Netgear to release new DEC that'll be perfect for anime fans!

[Lord Raiden]

http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/2008/12/02/sneak-peek-netgear-eva9000-digital-entertainer-elite/

Just got wind of this today. It's got to be one of the best systems I've seen in ages, has everything from analog to full HDMI digital support, and the supported formats list is out of sight! It even has full MKV support!

Just thought I'd share this since I thought a lot of you might find this useful. :) The "official" announcement isn't due until December 9th, but someone was able to get an early sneak peak of it and post it on the web. :D

[Aoie_Emesai]

Entertainment at my finger tips, BWAHAHAHA

^^

[Shadow Kira01]

http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/netgear_eva9000_fcc_images.jpghttp://www.ehomeupgrade.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/netgear_eva9000_comparison_chart.jpg

I amazed at the number of audio and video formats it supports in comparison to other electronic devices, such as the XBox 360. It is definitely awesome, but what is the price on the price tag?

[mg1942]

40 Mbps?! How does it stack up against PS3 and Blu Ray players?
I want one for my old Sony CRT HDTV (ISF-pro calibrated too!)

[Sides]

40 Mbps?! How does it stack up against PS3 and Blu Ray players?
I want one for my old Sony CRT HDTV (ISF-pro calibrated too!)

I think blu-ray is 40Mbps as well. My guess it uses one of the SMP8630 series chip from sigmadesign, like the WD TV and some blu-ray players.

[Shadow Kira01]

40 Mbps?! How does it stack up against PS3 and Blu Ray players?
I want one for my old Sony CRT HDTV (ISF-pro calibrated too!)

PS3 is at 48Mbps, while Blue-Ray DVD is at 36Mbps. These numbers may not be completely accurate though.

[Lord Raiden]

Shadow Minato: No price will be announced until after the official release date of December 9th. But given my experience in this field, I'm gonna guess a shelf value of no less than $150, more likely $250 given that it'll come with a HD. I'm also gonna try and grab one for review to see how good it is and let you guys know. :)

[Ichihara Asako]

Keep in mind while a lot of players now support MKV as a container, they don't support ASS subs, which is what the majority of fansubs use. They'll render SSA or SRT, or very basic ASS (no positioning or fonts etc). Which can be pretty crap for fansubs with fancy typesetting.

[Shadow Kira01]

Shadow Minato: No price will be announced until after the official release date of December 9th. But given my experience in this field, I'm gonna guess a shelf value of no less than $150, more likely $250 given that it'll come with a HD. I'm also gonna try and grab one for review to see how good it is and let you guys know. :)

Sounds cool! I was expecting the price tag to be around $500-$1000 considering the number of video and audio formats it supports.

[Sides]

Western Digital's WD TV has a rrp of $129.99, and it doesn't support internal hdd, ethernet and more. The EVA9000 is much better equipped and includes a hdmi cable and cat5 cable out of the box, so i reckon it will retail for $399 or more, since the EVA8000 is still sold for $399 at netgear's own shop.

[SeijiSensei]

I'm a bit puzzled about devices like this. Where is the content supposed to be coming from, especially the video content? I asked myself the same question this morning when I saw an ad for a Seagate dockable external drive that promoted the device as a portable audio/video library.

In the US it's still illegal to rip DVDs, much less BDs. Now hardware manufacturers obviously don't care about content restrictions; they just want to sell devices into a worldwide market with wildly varying laws about content controls. But here in the US, the question remains what content could be legally stored on these appliances. I'm not sure I understand how, to quote the linked article in the OP, "it’s going to be a force to be reckoned with and a soon to be favorite of online content providers everywhere." So far those online content providers (Apple, Netflix, etc.) all use proprietary formats with DRM controls. The specs for this box don't even list Microsoft Silverlight or Applie iTunes. I can already do everything this box does with a PC and the appropriate software. Why, other than size and styling, would I want this device?

[Lord Raiden]

The content can be uploaded from your network, recorded off satellite or OTA HDTV, or even your local player. It's basically an uber DVR.

[SeijiSensei]

The content can be uploaded from your network, recorded off satellite or OTA HDTV, or even your local player. It's basically an uber DVR.

Well I don't see any ATSC tuner listed in the specs, so I don't see how it could replace a DVR. I also don't see any "cable card (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_card)" slots which would enable you to record encrypted content from US cable providers.

Let me offer a bit of background. In the US, only over-the-air signals are carried unencrypted by cable and satellite operators, so you really can't just hook something up to your cable service and record willy-nilly. There is the "cable card" alternative, a small card that can be inserted into compatible devices like some TiVO's that enable decoding of the encrypted signals. You have to obtain these from the cable operator and pay a monthly fee for their use (to compensate for not renting a DVR from the cableco). Some set-top boxes have Firewire connections, but usually these are limited to the unencrypted signals.

Do the ports shown in the photograph support both input and output, or just output? I only see one of each type, so I can't see how I'd connect, say, my HD cable box to the HDMI port for recording and still pass the signal through to my TV, unless I could do something like HDMI in and component out. If the device is designed to record, it must also support HDCP as well, no? If so, I won't be playing any BDs on my PS3 and dubbing them onto this box either (except perhaps via component).

It looks to me like a fine solution if you have a lot of content stored in digital files that you've obtained from illegal sources (l include DVD rips in this category). I just don't know how valuable devices like these are to the vast majority of viewers who just watch TV and play optical discs and never consider the option of obtaining or creating infringing copies.

(Unless they're intent on building up a "best of YouTube" archive. The content shown in the Seagate ad I mentioned above was a self-produced video of some guy dancing. Is that really what the manufacturers think devices like these will be storing?)

[Sides]

IIRC the EVA9000, according to the manual, it doesn't support recording. If you are interested in the device google for EVA9000, you should be able to find a the handbook.
The only HD PVR i'm aware of, is the hauppauge (http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hdpvr.html) one, it support recording via component input, but is limited to 13.5 Mbits/sec. Like i mentioned before the EVA9000 is most likely based on the SMP8630 series, which is used in some Blu-Ray players. I reckon that your suspicion is right, they are probably targetting file sharers. I mean mkv, come on, no recorder would support that kind of container.

[Ichihara Asako]

I mean mkv, come on, no recorder would support that kind of container.

Except that DivX have made noise about adopting MKV as its next container and scrapping AVI. That's a big industry player.

[harmonious]

What I want to know is will it stream flash such as Hulu?

[Lord Raiden]

What I want to know is will it stream flash such as Hulu?
If you want to view streaming internet content on a PVR of sorts, you'll need the Neuros Link (http://www.neurostechnology.com/neuros-link) to do that. The Netgear player just plays hard files like avi and mkv.
Well I don't see any ATSC tuner listed in the specs, so I don't see how it could replace a DVR. I also don't see any "cable card" slots which would enable you to record encrypted content from US cable providers.
Well, it's *supposed* to have recording capabilities from what I've heard, but it's entirely possible that it's a player only and is in fact targeted towards file sharers like us. ;)

[ShadowVlican]

u'll be at the mercy of their programming team for firmware updates

nothing beats the versatility of an HTPC... and you don't need an expensive build for media playback either