In case you thought Google TV was of such low importance that it wouldn't make an appearance at CES, NETGEAR is here to prove you wrong. The new NeoTV PRIME is a welcome update of the old NeoTV Pro and MAX boxes from last year. The PRIME essentially adds Google TV to handle the online streaming while NETGEAR makes your local content more useful.
NeoTV PRIME supports the playback of your personal (and I'm sure totally legal) video files via a USB thumbdrive or external hard drive. If you have a media server set up at home, you can even stream to the NeoTV PRIME over your network. It's not just video that can be piped into the NeoTV PRIME – audio and photos are supported in the integrated aVia media player too.
The PRIME comes with a nifty remote with dedicated buttons for popular services and a full QWERTY keyboard on the backside. Being Google TV, it still relies on an IR blaster, though. It is also compatible with 802.11b/g/n so you can get the fastest data throughput on your home network. Video output happens over HDMI only, and supports up to 1080p.
Of course the PRIME has all the Google TV goodies like PrimeTime search, YouTube, Chrome, and a number of third-party streaming apps. What kind of streaming apps? Amazon recently released its Instant Video app on Google TV to compliment options like Netflix, HBO Go, and Crackle. The NeoTV PRIME is hitting the retail chain now and is listed at $129.99. Full PR below:
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- NETGEAR®, Inc. (NASDAQGM: NTGR) (www.netgear.com), a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers, announced today at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES®) the new NETGEAR NeoTV® PRIME with Google TV (GTV100) streaming player. As the newest addition to the NETGEAR family of streaming players for connected home theater entertainment, NeoTV PRIME enables you to easily find what you love to watch —whether it's on live TV, streaming entertainment, apps, or the web— using one small NeoTV player.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130107/SF37462)
Building on the features of NETGEAR NeoTV, NeoTV PRO and NeoTV MAX family of streaming players, the new NeoTV PRIME with Google TV extends your entertainment experience beyond just streaming video or even basic TV viewing. NeoTV PRIME opens up the world of apps from Google Play, delivering access to a growing library of entertainment including movies, TV shows, and music from streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, HBO Go, Crackle, Flixter, Rhapsody, Pandora and many more. Google Play gives you movies and new releases in HD, music albums, and apps designed specifically for the TV.
NeoTV PRIME supports playback of your personal media from external USB hard drives and home media servers. With the pre-installed aVia media player app on NeoTV PRIME, you can play, manage and share your videos, music, and photos from any of your digital storage and Google Android devices to your big screen TV. Thanks to the 'My Media' quick-start button on the NeoTV PRIME remote control, you easily access the media player app with the mere push of a button.
"Today, more than ever, consumers have to go back and forth through a number of home theater devices to find the entertainment they want to watch," said Damir Skripic, product line manager for connected entertainment at NETGEAR. "With your NeoTV PRIME, you can access apps, live TV programming, and the web through one home theater device that continues to learn as you watch."
NeoTV PRIME with Google TV offers PrimeTime, an app that helps you find and watch your favorite movies and TV shows all in one place, whether they are on live TV, an app, or the web. The remote control has a keyboard that makes it fast and easy to search for the shows that you want. With the press of a button, PrimeTime finds content recommended for you by learning what you like to watch and organizes it so you don't need to scroll through the numerous pages of a live TV guide, or browse different apps to find the right movie.
The Chromebrowser offers access to the entire web directly on the TV, while Search enables you to look across multiple sources simultaneously to find your favorite entertainment. Even more, with the picture-in-picture feature, you can surf the web while watching live TV, all at the same time.
Thanks to NeoTV PRIME with Google TV, it's never been easier to watch YouTube on your big-screen TV. Furthermore, when you update the YouTube mobile app on your Android smartphone or tablet, you will see a new button within the YouTube mobile app making it possible to send videos from your mobile devices to NeoTV PRIME with a single tap. Find a video on the YouTube app for Android, click the TV icon that appears on the app when your Android device and NeoTV PRIME are connected to the same WiFi network, and the video will play instantly.
NeoTV PRIME comes with a two-sided remote control, featuring a touchpad and directional pad on one side and a full-featured QWERTY keyboard on the other, giving you fast and easy control of all your applications and helping you to effortlessly search across the web, apps and television listings.
Pricing and Availability
The NETGEAR NeoTV PRIME with Google TV (GTV100) is available now in the United States from major retailers in stores and online at a suggested retail price of USD $129.99.
More Information
Visit www.netgear.com/gtv100 to learn more about NeoTV PRIME with Google TV. For information on other NETGEAR connected entertainment products, please visit www.netgear.com/stream.
NETGEAR launched a number of new WiFi, networking and media streaming products today during a press conference held in conjunction with the opening of CES in Las Vegas. Read the other CES-related announcements from NETGEAR atnetgear.com/about/press-releases/.
About NETGEAR, Inc.
NETGEAR (NASDAQGM: NTGR) is a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers. For consumers, the company makes high performance, dependable and easy to use home networking, storage and digital media products to connect people with the Internet and their content and devices. For businesses, NETGEAR provides networking, storage and security solutions without the cost and complexity of big IT. The company also supplies top service providers with retail proven, whole home solutions for their customers. NETGEAR products are built on a variety of proven technologies such as wireless, Ethernet and Powerline, with a focus on reliability and ease-of-use. NETGEAR products are sold in approximately 25,000 retail locations around the globe, and through approximately 40,000 value-added resellers. The company's headquarters are in San Jose, Calif., with additional offices in over 25 countries. NETGEAR is an ENERGY STAR® partner. More information is available at www.NETGEAR.com or by calling (408) 907-8000. Connect with NETGEAR at twitter.com/NETGEAR and www.facebook.com/NETGEAR.
©2013 NETGEAR, Inc. NETGEAR, the NETGEAR logo, and NeoTV are registered trademarks of NETGEAR, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. Android, Chrome, Google Play, Google TV and YouTube are trademarks or registered trademarks of Google Inc. Other brand names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective holder(s). Information is subject to change without notice. All rights reserved.