September 8th, 2009
Netgear introduces latest Digital Entertainer Live networked media player
Netgear’s Digital Entertainer Live streaming device has predated connected TVs and Blu-ray players in the living room by a couple of years, but it needed to step up its game to compete with the new services these other products are offering. Its new EVA2000 can’t let you update your Facebook status or view Twitter on your HDTV, but if you don’t care about those frills, it offers some of the same streaming-video features at a lower cost.
Like most networked home theater devices, the EVA2000 only comes with an Ethernet port, though Netgear would be happy to sell you a Wi-Fi adapter or a Ethernet-to-powerline kit if you don’t have an Ethernet jack in your living room. It does come with a couple of USB ports, an HDMI port, and what looks like a fairly basic remote control. An Ethernet cable is included, but an HDMI cable isn’t.
More important, of course, is what you can do with the EVA2000. As with earlier iterations, you can stream media in tons of formats from your home network, including MPEG4, H.264, DviX, Xvid, and even Matroska MKV video formats. It can also stream YouTube videos, and supports streaming services like Roxio CinemaNow, Hulu, and Netflix. A number of these require the PlayOn Media Server on networked PC, which is a paid application, but you get a discount with the purchase of the EVA2000.
The best part of the EVA2000 is the price: $149.99. If you don’t need a networked Blu-ray player, it’s half the price. And if you don’t need the widgets available on a connected TV, you’re saving even more. You’ll probably want to drop another $39.99 for the Digital Entertainer Live Wireless USB Adapter (EVAW111). Unfortunately, there isn’t a firm release date for the device, other than “the coming months.” Think it’ll be worth the wait? Let us know in the TalkBack section.
Sean Portnoy spent several years as an editor at Computer Shopper magazine, most recently serving as online executive editor. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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