By David Ponce
The EVA8000 has been in the news for a while now, though we recently found out that it’s been available for purchase for a month or so. It’s a cool box that promises to do a lot, and is maybe the only one that could challenge the Apple TV. Connect it to your home network via Ethernet of WiFi, and it’ll scan your PC’s for whatever multimedia files they contain, and play those back on your TV, up to 1080p, via HDMI. It claims it’s even able to playback YouTube videos on your big screen, through some deal that allows the device to access the YouTube servers. What’s more, it plays nice with iTunes FairPlay, so you can also stream the music you bought there.
What we found particularly interesting is that right on their product page, Netgear announces their compatibility with BitTorrent. Sure, they’re referring to the new, legit BitTorrent, but most people still associate the name with the delicious technology that still allows them to download movies (and pretty much anything) for free. And while it’s no secret to some that the iPod became ubiquitous on the account of pirated music, it’s interesting to see another company try to cash in on pirated movies this time. Sure, they won’t admit as much, and maybe we’re being paranoid, but still. We thought of it; how much do you figure other will?
It’s $350 or so, available from a variety of retailers.
[ Product Page ] VIA [ PrylFeber ]
Or maybe you could spend less and get a box that does more. I look at this and Apple TV and wonder why anybody would buy them instead of chipping an Xbox and running Xbox Media Center. For a bit less money, you get almost everything the Netgear or Apple TV boxes do, (you can stream your iTunes, but it won’t play your DRM-ed movie downloads) plus it plays games, has a built-in DVD player, and has a huge developer community.
Granted, it takes a little work to get it all going but it’s still the best media box you can get.
Have to agree with Scott. When I read “maybe the only one that could challenge the Apple TV” I threw up a little. I watch videos like Ctrl-Alt-Chicken on my TV, it’s very very easy. Vista Media Player Sharing is simple – Download file – turn on Xbox – open Videos.
Oh by the way, Xbox is already out, I already own it, and so do people I want to share video with.