Along with the Netgear Internet TV player announced today, Netgear also unveiled a more practical set-top box, the Digital Entertainer Elite (EVA9150). Some features:
- Streams media directly from the Internet such as YouTube, Internet radio, Flickr photos, RSS, and podcasts
- Includes HDMI port, HD upconversion up to 1080p, two USB ports for iPod and USB drives
- 500GB hard drive for extra storage of movies, photos, and music
- Automatically finds all digital media files on your home network and organizes them into an easily accessible library
One thing that stands out about this box is the “Follow Me” feature, which allows you to pause a video in one room and resume it in another. Obviously you have to have another Digital Entertainer Elite system in the other room, but it’s a good start for this concept. Similarly, while in “Party Mode,” you can synchronize music playback for whole-home listening. The box will be available next month for $399.
Digital Entertainer Elite (EVA9150)
An ideal solution for serious media enthusiasts, NETGEAR’s Digital Entertainer Elite (EVA9150) is the most powerful and flexible digital media player available, incorporating the latest video, audio and wireless technologies to deliver an unparalleled living room experience. Its integrated 500GB hard drive, easily user-upgradeable to larger capacity disks, makes the Digital Entertainer Elite the world’s most powerful home video jukebox on the market. Consumers can play on their TVs Blu-Ray quality up to 1080p digital video, high-resolution digital photos, MP3s and recorded television shows from their PCs or storage on their network. They can also enjoy Internet content, such as YouTube, Internet radio, Flickr, RSS feeds, and videos from popular websites. The Digital Entertainer Elite automatically finds all digital media files on the home network and organizes them into an easily accessible library.
The Digital Entertainer Elite is exceptional in that it works simultaneously with Windows, Mac and Linux computers, and Networked Attached Storage (NAS) devices, such as NETGEAR’s award-winning family of ReadyNAS storage solutions. It supports an unmatched list of file formats, including:
– Video formats: AVI, DivX, Xvid WMV, MOV, M4V, MP4, VOB, MPG, MP1, MP2, MP4, ISO, IFO, MKV, TS and M2TS;
– Audio formats: MP1, MP2, MP3, WMA, WMA-Pro, AAC, FLAC, AIFF, WAV, LPCM, Dolby AC3 5.1 stereo downmix, Dolby AC3 5.1 passthrough, DTS 5.1 passthrough, Dolby TrueHD Downmix, Dolby+ Passthrough and DTS-HD Master Audio passthrough;
– Subtitle formats: SUB, SRT, SMI, SAMI, TXT and DVD Subpicture; and,
– Video codecs: MP1, MP2, MP4, Xvid, VC-1/WMV-9, H.264 and OpenDivX.
The Digital Entertainer Elite’s two USB ports also enable instant access to content on a USB flash drive, digital camera, iPod or other USB storage device. Three of NETGEAR’s exclusive RangeMax internal metamaterial antennas and Dual-Band wireless 802.11n give the Digital Entertainer Elite the best wireless performance of any digital media player on the market. More specifically, the Dual-Band wireless enables the Digital Entertainer Elite to pick from not only three 2.4GHz channels, crowded by 802.11g wireless networks in the neighborhood, but up to twenty clearer channels in the 5GHz band. Further, the Sigma Designs 8635 chip ensures the most powerful and flexible audio and video performance.
Multiple NETGEAR Digital Entertainer Elite units can work in concert throughout a house. Using “Follow Me,” consumers can pause a video in one room and resume it in another. While in “Party Mode,” they can synchronize music playback for whole-home listening.
The Digital Entertainer Elite also features NETGEAR’s award-winning Push ‘N’ Connect to seamlessly and securely connect wireless clients based on Wi-Fi Protected Set-up (WPS), eliminating the need to remember or input password keys. Further, NETGEAR’s Digital Entertainer Elite includes environmentally friendly features, such as an energy-efficient power supply and auto-sleep mode.
Backed by a one-year warranty and full 24/7 technical support, the NETGEAR Digital Entertainer Elite (EVA9150) is expected to be available in February through leading retailers, e-commerce sites, and value-added resellers at an MSRP in the U.S. of $399. More information can be found at (http://www.netgear.com/Products/Entertainment/DigitalMediaPlayers/eva9150.aspx).