SanDisk pulls the plug on Sansa TakeTV

The little USB stick was a quick, easy, and cheap way to watch downloaded videos on your TV—indeed, it was a "Last Gadget Standing" finalist at CES back in January. However, viewers apparently weren't convinced, and SanDisk just announced that TakeTV and the Fanfare video download service are both going dark.

SanDisk said it made the decision because TakeTV, which debuted last October, was "no longer a priority" for the company (this according to NewTeeVee), but it's a safe bet that the product—a little 4-to-8GB USB stick that played DRM-encrypted TV shows from the likes of NBC, CBS, and Showtime—simply didn't sell that well.

While the TakeTV stick itself will still work, SanDisk has shut down its Fanfare video portal, which offered dozens of network (and DRM-protected) TV shows for sale and download. So while you'll still be able to watch compatible video files (including DivX and Xvid files) over TakeTV, those looking for new episodes of "CSI" or "The Office" are out of luck.

I had the chance to review TakeTV back in December, and it was certainly a cheap ($150 for the 8GB version, $99 for the 4GB model) and easy way to watch downloaded videos on a TV. You just bought a TV show on Fanfare, transfered it to the TakeTV stick, and then plugged the stuck into a USB-equipped adapter connected to your TV's composite or S-Video TV inputs. A simple interface let you navigate between shows, and a little remote allowed for playing, pausing, and skipping from the sofa.

But TakeTV was aimed mainly at tech and video novices who'd probably never downloaded a TV show in their lives—and simple as TakeTV was, it was probably a bit too complicated for someone who's never even used iTunes before.

Meanwhile, those of us who regularly buy and download movies and TV shows are probably already using either Vudu, Apple TV, or the new Netflix Player—which, at just $99, is just as cheap and way more powerful (and less clunky) than TakeTV.

Anyway, I feel badly for those who did shell out $99 or more for TakeTV—especially considering that the Fanfare video download service is gone for good. It would be nice if SanDisk could work with, say, Amazon to allow Unbox videos to work on TakeTV—either that, or offer TakeTV users some kind of refund for their trouble.

Related:
R.I.P. SanDisk’s TakeTV, Fanfare Shut Down [NewTeeVee]