Netgear EVA8000 Digital Entertainer HD

Apple TV may get all the press, but digital media geeks (especially those who don't like iTunes) have had their eye on the Netgear EVA8000 Digital Entertainer HD since it was announced at CES 2007. The reason is simple--the Digital Entertainer HD plays more file types and has tons of features, plus it advertises its ability to play high-def 1080p video. The feature set is truly outstanding: it can stream YouTube videos, Flickr photos, live and recorded TV from a PC TV tuner, BitTorrent downloads, Internet radio, and even protected iTunes songs--yes, you read that correctly. In our testing, the Netgear EVA8000 Digital Entertainer HD ($400 list, but widely available for $350) largely lived up to its billing: it delivers a currently unrivaled set of features, and offers a compelling, more enthusiast-oriented alternative to the Apple TV. On the downside, the lack of 802.11n wireless hurt the streaming performance of larger video files, and the interface certainly isn't as slick as Apple TV's. But the Netgear is arguably the most versatile digital media device we've seen to date, and with the addition of some firmware updates and fixes, there's no reason it can't get even better.

Design
With dimensions of 1.5 inches high by 17 inches wide by 10 inches deep, the Netgear EVA8000 Digital Entertainer HD looks like an average slimline DVD player--albeit without the disc tray. That's a contrast to competitors such as the recent Apple TV and the Mvix MX-760HD, which look more like PC-styled wireless routers. It looks big next to the Apple TV, but stacks perfectly in an A/V rack.

Aesthetically, the design is fairly bland but not unattractive. The front panel has only a single light for power, which unfortunately can't be dimmed or extinguished. The only button is the power button, and the rest of the front panel is blank, save for a USB 2.0 port, a headphone jack, and the infrared receptor. No front panel controls definitely give the Digital Entertainer HD a sleek look, but if you lose the remote you're out of luck (unless you opt for the browser interface--see below).

The included remote is pretty good, with mostly excellent button differentiation, which makes it easy to quickly find the page up/down rocker or the play button. We would have preferred if the stop button was in a slightly more prominent place, but it's more of a quibble than a knock. Overall, the remote design nicely complements the menu system, and it's pretty easy to get the logic of the Digital Entertainer after only a few minutes of playing with the device.

There are no front panel controls, but the remote is better than average.

You need to install Netgear's software on your computer to get things working. After it's installed, you access and navigate the "software" in your Web browser. It looks a bit rough around the edges, but you won't really have to use it that frequently--if at all--once you've completed the initial setup. The browser interface essentially replicates the EVA8000's onscreen navigation--essentially, you also can use the software to remotely control the Digital Entertainer HD. It sounds redundant--and it is--but the ability to remotely control the EVA8000 from a laptop is useful if you're just streaming music to your stereo and don't want to turn the TV on.

Connectivity
The Digital Entertainer HD offers a solid jack pack, highlighted by HDMI and component video output, which are capable of displaying images in true high-definition. The rear panel also offers S-Video and composite video outputs for connecting to any old TV--something not offered by the Apple TV. For audio, you'll find both optical and coaxial digital audio outputs, plus a standard analog stereo output (red and white RCA jacks). Rounding things out are a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet jack, a USB 2.0 port, and a SCART port (for connecting to similarly equipped European TVs). The Netgear sports dual antennas for wireless networking reception, but it's limited to 802.11g--not the faster, state of the art 802.11n standard found on the Apple TV. On the front panel, there's also an additional USB 2.0 port and a headphone jack.

Digital Entertainer HD has just about every possible jack imaginable.

The USB 2.0 ports can be used for more than just thumb drives--we had no difficulty in playing music off iPods, which often give other A/V players trouble. We even hooked up a 160GB USB hard disk, and it worked perfectly. This is a nice option, as the USB 2.0 connection is fast enough for streaming video flawlessly and you can directly connect your media without worrying about the PC. Likewise, those who prefer PC-less network storage will be happy to know the Netgear should work with any type of networked attached storage, and it's DLNA compliant (though we didn't have any NAS drives on hand to test).

While we're on the subject of hard drives: keep in mind you will need some external storage device--or Web-based media--to be streaming to the Netgear. Unlike the Apple TV, it doesn't have an internal hard drive, so if you turn off your PC or external hard drive, you'll be limited to the online resources that the Digital Entertainer HD can access.

User Interface
The main onscreen menu for the Digital Entertainer HD consists of seven choices: TV/Video, Music, Photos, Schedule Recordings, Internet media, News/Weather, and More, with the latter giving way to even more options and features. The first three options give you access to the media you have stored on your networked computer, network attached storage drive, or even on USB drives plugged into the Netgear itself.

Each of the categories has different (but similar) methods for sorting through the files. For example, the most useful categories for music are Artist, Album, and Genre, and the Digital Entertainer does a good job of picking up tag information. There are also additional categories, such as Year and Decade, as well as Folder, which is supposed to let you browse the file structure on your PC.

The onscreen graphical interface lacks the slick panache of Apple TV, but it's functional--and the navigation is lightning fast.

We had a small problem with the way the Digital Entertainer displays folders--across all media types--as it only gives you access to the deepest folder level. For in