Netgear Digital Entertainer Elite media streamer says hello to the FCC

Netgear returns with the Digital Entertainer Elite network media streamer taking an early peek from cover to go through its paces at the FCC test center. Two years after the EVA8000 Digital Entertainer HD, the EVA9000 model adds support for a 3.5-inch SATA internal HDD, 802.11n and more to its predecessor's lengthy list of features. The leaked spec comparison after the break reveals AVI, XviD, DivX and h.264 decoding returning plus Dolby True HD, DTS-HD Master Audio, MKV, TS, M2TS file support that should chew through any HD files you've got and then some. Why wait for an official announcement, shipping date or price? The FCC already had its fun, so check out the PDFs for a full manual plus pictures inside & out, then once this box hits the stage at CES just pretend like you never saw it with the cover off.

[Pictures via AVSForum]

[FLaSHBaCK @ Nov 28th 2008 10:44AM]

want.

[Mike @ Nov 28th 2008 11:50AM]

You would have to be barmy to buy one of these. PS3 does all that, better, and has Blu-ray, gaming, internet browser, Wifi and so on...

[Bellerophon @ Nov 28th 2008 11:52AM]

PS3 doesn't have MKV support......

..... yet.

Come on Sony, you know what to do...!

[VA Rocketry @ Nov 28th 2008 10:55AM]

Needs more button on front. I get confused.

[Matt Dearman @ Nov 28th 2008 11:21AM]

Seconded.

[insane.uk @ Nov 28th 2008 11:00AM]

No Ogg support?!?!?!?!?!

[David S @ Nov 28th 2008 12:13PM]

Without Ogg support, the anime kids won't be too into this device. But if it could combine WiFi, mkv, h.264, AND OGG, then they would be in business.

[holycow @ Nov 28th 2008 11:00AM]

MKV... Must...... resist...

[h0mi @ Nov 28th 2008 11:00AM]

Wow. MKV support, and 3.5" hard drives? Awesome.

[ScOObyDoo @ Nov 28th 2008 11:01AM]

The problem with Netgear products is that they look great on paper, but end up with a shitty OS and a bug filled interface.

They all LOOK great, but the end result is quite disappointing. I really hope this one will prove me wrong.

[Craig @ Nov 28th 2008 1:55PM]

My experience has been quite the opposite. I've owned maybe 5 or 6 different Netgear products and, with just one exception I can think of, they've been pretty good. And for the money, they're usually quite a bargain.

[Scot @ Nov 28th 2008 11:02AM]

*adds to wish list* yes YES YES!

[Dave @ Nov 28th 2008 11:03AM]

So has someone finally made a media streamer that can play anything you throw at it?

[b @ Nov 28th 2008 12:00PM]

you should check out the popcornhour.
plays everything you throw at it for less than 200$

[mb @ Nov 28th 2008 11:08AM]

SCART? really?

[hiroo @ Nov 28th 2008 11:21AM]

My thoughts exactly. I guess they still use it in ... europe?

[MattyG @ Nov 30th 2008 10:22AM]

yep we still use it in blighty unfortunately, it's all right for standard def I suppose.

the fact it has scart and hi def connections such as hdmi does interest me as currently living in a standard def house I can use this with what I currently have then when the day comes we do go hi def I can still use it with that and just loaded it up with better quality videos.

I like how you can network the thing to get video onto it too

[AlexNC @ Nov 28th 2008 11:11AM]

where is Bit Torrent? Stick with Popcorn Hour until these competitors start adding BT. RSS BT is the bomb!

[Jason Litka @ Nov 28th 2008 11:24AM]

Media streamers don't need BT, NNTP, or any other download clients. The problem these devices have is that people want them to do too much and they end up not doing ANYTHING particularly well. The PCH, for example, took months to get to the point where it was actually useful and even now the UI still sucks.

Media streamers should play your media files, that's it. If you want to DL your TV shows then use your computer.

BTW... Am I the only one that noticed that it doesn't seem to have an antenna for wireless? If people actually stick these in their racks or AV cabinets they're not likely to get a very good signal without an external antenna...

[AlexNC @ Nov 28th 2008 11:44AM]

The beauty of Popcorn Hour is that the firmware is always being bettered. I agree that the current state (folder browsing) is a pain in the ass. But, the developers have stated that they are working on a database solution that will use metadata. Once that is implemented, Popcorn Hour, in my opinion, will be the best solution out there. I, for one, love only having to boot up one piece of hardware to do all my bit torrenting and media viewing. Also, it only using 7 watts when in power saving mode, while also downloading torrents. This means a lot to people like me that are energy minded. But, like you said, until they get a better user interface for music, Popcorn Hour will always get flack from the critics. But, honestly, the ability to set up Bit torrent RSS feeds makes it all worth it for me. Its like an a la carte of TV shows.

[cesium @ Nov 28th 2008 11:52AM]

"Media streamers should play your media files, that's it."

Exactly, so who cares if the UI is crap. It plays all my media files exceptionally well

[Brian! @ Nov 28th 2008 11:54AM]

Jason,

It has wireless. Netgear does built-in antennas now. My guess is Wireless-N

[Brian! @ Nov 28th 2008 11:57AM]

Actually, looking closer, it is Dual-Band wireless-N. Good for streaming those mkv files over the air.

You know, I don't prefer any device with a built-in BitTorrent, but pared with Netgear's ReadyNAS Pro (that does have a software BitTorrent) then you have a very nice solution for downloading and watching content.

[Jason Litka @ Nov 28th 2008 4:35PM]

@cesium,

The UI can't suck because if it does the device won't pass the Wife/Girlfriend Acceptance Test. The PCH is currently borderline because folder browsing is slow as hell and it doesn't make any sense to have Video, Audio, Photo, etc. options for a share that only has one type of media (which most people will have).

