The NETGEAR EVA8000 Digital Entertainer is a standalone unit designed to stream various types of audio and video content from your PC to your TV. It's similar to a DVR, except that it doesn't have a tuner card built into it. NETGEAR offers two models of their EVA Digital Entertainers: the EVA700, which only streams SD content, and the EVA8000 which is their high-end model, capable of streaming content in HD format.

When I first encountered the EVA8000 (from here on out referred to as EVA because it becomes tedious having to type 8000 all the time), I wondered aloud, “Why?” After all I’m the happy owner of a TiVo and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why I’d want a DVR sans the tuner.

After a week of playing around with it, real-world style in my living room—by no means the exhaustive and scientific method you’d find in a lab—I’ve come to understand, if not respect, most of the designs and philosophies behind the EVA.

Opening the Box

The first thing I did, of course, was to open it up to see what sorts of accoutrements were included with the unit. I was happy to see that it came with just about everything I’d need to connect it to my TV[1], except for an HDMI cable; those things are expensive, and I don’t really need it to get 720p or 1080i resolution out of my TV anyhow. I did have one beef with it right away though: the manual said that it came with an S-Video and a composite A/V cable when, in fact, what I actually got was a component video and a composite A/V. Hilarity ensued for a few minutes while I searched for the non-existent S-Video cable.

After that, I set the manual and accompanying CD aside; it should be easy enough to figure out a piece of hardware like this without some tech writer from India telling me how to make it go. I’m of the philosophy that if a piece of hardware doesn’t go in a computer, it shouldn’t need extra software to make it work right.

Three out of four cats approved of the empty box.

Setup

I’m a Linux convert, and have been since the mid 90’s. I’m not so rabid as having drunk the Kool Aid©, but I firmly believe that if you’re going to use GNU software as an ingredient of the secret sauce for a piece of consumer hardware—as implied by the included leaflet with the GNU General Public License—you should at least make it work with Linux/Unix as well as it does with Microsoft Windows. If you don’t, that’s just plain rude, man.

Noticing the antennae, I decided that I’d be connecting to my home network wirelessly; after connecting the box to my TV, I fired it up.