I don't know who is in charge of R&D or market research over there at RIO but they need their head examined, BADLY.

Let's take a look at a few things, and try to do it from a standard user level not some uber computer god.

EMPEG is created , people love it, sells a few, but it is beyond the financial scope of most.. so they buy the product and market under the rio name. KEEPING THE PRICEPOINT IN TACT. first great move :/ Not long there after they decide to discontinue it promising continuing support. rigggggggggghht. where are the tuners now? oh yah that's right there are none.

Having failed with the RIOCAR they are first and foremost to expand the technology into a home market with the rio receiver... pretty good idea, not TOO expensive, but it requires an ethernet connection at least if you want to stream a LOT of data it does. Still a good product.

Let's not stop there, i mean there MUST be a demand for HIGH end products though, even though the EMPEG basically financially failed.

So they put out the RIO AUDIO CENTER. cuz there must be a VAST market for 1500 receivers when you can get 100 disc changers for $200 now..don't get me wrong, it is a nice product, but how many people are going to shell out that kinda money for it.. and of those, how many people are pissed off about their empeg and the state of it, support wise, lack of peripheral wise.. and just all in all the way they handled the demise of the empeg.. i would hazzard a guess that a pretty large percentage of the rio users may have the money and interest to buy a product like that.. but i know that i for one will not.. i just don't trust sonic blue or their product cycle, or their word.

Another product to be released..a hopped up TIVO unit for what is it $1200 or so.. i would love to quote the exact price but gee what a surprise the estore is down in that department. Great the thing has good features, but how many people already own a tivo or a vcr with the same features.. commercial advance.. licensed technology, i have had it for years on my vcr.. works well, nothing new..share recordings between tv's.. you must be one LOADED mother to have a house so large that you need a networked vcr. Video over the web.. fantastic, if i won the lottery i could get one for all my friends, but since they are all making 40-60k a year, i don't see them spending that kinda money on a unit. Wow, ethernet support, hooray :/. digital photo slideshows..most decent cams do that. and i am pretty sure that more standalones do as well, i will think on that. Ichannels.. blah, we will see.. if the product lasts long enough, or the company does. almost every other feature is a standard vcr feature.. certainly available with Tivo or a similar..

the point of all this is the marketing decisions being made are horrendous. Your first high end consumers, willing to shell out 1200-2000 for a car audio player have basically been left in the dust.. with little or no warning. Customer support is almost non existent. The online Estore is ALWAYS down or has errors in stock. NOW, everything that you are planning your future on revolves around a price point well beyond the scope of what most home users are willign to pay.

If i were working at sonic blue i would have to suggest that they get into a market niche where they have a future that isn't based on selling things that most people can't afford and with so many other personal players arriving even that market is going to dump soon.

get some customer support.
value your customers corectly and be thankful they spent their hard earned money with you
get a webmaster that actually has a freakin clue
stop telling tales
find a way to manufacture existing products less expensively or wait on realease until you do.

if you don't your company is doomed. period