[froggzy @ Nov 28th 2008 11:12AM]

too good to be true.. i go back sleeping..

[AJ in the East Bay @ Nov 28th 2008 11:19AM]

Ooooooooooh, nice.

[thelolman @ Nov 28th 2008 11:23AM]

I am never touching a netgear product again.

[shalegac @ Nov 28th 2008 11:30AM]

Popcorn Hour A-110

[Mark @ Nov 28th 2008 12:22PM]

Have you read the complaints on that thing? It isn't worth buying at this point...

[zargon @ Nov 28th 2008 1:02PM]

What complaints? I will give you the UI is a little slow and could be better, but that is not what the device is about. It right now is one of the best, if not the best, media streams out there with a whole extra feature set to boot. I think the biggest thing is that it does not require you to run a server on a computer, it can be attached to a NAS, Samba or most importantly a NFS share. It also has the ability for adding a hard drive, which other stupid companies have finally gotten a clue, which as an added bonus can in turn be used as a network share. The most important part is that is supports just about every major (and some non-major) a audio and video formats out there. Coming from a Roku Photobidge with limited format support, is huge. I also like the fact that there is a descent 3rd part community behind it, something that I really appreciated with the Photobridge.

Netgear, D-link and these other manufactures still have a ways to come to catch up to the Popcorn Hour (or the NHT based products) before I would consider them a viable solution.

[JerkfacedFed @ Nov 28th 2008 11:54AM]

That device looks awesome, being able to play MKV out of the box!

However, that comparison chart is quite misleading because it makes wrong assumptions, especially trying to say that the Xbox 360 can stream TO any other device. Big difference between a media server and client.

I'm assuming that this netgear device is supposed to be a server and client since it has a hard drive built in.

Apple TV syncs with your computer, but is only a client.

Media center PC is a server.

Xbox 360 is a streaming client for UPnP shares AND media center extenders.

The Xbox 360 and all Media Center Extenders functionality works without a hard drive, as it is streaming the content from one central MCE PC.

Dumb comparison in many of those bullet points really, but the codec support and max bitrate is quite interesting. Hopefully it will get their competition in gear for a new patch to compete!

[sam @ Nov 28th 2008 12:01PM]

lets hope its alot cheaper than the Popcorn Hour A-110 and stable with good U.I, netgear could possibly have a winner on their hands. Only 10/100, not gigabit:(

[shawn @ Nov 28th 2008 12:13PM]

SCaRT port? wtf? It has an SCaRT port? Seriously?

[Wootz @ Nov 28th 2008 8:00PM]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCART

[Mark @ Nov 28th 2008 12:20PM]

I so want this.

Coming from an actual reliable brand, it sure must be better then Popcorn Hour..

[ash @ Nov 28th 2008 12:24PM]

I like how they have specified that the 360 is Windows Only. I guess my Mac is an exception.

http://www.lemonlimedesigns.ca/blog

[Gary J @ Nov 28th 2008 12:44PM]

Finally HD audio decoding!

[zargon @ Nov 28th 2008 1:11PM]

You are dreaming if you really believe this thing is going to be cheaper than the Popcorn Hour. The PCH for all its features and especially its price, is probably the best thing out there. Only the Mvix's MX-780HD can give the PCH a run for its money and it and it is about $100 more.

[Hermiod @ Nov 28th 2008 1:19PM]

The last in the Netgear range was a piece of junk that's now rotting in my cupboard. The WMV support part is a lie, it only supports WMV9, not previous versions.

It was a total waste of money, the software was as buggy as hell.

[Craig @ Nov 28th 2008 1:53PM]

As a total media streamer junkie, I must say this looks very promising. Other than a front display, so you could play music without having the TV on, I'm not sure what else you could ask for in a streamer.

[pball_inuyaha @ Nov 28th 2008 2:17PM]

Wow this looks nice playback wise. Only thing I don't see is ogm and ogg audio. I have a bunch of old encodes that are made with those.

If they only keep getting better media players out there i might just spring for one instead of a computer when I get an HDTV.

[ddbu @ Nov 28th 2008 3:21PM]

i like the chart. last I checked my xbox 360 does divx and xvid too. still looks interesting.

[gerrrg @ Nov 28th 2008 3:29PM]

Oh hell yah, we've got a winner. Plays ISO and FLAC. Works for me.

[T-Money @ Nov 28th 2008 5:58PM]

My daughter would love the Archos. The thing looks ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh sooooooo nice.

[super_spyder @ Nov 28th 2008 6:12PM]

Would be awesome if it could run boxee

[Wootz @ Nov 28th 2008 8:01PM]

Be good to see how it competes against the TVIX 6500A which has been doing all that for about a year now.

[Gary J @ Nov 29th 2008 7:57PM]

It decodes TrueHD?

[BigJim @ Nov 29th 2008 4:48AM]

Don't forget the WD TV on the low end ($99) and a mac mini running plex on the high end ($599)...

[Joey @ Mar 2nd 2009 4:25AM]

I have been using Pinnacles Showcenter and it served its purpose and if I am not mistaken it was the leader in this technology, it had many shortcomings but for its price it was OK. the new (well not so new now) showcenter 250HD it stops short of being in the 21st century.
I bought last year the EVA8000, after a couple of weeks of disappointment and pain, I returned it to the seller. the only good thing it had is that I could connect it to my SAN without the need to keep my pc on.
I am hoping this "ELITE" will be a much better product and has a much better interface. my only concern is actually to be able to make video playlists without the need to use any media center.