Price : Too low to display
Why NETGEAR's NeoTV 550? Bring all your digital media to your TV. Play movies, music, and photo collections stored on your networked devices (such as PC, Mac, and network attached storage). The NeoTV 550 also provides easy access to files stored on your USB drives and SD cards. Features: Automatically searches and scans your networked and local devices, and organizes your movies, music, and photos. Live Browsing provides an easy and fast access to your media collection. Built-in media card slot for convenient access to personal photos and videos (AVCHD compatible). Compatible with a wide range of SD file formats including. Blu-ray with menu, navigation and BD-Live support1. Delivers your movie sound tracks in Hi-Def 7.1 (Dolby, DTS & LPCM compatible). Improved video and audio navigation using movies and CD covert art instead of file names. Custom remote with shortcuts designed for quick selection and ease if use. Disclaimers: 1Blu-ray experience requires an external USB or eSATA Blu-ray drive. Package Contents: NeoTV 550 (NTV550), Infrared (IR) remote control, Two (2) AAA batteries, Ethernet cable, AV cable, Note: HDMI cable not included, Quick install guide, Resource CD, Power adapter (localized to country of sale).
This review is from : NETGEAR NeoTV 550 NTV550 Ultimate HD Media Player
Solid Performing Media Player for Local Content . This is a review of the Netgear NeoTV 550 with updated firmware version 3.0.268 EU. I received the device from a European retailer on Nov 30, 2010.
The Netgear NeoTV 550 is a complex product to review. Your success with the device is highly dependent upon situational factors such as usage, media source, network speeds, and user technical ability. While the device is easy to use, it requires a home theater geek to properly and optimally set up the device. When first received, I recommend going through the device's Settings menu, drilling down through all the submenus, to properly understand and configure the device. Take the time to go through the several dozen settings and try to make them match your home theater equipment. There are settings for DVD region, video resolution, frame rate, aspect ratio, language, audio output (pass-through (bitstreaming)) and so on.
The remote is IR based, non-universal, non-learning, and not backlit. Ports include one HDMI port, two USB ports (front and rear), one SD port and one eSATA port. Some Blu-Ray menus require 1GB of storage. This can be a USB stick, SD cartridge or other attached storage device. The unit has no fan and is dead silent.
My media consumption is largely local content so this review reflects that bias. Alternatively, other people will use this device for consuming online media. I selected this device because of its rare ability to play Blu-Ray content with full menu support, bitstream audio and WAF. A plus will be when and if it plays Netflix, Vudu or other streaming services. I have hundreds of movies stored on a Windows Home Server (WHS). DVDs are ripped to folders and Blu-Rays are ripped as an ISO file. I tested several dozen DVD and Blu-Ray titles. Blu-Rays and DVDs play fine, audio bitstreams and menus work. The device has a good user interface. Video quality seems quite good too. Movie files are shown as cover art. My girlfriend has given the NeoTV's usability an eager thumbs up whereas the HTPC was impossible for her to use and difficult for me to maintain. I do not use any reencoded media/containers so I can't speak about MKV, FLAC, etc.
Initially, I had problems with stuttering on Blu-Ray. This is a common problem on networks that are not optimal. In my case, I had to turn of WHS's Drive Extender on my movie server. There's a host of technical problems that can prevent media, especially Blu-Rays, from playing properly. The device has a network speed test which can help identify some issues. However, my issue was the server's inability to sustain adequate disk read rates. The device offers no diagnostic for this situation. This must all be a nightmare for Netgear tech support -- customers too.
Tip: The power button will stop a playing movie and bring up the Home menu.
Update 3-Dec-2010: Updated firmware to 3.0.268 EU. It fixes a few annoyances, adds a couple nice touches, leaves a couple bugs not fixed. No sign of Netflix. Perhaps an annoucement next month at CES?
Update 4-Dec-2010: Raised the rating to five stars because of resolution to my Blu-Ray networking problems (my bad) and bug fixes in 3.0.268 EU firmware. All's good now.
Update 4-Feb-2011: NeoTV 550 is stuttering on some Blu-Ray ISOs when played across a network. Importantly, it does not stutter when playing directly from a file or folder across a network. I believe the NeoTV has some optimization issues on Blu-Ray network playback. I'm hoping the NeoTV developers fix the stutter issue with a firmware update. Otherwise I'll be spending hours converting ISOs to folders. Because of the stuttering issue, I've lowered the rating from five stars to three.
Update 7-Feb-2011: I've confirmed that Blu-Ray stuttering is caused by NeoTV's SMB (network protocol) implementation. There's no stuttering when using NFS. This is a major problem as SMB is used by Windows networks. If you are planning on playing Blu-Rays ISOs across a network, hold off buying until the issue is resolved.
Update 9-Feb-2011: Community has confirmed Blu-Ray stuttering over SMB. Waiting for firmware update. Workarounds are to use file/folders or NFS. Hold off buying until the issue is resolved.
Update 3-Mar-2011: Beta firmware has resolved Blu-Ray stuttering issues. I hope to raise the rating to 5 stars when I can test and confirm on a release version.
Update 6-Apr-2011: I can confirm that firmware 325 has been pushed through. It does indeed fix the major issue of Blu-Ray ISO stuttering. With this release, finally, the device fulfills the initial major claims.
