Hasta La Gadget!

Several Israeli news agencies are reporting that Korean electronics giant Samsung purchased set-top box company Boxee today. The Tel Aviv-based company apparently got less than the $30 million it was reportedly seeking, thus coming up at a loss since being founded in 2007. Boxee’s approximately 40 employees are said to be staying on, including president Avner Ronen. A Boxee rep tells Engadget “We can’t comment on the accuracy of those reports.” Samsung has not yet responded to our inquiries, but we’ll update this post as we learn more.

Update: TechCrunch is also confirming the acquisition, and cites its own “reliable sources.”

Update 2: Samsung confirmed the acquisition to us this afternoon. A Samsung statement reads, “Samsung has acquired key talent and assets from Boxee. This will help us continue to improve the overall user experience across our connected devices.”

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, Software, HD, Samsung

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Source: Calcalist, The Marker

Boxee Cloud DVR has been active in only eight markets since its inception as Boxee TV, but it’s at last time for the platform to spread its wings. As of now, Boxee’s live TV recording service is up and running in the San Francisco Bay Area in beta form; owners just need to update their firmware to start uploading shows. While the company hasn’t outlined its plans for other markets just yet, its target of 26 cities by the end of 2013 means that other areas shouldn’t be far behind.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Via: GigaOM

Source: Boxee (Twitter)

Back in October of 2012, Boxee unveiled its Boxee TV set-top box. When it originally launched the big feature was the ability to watch live TV in high definition from ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, and other networks and cloud-based DVR functionality. The box was designed to work with unencrypted basic cable connections and featured dual tuners allowing you to watch one show on according the other.

The set-top box also supported number of apps including Netflix and several others. The coolest part about the device was the unlimited storage space for DVR recordings. Rather than using an internal hard drive, the Boxee TV stored your recorded TV shows on the cloud using a service that cost $14.99 per month. Boxee has now changed the name of the set-top box calling it the Boxee Cloud DVR.

Other than the name change, the set-top box is the same $100 device combining live TV with cloud DVR functionality. All those apps, including Netflix, are still available. One nice introduction along with the name change comes a free tier for the cloud-based DVR service and the previously $14.99 per month unlimited service is now $9.99 per month.

There are caveats with the free basic service. One of those caveats is that your recordings expire in 90 days. The worst of the limitations for the basic service is that you’re limited to only five hours of DVR playback per month and you can only watch on your TV. The $9.99 monthly service offers recordings that never expire, unlimited DVR playback, and the ability to watch your content on the TV, computer, tablet, or smartphone.

[via Gigaom]

Boxee TV becomes Boxee Cloud DVR is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Following the trend of everything accentuating its connection to the “cloud,” Boxee has rebranded its new box as the Boxee Cloud DVR. GigaOm reports the company made the shift to emphasize its DVR features as a differentiator from other $99 set-tops like those offered by Roku and Apple. Other than the name change and a website redesign, one other new tack is a free “Basic” service package. Buyers still get the “All-access” $10 service tier free for a month upfront on a trial basis, which has unlimited storage and playback across different devices. Once that runs out however, they can opt for basic service where cloud-stored DVR recordings are limited to 5 hours of monthly playback on the box itself and expire after 90 days. While the DVR service’s availability is still limited to eight markets, the plan is to expand to 26 by the end of this year. Once it rolls out to more areas and the DVR features come out of beta, we’ll see if buyers are ready to give this second attempt at blending online and OTA video a shot.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Via: GigaOm

Source: Boxee.tv

Boxee’s second box is getting a fresh round of updates, as GigaOm points out software version 2.1.0.7781 has been detailed and is rolling out. It includes features that appeal to classic Boxee fans like support for DLNA rendering that lets it browse and play files from PCs or other devices on the same network and DMR that lets users push media to it from apps like Skifta. For more traditional viewers, the update also brings a standard TV guide users can pull up by selecting “TV” on the home screen, the ability to schedule and manage DVR recordings from antenna on the box itself (previously only possible via webpage for the still-in-beta feature), notifications for upcoming recordings and even 3D support in the Vudu app. Boxee co-founder Idan Cohen joined us at Expand and mentioned some of the other updates the team is working on, we’ll see if oft-requested features like the ability to pause live TV are added any time soon. Hit the source link for the full list of changes, current owners should see the new software arrive over the next few days.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Via: GigaOm

Source: Boxee Support