Netgear EVA2000 Digital Entertainer Live [Low-End Set-Top Box, 720p, No Internal HDD, No Wireless]

I think that we would all agree that having the ability to access our multimedia from anywhere in our homes is a great thing. You can stream your music, watch movies, and basically free all of your entertainment from the confines of your computer. Add into that the ability to stream live HD movies and downloadable content 24/7 right onto your big screen and you basically have the idea behind the latest set-top box from Netgear, the EVA2000 Digital Entertainer Live.

Netgear is no stranger to the world of high-definition media players. They actually have a pretty respectable product portfolio in that area. In order to attract a wider audience to the world of integrated multimedia, Netgear’s EVA2000 is a much lower-priced model that lacks some of the bells and whistles of the more expensive models like the EVA8000 or EVA9150.

The new EVA2000 Digital Entertainer Live skimps on the full HD and supports 720p HD. It also lacks an internal hard drive and does away with the built-in wireless. The? EVA2000 basically relies on wired 100Mbps Ethernet-based access to receive its online. It features the usual cast of characters when it comes to available content and has integrated support for YouTube, CinemaNow and VuNow. There certainly wasn’t any effort made to change the design of the box. The thing looks like a router. As for additional connectivity, the EVA2000 also has two USB ports so you can hook up your external storage devices, one HDMI output and one RCA for you old-schoolers. If you want the wireless feature you’ll have to spring for a USB adapter.

The new EVA2000 features the same menu-driven interface found on the other Netgear devices and supports a wide variety of video and audio formats like Matroska videos and raw VOB files from DVDs. If you are worried about compatibility, don’t, the Digital Entertainment Live works with both Windows and Mac machines as well as DLNA-aware devices for live streaming of online content. The Netgear EVA2000 Digital Entertainer Live is available now for $150 with the optional USB wireless adapter retailing for $40. For more information and to find out how to purchase your own, head on over to www.netgear.com.