What can 'the Digital Entertainer' add to your living room?

Score

• 3 / 5

For

• HD up to 1080i

Against

• Ugly interface
• Basic features

Verdict

Does its job well, but user-friendliness could be a lot better

The EVA700 Digital Entertainer takes advantage of two developments designed to make media streaming easier; Windows Media Connect and Intel Viiv. WMC is bundled with Windows Media Player 11 (although you can get an earlier standalone version), and means Netgear doesn't have to build its own media server and file management software. You can also get third-party media server packages which the EVA700 should pair up with happily.

Intel Viiv is supposed to make it easier for networked devices to get along, and also operates as a media server - but we didn't have a shiny new Viiv PC to hand for this test.

The Digital Entertainer looked pretty big compared with our little Pinnacle ShowCenter 200, but it sits neatly beside other living room kit. The fascia sports a USB2.0 port for plugging in music players, memory sticks or external hard discs, plus a headphones socket and the standby power button. The remote is laid out clearly and responds well.

The back panel is less packed than you'd expect, and the obvious omission is an HDMI output; you'll find one on the EVA7000, out later this year. However, you get component video for outputting anything from basic PAL and NTSC to 1080i hi-def. There's also a Scart (with RGB support), S-video and composite for SD output. Audio output is via coaxial digital or analogue stereo audio.

The network hook-up is via Ethernet or secure Wifib/g, and the twin Wifiaerials should improve reception in the electromagnetically busy area around your TV. We tested the EVA700 using a laptop via Wifiand a desktop via Ethernet using Netgear's HDX101 HD Powerline adapters (as seen in issue 248, March 2007). The laptop connected faultlessly using WMP11, but desktop's seen some action, and wouldn't connect until we'd rolled back to WMP10 and the independent version of Media Connect. After that it upgraded to WMP11 and connected first time - explanations on a postcard, please.

Back on the PC you'll just need to authorise the EVA700 in Media Connect, and pick the folders you want to share as part of your media library.

The interface is clear, but a little too blue for our taste and the layout is very basic; alternative colour schemes would be welcome. They also looked poor on our Sony Bravia HDTV, except at 1080i resolution.

Otherwise, the interface is very much like Windows Media Player - you browse files by artist, actor, genre, title and so on, or you can just root through the folders you've chosen to share. You can also pick up playlists and slideshows you've already set up on WMP - handy for get- togethers - but you can't create anything like a slideshow from the sofa; there isn't even a shuffle play option.

Standard-definition playback was smooth over Wifi(802.11g) up to 540p, but we had to switch to a wired connection for 720p and 1080i. Pixellation was no worse than you'd expect from a standard satellite or Freeview channel. Both HD formats looked great, and the 1080i WMV clips didn't look much sharper, but the colours were much more rich and vibrant.

You can also tune into thousands of internet radio stations and podcasts using the vTuner service. There are 50 channels in the Basic service, or you can pay $30 (£15) for the complete, searchable service.

It's a technically faultless product, but the EVA700 has the feel of being designed by IT people, not for the consumer. It's not as slick as Pinnacle's Showcenter, and it's a lot to pay for features that are already in an Xbox360. Alex Lane

Specification

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