Update 28-Apr-2011: A person knowledgeable with Netgear 550 development has stated that Netgear has failed to negotiate an agreement for Netflix on the 550. Thus there will be no Netflix for the 550. If you want a similar media player but with Netflix, have a look at Boxee Box by D-Link. Be aware that all devices in the media player space are flawed in that none perform according to their specifications. Kudos to Netgear for continuously improving their firmware. Alas, they have been trumped by the improvements of Boxee. I've lowered my rating to four star because this device will not be fulfilling it's promise but ranks high amongst the alternatives.
Update 22-Aug-2011: Frustrated by the inabilities of any single media player, I've reached a new conclusion. I recommend buying two players to cover all bases. I recommend the Netgear NeoTV 550 for local content and the Roku 2 XS for online content.
Solid Performing Media Player for Local Content . This is a review of the Netgear NeoTV 550 with updated firmware version 3.0.268 EU. I received the device from a European retailer on Nov 30, 2010.
The Netgear NeoTV 550 is a complex product to review. Your success with the device is highly dependent upon situational factors such as usage, media source, network speeds, and user technical ability. While the device is easy to use, it requires a home theater geek to properly and optimally set up the device. When first received, I recommend going through the device's Settings menu, drilling down through all the submenus, to properly understand and configure the device. Take the time to go through the several dozen settings and try to make them match your home theater equipment. There are settings for DVD region, video resolution, frame rate, aspect ratio, language, audio output (pass-through (bitstreaming)) and so on.
The remote is IR based, non-universal, non-learning, and not backlit. Ports include one HDMI port, two USB ports (front and rear), one SD port and one eSATA port. Some Blu-Ray menus require 1GB of storage. This can be a USB stick, SD cartridge or other attached storage device. The unit has no fan and is dead silent.
My media consumption is largely local content so this review reflects that bias. Alternatively, other people will use this device for consuming online media. I selected this device because of its rare ability to play Blu-Ray content with full menu support, bitstream audio and WAF. A plus will be when and if it plays Netflix, Vudu or other streaming services. I have hundreds of movies stored on a Windows Home Server (WHS). DVDs are ripped to folders and Blu-Rays are ripped as an ISO file. I tested several dozen DVD and Blu-Ray titles. Blu-Rays and DVDs play fine, audio bitstreams and menus work. The device has a good user interface. Video quality seems quite good too. Movie files are shown as cover art. My girlfriend has given the NeoTV's usability an eager thumbs up whereas the HTPC was impossible for her to use and difficult for me to maintain. I do not use any reencoded media/containers so I can't speak about MKV, FLAC, etc.
Initially, I had problems with stuttering on Blu-Ray. This is a common problem on networks that are not optimal. In my case, I had to turn of WHS's Drive Extender on my movie server. There's a host of technical problems that can prevent media, especially Blu-Rays, from playing properly. The device has a network speed test which can help identify some issues. However, my issue was the server's inability to sustain adequate disk read rates. The device offers no diagnostic for this situation. This must all be a nightmare for Netgear tech support -- customers too.
Tip: The power button will stop a playing movie and bring up the Home menu.
Update 3-Dec-2010: Updated firmware to 3.0.268 EU. It fixes a few annoyances, adds a couple nice touches, leaves a couple bugs not fixed. No sign of Netflix. Perhaps an annoucement next month at CES?
Update 4-Dec-2010: Raised the rating to five stars because of resolution to my Blu-Ray networking problems (my bad) and bug fixes in 3.0.268 EU firmware. All's good now.
Update 4-Feb-2011: NeoTV 550 is stuttering on some Blu-Ray ISOs when played across a network. Importantly, it does not stutter when playing directly from a file or folder across a network. I believe the NeoTV has some optimization issues on Blu-Ray network playback. I'm hoping the NeoTV developers fix the stutter issue with a firmware update. Otherwise I'll be spending hours converting ISOs to folders. Because of the stuttering issue, I've lowered the rating from five stars to three.
Update 7-Feb-2011: I've confirmed that Blu-Ray stuttering is caused by NeoTV's SMB (network protocol) implementation. There's no stuttering when using NFS. This is a major problem as SMB is used by Windows networks. If you are planning on playing Blu-Rays ISOs across a network, hold off buying until the issue is resolved.
Update 9-Feb-2011: Community has confirmed Blu-Ray stuttering over SMB. Waiting for firmware update. Workarounds are to use file/folders or NFS. Hold off buying until the issue is resolved.
Update 3-Mar-2011: Beta firmware has resolved Blu-Ray stuttering issues. I hope to raise the rating to 5 stars when I can test and confirm on a release version.
Update 6-Apr-2011: I can confirm that firmware 325 has been pushed through. It does indeed fix the major issue of Blu-Ray ISO stuttering. With this release, finally, the device fulfills the initial major claims.
Update 28-Apr-2011: A person knowledgeable with Netgear 550 development has stated that Netgear has failed to negotiate an agreement for Netflix on the 550. Thus there will be no Netflix for the 550. If you want a similar media player but with Netflix, have a look at Boxee Box by D-Link. Be aware that all devices in the media player space are flawed in that none perform according to their specifications. Kudos to Netgear for continuously improving their firmware. Alas, they have been trumped by the improvements of Boxee. I've lowered my rating to four star because this device will not be fulfilling it's promise but ranks high amongst the alternatives.
Update 22-Aug-2011: Frustrated by the inabilities of any single media player, I've reached a new conclusion. I recommend buying two players to cover all bases. I recommend the Netgear NeoTV 550 for local content and the Roku 2 XS for online content.
