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.
| Brand Name | NETGEAR |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 1 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 9.9 x 2.8 x 10.5 inches |
| Item model number | NTV550-100NAS |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Color Name | Black |
