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More…Netgear's Digital Entertainer is a feature-packed product, but setting it up entails visiting too many menus. Fortunately, the menu screens are eye-pleasing and easy to read. Also, the remote feels right in the hand, and it has large, well-placed buttons. The EVA8000 scans your PC or PCs and organizes your media, making the video or song that you seek easier to find, even if you don't use the supplied server software.
Netgear Netgear Entertainer HD EVA8000
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Pros
Supports both Apple and Windows Media DRM
Can work as a DVR
Cons
Setup menu is hard to get to
Occasional stutter on 1080p high-def content
Bottom Line
The pricey EVA8000 offers versatile features and DRM support that you won't find anywhere else.
Netgear Digital Entertainer HD EVA8000
Netgear Entertainer HD EVA8000 Review, by Lincoln Spector June 19, 2007
The device played almost every file I threw at it: DivX, Xvid, and .mp4 (MPEG-4 video with .aac audio). It was one of only three players that could play protected .wma files, and it and the Apple TV were the only two units that could play copy-protected iTunes Music Store files.
The Digital Entertainer has impressive Internet streaming capabilities. It supports the free Shoutcast Internet radio service, and you can add your own .mp3 and .wma audio streams. Besides permitting you to view photos stored on your computer, the device lets you browse photos at Flickr. You can also get news (from RSS feeds) and weather from the Internet. The EVA8000 also streams videos directly from YouTube (your PC must be on, and Netgear's software must be installed).
Not surprisingly, YouTube videos look like bad surrealism on a 50-inch HDTV. Netgear's tendency to stretch 4:3 standard-aspect images to 16:9 wide-screen dimensions exacerbates the problem. If you set your TV to display a 4:3 frame, pillarboxed with black or gray bars on the sides, YouTube videos at least become watchable.
On the flip side, the Digital Entertainer handles video shot at a good resolution quite well. I spotted a very slight visual stutter at the beginning of one 1080p trailer, but otherwise the image quality reminded me of why I purchased a 1080p HDTV in the first place. Sound was excellent: Pink Floyd had depth and great tone. I could even hear fine details (such as a very slight analog tape hiss) beneath an Itzhak Perlman performance.
The EVA8000 has some unique extras, too. You can use it to check your e-mail or to browse the Web; and with a TV-tuner-equipped PC and the Electronic Programming Guide option ($5 to activate), it can act as a DVR, letting you schedule, watch, and time-shift TV show recordings.
Unlike any other player, Netgear's high-definition Digital Entertainer transforms your TV into an extension of your home network, and of the Internet.
Lincoln Spector
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User Reviews
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User Reviews From Around the Web
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Reviewed by: Decapitator
Strengths: Easy to install, wireless works well, great picture quality. Nice menu to navigate with on the TV and supports more media formats than most other similar products out there.
Weaknesses: Has difficulty in streaming files larger than 2GB(High Definition)even with wireless-N(but you can "hardwire" a memory stick/hard drive into it with the USB port. Doesn't play apple formats.
Overall: This is one of the best products I have ever bought, I use it in conjunction with a Netgear DG834N wireless router and am extremely happy with it. It supports .mkv files with the latest firmware too. The only thing missing is support for playing back iTunes media.
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Reviewed by:
Strengths: Looks only.
Weaknesses: The software, the way it displays on the tv as though you are actually watching the video on a camcorder, most codecs don't work, Indian tech support is incompetant, non read-only HD's get attacked.
Overall: Maybe in year you can buy this when it actually might have been ready to go to market. Unbelievable piece of junk. It takes over your network, computer (why?) and your data files. The wireless didn't work 2 ft away from the brand new gigabit Netgear router (piece of junk also). The sc101 turbo network server also purchased in order to minimize workload on the desktop reaks havoc on the network by communicating also. Unless you are a total masochist - Do not ever buy any Netgear product. Sorry PCUniverse - It wasn't your fault, in fact you have the quickest delivery I have ever seen. Unfortunately a delay may have been welcome to postpost the complete misery of dealing with 4 of the worst computer product I have ever dealt with. I am even including the early Dells by comparison
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