SageTV in a notice to its users said on Saturday that it had been bought out by Google. The open-source home theater software developer said it signed onboard because of a “shared vision for open technology” that would move their Internet-focused experience. They hoped to reach an “even larger audience” on different products, platforms, and services, hinting it wouldn’t necessarily be limited to Android.
The takeover has angered some users since it has already pulled its store and most other links aside from the company forums, making it difficult to get a copy of SageTV itself.
Google hasn’t commented on what its intentions would be, although most already suspect the company is being bought to improve the struggling Google TV platform. A revival of the platform is already planned with an Android 3.1 upgrade that will give it heavily requested third-party app support along with new hardware from Samsung and Vizio. SageTV’s experience in the field, particularly with DVR-like recording, may signal an intent to add recording to Google TV and work it into cable and satellite set-top boxes, not just stand-alone hardware that needs a separate set-top to integrate with regular TV.
