MovieBeam shutting down operations on December 15th
By Nilay Patel 
posted December 5th 2007 6:52PM
posted December 5th 2007 6:52PM
MovieBeam is calling customers today and telling them that the datacasting HD movie service is ceasing operations as of December 15th, with certain customers eligible for a refund on the hardware. It's been rocky going for the company since spinning off from Disney a couple years ago, with a series of investments and acquisitions along the way, but none of the owners ever really managed to make the limited-selection, high-DRM, wonky-quality movie rental business model really work. Although we're always sad to see another gadget fade into that sweet night, something tells us we're not going to mourn for long.[Thanks, Dustin]
I've been following this forum closely as well, If anything I'd like to be able to re use the hard drive for something, I bought the box for $50 just to play with it, Service wasn't even available here. How would it do as a networked media playback device? If anything I may put a Mini-ITX mobo in it if it will fit if not than a Nano-ITX in it's nice slim case.
They dug their own grave years ago, I called several times to ask if the would offer a wirless connection and not require a land line. They always said - not at this time. With about 30% of households in the U.S.A. only having Cell Phones and/or Cable/Wireless internet they will never survive. They catered to the wrong customer base.