EyeTV maker Elgato on Thursday announced a partnership with SCM Microsystems and Satelco that makes it possible for 15- and 17-inch PowerBook G4 users to watch digital terrestrial TV. SCM’s new EasyWatch DVB-T PC card uses Elgato’s EyeTV software — the first time Elgato’s software has been bundled with another manufacturer’s product. The EasyWatch DVB-T will be released in Germany on October 7th and costs €249. The card will be sold by Satelco and includes a DVB-T antenna that can be clamped to a PowerBook display.
Elgato CEO Freddie Geier called Elgato’s new partnership with SCM “a model for future projects,” and said that his company hopes to continue to grow its Macintosh offerings. Elgato’s product line includes the EyeTV 200, a FireWire-based Digital Video Recorder (DVR) interface that’s Mac-compatible. The company has several variants for the European market that support DVB-T and its satellite-based counterpart, DVB-S, as well as the High Definition Television (HDTV) format that’s gaining momentum in North America.
DVB-T, or DVB Terrestrial, is a broadcasting standard for digital television that uses terrestrial, or land-based, antennas. It is gaining traction in several European countries and Australia and has been accepted as a standard in several other nations (an adoption map is available online).
With the EasyWatch card’s rollout in Germany next week, Elgato noted that coverage is being offered in October in the city of Franfurt and the Rhine/Main region. In November, DVB-T will also go online in Hamburg, Lübeck, Kiel, Düsseldorf and the Ruhrgebiet. DVB-T is already being offered in Berlin, Potsdam, Cologne, Bonn, Hanover, Braunschweig, Bremen and the lower reaches of the Weser river.