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Gateway Connected DVD Player and Ethernet 10/100 Card review: Gateway Connected DVD Player and Ethernet 10/100 Card

Gateway Connected DVD Player and Ethernet 10/100 Card

John Falcone Senior Editorial Director, Shopping
John P. Falcone is the senior director of commerce content at CNET, where he coordinates coverage of the site's buying recommendations alongside the CNET Advice team (where he previously headed the consumer electronics reviews section). He's been a CNET editor since 2003.
Expertise Over 20 years experience in electronics and gadget reviews and analysis, and consumer shopping advice Credentials
  • Self-taught tinkerer, informal IT and gadget consultant to friends and family (with several self-built gaming PCs under his belt)
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John Falcone
2 min read

Gateway's Ethernet Connected DVD Player, which the company sells direct for $250, provides progressive-scan video and network access to a PC's digital music, photos, and video.

8.3

Gateway Connected DVD Player and Ethernet 10/100 Card

The Good

Streams PC-based digital media over your wired home network; progressive-scan DVD playback; user-friendly interface; upgradable firmware.

The Bad

Incompatible with many popular video file formats; no Mac support.

The Bottom Line

This DVD player offers easy access to PC-based photos, music, and video over your Ethernet network.

The player sports a striking mirrored finish and measures 16.9 by 11.6 by 2.2 inches; it's somewhat deeper and heftier than many recent models we've seen. In addition to having outputs for progressive-scan component video and 5.1-channel analog audio, the unit covers all the standard DVD audio and video connectivity options, and two 1/4-inch karaoke microphone inputs are on the front panel. Network functions are handled by the included Ethernet card, which slips easily into the rear-mounted PCMCIA slot. Those with a wireless network can opt for this model's near twin, which is bundled with an 802.11b adapter but otherwise the same. A well-laid-out remote completes the package.

A perusal of the menu system revealed an interesting secret: this Gateway appears to be functionally identical to the first networked DVD player we tested, the GoVideo D2730. Even the included Windows software serving the PC media files to the unit is the same, save the different corporate logo.

The Gateway player shares its GoVideo counterpart's features and superior performance but also its few shortfalls. Networked-video compatibility is limited to MPEG-1 and MPEG-2; your QuickTime, AVI, MPEG-4/DivX, Real, WMV, and ASF files won't work. The company says a forthcoming firmware upgrade will add support for both DivX and video material recorded with the DVR function of Windows XP Media Center Edition. When viewing photos, you can't rotate incorrectly oriented ones--you'll just have to imagine the Eiffel Tower pointing straight up, rather than to the right.

We couldn't find any real performance differences between the GoVideo D2730 and the Gateway unit. Both offer excellent streaming access to computer-based audio, video, and digital-photo files, as well as good progressive-scan DVD playback. Put simply, Gateway is delivering the same impressively outfitted player as GoVideo, but--for about the same street price--Gateway's gives you a superior remote and a much more attractive body.