Comments on: Netgear knocks it out of the park at CES http://www.livedigitally.com/2007/01/07/netgear-knocks-it-out-of-the-park-at-ces/ Reviews and opinions about consumer technology, gadgets, Websites, new media, services, and more. Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:04:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: W Slater http://www.livedigitally.com/2007/01/07/netgear-knocks-it-out-of-the-park-at-ces/#comment-203373 W Slater Wed, 07 Nov 2007 18:11:19 +0000 http://www.livedigitally.com/2007/01/07/netgear-knocks-it-out-of-the-park-at-ces/#comment-203373 The Netgear Eva8000 is a great product on paper and if you enjoy lock ups, freezes, reboots and frequently crawling around unplugging and replugging in your eqiupment when it's locked. The picture quality however is fantastic I bought 2 Eva8000's for separate rooms. They’re both pathetic. I have had the previous model (EVA700) for about 6 months. This has a completely different (more basic) interface and, unlike the EVA8000, is an absolute pleasure. It seems that Netgear are not content with only releasing crap hardware (EVA8000), installing Netgear’s Digital Entertainer software causes certain files to bomb out when played in windows. This leads to Media Centre (both XP & Vista versions) to completely crash (regardless of which other codecs are installed - I tried numerous combinations and versions including just the latest divx & xvid official codecs). Removing the Netgear software makes Media Centre work again every time. The best thing one can say about the Netgear software is “it uninstalls well”. If my Eva8000 were to catch fire it would improve my life as I would stop the futile exercise of trying to get it to work without locking up or rebooting (and yes I do have the latest firmware). Rebooting takes about 2 minutes and then one has to rescan the media library which takes about 15 minutes for 3000 files. The cheaper Eva700 is practically instant on and adding media doesn't require a rescan. Why didn’t they just keep the Eva700’s operation, “Windows Media Connect” software and add hi-def capabilities? This would have made the Eva8000 an unbeatable product. Although I am a fan of Netgear products the EVA8000 is a piece of crap. I cannot believe anyone would actually sell something so buggy. I'd rather have smallpox than another EVA8000. If you can find one...get the EVA700. It isn't high-def, but it works flawlessly. The Netgear Eva8000 is a great product on paper and if you enjoy lock ups, freezes, reboots and frequently crawling around unplugging and replugging in your eqiupment when it’s locked. The picture quality however is fantastic

I bought 2 Eva8000’s for separate rooms. They’re both pathetic. I have had the previous model (EVA700) for about 6 months. This has a completely different (more basic) interface and, unlike the EVA8000, is an absolute pleasure. It seems that Netgear are not content with only releasing crap hardware (EVA8000), installing Netgear’s Digital Entertainer software causes certain files to bomb out when played in windows. This leads to Media Centre (both XP & Vista versions) to completely crash (regardless of which other codecs are installed - I tried numerous combinations and versions including just the latest divx & xvid official codecs).
Removing the Netgear software makes Media Centre work again every time. The best thing one can say about the Netgear software is “it uninstalls well”. If my Eva8000 were to catch fire it would improve my life as I would stop the futile exercise of trying to get it to work without locking up or rebooting (and yes I do have the latest firmware).

Rebooting takes about 2 minutes and then one has to rescan the media library which takes about 15 minutes for 3000 files. The cheaper Eva700 is practically instant on and adding media doesn’t require a rescan. Why didn’t they just keep the Eva700’s operation, “Windows Media Connect” software and add hi-def capabilities? This would have made the Eva8000 an unbeatable product.

Although I am a fan of Netgear products the EVA8000 is a piece of crap. I cannot believe anyone would actually sell something so buggy. I’d rather have smallpox than another EVA8000. If you can find one…get the EVA700. It isn’t high-def, but it works flawlessly.

]]> By: Davis Freeberg’s Digital Connection - Zatz Not Living Digitally http://www.livedigitally.com/2007/01/07/netgear-knocks-it-out-of-the-park-at-ces/#comment-121129 Davis Freeberg’s Digital Connection - Zatz Not Living Digitally Tue, 13 Feb 2007 18:13:37 +0000 http://www.livedigitally.com/2007/01/07/netgear-knocks-it-out-of-the-park-at-ces/#comment-121129 [...] Ironically, Netgear has gone on to hire Jeremy to do some consulting work for them and initially he is going to be helping to develop out the Netgear blog that Dave Zatz guest blogged on at CES this year. I had also applied to be a Netgear guest blogger for CES, but lost out to Dave. I’ll be excited to watch how Jeremy uses his expertise to build out and optimize Netgear’s blog. He writes some really great reviews, one of my favorite articles from CES this year was Jeremy’s review of Netgear’s EVA8000 Digital Entertainer HD. This machine looks really hot. Hopefully, it won’t take long before Netgear turns on comments and starts up an RSS feed to make it easier to monitor the site. [...] [...] Ironically, Netgear has gone on to hire Jeremy to do some consulting work for them and initially he is going to be helping to develop out the Netgear blog that Dave Zatz guest blogged on at CES this year. I had also applied to be a Netgear guest blogger for CES, but lost out to Dave. I’ll be excited to watch how Jeremy uses his expertise to build out and optimize Netgear’s blog. He writes some really great reviews, one of my favorite articles from CES this year was Jeremy’s review of Netgear’s EVA8000 Digital Entertainer HD. This machine looks really hot. Hopefully, it won’t take long before Netgear turns on comments and starts up an RSS feed to make it easier to monitor the site. [...]