NETGEAR NeoTV 550 NTV550 Ultimate HD Media Player Reviews
Best network-attached media box for your HDTV . Last year, I purchased a Samsung LED HDTV and was pleasantly surprised that it could play both streaming video (like Netflix streaming) as well as AVI and MKV files from my PC and my NAS. Although the Samsung HDTV plays almost everything that I throw at it, there was a subset of files it just didn't like, particularly certain hi-def or high bitrate files. DVD ISOs and Blu-ray ISOs didn't work either.
So the search was on for the "One box to Rule them All!"
I did a ton of reading and even tried a few boxes like the WD HDTV Live Plus, but all of them had various failings. (Too expensive, difficult menus, stuttering and audio drop outs, no ISO support, etc. etc.) The Netgear NTV 550 is the first box I have found so far that has not disappointed me.
Here are the things that made the top of my list:
- Plays *everything* that I've thrown at it: AVI, MKV, MP4, DVD ISO, Blu-ray ISO (with Full Menu support, too! Awesome!)
- Visually pleasing menus that are snappy, responsive, and easy to navigate
- HDMI, Component, two USB 2.0 ports, SDHC card slot, eSATA, Optical audio out.
- DLNA, SMB, and NFS network support
- No stuttering or audio drop-outs on high bit-rate video (fixed via firmware released on Feb 28th, 2011)
- Jump forward / backward in video file to specific time (hh:mm:ss)
- Good remote control with nice smooth buttons and faux-rubberized case. (It feels really nice in the hand.)
- Stupidly easy to setup.
Things to be aware of:
- On the more spendy side of media boxes, but worth it, IMHO.
- The firmware is still being actively developed by Netgear. This is both good and bad. It's bad because right now, this player is missing features and still has bugs. Up until a week ago, it had an issue with high bitrate files played over SMB. A recent (beta) firmware release has fixed this, though. This player is also supposed to have Netflix streaming support, but it doesn't exist yet. That said, Netgear seems committed to improving this player over time.
- Cinavia (DRM) might be added later. Some other Amazon reviewer has written about this. Apparently the movie studios are pushing hard to get media box makers (like Netgear) to include this DRM into their firmware. As of this moment, Netgear hasn't included this DRM yet, but there is talk about it. Whether they follow through on it remains to be seen.
I give it a 5 because it currently meets all my needs perfectly.
Best network-attached media box for your HDTV . Last year, I purchased a Samsung LED HDTV and was pleasantly surprised that it could play both streaming video (like Netflix streaming) as well as AVI and MKV files from my PC and my NAS. Although the Samsung HDTV plays almost everything that I throw at it, there was a subset of files it just didn't like, particularly certain hi-def or high bitrate files. DVD ISOs and Blu-ray ISOs didn't work either.
So the search was on for the "One box to Rule them All!"
I did a ton of reading and even tried a few boxes like the WD HDTV Live Plus, but all of them had various failings. (Too expensive, difficult menus, stuttering and audio drop outs, no ISO support, etc. etc.) The Netgear NTV 550 is the first box I have found so far that has not disappointed me.
Here are the things that made the top of my list:
- Plays *everything* that I've thrown at it: AVI, MKV, MP4, DVD ISO, Blu-ray ISO (with Full Menu support, too! Awesome!)
- Visually pleasing menus that are snappy, responsive, and easy to navigate
- HDMI, Component, two USB 2.0 ports, SDHC card slot, eSATA, Optical audio out.
- DLNA, SMB, and NFS network support
- No stuttering or audio drop-outs on high bit-rate video (fixed via firmware released on Feb 28th, 2011)
- Jump forward / backward in video file to specific time (hh:mm:ss)
- Good remote control with nice smooth buttons and faux-rubberized case. (It feels really nice in the hand.)
- Stupidly easy to setup.
Things to be aware of:
- On the more spendy side of media boxes, but worth it, IMHO.
- The firmware is still being actively developed by Netgear. This is both good and bad. It's bad because right now, this player is missing features and still has bugs. Up until a week ago, it had an issue with high bitrate files played over SMB. A recent (beta) firmware release has fixed this, though. This player is also supposed to have Netflix streaming support, but it doesn't exist yet. That said, Netgear seems committed to improving this player over time.
- Cinavia (DRM) might be added later. Some other Amazon reviewer has written about this. Apparently the movie studios are pushing hard to get media box makers (like Netgear) to include this DRM into their firmware. As of this moment, Netgear hasn't included this DRM yet, but there is talk about it. Whether they follow through on it remains to be seen.
I give it a 5 because it currently meets all my needs perfectly.
NETGEAR NeoTV 550 NTV550 Ultimate HD Media Player Opinions
Killer device for local streaming. . After using the NeoTV 550 for a couple days now, my initial reactions are really positive.
Pros:
* Setup was simple. The Neo saw all my media shared and immediately scanned them without issue. The options are all pretty straightforward (except for SACK processing, whatever that is).
* So far the Neo has played every file I've thrown at it with flying colors. It's played back 75 or so files I tested with no problems. The Neo also has a ton of options available while the file is playing, including fast forward, rewind, changing subtitles on the fly, adjusting aspect ratio, or even the output mode (from 60fps to 24fps for movies).
