Netgear's Digital Entertainer line of products are

digital media player A digital media player (also sometimes known as a streaming device or streaming box) is a type of consumer electronics device designed for the storage, playback, or viewing of digital media content. They are typically designed to be integra ...

s that can pull

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradition ...

content from home computers to the typical audio/video entertainment center. There are three products in the line, the EVA700, the HD EVA8000 and the current EVA9150 Digital Entertainer Elite. All support

high definition video High-definition video (HD video) is video of higher display resolution, resolution and quality than Standard-definition television, standard-definition. While there is no standardized meaning for ''high-definition'', generally any video image wit ...

, the EVA700 via component output up to 1080i and the EVA8000/EVA9000 up to 1080p with both component and HDMI connectors. All models support

audio Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum *Digital audio, representation of sound ...

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

, image and

streaming audio Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

and video formats and can be networked via wired and

wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...

Ethernet Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 198 ...

. The EVA700 is

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...

Viiv Viiv (stylized as V//V) was a platform initiative from Intel similar to Intel's Centrino and vPro. Initially (through release 1.7), it was a collection of computer technologies with a particular combination of Intel ingredients to support a "med ...

certified.

Description

Common features of both EVA models include being able to access

digital media Digital media is any communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital electronics device. ' ...

files on a

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

attached home computer running

Windows XP Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Windows 2000 for high-end and ...

, stream audio and video from the PC, and stream

Internet radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...

(streaming MP3).

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad v ...

storage devices such as

iPods The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes ...

, thumb drives, and some

digital cameras A digital camera is a camera that captures photographs in digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film. Digital cameras are now widely incorporated into mobile device ...

with USB interfaces can be attached directly to the units for playback of media on those USB devices. As the Digital Entertainer products are Intel Viiv compliant, setup and media access with an Intel Viiv PC is more

automated Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...

than without such a PC. However, an Intel Viiv PC is not required in order to operate an EVA unit. The systems come with a

remote control In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such as ...

with which to manipulate the on-screen display on your television along with a large selection of suitable connecting cables. Inputs/Outputs: At a minimum, EVAs have

RCA connector The RCA connector is a type of electrical connector commonly used to carry audio and video signals. The name ''RCA'' derives from the company Radio Corporation of America, which introduced the design in the 1930s. The connectors male plug and ...

s for

composite video Composite video is an analog video signal format that carries standard-definition video (typically at 525 lines or 625 lines) as a single channel. Video information is encoded on one channel, unlike the higher-quality S-Video (two channels) a ...

output, as well as for

component video Component video is an analog video signal that has been split into two or more component channels. In popular use, it refers to a type of component analog video (CAV) information that is transmitted or stored as three separate signals. Compon ...

output,

S-Video S-Video (also known as separate video, Y/C, and erroneously Super-Video ) is an analog video signal format that carries standard-definition video, typically at 525 lines or 625 lines. It encodes video luma and chrominance on two separate channe ...

output, a digital

S/PDIF S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) is a type of digital audio interface used in consumer audio equipment to output audio over relatively short distances. The signal is transmitted over either a coaxial cable (using RCA or BNC connectors) ...

audio output, stereo RCA audio outputs, at least 1 USB 2.0 port and 1

8P8C A modular connector is a type of electrical connector for cords and cables of electronic devices and appliances, such as in computer networking, telecommunication equipment, and audio headsets. Modular connectors were originally developed for ...

10/100 Ethernet port.

