LAKS TV wristwatch transforms PCs and Macs into a television

DVB-T on the wrist

VIENNA — The Austrian watchmaker, which has often caused a sensation in the past with its innovative products, introduces a breakthrough product – the worldwide first wristwatch with an integrated DVB-T receiver. LAKS partnered with bwin, the leader in online gaming and entertainment, to develop the LAKS TV Watch. Due to a USB connection as well as a coaxial plug for the supplied antenna, the wearer of a LAKS TV Watch can transform his PC- or Mac notebook into a television at any time and almost everywhere! So he does not miss out on any important programme and sees all highlights of the UEFA Euro™ 2008.

A high-performance, low power DiBcom chipset is at work inside the sporty, elegant LAKS TV, providing optimal reception features despite its minimal space requirements. The LAKS TV software and Elgato EyeTV Lite package supplied enables the reception, recording and time-lapsed play back of digital television on both a PC and a Mac.

As a trendsetter LAKS has always combined innovation and lifestyle in its watches. LAKS CEO Lucas Scheybal: “With the development of a watch that receives the DVB-T signal, LAKS has once again managed to show that it has its finger on the pulse with its watches. The challenge with this product was the integration of highly sensitive technology in an analogue watch.”

Bwin

The introduction of DVB-T technology has dramatically changed the entertainment factor of television. Watching TV on a personal computer has now become the norm. Development in traditional broadcasting towards innovative internet services is the logical next step. As a development partner for the brand new LAKS DVB-T Watch, bwin has, again, confirmed its status as a leading innovator.

A mobile, digital TV receiver in the form of a sports watch and lifestyle accessory is the first step for bwin in the development of new and innovative hardware concepts in the entertainment industry.

The bwin DVB-T Watch can be not only used for receiving, recording and time-shifted viewing of digital-terrestrial TV, but also as a platform for innovative online services through so-called widgets and overlays, which can be used at the same time as the TV function. Furthermore bwin’s Research and Development department is working on peripherals for the hardware to enable a completely new form of transaction based TV.

The software required for the DVB-T Watch is currently available for Windows XP, Windows Vista, and also for Mac OS X.

The key features of the DVB-T Watch are:

• reception of DVB-T TV, wherever available, on Mac® or PC
• recording of digital TV programs
• optimised channel search, automatic channel recognition
• reception of Teletext
• working on desktop while receiving programmes
• pausing of TV programmes and time-shifted viewing
• skipping of ads in recorded programmes using timeshift technology