* It's got a killer timeseek/skip function. You can use timeseek and manually enter in a time in h:mm:ss, and it will immediately jump to that point. Alternatively, you can press a number on the keypad and the Neo will skip to that % of the movie. So if you have a 120 minute long movie and you hit 4, the Neo will skip to 40% played, which is 48 minutes into the movie.
* The interface is fast (faster than my HTPC) and you can use view by cover art as well. To do so requires using a tagging tool on a computer, but it's fairly simple and makes the interface very pretty.
* .ISO playback is pretty solid. Blurays and DVDs I tested both work. A great feature, but be aware there's a lot of ways to rip to .iso and not all of them may work with the Neo.
* This is one of the few streamers with a GOOD music interface. You can use album art view, and it has the ability to queue songs (ie build a list of songs to play, rather than having to select a song after the current one has ended). To me this is a killer feature and I have no idea why other streamers can't be bothered to do it.
* Quiet and small! No fan, and the unit is no bigger than a paperback book. Netgear also includes a stand to mount it vertically for the space challenged.
* It's supposed to have Netflix, but as of right now it's not available. Youtube is available but as of this writing it doesn't work (apparently Youtube changed something that breaks compatibility with the Neo). Assuming Netgear fixes these issues it's a bonus.
* The Neo will also playback retail Blurays if you attach a Bluray computer drive via USB. It's not officially supported (and requires finding a couple of *legal* files online), but works just fine.
Cons -
* Online content is non-existent. Netflix support did not materialize, and Youtube/Internet radio is barely usable.
* No built-in wireless, no support for USB wireless dongles. You'll either need a wired connection or wireless bridge.
* The interface is decent but scatterbrained. Changing options (like music queue mode, toggling between folder and coverart view, subtitles, etc) all require hitting different buttons and they're not always logical choices.
* It would be nice to have the Neo have "default" options available for navigation (ie, just show me my video share instead of having to select it every time).
The Bottom Line:
The Neo is a fantastic local content streamer. If you want online content, this is not the device for you. Personally, I'll be using a dedicated Bluray player for disc playback and online streaming rather than hope the Neo works. But for local streaming, the Neo hits it out of the park.
Killer device for local streaming. . After using the NeoTV 550 for a couple days now, my initial reactions are really positive.
Pros:
* Setup was simple. The Neo saw all my media shared and immediately scanned them without issue. The options are all pretty straightforward (except for SACK processing, whatever that is).
* So far the Neo has played every file I've thrown at it with flying colors. It's played back 75 or so files I tested with no problems. The Neo also has a ton of options available while the file is playing, including fast forward, rewind, changing subtitles on the fly, adjusting aspect ratio, or even the output mode (from 60fps to 24fps for movies).
* It's got a killer timeseek/skip function. You can use timeseek and manually enter in a time in h:mm:ss, and it will immediately jump to that point. Alternatively, you can press a number on the keypad and the Neo will skip to that % of the movie. So if you have a 120 minute long movie and you hit 4, the Neo will skip to 40% played, which is 48 minutes into the movie.
* The interface is fast (faster than my HTPC) and you can use view by cover art as well. To do so requires using a tagging tool on a computer, but it's fairly simple and makes the interface very pretty.
* .ISO playback is pretty solid. Blurays and DVDs I tested both work. A great feature, but be aware there's a lot of ways to rip to .iso and not all of them may work with the Neo.
* This is one of the few streamers with a GOOD music interface. You can use album art view, and it has the ability to queue songs (ie build a list of songs to play, rather than having to select a song after the current one has ended). To me this is a killer feature and I have no idea why other streamers can't be bothered to do it.
* Quiet and small! No fan, and the unit is no bigger than a paperback book. Netgear also includes a stand to mount it vertically for the space challenged.
* It's supposed to have Netflix, but as of right now it's not available. Youtube is available but as of this writing it doesn't work (apparently Youtube changed something that breaks compatibility with the Neo). Assuming Netgear fixes these issues it's a bonus.
* The Neo will also playback retail Blurays if you attach a Bluray computer drive via USB. It's not officially supported (and requires finding a couple of *legal* files online), but works just fine.
Cons -
* Online content is non-existent. Netflix support did not materialize, and Youtube/Internet radio is barely usable.
* No built-in wireless, no support for USB wireless dongles. You'll either need a wired connection or wireless bridge.
* The interface is decent but scatterbrained. Changing options (like music queue mode, toggling between folder and coverart view, subtitles, etc) all require hitting different buttons and they're not always logical choices.
* It would be nice to have the Neo have "default" options available for navigation (ie, just show me my video share instead of having to select it every time).
The Bottom Line:
The Neo is a fantastic local content streamer. If you want online content, this is not the device for you. Personally, I'll be using a dedicated Bluray player for disc playback and online streaming rather than hope the Neo works. But for local streaming, the Neo hits it out of the park.
BEST media player available if you set it up correctly. . About 3 months ago I decided to re-do my basement into a media room. New TV (Samsung 58 inch 8000 series plasma) new reciever (Yamaha Aventage 2000 reciever), new speakers (Magnapan 1.6 speakers for surround), new couch, etc etc..you get the idea. One thing that bothered me about my old media / movie room was the shelves upon shelves of DVD's (I have almost 2000 if you include TV series)...in my new media room I didn't want to see them so I went through tons of ideas of hiding them...until it dawned on me...get RID OF THE DVD's!