History: MP101 and MP115

NETGEAR started off in the media streamer arena with the MP101, an audio-only small form factor media streamer. It had a four-line

fluorescent Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore a lower photon energy, tha ...

display with line stereo RCA and 3.5"

headphone Headphones are a pair of small loudspeaker drivers worn on or around the head over a user's ears. They are electroacoustic transducers, which convert an electrical signal to a corresponding sound. Headphones let a single user listen to an au ...

outputs. Connectivity provided by built-in Ethernet and 802.11b wireless with WEP support. Controlled by a remote control, it had no external buttons at all, not even a power button. The unit could play MP3 and WMA files, along with PLS and M3U playlists. Rhapsody streaming radio was built in, and the unit could also play any MP3 streams through playlists. The MP115 was a technology trial, and only 600 were made. It used the same small form-factor as the MP101 but without the display. This unit was probably what could be considered the beginnings of the Digital Entertainer line as it supported XviD and MPEG1 and MPEG2 playback and had composite, S-Video and SCART output for connection to a TV, along with line stereo RCA. Audio was still supported along the same lines as the MP101. Again, no external buttons and all control from the remote. Dual-antenna 802.11g wireless was on board with wired Ethernet port.

EVA700 Digital Entertainer

Features: * Dual 2 dBi

antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...

wireless reception * Hardware-based

Wired Equivalent Privacy Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) was a security algorithm for 802.11 wireless networks. Introduced as part of the original IEEE 802.11 standard ratified in 1997, its intention was to provide data confidentiality comparable to that of a traditional wi ...

(WEP) 40/64-bit & 128-bit encryption * WPA-PSK (WPA-Personal) and WPA2-PSK (WPA2-Persona) *

802.11g IEEE 802.11g-2003 or 802.11g is an amendment to the IEEE 802.11 specification that operates in the 2.4 GHz microwave band. The standard has extended throughput to up to 54 Mbit/s using the same 20 MHz bandwidth as 802.11b uses to achieve 11 Mbit/ ...

standard compliant (connects to 802.11b or 802.11g networks) * Intel NMPR 2.0 * UPnP AV * MP3s up to 320 kbit/s or variable bit rate (VBR) * WMA8 and WMA9 files up to 192kbit/s or variable bit rate(VBR) *

WMV Windows Media Video (WMV) is a series of video codecs and their corresponding video coding formats developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Windows Media framework. WMV consists of three distinct codecs: The original video compression technology ...

up to

1080p 1080p (1920×1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen vert ...

(down-converted) * Internet Radio (streaming MP3) * Video Formats:

MPEG1 MPEG-1 is a standard for lossy compression of video and audio. It is designed to compress VHS-quality raw digital video and CD audio down to about 1.5 Mbit/s (26:1 and 6:1 compression ratios respectively) without excessive quality loss, making ...

MPEG2 MPEG-2 (a.k.a. H.222/H.262 as was defined by the ITU) is a standard for "the generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information". It describes a combination of lossy video compression and lossy audio data compression methods, w ...

MPEG4 MPEG-4 is a group of international standards for the compression of digital audio and visual data, multimedia systems, and file storage formats. It was originally introduced in late 1998 as a group of audio and video coding formats and related tec ...

AVI Avi is a given name, usually masculine, often a diminutive of Avram, Avraham, etc. It is sometimes feminine and a diminutive of the Hebrew spelling of Abigail. People with the given name include: * Avi (born 1937), Newbery award-winning Americ ...

, WMV,

Xvid Xvid (formerly "XviD") is a video codec library following the MPEG-4 video coding standard, specifically MPEG-4 Part 2 Advanced Simple Profile (ASP). It uses ASP features such as b-frames, global and quarter pixel motion compensation, lumi mas ...

* Audio Formats:

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...

WAV Waveform Audio File Format (WAVE, or WAV due to its filename extension; pronounced "wave") is an audio file format standard, developed by IBM and Microsoft, for storing an audio bitstream on PCs. It is the main format used on Microsoft Win ...

, WMA,

M3U M3U (''MP3 URL'' or Moving Picture Experts Group Audio Layer 3 Uniform Resource Locator in full) is a computer file format for a multimedia playlist. One common use of the M3U file format is creating a single-entry playlist file pointing to a st ...

AAC AAC may refer to: Aviation * Advanced Aircraft, a company from Carlsbad, California * Alaskan Air Command, a radar network * American Aeronautical Corporation, a company from Port Washington, New York * American Aviation, a company from Cleveland, ...

