14 DAY TRIAL // South Korean vendor Samsung has acquired the video startup Boxee in a move that is meant to enhance its smart TV plans, but which appears to spell bad news for Boxee’s users.
Founded six years ago, Boxee started as a video streaming software company, but partnered with D-Link in the meantime for the launch of set-top boxes to offer digital video streaming.
No specific info on the purchase has been provided as of now, but the startup was looking for $30 million in funding, and the deal might have amounted to that, readwrite reports.
Boxee has already confirmed the transaction, announcing on its website that the team will be joining Samsung.
“We started on this journey six years ago, and have been at the forefront of the changing TV and video landscape. We believe that over the next few years the video market will change even more than it has in the past few decades,” the company said.
“Joining Samsung means we will be able to work on products that marry the best hardware and software in the TV space, products that will be used by tens of millions of people and will help to shape the future of TV.”
However, not all Boxee users will be happy about the deal, especially those who are currently taking advantage of the beta Cloud DVR functionality on their devices.
The company will be shutting this down on July 10, and users will lose access to their recordings following said date.
“For Boxee users, we’re working behind the scenes to ensure there’s minimal impact to your devices. However, the beta Cloud DVR functionality we provided to certain Boxee TV users will be discontinued on July 10th,” the company announced.
“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.”