The HP Pocket Playback is small and simple. What it does is, using a subscription service, records media from sites such as Hulu or Netflix and stores it so you can play it back on up to five devices such as tablets. Take it on a plane and watch a movie without needing a connection (or a disc). It comes with a car charger and lets you stream music. Bring it to family gatherings and share photos.
It’s a great idea. Too bad it’ll likely get sued into oblivion before you finish reading this post.
The problem, as you may have guessed, is that whole “records video off the Internet” thing. The Pocket Playback is designed to play nice with apps like PlayLater, part of the PlayOn app which allows you to watch pretty much any streaming video on any platform.
One teeny, tiny problem with that: Movie studios go ape$#!t the microsecond they discover anybody is recording anything off web streaming, because that’s a copy, and you’re supposed to buy copies, from them.
So it’s likely not going to be able to store movies from Netflix for long. But until then, enjoy, and at least it’ll still stream music.
HP Pocket Playlist [Slashgear]