![]() The set-top box maker and streaming media provider was among the early entrants and has battled against the space’s mainstays, AppleTV and Roku. Many technology giants like Apple, Google and Intel are trying to break into streaming video as a way to hook consumers with their devices.įounded in 2007, Boxee is based in Israel and has received almost $27 million in funding from venture capital firms such as Spark Capital, Union Square Venturesand Softbank NY. Boxee has been purchased by Samsung for an unconfirmed 30 million by a number of media outlets. “This will help us continue to improve the overall user experience across our connected devices.”Ī representative from Boxee confirmed the company was joining Samsung.Īs the world’s biggest TV manufacturer, Samsung has been expanding features on its Internet-connected TV sets such as Skype video calling and apps that directly tap Netflix and other streaming video content. “Samsung has acquired key talent and assets from Boxee,” said a Samsung spokeswoman. Most DVRs allow for a limited number of recordings before the user has to delete shows to make room for others. How their software, vision, and technology fits into Samsung's plans to engage OTT and the emergence of the Smart TV space will need to be seen.ĭoes the future of OTT belong hard wired into a device, or is it more likely to be a software solution that connects seamlessly to any connected device? That's just one of the many exciting questions that the emerging TV 2.0 space needs to sort out - to bring the abundance of web video content to consumers.Samsung Electronics has acquired TV digital recording device company Boxee, the South Korean manufacturer said on Wednesday.īoxee is a DVR that stores content in the cloud and lets viewers watch recordings anywhere without space constraints. It's not hard to imagine Avner and Reese and their shared vision of socially enabled video discovery as a magical partnership. hire key employees and purchase Boxees assets for around 30M. So, where is Shelby now? They're sitting side by side with the Boxee team at Samsung. Boxee was a cross-platform freeware HTPC (Home Theater PC) software. So with limited investment capital to keep the lights on, and the road to web video profitability still a ways out - they also looked for a soft landing and a safe home. had raised about $3.9 million, from Avalon Ventures and Angels including DFJ’s Tim Draper, Buddy Media’s Mike Lazerow, Simulmedia’s Dave Morgan, and others. But the TV space is nascent, and revenues are unclear for pure discovery. In 2012, Shelby's CEO Reece Pacheco relaunched the product as an API and a "Genius" App, and fans once again were wowed. You could log in with Facebook or Twitter account - and your social network informed your video choices. launched as a social site that was designed to bring together all the videos that your close friends have been liking and sharing, and uses that information in order to suggest videos that you might like to check out. Back then, CEO Reece Pacheco presented at the NY Video Meetup, and you could feel the excitement in the room. Information on acquisition, funding, cap tables, investors, and executives for Boxee. Shelby got great press at launch back in 2011, when it graduated from the Techstars incubator. While Boxee went after TV, Shelby focused on smart apps that could provide web video to you in consumable collection. Boxee’s Cloud DVR came in its Boxee TV avatar in October of last year as a 99 (Rs 5900 approx) Walmart exclusive, according to TechCrunch. In the past, D-Link helped launch Boxee’s first generation Boxee Box as well as the Cloud DVR. Meanwhile, another early team - Shelby TV - had been taking on the web video space from a different angle. Details about Samsung’s future plans for Boxee have still not been given out, though. Just to put things in perspective, Samsung's revenue was equal to 17% of South Korea's $1,082 billion GDP. It is about whether the Internet can deliver video and it can."Īnd while Boxee had a huge fan base - after two pivots, the team to a 30m buy out and moved inhouse at Samsung, an exit that certainly had some of the early OTT fans wondering what would happen to the Boxee vision inside the massive South Korean multinational conglomerate. ![]() Boxee Cloud DVR to shut down following Samsung deal, goes dark July 10th. But the always feisty Ronen fired back "People are willing to pay for internet video right now." "They are paying for Netflix, they are paying for MLB, they are paying for a lot of things," he said. Boxee team joins Samsung, will shut down cloud DVR service on July 10.
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