I set about ripping them all to ISO using Anydvd in the thoughts that I would get a good player and just do without the DVDs entirely...but which player to get? I spent a lot of time reading reviews of every player that is currently out there and it turns out that there are VERY few players that will play an ISO with full menuing (so that it looks like you just inserted the DVD into a DVDplayer). There are lots that play ISO video, but very few with menuing....and even fewer that support Blu-ray menuing...actually I only found two that do. This one, and a DUNE player. Well, the DUNE is nearly 2x the cost of this which lead me to my purchase of this NEOTV.
WOW! Every day I am reading and trying new things with this little box. I have almost 500 DVD's ripped to ISO including several dozen blu-rays all sitting on a NAS that I have in my basement. After folling some very useful instructions I found on the internet for setting this up I can view every DVD in my collection as a cover view and select a DVD which then brings up all of the information on that DVD including actors / year made / directors / genre / etc all with a beautiful backdrop of a scene from the movie. I can even play a trailer before launching the actual ISO. And once I launch the ISO it is just like I had thrown a DVD into my old DVD player. It comes up with the full menu including all special features and etc. I can sort and search by actor / by title / by director / by genre and when I do I see the beautiful poster art for each dvd before I select them. And honestly it was SO easy to set up!
Even with my internet search and following the instructions on the internet (and downloading some free software) within 3 days I had 500 DVDs set up (the maximum my NAS holds right now) in this way. It is simply incredible and really impressive to show friends when they come over...you want to watch a movie...here let me bring up my collection here on my TV so you can choose...oh you never heard of that one? Let's bring up the synopsis...want a trailer? Here you go! Okay, now lets watch the movie!
My new Media room is the future with this little NEOTV...when my kids are older they won't even know what a DVD disk is anymore...thats a movie on dad's neotv right?
I set about ripping them all to ISO using Anydvd in the thoughts that I would get a good player and just do without the DVDs entirely...but which player to get? I spent a lot of time reading reviews of every player that is currently out there and it turns out that there are VERY few players that will play an ISO with full menuing (so that it looks like you just inserted the DVD into a DVDplayer). There are lots that play ISO video, but very few with menuing....and even fewer that support Blu-ray menuing...actually I only found two that do. This one, and a DUNE player. Well, the DUNE is nearly 2x the cost of this which lead me to my purchase of this NEOTV.
WOW! Every day I am reading and trying new things with this little box. I have almost 500 DVD's ripped to ISO including several dozen blu-rays all sitting on a NAS that I have in my basement. After folling some very useful instructions I found on the internet for setting this up I can view every DVD in my collection as a cover view and select a DVD which then brings up all of the information on that DVD including actors / year made / directors / genre / etc all with a beautiful backdrop of a scene from the movie. I can even play a trailer before launching the actual ISO. And once I launch the ISO it is just like I had thrown a DVD into my old DVD player. It comes up with the full menu including all special features and etc. I can sort and search by actor / by title / by director / by genre and when I do I see the beautiful poster art for each dvd before I select them. And honestly it was SO easy to set up!
Even with my internet search and following the instructions on the internet (and downloading some free software) within 3 days I had 500 DVDs set up (the maximum my NAS holds right now) in this way. It is simply incredible and really impressive to show friends when they come over...you want to watch a movie...here let me bring up my collection here on my TV so you can choose...oh you never heard of that one? Let's bring up the synopsis...want a trailer? Here you go! Okay, now lets watch the movie!
My new Media room is the future with this little NEOTV...when my kids are older they won't even know what a DVD disk is anymore...thats a movie on dad's neotv right?
Pretty Good Initial Effort. Video Playback is excellent. GUI Pics and Music need a little work . Overall not a bad peice of kit compared to the boxee box and a lot of streamers at release.
its not perfect and still needs bug fixes but
it plays BD Iso and plays m2ts files
Both trueHD and DTS-MA bitstreaming and decoding (all work well)
DVD ISO's with menus work well
Decent Movie GUI (used Media Center Master to create the cover art, fan art etc)....
Works with my Harmony universal remote
Support playlists and plays back all the different audio files correctly. No resampling or dithering like with boxee box.
The 268 shipping firmware has issues with:
Photo Browsing Speed
Crashing creating photo thumbnails
275 beta firmware is junk. dont bother very buggy.
No Netflix yet but was demoed at CES.
But unlike boxee they didn't advertise it and then not deliver.
I'll update the review in a month or two and see if the firmware improves...
Cinavia looks to be a problem with a lot of streamers but since none of this exists yet its just speculation at this point. Only time will tell how serious this issue for the media streamer market place...
got lucky and got mine at frys before xmas. amazon should have stock end of January according to Netgear.
its not perfect and still needs bug fixes but
it plays BD Iso and plays m2ts files
Both trueHD and DTS-MA bitstreaming and decoding (all work well)
DVD ISO's with menus work well
Decent Movie GUI (used Media Center Master to create the cover art, fan art etc)....
Works with my Harmony universal remote
Support playlists and plays back all the different audio files correctly. No resampling or dithering like with boxee box.
The 268 shipping firmware has issues with:
Photo Browsing Speed
Crashing creating photo thumbnails
275 beta firmware is junk. dont bother very buggy.
No Netflix yet but was demoed at CES.
But unlike boxee they didn't advertise it and then not deliver.
I'll update the review in a month or two and see if the firmware improves...
Cinavia looks to be a problem with a lot of streamers but since none of this exists yet its just speculation at this point. Only time will tell how serious this issue for the media streamer market place...
got lucky and got mine at frys before xmas. amazon should have stock end of January according to Netgear.
