DirecTV just did itself a solid and picked up the pre-TiVo DVR company, ReplayTV, from parent company D&M. We don't know what all bundle of valuable time-shifting IP and patents wound up being worth in the form of an acquisition price tag, but it's got to be a pretty penny -- especially to a company like DirecTV, which has watched its peers have a prickly run-in or two with TiVo and its heavyweight "time warp" patent. Something tells us the brand will probably only live on in legacy alone, though. We just can't see much reason for DirecTV to bother carrying on with the half-assed comeback ReplayTV's been trying to make over the past couple of years.

[Via Zatz Not Funny]

We've seen a number of USB tuners that make converting files for handheld viewing a lesson in simplicity, but ReplayTV is givin' you one more alternative. The Personal HD kit includes a USB 2.0 ATSC / NTSC hybrid tuner, an antenna, wireless remote (which fits nicely in a spare PCMCIA slot), a free year of ReplayTV Electronic Program Guide (EPG), and bundled software that features native iPod, Apple TV and iPhone support. This "all-in-one" solution for getting OTA content on your device of choice is set to ship this November for $99.95.

We're still not so sure how this newfangled "internets" thing is going to work out, but Netflix seems enamored with the technology, and has set up a whole Internet TV division to push movies and TV shows over that series of tubes. Today Netflix appointed ReplayTV founder Anthony Wood to the VP position of the group, whose "invented the DVR, founded Roku" and "good written and verbal communication" resume items make him a natural choice for freeing those media downloads from PC shackles to make the trek into the living room and onto your television. "The company has taken the first step -- and an innovative one -- in offering online video to its members," said Mr. Wood, "and I'm here to work with a range of partners to get that video to the television, where consumers watch most of their movies." We knew Netflix had a good bit of this stuff in the works, but it's nice to see 'em come clean and take a proactive stance on this, especially since this war for PC-to-living room supremacy is sure to be a bloody one.

[Via Zatz Not Funny]

Looks like ReplayTV is pretty confident about the progress of this early beta program of theirs, since not not even a month since opening up pre-release downloads of their newly reinvigorated and resurrected ReplayTV product, we're already seeing the launch announcement. You'll be able to get your ReplayTV PC Edition in a bundled pack included with a Hauppauge WinTV tuner, as expected, or if you already have the right hardware you can snag the PC software release for $99.95 (with a $20 annual EPG service fee per year, of course). We won't compare that given retail price to the whole free TiVo thing because ReplayTV and TiVo are now officially on total opposite ends of the DVR spectrum, but when you're looking at ReplayTV versus a Media Center PC, we can imagine some scenarios where it'd be a little difficult to justify that cost. Then again, you are getting such features as Surprise Me (think: TiVo WishList combined with recommendations to find programming with your favorite actors, directors, etc.), fast searches, and a whole slew of other features the other guys have long since used (like show overlap management, program grouping, custom channel lists, and so on). Sorry though everybody, you're still gonna have to wait until September to officially make over that PC into a ReplayTV box, so if you're in the market right now for a new HTPC DVR and didn't get in on that beta, you're gonna have to look elsewhere.

Remember how last year we told you that ReplayTV-cum-SonicBlue-cum-D&M was doing the smart thing -- exiting the hardware DVR business to sell its software for computers -- in 2006? Oh, you know we're getting close now, people; ReplayTV's launched its beta sign up program, which will have you suffering laboriously over its 41 question survey before you can submit your app -- that is, if you have (or are willing to buy) a compatible ReplayTV tuner card (those being either a Hauppauge PVR-150 model 1045 or PVR USB2). Testing begins at the end of June 2006, so be on the lookout for "stray" builds, everybody.

[Thanks, Matt]