Facelift in the offing for Google TV?

Industry watchers were taken by surprise as Google bought DVR software and set-top box company SageTV. The announcement came hours back. Sage TV customers received an email announcement which was also posted on Sage TV website.

As the media landscape continues to evolve, we think it's time our vision of entertainment management grows as well. By teaming up with Google, we believe our ideas will reach an even larger audience of users worldwide on many different products, platforms and services, Sage TV statement said.

We've seen how Google's developer efforts are designed to stimulate innovation across the web, and as developers have played a core role in the success of SageTV, we think our shared vision for open technology will help us advance the online entertainment experience, Sage said.

The email to customers said that Sage TV's store has been entirely shut down, but customer support for its DVR products will continue.

DVR software, known for its flexibility, works with Mac OS X, Windows and Linux operating systems and can run on practically any computer with a TV tuner card into the primary hub of a home entertainment system.

Google's purchase of SageTV ignites curiosity as to whether its technology (and dev team) will be used to revitalize Google TV, an Internet TV software that has been panned as an underwhelming product, industry watcher Andrew Couts observed in an article posted on Digital Trends.