Elgato Systems on Tuesday released EyeConnect, new software that enables Macs to stream digital music, video and photo content to devices that support Universal Plug and Play Audio/Video (UPnP AV). A 30-day trial version is available for download, and it can be purchased online for US$99.
UPnP AV is being promoted as an industry standard. It’s a networking architecture that uses Internet technologies to enable devices to exchange digital content. Already, UPnP AV has gained support by electronics makers like HP, Netgear, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba. Elgato said EyeConnect works with all UPnP AV devices, and has specifically tested it with products from Philips, Netgear, Buffalo and GoVideo.
Elgato’s EyeConnect software automatically determines the digital media formats supported by the UPnP AV device on your network, and makes the content on your MAc accessible to it: That includes MP3 files, unprotected AAC files, JPEG, MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG4, and many other formats. EyeConnect can also support HDTV content and Dolby Digital audio.
System requirements call for Mac OS X v10.3 and v10.4, G4/500MHz or faster, 256MB RAM, and a wireless or Ethernet-based network.
In related news, Elgato will make available a Software Development Kit (SDK) that will allow third-party developers to provide additional streaming content. More details are available on the EyeConnect Web page.