Why I chose the NeoTV 550 over other media players . As a former owner of the first generation media player appliance that practically started it all (affordable, powerful, simple), the Western Digital WD TV HD 1080P Media Player, I have been holding out for a very long time in getting a replacement. I've tinkered with XBMC software on the PC, played around with different TV and Bluray player content streaming capabilities, and sometimes used the Sony PS3 for displaying some of my music, movies and photos. I have also been reading up on the standalone media players such as the Roku XS, WDTV Live, Iomega Screenplay, AIOS HDMC, UEBO, etc. There are so many standalone media players coming from China or Taiwan now that is difficult to keep track.The problem I found with those solutions is that they each have their own limitations. For example, in order to use XBMC, you need to build your own mini-PC for use as an HTPC which means that there is the overhead associated with the operating system that the software runs on. After that, you still need to worry about the hardware and device drivers to allow for digital audio output. With TV and Bluray players, they are great in providing a lot of streaming content as a bonus to playing BD movies, however, their support for being able to play all the different types of media formats on an attached local drive or external NAS storage is very limited or non-existent. With other standalone media players, they have tons of online content to play from but they are not able to handle local content properly. My main goal in getting a media player is to be able to play DVD or BD ISO files properly complete with menu display, chapter support, and digital audio surround. Most media players just don't do this very well.Enter the NETGEAR NeoTV 550 NTV550 Ultimate HD Media Player. After scouring through different reviews, I discovered that this player has been able to support BD ISO files and menus for quite some time now. I heard it was buggy at first but later firmware updates had resolved it. I understand it doesn't have WiFi built-in but, to be honest, I don't think streaming HD content wirelessly is a good idea in the first place. For best performance, I believe that an HTPC-compatible media server should always be wired. Media clients can be wireless if chosen. I initially purchased the AIOS HDMC player but after many exhausting hours of trial and error, I discovered that it was just not ready for my specific needs. That is why I purchased the NeoTV at the same time for comparison (see my review of the AIOS at AIOS HD Media Center, Full HD 1080p, Gigabit Network, USB 3.0 data, Flash Reader, 3.5" SATA 2). In addition to my review between AIOS and NeoTV, I found some very useful features of the NeoTV that I didn't find with AIOS. One key feature is being able to cache movie thumbnails on a hard drive, USB flash or SD card. This is great in that it allows for extremely fast browsing after the media metadata has been cached. Another key feature is being able to secure specific CIFS shares with a password on the NeoTV itself. Instead of having to type a username/password to connect to a private CIFS share everytime, the NeoTV maintains a constant connection to the share but authorized users will need to enter a 4-digit PIN to access it. Those with a need to lock down their sensitive media collection will find this very valuable. One thing that is starting to get annoying is that the NeoTV randomly hangs from time to time. It happens most right after I play the online media content. A quick hard reboot puts everything back to normal. Another strange phenomenon is when I set the Auto FPS to enabled. After stopping a movie that has been playing at 1080P at 24FPS/Hz, my Samsung LCDTV goes blank indicating the mode is not supported. Changing the Auto FPS to disabled fixes the problem but now all my movies are displayed at 1080P 60Hz which I noticed doesn't look as smooth as when the 24 frames per second matches the 24 refresh hertz. I understand that there will always be a quirk within all media players and can probably live with this (until the next firmware update at least). Even though the NeoTV doesn't provide all the online content like other players, the fact that the NeoTV properly plays all my movie ISO files from the local hard drive or from a remote CIFS share has me sold. I finally found something that allows me to play my movie collection with minimal cost, complexity and effort.
Good media streamer . I wanted something easy and out of the box to use for streaming home movies from my NAS to TV. Most of the videos are m2ts made with a Canon Vixia. Originally purchased a WDTV Live - when trying to play movies, there was a delay in audio and video and WD essentially said they were not supporting Canon movies.
So based on reviews over at AVS forum, I ordered this. Received the other day. It has worked great - very easy set up. Took about 5 minutes (WDTV took a couple of hours to make work). It plays everything I've sent to it very well. The GUI is easy and intiuitive.
Downside: lack of Wi-FI support, no component video or HDMI cables included, no netflix support at this time - nothing that's a real problem.
All in all an excellent, easy to use piece of equipment that does what it says.
So based on reviews over at AVS forum, I ordered this. Received the other day. It has worked great - very easy set up. Took about 5 minutes (WDTV took a couple of hours to make work). It plays everything I've sent to it very well. The GUI is easy and intiuitive.
Downside: lack of Wi-FI support, no component video or HDMI cables included, no netflix support at this time - nothing that's a real problem.
All in all an excellent, easy to use piece of equipment that does what it says.
Great Player Reasonable Price! . I've had the NeoTV-550 now for a few months and I must say this player has played EVERY format I've thrown at it. The 1st thing I threw at it was Blu-Ray .ISO files. It played them back without any issues. It was just like having the actual disc in a BD-player, menus and all. Yes. Even the BD-Live functions worked as well. Granted I would recommend using an extra 2, 4, or 8GB SD or USB stick as a memory/cache for faster access speeds and BD-Live functions. .mkv, .avi, .wmv, .flv, .mpg, and that pesky .mov from Apple. Every one played perfectly :-) There's been a couple of Firmware updates since my purchase that have fixed the Non-working YouTube issue and some Internet Radio issues as well. Now it seems as the HD-Radio could use some more attention. Yes. It can access HD Radio stations from your Local listening area.
