Netgear EVA9150   

By Jeff Bakalar, CNET.com
Jul 17, 2009

Many of the networked media players we've looked at recently rely heavily on interfacing with Windows Media Center, the digital media hub software that's available on many--but not all--PCs running Windows XP and Vista. Some models, such as the HP MediaSmart Connect, can operate in "WMC Extender mode" or via their own built-in streaming interface. Others, such as the Linksys DMA2200 Media Center Extender, have only a Media Extender interface. It's the same one available on the Xbox 360, and--in our experience--tends to be laggy and not very pleasant overall.

After various painful reviews of products that insist on going through that finicky software, we were pleased to get a breath of fresh air with the Netgear EVA9150 a.k.a. Digital Entertainer Elite. The player eschews Windows Media Center altogether and doesn't label itself as an extender. Instead, it allows you to customize the shared directories and files on your PC and stream them to your TV. While it's not perfect, the fact is it plays more media file types than any other device we've seen, making this our favorite network-connected media streamer.

Design

Measuring 431.8 x 254 x 50.8mm, the Netgear Digital Entertainer Elite is about the size of a standard DVD or Blu-ray player. It resembles the previous model, the Digital Entertainer HD, but lacks the Wi-Fi antennas. Also, the front of the Elite has a pull-down flap that hides a removable 500GB harddisk drive (which adds a bit of bulk, putting the device at just over 2.5kg). Aside from a front-mounted USB port, the face of the Elite is quite plain.

The included remote control is definitely an improvement over the previous model. Everything is laid out logically and easy to see. You can quick-jump to almost every feature found on the Elite and the remote's rubberized coating feels great in the hands.

Setting up the Elite is quite easy. After first turning it on, there are a series of instructions to follow that make for a relatively painless process. After you've connected the device to your TV and your home network, you'll install the included software on your computer to set up file sharing (the Elite supports both Windows and Mac operating systems). Do note that you don't necessarily need to install the software to use the Elite--networking gurus can share folders through the operating system--but we recommend doing so as it makes streaming much easier.

Your computer should locate the Digital Entertainer Elite on the network and will then ask you to select which directories you'd like to share with the device. Things got a bit cumbersome when it was discovered we'd need to specifically select all subdirectories that contain media as well (unfortunately, the software will not automatically catalog the subfolders and identify the media found within a parent folder you select). That said, once we selected all of our media directories, we had instant access to these files on our TV screen. You may just want to dump all of your media into one folder so you don't have to select countless folders and subfolders manually. The Elite will recognize and be capable of accessing media on most USB storage devices (including flash thumbdrives and powered harddisk drives, cameras, and media players) via either of its USB ports as well.

The PC/Mac software included with the device will probably need to be updated, so make sure you do so before you get started. The application works well enough. We just had to hunt for a few settings that weren't readily available. For example, in order to control the Elite from your PC, you'll first need to check a series of boxes that can't be accessed from the main menu. Overall, the experience is a bit confusing, but with enough time spent you should be able to get the Elite performing exactly how you'd like.

Tags: TV, NetGear, USB Port, home network, Elite

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