Review The EVA9150 is the latest addition to Netgear's Digital Entertainer family of media streamers and it picks up pretty much where its predecessor - the EVA8000 - left off. The main draw of the EVA8000 - providing you were running latest beta firmware version and not the shipping release - was its ability to chew through almost any file format you chose to throw at it and spit out decent quality video.

Netgear's EVA9150 Digital Entertainer Elite

The EVA9150 uses the EVA8000 firmware as its starting point, and then adds extra features, so you get the same level of file support plus some new additions to boot. The hardware has also been given an overhaul, most notably with the addition of an internal 500GB SATA hard drive and support for 802.11n Wi-Fi.

The case has also been tidied up slightly, so it now looks more at home sat among other consumers AV kit than the wide, thin EVA8000 ever did. The Wi-Fi antennae are now built in instead of protruding vertically from the rear of the unit, which obviously makes for a neater look. Still, this could present reception issues if the EVA9150 is sat at the bottom of a stack of other devices.

The hard drive is mounted in a quick release caddy, so it's easy to get too - just pull down the flap at the front and push the big button to slide it out. There are four screws holding the disk in the caddy, so if you want to physically swap hard drives then it'll take longer unless you have more than one caddy to hand.

The EVA9150 comes with all the ports and connectors you'd expect to find; HDMI and Component Video for HD output, plus Scart, S-Video and composite for standard def. There are also coax and optical connectors for digital audio, regular analogue phono outputs and a wired Ethernet port plus two USB sockets - one at the front and another round the back.

Comprehensive connectivity with WiFi antennae now built-in
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Setup is extremely simple - switch on the unit and it'll guide you through a number of screens to establish the basics, such as the display resolution, Internet connection and your location. You'll then be prompted to install the Digital Entertainer software on your Mac or PC, which provides an easy way to get content onto the device. Thankfully you can skip this step and let it operate as a standalone unit all on its own.