Related Sections: CES 2009 Home Entertainment Internet
Netgear Internet TV Player lets you channel-surf the Web
Ever been channel surfing and thought, "I wonder what's on YouTube?" If you have, Netgear has just the product for you: The company's Internet TV Player is a paperback-size device that jacks into one of the HDMI ports on your TV. Once it's connected to your home network, it'll bring a ton of Internet video right to your TV screen.
Netgear says the Player will bring you everything from YouTube streams to Torrent downloads, and a search function is built in. But if you just want to veg, browsing pre-prepared "channels" is an option, too. If the nice channel menu above and the Apple TV-esque search interface in the gallery below, the interface might actually be pretty smooth. And the box is friggin' tiny.
The Internet TV Player (model ITV2000) is due to hit this summer for $199.
 |  |
|
By Peeps McJuggs at 3:30 PM ON 01/08/09
Umm...didn't they try this (and failed) with WebTV and MSNTV years ago? Besides, you can do all this with both the PS3 and the Wii (and the PS3 even allows you to plug in a USB keyboard and mouse).
This idea is way past its prime.
By jsmith at 1:31 PM ON 01/09/09
Some things come before their time like WebTV and MSNTV. However, they were pretty much a walled garden. People want to plug it in and watch it without a whole bunch of fiddling like the PS3/Wii, et al.
By Marie at 3:41 PM ON 01/10/09
Question: Does it offer stream encryption? @Peeps, Not everyone games, and PS3 and Wii are too damned expensive to buy just for watching TV. This netgear box would be PERFECT for my family and I. I've been looking to get a new pc to run as a Mythbuntu media player, but was sketched out about spending too much money in this crappy econ for a necessarily powerful box. This would save me tons of money and trouble. Can't wait to check it out in-store!
on your cellphone!
Text DVICE to 72434
editor@dvice.com
All rights reserved.
Marie:
Question: Does it offer stream encryption? @Peeps, Not everyone games, and PS3 and Wii are too damned expensive to...More »