As an alternative, one might consider Netgear’s EVA8000, a box we’ve looked at before. We reported at the time that it wouldn’t work with iTunes, but now it’s looking like it will, a nice addition. But what really got us thinking again about this unit is the news that it plays nice with BitTorrent, meaning you’ll be able to download the plethora of illegal free content from the popular BT network, and play it back in your living room in HD, up to 1080p, superior to Apple TV’s 720p. And at $350, it’s fairly competitively priced. And if you’re really after entertainment, the EVA8000 has you covered there, too, as it natively plays back YouTube content at full screen. Nice.

We salute Netgear in its efforts to make the media we already have available on TVs everywhere, ignoring the idea of a movie store and braving lawsuits. That’ll do, Netgear, that’ll do.

Product Page [Netgear]