* Photo Formats:

JPEG JPEG ( ) is a commonly used method of lossy compression for digital images, particularly for those images produced by digital photography. The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and imag ...

, BMP, PNG, TIFF,

GIF The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF; or , see pronunciation) is a bitmap image format that was developed by a team at the online services provider CompuServe led by American computer scientist Steve Wilhite and released on 15 June 1987. ...

* Playlist Formats: M3U, PLS * RCA connector for composite * RCA connector for component (high definition up to 1080i) * S-video port *

SCART SCART (also known as or , especially in France, 21-pin EuroSCART in marketing by Sharp in Asia, Euroconector in Spain, EuroAV or EXT, or EIA Multiport in the United States, as an EIA interface) is a French-originated standard and associated 21- ...

connector for regions that require it * Stereo RCA audio ports * Digital coaxial S/PDIF audio port * Ethernet port * USB 2.0 port

EVA8000 Digital Entertainer HD

Apart from adding high definition video support over HDMI, the EVA8000 also adds a number of other features over the EVA700. Starting with HD support, it plays Windows Media Video (WMV) 9, and MPEG-4 formats up to 1080p. As it supports Windows Media DRM (WMDRM10), it can play protected downloaded content from online services like

Yahoo Music Yahoo! Music was a brand under which Yahoo! provided a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming. Previously, users with Yahoo! accounts could gain access to hundreds of ...

. If the PC has a

TV tuner card A TV tuner card is a kind of television tuner that allows television signals to be received by a computer. Most TV tuners also function as video capture cards, allowing them to record television programs onto a hard disk much like the digital vi ...

, then the EVA8000 can be used as a pseudo- DVR, although it does not store any content on its own. By using 2 or more EVA8000s, music can be synchronized throughout a home (party mode) and there is also a "follow me" feature that lets you pick up where you left off on a program on another unit. The EVA8000 also comes with the ability to allow you to view and control your PC applications on your TV. Noticeable is the difference in the user interface between the 2 units. Additional features over the EVA700: *

HDMI High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant source device, such as a display controller, ...

A/V connector *Additional USB 2.0 port *

DLNA Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA; originally named Digital Home Working Group, DHWG) was founded by a group of PC and consumer electronics companies in June 2003 (with Intel in the lead role) to develop and promote a set of interoperability ...

* SMB Networking *

FLAC FLAC (; Free Lossless Audio Codec) is an audio coding format for lossless compression of digital audio, developed by the Xiph.Org Foundation, and is also the name of the free software project producing the FLAC tools, the reference software p ...

audio support *

Matroska Matroska is a project to create a container format that can hold an unlimited number of video, audio, picture, or subtitle tracks in one file. The Matroska Multimedia Container is similar in concept to other containers like AVI, MP4, or Adva ...

(MKV) x264 video support *DVD ISO / VIDEO_TS folder playback support *Playlist formats: WPL, ASX, WAX, WVX, RMP *Full HD (1080p) output

EVA9150 Digital Entertainer Elite

This unit is essentially an updated EVA8000. No big new file format support is added or needed, but the main addition is an internal 500GB hard disk allowing for playback of content without the need for a computer,

NAS Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

or attached USB hard drive. At least one of these is required for the EVA700 and EVA8000 to play back content other than live over the internet. The internal hard drive also buffers streaming content if desired. Other additions include an ultra-low power standby mode, updated chassis, onboard dual-band (i.e.: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) WiFi-N (a.k.a. 802.11n) wireless network with internal antenna, and a hard power switch.

External links

Netgear's Home Page for Digital EntertainersNetgear Digital Entertainer Community
- forums, articles
Details of EVA9000 leaked via FCC filing

Reviews

LiveDigitally's review of EVA8000BIOS Magazine's review of EVA700
{{Home theater PC (application software) Digital Entertainer Digital media players