Google Buys Sage TV

Google has acquired HTPC/DVR software maker Sage TV, as announced over the weekend, for an undisclosed sum. The company, which has been around since 2002, seems like a good fit for Google TV, but neither Google nor Sage TV have commented on what their plans are going forward.

"As the media landscape continues to evolve, we think it’s time our vision of entertainment management grows as well," Sage TV wrote on its homepage.

"By teaming up with Google, we believe our ideas will reach an even larger audience of users worldwide on many different products, platforms and services," it added.

Sage TV offers a product which can turn any PC with a TV tuner into a multimedia hub, by adding DVR capabilities and other multi-media functionality.

Google on the other hand, offers Google TV a software platform which enables users to bolt-on an internet experience on top of their existing set-top boxes.

"We’ve seen how Google’s developer efforts are designed to stimulate innovation across the web, and as developers have played a core role in the success of SageTV, we think our shared vision for open technology will help us advance the online entertainment experience," Sage TV also said.

"We look forward to joining Google, and while we don’t have anything specific to announce at this time, we encourage interested developers to email," it added.

Since neither company is saying anything specific, there's only speculation about what Google intends to do with the technology and the team it acquired. Sage TV's products will be discontinued, but existing customers will continue to be supported.

One of the more plausible theories is that Google may be interested in a feature of Sage TV that enables users to watch TV streams or recorded programs from their set-top boxes on computers and mobile devices on their home network or even over the web.