Where you store your files and access the Internet shouldn’t limit where, when or how you enjoy your digital entertainment. Previously tied to your desk, now you can enjoy the same videos, photos and music on your TV, in the comfort of your family room. Netgear’s EVA700 (£125 ex. VAT) is the first Intel Viiv technology-verified digital media adapter (DMA), bringing home computers and home entertainment systems together.
Hardly sleek or stylish (432x254x381mm, 2kg), the two-tone grey Digital Entertainer enables you to stream digital media content, applications and services from your PCs, network storage devices, USB devices, and the Internet via a network to a regular TV - and across multiple rooms. Similar to other Netgear products, the Digital Entertainer is verified to work with Intel Viiv technology-based PCs. Viiv technology is Intel’s new brand for in-home entertainment PCs designed to transform how computer users manage, share, and enjoy a growing assortment of movies, programs, music, games, and photos.
The Digital Entertainer also supports services and applications through the Intel Viiv Zone, which will provide over time a growing choice of on-demand, Internet-delivered ‘premium’ content including music and music videos, information services, sports and TV shows, full-length movies, and other entertainment. Other Intel Viiv technology features supported include the ability to wake a sleeping PC from the VA700, and simplified device set-up via Intel Hub Connect Technology.
Setting up the EVA700 was a little more complicated than we’d expected, so you may need someone with networking experience at hand if you’re not too familiar with security settings. The device connects to your existing home networks through wired Ethernet for best results, or through an 802.11g wireless standard-compliant router. For a proven wired Ethernet alternative, you could even opt for Netgear’s 200Mbit/s Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter Kit (HDXB101) to stream high-quality video across multiple rooms to ensure hours of uninterrupted video playback.
It must be setup to work with your network and with Windows Media Connect. If you have a wireless network then you will need to know the SSID (also called the network name), and wireless security settings, if used. To play media, the EVA700 must be connected to the network, and the supplied media server must be running on the host computer. You also need to make sure that Folder Sharing in Windows Media Connect is set to share the My Music, My Pictures and My Videos folders on your computer. You can click Windows Media Connect to add or remove shared files.
The Digital Entertainer features a relatively intuitive TV user interface that enables families to browse digital movie, video, music and photo files using the supplied remote control. In addition to Intel Viiv technology based-PCs, the Digital Entertainer supports access to content on standard Windows XP PCs through Windows Media Connect as well as other Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) media servers such as TwonkyMedia.
The gadget can also stream content via a network from a NAS, associated with a PC, and many USB storage devices such as flash drives, digital cameras and iPods. Strangely, the front of the EVA700 lacks a display for status and file details (the front is mostly bare, save for a power LED, headphone jack and USB port), so you’ll have to rely on on-screen prompts for this information. Also lacking here are playback controls, which are left to the bundled remote control.
The EVA700 decodes many leading audio formats up to 320Kbit/s (MP3, WAV, WMA, AAC), video formats up to 1080p (MPEG 1/2/4, WMV, XviD) and image formats (JPEG, BMP, PNG, TIFF, GIF). It integrates a 10/100Base-T Ethernet controller, support for 802.11g wireless networking, and a USB 2.0 port for additional connectivity with flash memory, digital cameras, iPod, or other portable music and video players.
The Digital Entertainer also includes RCA connectors for composite and component video outputs with HD video support, stereo RCA audio ports, an S-video port, and a SCART connector for regions that require it. HDMI connectivity isn’t offered, but high-definition (HD) video can still be sent over the component connection. The Digital Entertainer complies with multiple interoperability standards, including UPnP AV, Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), and emerging digital rights management technologies such as DTCP-IP and Microsoft Windows Media DRM 10 for Network Devices. It supports several security standards including WEP, WPA-PSK and WPA2-PSK.
Videos, photos and music can be accessed on your computer’s hard disk drive, on other computers, external drives, or other storage devices on the network. Video clips can be viewed by Actor, Folder, Genre, while photos can be viewed by Album, Folder, and Date taken. Lastly, music can be played back by Album, Artist, Folder or Genre. You can also set up a playlist, which is useful when friends and family visit. You can even use the device to play Internet radio stations, such as vTuner.
A growing number of homes and small businesses now have a network. Any appliance that simplifies downloading, storing and viewing of the types of digital entertainment we create or buy should perform well in the marketplace. Netgear’s Digital Entertainer EVA700 is a good conduit between PCs and TVs - and many other kinds of digital devices and formats that are on the network. In our tests the device accomplished pretty much everything it sets out to. We were able to stream all sorts of multimedia content to the device with negligible waiting time, and during playback we didn’t notice any artefacts or slowdowns. The only disappointments are the lack of a HDMI connector and LCD for status and file information, and the user interface could be improved.
[7]
[
Best Wireless Media Player Pricing UK]
[
Best Wireless Media Player Pricing US]
