Rio was the

brand name A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create a ...

of a line of

digital audio player A portable media player (PMP) (also including the related digital audio player (DAP)) is a portable consumer electronics device capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, and video files. The data is typically stored o ...

s and related audio products. It was a pioneer of the DAP ("MP3 player") industry when it released "Diamond Rio" player in 1998 that was the impetus for an infamous

lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

. Various music players were released until Rio came to an end in 2005.

History

Rio was originally a brand of California based

Diamond Multimedia Diamond Multimedia is an American company that specializes in many forms of multimedia technology. They have produced graphics cards, motherboards, modems, sound cards and MP3 players, however the company began with the production of the Track ...

. Rio Audio was best known for producing the

Rio PMP300 The Rio PMP300 is one of the first portable consumer MP3 digital audio players, and the first commercially successful one. Produced by Diamond Multimedia, it was introduced September 15, 1998 as the first in the "Rio" series of digital audio pla ...

model that was the impetus for a lawsuit in 1998 by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

. That lawsuit eventually failed, leading the way for the portable digital music industry to take off. Diamond Multimedia merged with

S3 Graphics S3 Graphics, Ltd (commonly referred to as S3) was an American computer graphics company. The company sold the Trio, ViRGE, Savage 3D, and Chrome series of graphics processors. Struggling against competition from 3dfx Interactive, ATI and Nv ...

in 1999 - the resulting company was renamed

SONICblue SONICblue Incorporated (NASDAQ:SBLU) was a public company based in Santa Clara, California. The firm was a manufacturer of home audio/video equipment with an estimated revenue of $100M - $250M and approximately 700 employees. SONICblue first fil ...

. Rio, Inc., a subsidiary of SONICblue, was formed in 2000. The company referred to itself as Rio Digital Audio - in later years this changed to simply Rio Audio. During this time, Rio's president was Jim Cady. On March 21, 2003, SONICblue filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whet ...

bankruptcy protection and then sold off its main product lines; Rio Audio was sold to Japanese firm

D&M Holdings D+M Group, formerly known as DMGlobal and D&M Holdings, was a Japanese corporation that owned several audio and video brands. It was formed in 2002 from the merger of Denon and Marantz. It had acquired several other companies since that time. Prio ...

, which owned audio brands such as

Denon is a Japanese electronics company started in 1910 by Frederick Whitney Horn, an American entrepreneur. Denon produced the first cylinder audio media in Japan and players to play them. Decades later, Denon was involved in the early stages of de ...

, forming part of their Digital Networks North America subsidiary. Rio Audio was based in

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...

. Its president from that time until March 2004 was Jeffrey Hastings. Like some other competitors in the digital audio player business, the Rio brand was unable to compete effectively against Apple's dominant

iPod The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes ...

series of audio players. In August 2005, D&M Holdings announced the discontinuation of its production of audio players, after it had licensed its digital audio software technology to chipmaker SigmaTel the month before. The Rio brand and trademarked were retained by D&M Holdings.

Products

Rio USA

;Portable digital audio playershttps://mobile-review.com/mp3/articles/rio.shtml Rio Chiba 256

;Portable CD players * RioVolt SP50 * RioVolt SP60 * RioVolt SP65 * RioVolt SP90 * RioVolt SP100 * RioVolt SP150 * RioVolt SP250 * RioVolt SP350 ;Home audio players *

Rio HT-2030 Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for " river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, ...

* Rio Central (aka HSX-109) *

Rio EX-1000 Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

* Rio Receiver ;Car audio players *

Rio Car The Empeg Car was one of the first in-car MP3 players developed. Originating in a personal project to build an in-car system that could perform MP3 playback in software, a British company called ''Empeg'' was formed in July 1998 to build a commerc ...

(aka Empeg Car)

Rio Japan

Rio DR30 Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for " river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, ...

(OEM BeatSounds EVR150) *

Rio SU10 Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for " river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, ...

(OEM A-MAX Technology PA30A) *

Rio SU30 Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for " river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, ...

(OEM i-BEAD i-BEAD100) *

Rio SU35 Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

(OEM AVC Technology Si-100) *

Rio SU40 Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for " river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, ...

(OEM i-BEAD i-BEAD200) *

Rio SU70 Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

(OEM M-CODY MX-100) *

Rio Unite 130 Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for " river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, ...

(OEM M-CODY MX-250) *

Rio SU15-KJ Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for " river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, ...

(OEM AVC Technology) *

Rio Si-200C Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for " river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, ...

(OEM AVC Technology) *

Rio Si-300C Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for " river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, ...

(OEM AVC Technology) *

Rio LIVE air Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

Rio LIVE mini Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for " river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, ...

Rio LIVE gear Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

(OEM Foster)

Rio OEM models

Nike PSA Play 60 Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

* Nike PSA Play 120 *

ESA S11 , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (1 ...

Motorola M25 Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...

Motorola M500 Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorola ...

Dell Digital Audio Receiver Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies. Dell sells personal computers (PCs), Server (computin ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rio (Digital Audio Players) Digital audio players Consumer electronics brands