Boxee started off as a killer software application designed to turn any PC into a home theater PC. The company went on to deliver some pretty interesting products over the years, including the Boxee Box by D-Link. Apparently, Samsung saw a lot of talent in that tiny company, because the mega-manufacturer has gone and scooped up Boxee and all of its entities.
"We're pleased to announce that the Boxee team will be joining Samsung," says the front page of the Boxee website. The announcement goes on to say that joining Samsung will help the company develop more hardware and software, as well as "products that will be used by tens of millions of people and will help to shape the future of TV."
One product that won't be included in that crop is the Boxee Cloud DVR. Announced just a few months back, the compact box was designed to provide DVR services to those with an OTA antenna. There was a free Basic service with channel listings and up to 5 hours of DVR playback per month. For $9.99 per month, the All-access option allowed for unlimited DVR space and unlimited viewing.
Now, the box is basically a doorstop.
"The beta Cloud DVR functionality we provided to certain Boxee TV users will be discontinued on July 10th," says the Boxee website. "You will not have access to your existing recordings after that date. We realize many of you loved the service, and we're sorry it won't be available moving forward."
According to The New York Times, Samsung snatched up Boxee in an effort to improve its Smart TV platform -- and it was willing to spend about $30 million to do so.
Samsung has yet to officially announce what it plans to do with Boxee. However, between the acquisition and the killing of the Cloud DVR, we have to assume that Samsung plans to integrate those features into its Smart TV platform. Stay tuned.
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