main PCB screws

Four Phillips screws hold the Boxee Box’s main PCB to the top half of the metal frame.

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Caption by: Bill Detwiler

Removing the main PCB from the internal metal frame

With the screws removed, you can lift the Boxee Box’s main PCB away from the top half of the internal metal frame. You’ll need to first lift the end opposite the ports and then pull the port end out.

A thick cushion is taped to the top of the main PCB above the ports. The cushion makes the board a bit difficult to remove, but with a little effort the board should separate from the frame. Take note when removing the PCB, a plastic sleeve sits between the two RCA audio outs and the metal frame. It will likely come loose when you remove the main PCB.

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Top half of the internal metal frame - Bottom

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Top half of the internal metal frame - Top

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Main PCB - Top (with cushion)

You can see the cushion taped to the top edge of the main PCB. We’ll remove this before looking at the Boxee Box’s chips.

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Terminus Technology FE1.1 USB 2.0 HUB LG3A924A6180

Terminus Technology FE1.1 LG3A924A6180 USB 2.0 High Speed 4-Port Hub Controller

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Realtek RTL8201N 10/100M Fast Ethernet PHYceiver

Realtek RTL8201N Single-Chip/Port 10/100M Fast Ethernet PHYceiver with Auto MDIX

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AKM AK8137A low power multi-clock generator and Gleam Micro GL1117 Linear Regulator

AKM AK8137A low power multi clock generator (top)?

?Gleam Micro GL1117 Linear Regulator

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Wolfson WM8524G stereo DAC

Wolfson WM8524G stereo DAC

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Intel Atom processor CE4110 System-on-Chip (SoC)

Intel Atom processor CE4110 System-on-Chip (SoC)

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Nanya NT5CB128M8CN-CG 1GB DDR3 SDRAM

Four 1GB Nanya NT5CB128M8CN-CG DDR3 SDRAM chips sit directly under their counterparts on the top of the main PCB.

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Pericom Technology PT7C4311WE Real-time Clock Module

Pericom Technology PT7C4311WE Real-time Clock Module

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Microchip Technology PIC24FJ64GA004 16-bit microcontroller

Microchip Technology PIC24FJ64GA004 16-bit microcontroller

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Misc. chips

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Toshiba TC58NVG3S0ETA00 NAND Flash memory chip

Toshiba TC58NVG3S0ETA00 NAND Flash memory chip

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NXP Semiconductor 4776 HDMI interface and Taiwan Semiconductor TS21C

NXP Semiconductor 4776 HDMI interface (left) and Taiwan Semiconductor TS21C (right)

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AKM AK8136A low power multi-clock generator

AKM AK8136A Low Power Multi-clock Generator with VCXO

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System battery

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