Tuesday, May 25, 2010
VCR Plus Codes To Disappear
The VCR Plus+ codes, originally developed by Pasadena-based Gemstar-TV Guide, are officially disappearing, according to numerous reports from newspapers, who say that Rovi--which now owns the VCR Plus+ technology--has stopped issuing the codes. The technology, which allowed VCR owners to easily program the times for recording their favorite television shows into their VCR, is no longer being supported by current technology and digital video recorders. VCR Plus was originally developed by Henry Yuen and Daniel Kwoh, who leveraged the patents behind VCR Plus into a major business licensing television guide patents to set top box manufacturers, television manufacturers, and others, and eventually bought television guide brand TV Guide. Gemstar-TV Guide was acquired by Macrovision (eventually renamed Rovi) in 2007, after a long, drawn out drama over securities fraud by Yuen and Gemstar-TV Guide's CFO.