To be honest, I'm surprised the good folks at Broadclip haven't already landed in some sort of big-media hot water for their MediaCatcher product. MediaCatcher works like a TiVo for portable devices--you install the software, and it uses your computer's TV tuner card to find and record shows, and then automatically formats those shows for your portable device. Plus, it sends the shows to iTunes or Windows Media Player for easy auto-syncing. Cool, right? No more $1.99 shows! But now, Broadclip is apparently just taunting the dragon: the music industry.
According to a press release I got, Broadclip will, on January 8, announce a new product offering "unlimited music for portable devices." Oh, really? And just where do you plan to get this music, Broadclip? I wouldn't be so certain of the impending court battle if they hadn't already taken such a defiant tone about MediaCatcher. To wit, "Hello fellow iPod owner! If you're like us, you are looking for new stuff to play in your iPod, but you are sick and tired of paying $2 per show for broadcast TV shows. Apple, the TV networks and cable providers are all really excited about being able to re-sell you the same TV shows that you already pay for in your monthly cable bill." See what I'm saying?
I can only speculate that the new product will be some sort of Internet radio capture device, or possibly a recorder for satellite radio feeds that come along with, say, a DirecTV subscription. But considering how the RIAA has already responded to the idea of recording satellite radio for later playback, I've got to think this particular announcement won't go unnoticed by the legendarily litigious music industry. Me? I can't wait to check out this new product. I've already exhausted all the new CDs I got for Christmas.