Qplay video streaming service on Saturday announced that it is going to breathe its last on July 25 after living a short life of mere 6 months.
In an official blog post, Qplay said that is announcing with a heavy heart that is will shut down next Friday, July 25. Although the company did not specify as to why it was shutting down the service, it said the decision was taken because it has become impossible for the company to continue developing and running the service.
The internet video service was launched by TiVo co-founders Michael Ramsay and James Barton, with initial financial backers including Redpoint Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers. Qplay allowed users to discover, play, and share personalized streams of Internet video on TV and mobile devices.
The video streaming service, however, lacked in offering access to subscription-video services, like Netflix, Amazon.com Prime Instant Video or Hulu Plus which made it difficult for it compete with other low-cost dongles like the $35 Chromecast or $50 Roku Streaming Stick which provided subscription service access.
The company has urged customers to get their adapters recycled as soon as possible as its Qplay TV adapters will stop working when the service shuts down next Friday. The company also announced that it would refund back money to the customers who purchased TV adapters. Users can request for refund from the company until 5pm PST on July 25.