The GUI (Graphic User Interface) is pretty straight forward and easy to use. What's cool is that there is a custom "Skin" option coming so that you (The User) can add your own personal look and feel to your player making it your very own. There's already a Font selector so you can pick what Fonts looks best for you. The Net-Flix, VuDu, Hulu, Streaming TV/Movie options is still NOT working yet. Personally I do not use nor need these feature, but I know most of you do so that's why I mentioned it. Honestly I think the hackers and custom firmware makers will have those features up and running faster than NetGear will anyway. So keep an eye out for custom firmwares ;-)
In closing I would like to say that this player is by far the best Media player in its class for the price. I had a WDTV Live and when I tried to play a .m2ts file ripped from a Blu-Ray and got no sound, I knew it was time to find a better player. Why did I get no sound you ask? Because the WDTV-Live, WDTV-Live Plus, and the WDTV-Live HUB do not support True-HD downmixing to 5.1 or 2.0 audio playback. All the other players I researched that actually play Blu-Ray .ISO files with full menu support are all $200+, some even $300! In this Economy I'm all about the "Bang for my Buck". Right now no other player beats the NeoTV-550 in price, features and future options. The NetGear team is constantly listening to its users and adding fixes and features when an where needed. So stop reading my review and by the damn thing already :-D
The GUI (Graphic User Interface) is pretty straight forward and easy to use. What's cool is that there is a custom "Skin" option coming so that you (The User) can add your own personal look and feel to your player making it your very own. There's already a Font selector so you can pick what Fonts looks best for you. The Net-Flix, VuDu, Hulu, Streaming TV/Movie options is still NOT working yet. Personally I do not use nor need these feature, but I know most of you do so that's why I mentioned it. Honestly I think the hackers and custom firmware makers will have those features up and running faster than NetGear will anyway. So keep an eye out for custom firmwares ;-)
In closing I would like to say that this player is by far the best Media player in its class for the price. I had a WDTV Live and when I tried to play a .m2ts file ripped from a Blu-Ray and got no sound, I knew it was time to find a better player. Why did I get no sound you ask? Because the WDTV-Live, WDTV-Live Plus, and the WDTV-Live HUB do not support True-HD downmixing to 5.1 or 2.0 audio playback. All the other players I researched that actually play Blu-Ray .ISO files with full menu support are all $200+, some even $300! In this Economy I'm all about the "Bang for my Buck". Right now no other player beats the NeoTV-550 in price, features and future options. The NetGear team is constantly listening to its users and adding fixes and features when an where needed. So stop reading my review and by the damn thing already :-D
solid and capable media player . NTV550 is a solid performing unit with some great capabilities and few issues.
Easily handles BluRay ISO streaming over my local gigabit network; DVDs are zero problems.
Setup is very easy, although I was surprised that there was no included PRINTED manual (which isn't as big deal these days). Does include a printed install guide, which is sufficient to get you going.
Interface is solid and fairly intuitive. Easily finds media on my network (username/password entry is straightforward). I haven't figured out how to limit the media to look for...finds EVERYTHING on drive specified (may be more of a question of how I organize my stuff). For movies ripped to folders, the device finds the included disc covers. .iso files require a separate .tag file, for which there are multiple tools to do so.
Can also access device via browser, although that interface isn't as pretty as on-screen interface. Has nearly the same functionality as when using remote (also might be easier since you have keyboard vice remote).
Remote is quite good, though I really wish all AV remotes came with lit keys.
YouTube interface works well.
flickr interface works okay, although the "fly through" of photos is a bit jerky (buffering due to different picture sizes?)
Huge number of video and audio podcasts available, including adding new, via RSS. BBC podcast are numerous, although it would be nice if it pre-screen out those that are not accessible outside UK.
Nits // beta quality features:
- Locks up occasionally when attempting to cancel some scans or in the midst of folder searches... Need to unplug to restart. Has not locked up during any movie playback, only when driving around menus.
- Some podcasts stutter, although others work without a problem. Also consider this a beta quality feature,
- Some streaming radio stations work, some don't. this is a known issue.
Does have some error logging and offers to send error reports to netgear (although it doesn't always catch errors for logging).
Overall, I'm happy with it, though it does need some upgrades for all the other features to work well.
Easily handles BluRay ISO streaming over my local gigabit network; DVDs are zero problems.
Setup is very easy, although I was surprised that there was no included PRINTED manual (which isn't as big deal these days). Does include a printed install guide, which is sufficient to get you going.
Interface is solid and fairly intuitive. Easily finds media on my network (username/password entry is straightforward). I haven't figured out how to limit the media to look for...finds EVERYTHING on drive specified (may be more of a question of how I organize my stuff). For movies ripped to folders, the device finds the included disc covers. .iso files require a separate .tag file, for which there are multiple tools to do so.
Can also access device via browser, although that interface isn't as pretty as on-screen interface. Has nearly the same functionality as when using remote (also might be easier since you have keyboard vice remote).
Remote is quite good, though I really wish all AV remotes came with lit keys.
YouTube interface works well.
flickr interface works okay, although the "fly through" of photos is a bit jerky (buffering due to different picture sizes?)
Huge number of video and audio podcasts available, including adding new, via RSS. BBC podcast are numerous, although it would be nice if it pre-screen out those that are not accessible outside UK.
