Friday, September 7, 2007
DigitalTrends Reviews Netgear EVA8000
Posted by Suhit Gupta in "ARTICLE" @ 07:00 AM
"I’ve tried a number of media centers over the years. And, sadly, in large part, they’ve stunk big time - mostly due to uneven performance as the device and the PC seemed less interested in meshing together and more in protecting their own “turf.” But don’t think I’m getting ready to trash Netgear’s Digital Entertainer. True, there’s no hard drive, so it has to rely on a PC to stream content as well as access a number of functions. Nonetheless, within the parameters of an imperfect world, it does what it’s supposed to exactly right. And that retail price of $399 slides down easy too."
Personally, I would not have thought about buying a media center without a hard drive built in due to the inherent reliance on having a PC to stream content. But the upside is that you have a simple PC that you can upgrade relatively cheaply and your media center remains constant. And it is for that reason that the Netgear is versatile in its features and connectivity. There is a good comparison to the Apple TV in the review, but overall I get the sense that this is a great device for the price point.
Personally, I would not have thought about buying a media center without a hard drive built in due to the inherent reliance on having a PC to stream content. But the upside is that you have a simple PC that you can upgrade relatively cheaply and your media center remains constant. And it is for that reason that the Netgear is versatile in its features and connectivity. There is a good comparison to the Apple TV in the review, but overall I get the sense that this is a great device for the price point.
