Netgear returns with the Digital Entertainer Elite network media streamer taking an early peek from cover to go through its paces at the FCC test center. Two years after the EVA8000 Digital Entertainer HD, the EVA9000 model adds support for a 3.5-inch SATA internal HDD, 802.11n and more to its predecessor's lengthy list of features. The leaked spec comparison after the break reveals AVI, XviD, DivX and h.264 decoding returning plus Dolby True HD, DTS-HD Master Audio, MKV, TS, M2TS file support that should chew through any HD files you've got and then some. Why wait for an official announcement, shipping date or price? The FCC already had its fun, so check out the PDFs for a full manual plus pictures inside & out, then once this box hits the stage at CES just pretend like you never saw it with the cover off.

[Pictures via AVSForum]

Currently getting 3rd party codecs like DivX and Xvid working within Windows Media Center has worked well enough with 3rd party solutions, but the next best thing is native support. We'd already gotten the official word that H.264 support was included in Windows 7, but a tipster has lead us to believe that the pre-beta version of Windows 7 also includes native support for DivX. In addition, MKV is also expected to be supported; but that isn't the best part. Because although we've always been able to add these codecs to Media Center anyways, the real crux has been when you try to watch the very same content on an extender -- like the Xbox 360. So in an attempt to bring the entire Media Center experience to the extenders it appears Microsoft has added native transcoding. So now if Media Center can play the file, it can also convert it on the fly to a format that your extender supports. Of course like all betas, there's no guarantee these features will make it into the final build, but we sure hope they do.

Like anyone else, we can't get enough video formats -- not -- but unlike H.264, DivX, XviD and MPEG-2 the latest rage is Matroska (aka MKV) is not a codec, but a container. It is the format which holds other formats, so you should be wondering, what's so special about it? It is special because it can hold new combinations of codecs and it is open for anyone to use. The most popular new feature is its ability to contain x.264 video, DTS audio, and at the same time subtitles in multiple languages, all in the same file. It is quickly becoming the replacement for AVI, and has the best chance of becoming the mp3 of video, than any other container has before. The problem of course is support. As usual Windows is covered, but thanks to Perian, Macs have support now too. And of course the most universal player in the world, VLC does too. But now it appears it has warranted some commercial support and the next version of DivX will play nice too. This of course doesn't mean that any hardware vendors will join in -- other than the Popcorn Hour that is -- but it's a step in the right direction.