We’ve recently seen a demo of Alereon’s Wireless USB Laptop to HDTV extender and came away impressed. Well, it turns out Intel has a similar technology now being built into some of the newer boards sporting 2010 Intel Core Processors. The technology is called Intel Wireless Display and will work with a compatible HDTV adapter to stream anything shown/playing on a laptop’s display over HDMI. According to Netgear, the Dell Studio 15z, Sony VAIO VPCS111FM/S, and Toshiba Satellite E205 all support Intel Wireless Display and in turn will work with their new $99.99 Push2TV (PTV1000) adapter available later this month. Products like this get me thinking… maybe an HD capable netbook/laptop/tablet may be a good enough alternative to buying a dedicated digital media adapter to play internet content on your HDTV. What do you think? MORE »

If you’re in the market for a router that you can tweak to your heart’s desire, or just an all around cutting edge wireless 802.11n router with Gigabit Ethernet and a USB port for external network storage, then take a look at the NETGEAR WNR3500L RangeMax Wireless-N Router. I’m not certain, but I think this may be the first router from a top 3 networking hardware manufacture to pitch their router as an “open-source router”. The WNR3500L is capable of having its firmware swapped with popular free, open-source Linux-based DD-WRT (WNR3500L install guide), Open-WRT and Tomato firmware distributions, which can add things like UPnP media server, FTP, BitTorrent download functionality via Optware packages to the device. What’s more, NETGEAR has launched MyOpenRouter.com to encourage third party software vendors to develop custom apps for their “open” routers. Kudos to NETGEAR for thinking out of the box and embracing the open-source community. MORE »

Today NETGEAR is introducing a new 2-bay home media server called Stora, which has been designed for “non-technical” users. The consumer-friendly NAS provides remote file access and music streaming from any Internet location via MyStora.com, is DLNA / UPnP compatible (works with DLNA-enabled photo frames, media adapters, game consoles), has the ability to export photos to online services like Flickr, can automatically backup network PCs, and is able to provide mirrored RAID storage when an optional second drive is used. Out of the box NETGEAR Stora (MS2110) comes with a single 1TB hard drive and retails for $229. NETGEAR Stora is compatible and accessible with Windows, Mac, Linux PCs and Smartphones. MORE »

If you remember back in January of this year, NETGEAR unveiled the ITV2000 Internet TV Player at CES — a compact digital media adapter powered by the buzz-worthy VuNow platform created by Verismo Networks. Well, that product is officially launching and will be on store shelves in the next few months under its new name: EVA2000 Digital Entertainer Live. Thankfully, NETGEAR has kept VuNow and vTap search in the mix to bring online video (both free and premium) to customers to their HDTV. In addition, NETGEAR has partnered with MediaMall to enable users to watch online subscription content via their PlayOn PC software client (EVA2000 owners get a “special discount”). MSRP on the device is $149. Full press release below [Intro Video]. MORE »

NETGEAR has obviously done their homework and has topped the competition with their new RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router (WNDR3700). Adding every conceivable feature a demanding Digital Home enthusiast would expect, the new 802.11n router offers both Gigabit Ethernet (4 ports) and dual-band 2.5 Ghz / 5 Ghz Wi-Fi via 8 internal antennas, a 680 Mhz processor, “ReadyShare” network USB storage access with DLNA / UPnP streaming support, auto-sensing “green” switch power consumption throttling, separate guest network functionality, browser-based admin / remote access, and bandwidth monitoring so you keep tabs on your usage for the month (helpful if your provider has caps in place). MSRP is $189.99 [Amazon] and is available now along with accompanying RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N USB 2.0 Adapter (WNDA3100) and HD Access Point / Bridge (WNHDE111). MORE »

Boy, oh boy! I think most people have been pretty cool on Powerline technology (even with the introduction of 200Mbps Powerline AV) to handle their home networking needs, but that may soon change. The guys at NETGEAR will soon be offering a 4-port Ethernet switch Powerline AV adapter (which can be used instead of the standard single connection adapter) that will allow users to connect up to four Internet-enabled devices. Think of the XAV1004 as a combo Powerline AV adapter + 4-port Ethernet switch in one device. If you’re interested in a kit, NETGEAR will be offering the NETGEAR Home Theater Internet Connection Kit (XAVB1004) to get you started. MORE »

NETGEAR is announcing the worldwide availability of its smoking-hot Digital Entertainer Elite (EVA9150) we got a preview of last year [video demo]. MSRP is $399 and it will come pre-loaded with a 500GB SATA hard drive. Out of the box the digital media adapter doubles as a NAS server, UPnP server, and it can pull in content from variety of online sources like YouTube, Flickr, RSS feeds, and Internet Radio Stations. The EVA9150 is capable of outputing Blu-ray quality digital video up to 1080p via HDMI (it can also upconvert video!) and comes equipped with 802.11n for optimal HD streaming performance. Another neat couple of tricks we’re just learning about (requires multiple EVA9150 devices) is “Follow Me” and “Party Mode”. Follow Me allows you to pause video you’re playing in one room and continue watching it another. Party Mode, on the other hand, syncs music you’re playing to multiple rooms in your home. MORE »

While the ReadyNAS NVX is geared more towards SOHO applications, NETGEAR has designed its latest offering to please just about everyone — including digital media enthusiats. The ReadyNAS NVX boasts twice the performance of the pervious NV+ models, includes UPnP server capabilities, Bonjour device detection, and now offers support for Time Machine in Mac OS X. Other noteworthy features include: 4-bays of hot-swappable storage, dual Gigabit Ethernet, iSCSI support, file sharing compatiblity with Windows / Mac / Linux, online backup syncing, remote access, and (for advanced users) it can also manage server applications like Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server, and VMware. The ReadyNAS NVX is available today in 2TB ($1,499.99) and 4TB ($1,999.99) configurations. MORE »

It appears that Netgear has quietly added a new product to their wired home networking line that may be of interest to some. The new addition is the MoCA certified Netgear Coax-Ethernet Adapter Kit (available now for pre-order | MSRP $229) designed to turn your coaxial cable (aka your home’s TV cable) into a high-speed Ethernet network connection. Ideal uses for the adapter kit include bringing connectivity (up to 270 Mbps) to Ethernet only HDTVs, Blu-ray players, DVRs, or game consoles. I don’t know about you guys, but the price seems kind of steep when you can get a Wireless-N adapter solution for less than $100. But then again you might have a McMansion that gets poor wireless coverage and wasn’t equipped with Ethernet ports in every room. [via]

Aside: Neither D-Link nor Linksys have a similar Coax-Ethernet adapter listed in their offerings at this time.

Ok. The company press release doesn’t say as much, but it’s evident from the interface screenshots that Netgear has licensed Verismo Networks’ VuNow technology to power the company’s new ITV2000 Internet TV Player. In fact, the VuNow branding is everywhere and the ITV2000 is equipped with all the same features, functions, and inputs from the $149 Verismo VN1000HD Hi-Def PoD (check the pre-production product photo). The kicker is Netgear is planning on charging an additional $50 for their device – but that surcharge might be worth it to some who’d rather buy the product off the shelf and deal with a recognized company. Product highlights: CinemaNow VoD, YouTube suppport, BitTorrent downloading, Live TV & Web Video via the VuNow network, Internet video search (powered by vTap), UPnP media streaming, and USB host functionality. MSRP $199 | Availability: Summer 2009. MORE »