It was an interesting take on a familiar problem: how to bridge the gap between the PC (Internet video) and the TV. ZeeVee’s original consumer-focused solution, the Zv100 set-top box, utilized a home’s regular cable wiring to send video content from a PC to any number of TVs by effectively creating its own closed circuit HD television channel.

However, the product never took off, selling “just a few thousand units” and has since been canned. The reason, ZeeVee’s CEO Vic Odryna tells NewTeeVee, is that the product was too expensive and too complicated. When the “ZvBox” was first announced, I noted that its $499 price tag was much higher than competitors, all of which use WiFi or Ethernet to shuttle content around the home, rather than coaxial in ZeeVee’s case.

Massachusetts-based ZeeVee is the latest company trying to solve the PC to TV problem. The ZvBox offers an interesting way of getting Internet TV, or other content originating from a computer, to be displayed on any number of HDTV’s around the home. To achieve this, the device first connects to a PC using its VGA port (combined with USB for digital sound) and at the other end plugs into a home’s regular cable wiring, effectively turning whatever is displayed on the PC into a local high-definition TV channel. That way any HDTV in the house can access the “Zv” channel using its existing in-built digital tuner.