layout: post title: Sonicblue go bye bye created: 1048269164 categories:

• Home Server
• Multimedia PC

Ah, at long last, one of the silly companies that began to merge the computer with the home A/V system is now pushing up the daisies.

Sonicblue has filed for Chapter 11, in which Gandalf innovator fights the Balrog credit lenders and thinks he is safe, but never does see that they always had the chain round his leg. Can you say "LOTR delusional"?

Actually, this company has some funny stuff. They claim to have the first networked DVD player. Sorry, that claim was invalidated the instant they made it - the computer was the first networked DVD player, all these guys did was add streaming.

But their efforts were commendable - DVD/VCR combo that could skip commercials, ReplayTV Tivo clone, and that networked DVD player. As Jobs said about Xerox, Sonicblue "had the germ of the idea", but never had the cojones to take the Apple-sized step to building the whole bridge.

I doubt they would be a good acquisition for Apple, but certainly parts of their company would be valuable for Apple to acquire for the larger digital home A/V hub that Apple is either ignoring, or working on in secret.