Sandisk Kills Off TakeTV USB PC-to-TV Device

Sandisk TakeTV - what appears like a winner from the beginning - has recently been killed off along with its Fanfare online video store by the company that allegedly wishes to refocus on its mobile entertainment business. TakeTV was originally touted as a USB PC-to-TV video device that can playback XviD, DivX and MPEG-4 on a TV set. It comprises of three components: the remote, TV dock and the storage with the latter doubles as a video decoder. 4GB and 8GB were initially selling for $99.99 and $149.99 respectively. The Fanfare online video store sold TV shows provided from content providers. So, what's wrong? Here's a list:

• People who are already tech-savvy enough to figure out how the Sandisk TakeTV works maybe also familiar with media compatibility on their gaming consoles (XBox 360 / PS3) and DivX-enabled DVD players
• Similar devices like Apple TV, media extender and dedicated media hard drive players like the LaCie LaCinema are just everywhere
• Lack of content from the first-tier names. Only CBS and ShowTime were among the handful of providers out there.
• S-video as the best connection to the TV, and small capacity make the TakeTV even less appealing