Nits // beta quality features:
- Locks up occasionally when attempting to cancel some scans or in the midst of folder searches... Need to unplug to restart. Has not locked up during any movie playback, only when driving around menus.
- Some podcasts stutter, although others work without a problem. Also consider this a beta quality feature,
- Some streaming radio stations work, some don't. this is a known issue.
Does have some error logging and offers to send error reports to netgear (although it doesn't always catch errors for logging).
Overall, I'm happy with it, though it does need some upgrades for all the other features to work well.
Cons Review
To say this product is beta is too kind! . Some people on various forum said NTV550 in its current form is more like a beta. I think they are too kind! This product as is with current f/w version 3.0.325 is full of bugs with subpar performance in many areas.
1. Very poor network performance. From various forum posts, one can conclude that this product is very picky to what router; switch and server were used in the system. There is absolutely no reason any consumer should go through or even be expected to through some people had done to tweak and change their router, switch and/or server just to make the NTV550 happy. The most ridicules thing is it does not even mate well with many of Netgear's own routers/switches.
2. Although the unit seems support UTF8 in UI and subtitles, it really does not have the fonts to support most of none ANSI characters correctly. If you need more than ANSI, make note per tech support reply, they may never get supported.
3. The unit hangs too often that requires power down reboot. While this seems to be a common problem with all the media players out there, for NTV500's price tag, I expected better.
4. Apart from YouTube and some internet radio, there isn't much of on-line material available.
5. Compare to a good blu-ray player these days, this product is overpriced even it works well. It is way overpriced as is. The cost of making ths box cannot possibly more than a decent blu-ray player with all the internet capabilities. While it is true, BD players do not support many video formats, it is by design. The processing power of BD player chipset is no less than chipset used in media players and don't forget the BD drive cost money too.
6. Power comsumption at 10W is not bad but the standby mode that uses 9W is really usesless,
On top of all these problems, Netgear's tech support makes thing worst. I asked them when or if they are going to have better UTF8 support, I got two(count 2) level 2 supports that either don't care or don't even know what the product can or cannot do!!
While it is true, it can also do HD about bitstream pass through HDMI, other cheaper players are able to do that too these days. The only good thing about this player is ability to play BD with menu but that is a double edge sword by itself as one have to go through all the preview junks as the regular BD compares lite menu.
Before I got the NTV550, I tried Boxee Box and returned it because it is also a pre-beta product that full of bugs and it is more than likely I am also going to return the NTV550. While they are many defender to either product, to me a manufacture should never be allowed to sell a pre-beta as polished consumer products.
1. Very poor network performance. From various forum posts, one can conclude that this product is very picky to what router; switch and server were used in the system. There is absolutely no reason any consumer should go through or even be expected to through some people had done to tweak and change their router, switch and/or server just to make the NTV550 happy. The most ridicules thing is it does not even mate well with many of Netgear's own routers/switches.
2. Although the unit seems support UTF8 in UI and subtitles, it really does not have the fonts to support most of none ANSI characters correctly. If you need more than ANSI, make note per tech support reply, they may never get supported.
3. The unit hangs too often that requires power down reboot. While this seems to be a common problem with all the media players out there, for NTV500's price tag, I expected better.
4. Apart from YouTube and some internet radio, there isn't much of on-line material available.
5. Compare to a good blu-ray player these days, this product is overpriced even it works well. It is way overpriced as is. The cost of making ths box cannot possibly more than a decent blu-ray player with all the internet capabilities. While it is true, BD players do not support many video formats, it is by design. The processing power of BD player chipset is no less than chipset used in media players and don't forget the BD drive cost money too.
6. Power comsumption at 10W is not bad but the standby mode that uses 9W is really usesless,
On top of all these problems, Netgear's tech support makes thing worst. I asked them when or if they are going to have better UTF8 support, I got two(count 2) level 2 supports that either don't care or don't even know what the product can or cannot do!!
While it is true, it can also do HD about bitstream pass through HDMI, other cheaper players are able to do that too these days. The only good thing about this player is ability to play BD with menu but that is a double edge sword by itself as one have to go through all the preview junks as the regular BD compares lite menu.
Before I got the NTV550, I tried Boxee Box and returned it because it is also a pre-beta product that full of bugs and it is more than likely I am also going to return the NTV550. While they are many defender to either product, to me a manufacture should never be allowed to sell a pre-beta as polished consumer products.
Product Image
Feature NETGEAR NeoTV 550 NTV550 Ultimate HD Media Player
- Automatically searches and scans your networked and local devices, and organizes your movies, music, and photos
- Live Browsing provides an easy and fast access to your media collection
- Built-in media card slot for convenient access to personal photos and videos (AVCHD compatible)
- Compatible with a wide range of SD file formats including
- Blu-ray with menu, navigation and BD-Live support1
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Product Details
EAN : 0606449074505UPC : 606449074505
MPN : NTV550
Brand : Netgear
Color : Black
Weight : 3 pounds
Height : 3 inches
Length : 11 inches
Width : 10 inches
Binding : Electronics
Manufacturer : Netgear Inc
Model : NTV550
Publisher : Netgear Inc
SKU : SY-NTV550-100NAS
Studio : Netgear Inc
Where To Buy
You can buy NETGEAR NeoTV 550 NTV550 Ultimate HD Media Player on Amazon . Click here to Read More
