Netgear's Digital Entertainer Elite (Model EVA9150) is the successor to their Digital Entertainer HD media player, taking that next logical step of adding its own onboard hard disk drive--500 gigabytes in fact--which is also easily user-upgradeable to larger capacity. Essentially a high-definition audio/video jukebox for the living room/home theater, the Digital Entertainer Elite bridges that gap between the computer and "the good TV" when playing an assortment of digital media files, as consumers are voraciously snapping up online audio/video and creating their own.
Video quality can approach Blu-ray levels, up to 1080p resolution from compatible formats, in addition to high-res digital photos and digitally recorded television shows. Internet content such as YouTube, Flickr, internet radio and podcasts can also be streamed right on the device. The Digital Entertainer Elite can automatically locate all the digital media files on connected home network and organize them into an easily accessible library.
The Digital Entertainer Elite works in tandem with Windows, Mac and Linux computers, and networked attached storage such as Netgear's ReadyNAS devices, for a quick supply of content right out of the box, before we need to start filling the half-terabyte onboard. It goes on to add unparalleled versatility, supporting AVI, DivX, Xvid WMV (including support for Windows Media DRM 10), MOV, M4V, MP4, VOB, MPG, MP1, MP2, MP4, ISO, IFO, MKV, TS and M2TS digital video formats in addition to MP1, MP2, MP3, WMA, WMA-Pro, AAC, FLAC, AIFF, WAV, LPCM, Dolby AC3 5.1 stereo downmix, Dolby AC3 5.1 pass-through, DTS 5.1 pass-through, Dolby TrueHD downmix, Dolby+ pass-through and DTS-HD Master Audio pass-through audio.
The Digital Entertainer Elite's two USB ports allow plug-and-play access to media stored on a flash drive, digital camera, iPod or other USB device. Three RangeMax internal metamaterial antennas and dual-band 802.11n wi-fi give the Digital Entertainer Elite what might be the best wireless performance of any digital media player, able to pick from not only three 2.4GHz channels which might be cluttered by 802.11g wireless networks in the neighborhood but up to twenty clearer channels in the 5GHz band. Using the “Follow Me” function, we can pause a video in one room and resume it in another, with multiple Digital Entertainer Elite units installed. While in “Party Mode,” we can also synchronize music playback for whole-home listening.
The Netgear Digital entertainer Elite is expected to be available in February, at a price of $399.
