Netgear Digital Entertainer HD reviewed
While it's neither as small nor as hackable as the Apple TV, the folks at Laptop magazine seem to think Netgear's newly-launched Digital Entertainer HD EVA8000 will find its share of fans, with it snagging a respectable four out of five rating in their review. Helping it earn those high marks is its support for a wide range of video formats, including YouTube videos, as well as its support for Internet radio and RSS feeds, and its inclusion of the all-important HDMI port (which was lacking on Netgear's earlier WVA700 unit). On the downside, the lack of 802.11n support resulted in some troubles streaming full 1080p files, and the initial setup proved to be somewhat time consuming, even when they opted for the so-called "basic" mode. Despite those quibbles, they weren't hesitant to call the EVA8000 "as good as it gets" -- at least for those not dependent on their library of iTunes content.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Wireless
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
zargon @ Apr 3rd 2007 1:15PM
Finally, a reasonable replacement to my Roku PhotoBridge!
Been waiting for a review, my main concern was file shared and not having to use crappy proprietary software on my computer just to stream stuff off of network shares.
Brandon West @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:36PM
Once the same thing drops with draft 11n support, sign me up.
Mlknez @ Apr 3rd 2007 6:20PM
Wow! What an amateur review! This person reviewed a product without knowing how these things work or how others are set up. It is also obvious that he has no knowledge of networking technologies, etc. A real review would have included the maximum bitrate streamable over WIRED connections so that we could at least see what level of HD content is possible. Who cares if it supports a,g,n, etc., you could just plug in a wireless bridge to the ethernet port to get whatever you wanted if it is not built in. User interface issues are the second most important part of a review of a product like this and he fails to tell us what the experience is like other than "colorful". How about a REAL review by a knowledgable individual, huh?
Mark Gillespie @ Apr 3rd 2007 7:01PM
No tech details in the review? I wanted to know if this was DLNA complaint, i.e. supported UPnP.
Not that I would touch another Netgear AV product, as I bought the horrendous MP101, Google for it, and find out how unreliable they are, and how Netgear couldn't care less.. Do you REALLY want to spend your money with a comapny that acts in a irresposible manner like this?
Rubin Safaya @ Apr 5th 2007 8:23AM
And there's the rub... 720p streams just fine over 802.11g with the AppleTV, AND AppleTV supports 802.11n if you really desire.
Better to have lower fidelity that works than higher fidelity that doesn't.
derek @ May 29th 2008 11:54AM
will this work with a network storage device?