On Monday, Elgato Systems announced that the company had “terminated the licensing agreement for EyeTV software with Miglia Technology, Ltd. Miglia can no longer ship, sell or advertise TV Tuner solutions bundled with Elgato’s EyeTV software. Customers using EyeTV with a Miglia TV tuner product are not affected by this change. Elgato EyeTV will continue to work with existing Miglia products. Elgato will continue to support existing Miglia/EyeTV customers with software updates and improvements.”
Miglia’s CEO Simon Ellson responded Tuesday in a letter on the company’s website:
The licence agreement between Miglia and the software supplier for EyeTV has not been renewed, Miglia will no longer ship products that contain this application in its TV solutions.
Customers that use this application with their Miglia TV product should have no concerns about ongoing support or upgrades, for updated information, please check the support section of our site.
Miglia has, over recent years developed possibly the broadest line of TV devices available for the Mac platform. These products are created packaged and designed for the Mac, that development work continues with many new and exciting products due for release in the next year. From time to time we have chosen to bundle other manufacturers software with our own hardware where it has been appropriate, this policy will continue.
To our current customers, we thank you for your support, to our future customers we promise the same quality of experience you would expect from a Mac focussed Company such as ours.
Related article:
Elgato terminates EyeTV licensing agreement with Miglia – March 12, 2007
I read about this yeserday. I never understood EyeTV selling software to a competitor, as EyeTV make about the same hardware as Miglia, Plextor and someone else.
Now let’s review…A hardware maker not selling its software to another hardware maker….this smacks of someone else….can’t quite put my finger on it….maybe someone from one company being on the board of another….that Apple company coming out with some TV thingy….Can’t quite get to it…THERE! Hard to reach the middle of your back when it itches. Problem solved!
Geez.
It isn’t MDN’s fault, but we haven’t actually seen anything new, other than vapor, for months! iPhone, AppleTV, Leopard. octo-core, Nand-drives, Penryn, . . . new minis, Pros, Macbooks . . . it’s all vapor! (Sorry, . . . I have no use for Airport Extreme, at present.)
Is anyone else getting really itchy about this?
“Dark”, as “Will someone please lift the darkness?”
That’s a pretty decent blurb by Miglia’s CEO Ellson. No blame, reassuring to both existing and prospective customers and a reiteration of their commitment to the platform and quality. While I own an eyeTV tuner, I’d feel just as confident had I bought Miglia’s solution.
Then what will Miglia bundle with their hardware? A tuner is pretty useless without the software to watch/record TV, eh?
TowerTone,
Before AppleTV, eyeTV was able to establish it’s software (along with TitanTV remote scheduling) as the de facto standard. Licensing it to its competitors only served to cement that standard. But Apple has changed that landscape, regardless of any speculative arrangements.
Apple in the past occasionally does work with 3rd party developers when encroaching on their space (iTunes), sometimes they don’t (Watson, Kaleidoscope.)
Apple did lots of early R&D in the tv space, only to lose it by making an unprecedented deal with Bruce Leak to give him the patents when the project was cancelled, which he used to create WebTV and sold to Microsoft.
Apple did attempt some early partnership with TiVo, which fizzled.
I don’t see any reason why Apple wouldn’t go it alone with the AppleTV product line. But hey – if eyeTV can benefit from a partnership with Apple, more power to them!
I wonder if they have not renewed the deal because Apple is in the market now?
Maybe they are doing business with Apple now – COOOL – Apple TV with built in tv tuner!!!
thetic
Right. I have an EyeTV 200 and have nothing but praise for Elgato. But when something like this happens, it makes me think something else is in the works.
EyeTV already will work with AppleTV (not immediately) by exporting recorded shows to iTunes. The conversion from MPEG 2 to 4 takes a bit, so it is not live. But then again, I don’t see the need for live, since it is going to a TV anyhow, and it would only make sense that the TV has the same connection as the computer(save for a digital converter box).
Nejohn:
I agree, but intead of complaining I guess is a much better choice to go and find better news somewhere else and bring them here.
I just got my miglia tv mini HD with eyetv and it is so cool. i can watch all my digital programming on my imac now. I love it.