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Consumer-electronics maker Sonicblue announced Thursday it will start charging a subscription fee for its digital video recording service starting this summer when it releases new recorders.
Sonicblue Vice President Steve Shannon said the company will offer a lifetime subscription first, followed by a monthly subscription later this year. He did not disclose prices, but said they should be in line with the competition's rates. For comparison, rival company TiVo charges $249 for a lifetime subscription. ("Lifetime" refers to the life of the recorder.)
Until the subscriptions become available, the company will continue to build the cost of maintaining the service into the price of the recorders.
DVRs (digital video recorders) are similar to VCRs, but instead of recording shows to a tape they are stored on a hard drive. Sonicblue's DVR service allows subscribers to pause live broadcasts, pick shows to record in the future and jump past commercials that are stored on the hard drive of its DVRs.
Further details on the subscriptions will come when the ReplayTV 4500 recorders are released this summer. The company will also start selling its recorders in retail stores. The subscription fee for the DVR service will not apply to owners of ReplayTV 4000 recorders.
The move to subscriptions comes as Sonicblue tries to capture more market share in the DVR market, which is lead by rival TiVo. TiVo started selling its Series2 recorder earlier this month
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Sonicblue Vice President Steve Shannon said the company will offer a lifetime subscription first, followed by a monthly subscription later this year. He did not disclose prices, but said they should be in line with the competition's rates. For comparison, rival company TiVo charges $249 for a lifetime subscription. ("Lifetime" refers to the life of the recorder.)
Until the subscriptions become available, the company will continue to build the cost of maintaining the service into the price of the recorders.
DVRs (digital video recorders) are similar to VCRs, but instead of recording shows to a tape they are stored on a hard drive. Sonicblue's DVR service allows subscribers to pause live broadcasts, pick shows to record in the future and jump past commercials that are stored on the hard drive of its DVRs.
Further details on the subscriptions will come when the ReplayTV 4500 recorders are released this summer. The company will also start selling its recorders in retail stores. The subscription fee for the DVR service will not apply to owners of ReplayTV 4000 recorders.
The move to subscriptions comes as Sonicblue tries to capture more market share in the DVR market, which is lead by rival TiVo. TiVo started selling its Series2 recorder earlier this month
Full Story