VuNow Subscription?

[chrisbackus]

Like some of you, I saw the tigerdirect youtube video on the ITV2000 (now the EVA2000). I was hooked - so much that I went on a frenzy trying to find where I could buy it. I currently have a vudu appliance, appleTv, and WDTV and just want to consolidate functions for watching and renting online content.

After striking out and only finding a press release that suggested a march-june release of the product, I found that PlayOn was supported on the device. I wrote them to see if they could help.

PlayOn wrote me back to tell me the new model number, and I immediatly went to amazon and ordered it.

Now, with today's press release, it looks like all of the key features I loved in the product video (sure it was months old and pre-release, but...) are now going to be subscription based?

So, out of the box, what does this do? Mine just shipped from Amazon, so I have a few days to dwell on this before confirming first hand.

To me, it seems that it will surf youtube - like every other appliance in this genere - and it will play media from usb drives.

Outside of that, can it do anything without the help of VuNow or PlayOn?

Honestly, if you just saw the video I saw on youtube, you would think every bit of functionality was native to the box with no plug-in assistance. That is why I was initially so excited.

Did anyone else get that impression and do you have any updates on the subscription rate?

I have a message into VuNow about the rates, but they have not written back yet. On their website - they only sell the vunow box from the video and not a subscription service.

Something tells me this was going to be a rebranded version of their box, and that relationship went south. This caused a delay in the product release and now only a license relationship exists with the codec/VuNow platform. The outcome is now that this is no longer a partnership with VuNow, buyers get to pay for a subscription.

Thoughts?

[chrisbackus]

Wow! Insert any comic book action term here.

This is what I got back from VuNow Support:

"We will update you on the pricing once annual subscriptions are available.

Thank You,
VuNow Support Team"

So.... If the core features of the product revolve around a yet to be determined subscription fee, where does this leave us as consumers?

[Dogbert]

Here's a quick breakdown of what the unit does out of the box, as well as the added services:

- Plays media content from your local LAN that has a UPNP server (ReadyNAS UPNP server; Twonky media server; etc.)

- Plays media content from locally attach USB storage (either USB stick or USB HD)

- Searches and plays Internet content from multiple locations using the VTap search engine (static videos from places like YouTube; Myspace; CNN; etc.)

- Searches and plays YouTube videos using the standard YouTube search engine

Add-On Features:
- With a one time purchase of the PlayOn software (with the 25% discount since you purchased the EVA2000), you add the additional functionality of all of the PlayOn access content. i.e. Hulu; Netflix streaming (if you have a Netflix account); CNN etc., as well as additional user added sites (southpark, cartoon network, Syfy, etc.)

- Wireless N support with the purchase of an optional wireless USB stick

Subscription services:
Until December 31st you get these additional features (After Dec 31st there will be a subscription charge, but it is unknown as to what the charge will be)

- Popular Websites (Content from the more popular websites that have been categorized for easy access)

- Live internet streaming channels from around the world, categorized by region.

- Plays downloaded rented videos from CinemaNow

Hope this helps

[muzicman61]

Originally Posted by Dogbert

With a one time purchase of the PlayOn software (with the 25% discount since you purchased the EVA2000), you add the additional functionality of all of the PlayOn access content. i.e. Hulu; Netflix streaming (if you have a Netflix account); CNN etc., as well as additional user added sites (southpark, cartoon network, Syfy, etc.)

Seems like 9150 owners should also get this 25% discount.

[chrisbackus]

Sign up for the playon mailing list. They regularly send out discount codes via email. $10 usually, but sometimes $20.

That is a known commodity - my beef with the whole thing is the VuNow subscription. Playon is a one time expense and you can use it on multiple devices in the house PS3, Xbox, Wii, and more. Not that they would, but what if it came out to $19.95 a month? You have now purchased a box that lost most of it's functionality unless you now pay the subscription fee.

To me the not knowing part is probably going to result in a product return for me.