Google acquires DVR software maker SageTV
The companies did not announce the terms of the deal, and Google has yet to say what it has planned for SageTV.
Google has acquired SageTV, which develops software for DVRs and home-theater PCs, for an undisclosed sum.
SageTV has been developing its software since 2002. The platform allows people to record live television, including full seasons, thanks to support for antenna TV, cable, and satellite. A place-shifting feature lets people start watching a show on one device, such as their PC or Mac, and continue watching it elsewhere, including on mobile devices or even in the car.
Though speculation abounds over what Google has planned for SageTV, one possibility is that the service will be integrated into Google TV. That platform, which launched last year, allows people to search all their TV content, as well as access streaming services, such as Netflix and Pandora. However, not everyone is convinced that SageTV will be coming to Google TV.
"I consider it impossible that Google acquired SageTV so they could add native DVR capabilities to Google TV," Rakesh Agrawal, founder of SnapStream, a service that directly competed with SageTV before transitioning to "TV search," said in a blog post. "Remember, Google already manages the program guide, channel changing, and even automating your native DVR."
In announcing the acquisition over the weekend, SageTV was coy about its future, saying that its "ideas will reach an even larger audience of users worldwide on many different products, platforms, and services."
Google did not immediately respond to CNET's request for comment.