]]> By: Zatz Not Funny!»Blog Archive » Why I Won’t Buy Apple’s iTV http://www.livedigitally.com/2007/01/07/netgear-knocks-it-out-of-the-park-at-ces/#comment-111039 Zatz Not Funny!»Blog Archive » Why I Won’t Buy Apple’s iTV Thu, 11 Jan 2007 15:13:40 +0000 http://www.livedigitally.com/2007/01/07/netgear-knocks-it-out-of-the-park-at-ces/#comment-111039 [...] I just took a brief gander at the $299 iTV (now branded Apple TV), and am disappointed with the first rev of their software. First off, early reports pegged this device at a max output of 720p (which would have been OK with me) but Apple’s tech specs clearly indicate this will handle video at up to 1080i. What I’m bothered with as a consumer is that a Mac or PC is needed as an intermediary for iTunes video purchases. With a 40GB hard drive, it’s probably safe to say at some point they’ll take the computer out of the equation… right? For $100 more you could pick up an Xbox 360 with TV and Movie downloads direct to the console, no PC required. Oh yeah, you can do a bunch of other stuff too. The second issue I have is that Apple continues to lock us into their ecosystem — A model that has worked well for them with audio, but may not be as successful with video in the era of YouTube and DivX: The iTV has limited video format support compared to products like Netgear’s new Digital Entertainer HD. Good, bad, or just average - I’m sure Apple will move a decent amount of product. They build sexy looking hardware and software, and have the marketing game figured out. However, they can’t count me as an early adopter. I’ll be looking forward to Matt’s review if/when he picks up a box. [...] [...] I just took a brief gander at the $299 iTV (now branded Apple TV), and am disappointed with the first rev of their software. First off, early reports pegged this device at a max output of 720p (which would have been OK with me) but Apple’s tech specs clearly indicate this will handle video at up to 1080i. What I’m bothered with as a consumer is that a Mac or PC is needed as an intermediary for iTunes video purchases. With a 40GB hard drive, it’s probably safe to say at some point they’ll take the computer out of the equation… right? For $100 more you could pick up an Xbox 360 with TV and Movie downloads direct to the console, no PC required. Oh yeah, you can do a bunch of other stuff too. The second issue I have is that Apple continues to lock us into their ecosystem — A model that has worked well for them with audio, but may not be as successful with video in the era of YouTube and DivX: The iTV has limited video format support compared to products like Netgear’s new Digital Entertainer HD. Good, bad, or just average - I’m sure Apple will move a decent amount of product. They build sexy looking hardware and software, and have the marketing game figured out. However, they can’t count me as an early adopter. I’ll be looking forward to Matt’s review if/when he picks up a box. [...]

]]> By: BurstBlog: Publisher Edition » CES: Vegas http://www.livedigitally.com/2007/01/07/netgear-knocks-it-out-of-the-park-at-ces/#comment-110877 BurstBlog: Publisher Edition » CES: Vegas Wed, 10 Jan 2007 19:47:14 +0000 http://www.livedigitally.com/2007/01/07/netgear-knocks-it-out-of-the-park-at-ces/#comment-110877 [...] Netgear Knocks It Out of the Park at CES (LIVEdigitally) [...] [...] Netgear Knocks It Out of the Park at CES (LIVEdigitally) [...]

]]> By: Davis Freeberg’s Digital Connection - Coming Soon To A Living Room Near You . . . http://www.livedigitally.com/2007/01/07/netgear-knocks-it-out-of-the-park-at-ces/#comment-110482 Davis Freeberg’s Digital Connection - Coming Soon To A Living Room Near You . . . Tue, 09 Jan 2007 08:44:17 +0000 http://www.livedigitally.com/2007/01/07/netgear-knocks-it-out-of-the-park-at-ces/#comment-110482 [...] Netgear Introduces Super Charged HDTV DVR - Netgear made their splash into the DVR market in a big way by introducing their EVA8000 Digital Entertainer HD. What this unit lacks in it’s name, it makes up for with it’s capability. Not only does it offer full HDTV DVR capabiities, but it also allows you to stream music, photos and video on the net directly to your television. It supports nearly every codec including WMV, DivX and iTunes and even allows you to watch YouTube on your TV. It can upscale or downscale video to the optimum resolution for your set. It retails at a slim $349 and debuts in early 2007. [...] [...] Netgear Introduces Super Charged HDTV DVR - Netgear made their splash into the DVR market in a big way by introducing their EVA8000 Digital Entertainer HD. What this unit lacks in it’s name, it makes up for with it’s capability. Not only does it offer full HDTV DVR capabiities, but it also allows you to stream music, photos and video on the net directly to your television. It supports nearly every codec including WMV, DivX and iTunes and even allows you to watch YouTube on your TV. It can upscale or downscale video to the optimum resolution for your set. It retails at a slim $349 and debuts in early 2007. [...]

]]> By: Burst Blog » CES: Vegas http://www.livedigitally.com/2007/01/07/netgear-knocks-it-out-of-the-park-at-ces/#comment-110320 Burst Blog » CES: Vegas Mon, 08 Jan 2007 17:50:48 +0000 http://www.livedigitally.com/2007/01/07/netgear-knocks-it-out-of-the-park-at-ces/#comment-110320 [...] Netgear Knocks It Out of the Park at CES (LIVEdigitally) [...] [...] Netgear Knocks It Out of the Park at CES (LIVEdigitally) [...]

]]>