MUNCHEN, Germany and SAN FRANCISCO -- May 10, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Elgato Systems, creators of the award-winning digital TV recorder EyeTV for the Mac, today officially released EyeConnect, the Macintosh market's first fully integrated media streaming software based on Universal Plug and Play(TM) Audio/Video (UPnP(TM) AV). EyeConnect enables digital music, video, or photo content, including EyeTV recordings, iPhotos (TM) and iTunes(R) stored on a Macintosh, to be played on a broad variety of UPnP(TM) AV certified devices throughout the home. EyeConnect supports all digital media formats and is capable of streaming slideshows, music and even HDTV in full video quality with Dolby Digital sound (see note).
Starting today EyeConnect can be purchased online at www.elgato.com for USD 99.00. A free, 30-day trial version is available for download.
"CES 2005 was bursting with announcements about new media players and devices that will revolutionize the media experience in the living room," says Freddie Geier, Elgato's CEO. "Elgato's EyeConnect media streaming software addresses this rapidly growing market for home networking. In the first four months of this year the market has already seen a broad range of consumer electronic brands announcing their UPnP(TM) AV solutions. We want to give the Mac community the freedom of choice for their favorite living room equipment."
The research company In-Stat (www.instat.com) expects media networking to continue to grow rapidly over the next few years. The integration of media ports into CE devices will continue, with many devices having Ethernet and 802.11x ports standard in coming years. Total media networking connections will grow from over 51 million in 2005 to over 223 million in 2009, a 29% annual growth rate. Much of the growth will be driven by PC vendors, who are rolling out Media Center PCs that fit both in look and function in the living room.
EyeConnect - Mac Entertainment unleashed With EyeConnect software, Mac users can effortlessly manage the wired or wireless streaming of stored multimedia content to multiple devices in a connected home environment. EyeConnect automatically determines the digital media formats supported by the UPnP(TM) AV certified device, which typically include MP3, AAC, JPG MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and many more. As an added benefit, the content remains organized as found in the user's Macintosh library. In addition, EyeConnect supports HDTV content as well as Dolby Digital (see note).
EyeConnect works with all UPnP(TM) AV devices and was tested successfully with the following products: Philips Streamium (SL300i, SL400i and MX6000i), Netgear MP115, D-Link DSM-320 MediaLounge, Buffalo LinkTheater PC-P3LWG/DVD, GoVideo D2730. These devices and many more like them support UPnP(TM) AV, which is a broadly accepted industry standard that enables digital content to be identified, managed, and distributed across multiple devices. It is supported by a wide range of consumer electronics companies including major players like HP, Netgear, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and many more.
What is UPnP(TM) AV technology? UPnP(TM) AV (Universal Plug 'n Play) technology is an open networking architecture that employs TCP/IP and other Internet technologies for a seamless flow of digital content through a home. UPnP(TM) AV products work easily with each other and do not require complex configuration. EyeConnect supports the growing number of brand name digital media devices certified for UPnP(TM) AV.
Elgato Systems is a member of the Digital Living Network Association (DLNA), the Intel Developer Network for the Digital Home and the UPnP Forum. An EyeConnect Plug-in SDK is available, allowing third parties to develop add on software. Visit www.elgato.com for details.
System Requirements:
A Macintosh computer with PowerPC(R) G4 500MHz or G5 processor; Mac OS X 10.3 and Mac OS X 10.4. or later. 256MB of RAM (512MB recommended). Wireless Network or Ethernet Network required. Different UPnP(TM) AV media servers support different file formats. Depending on the file formats supported by the media players, EyeConnect can stream audio and image as well as video formats.
About Elgato Systems
Elgato Systems creates award-winning products around the convergence of the Macintosh computer with home entertainment devices. Elgato's products take advantage of the benefits of the Mac, allowing you to record, edit or share TV recordings, movies, photos and music with the entertainment devices in your home. Elgato brings you a diverse line of quality products. The highly acclaimed EyeTV series, the world leader in digital TV recording and High Definition TV for the Mac, EyeHome for playing Mac-based content across a home network, and EyeConnect for streaming Mac content to UPnP(TM) A/V digital media players in your home. EyeTV was recently awarded the US Macworld Magazine's prestigious 'Eddy' Award'. Elgato products support the broadest range of global TV standards within the industry.
Elgato is at the forefront of positioning the Macintosh as the ultimate digital hub for your home entertainment. Founded in 1992 by Dr. Markus Fest, the inventor of Toast(R) CD recording software, and led by CEO Freddie Geier, Elgato is a privately held company with its headquarters in Munich, Germany and a US subsidiary in San Francisco, California. www.elgato.com
Note: When supported by the media player Other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.