Netgear ITV2000: Internet TV Player

Netgear kicked off its CES roster on Wednesday with its new Internet TV Player, aka the ITV2000. This is an Internet set-top device with a simple remote control that allows you to watch Internet videos from various sources on your TV.

Currently, the device can stream content from popular content-generating sites such as the BBC, CNN, ESPN, EuroSport, NBC, PGATour and TMZ, as well as video-sharing powerhouses YouTube, Google Videos, Yahoo Videos and MetaCafe.

The Internet TV Player supports streaming of live TV broadcasts from Internet sites around the world. It can also handle paid movies from on-demand services such as CinemaNow.com.

The device can perform intelligent searches of Internet videos, including targeting video sites by country, topic of interest, person or popular Web site. It can also play video, music and photos from a local USB flash drive, as well as from Netgear's ReadyNAS family of network storage solutions.

The Internet TV Player connects to your home network and the Internet via Ethernet or wireless USB adaptor.

What the ITV2000 can do isn't particularly new, but it's the first device to deliver the technology in such a small package -- it's just slightly larger than a deck of cards.

The Netgear Internet TV Player is expected to be available in the US in early summer, with the estimated price of $199. UK prices and availability are yet to be confirmed, but there's more info on the Netgear site.