Despite Lawsuit, SONICblue Delivers ReplayTV 4000

by Alan Sheckter, SmartTV & Sound news editor

Not discouraged by a lawsuit filed by major TV networks and movie studios, SONICblue announced Nov. 28 that it would begin shipping its new ReplayTV 4000 series of digital video recorders (DVR).

The new ReplayTV 4000 models, which come one year after ReplayTV stopped manufacturing personal video recorders, are designed to give consumers “the control they want over their television viewing,” the company said.

In addition to allowing viewers to automatically skip commercials, as well as pause, replay and bring slow motion to live television, broadband connectivity and a peer-to-peer video sharing feature should allow consumers to distribute recorded programs within the home or to other ReplayTV 4000 users around the world.

SONICblue, which recently acquired ReplayTV, is undeterred by the recent lawsuit filed against it. In a joint statement, ABC, CBS and NBC said the device “violates the rights of copyright owners” and “deprives the copyright owners of the means by which they are paid for their creative content and thus reduces the incentive to create programming and make it available to the public.”

A defiant Ken Potashner, CEO and chairman of SONICblue disagreed. “The ReplayTV 4000 is so good the networks don’t want consumers to have
it,” he said. He went on to say that the lawsuit was “an attempt by the entertainment industry to control the living room.”

SONICblue, who reports an increase in preorders since the lawsuit was filed, maintains that they respect copyrights and the new DVRs will support emerging entertainment industry copy protection standards.

Prices for the new models, which come with no monthly service fees, range from $699 for the ReplayTV 4040, which holds up to 40 hours of storage, to $1,999 for the ReplayTV 4320, which comes with a 320-hour program storage capacity.