first of all let me say: I am a programmer, so the usual checks (is the cable ok, Is the router accepting ethernet) have been done. wifi connects ok, ethernet does not. let me say this is enough for me to send the product back. I don't plan on viewing 50GB movies over wifi. the router is an airport time capsule, so the DHCP range is 10.0.1.2 to 10.0.1.200 when I set "use DHCP" it just says not connected. when I turn off DHCP, and I attempt to connect manually, it still does not connect. the light behind the ethernet on the Zidoo is blinking. I am suspecting this box might have a flaw on the ethernet connector. or maybe it's a software issue? I am willing to try things. thanks.
In my experience both DHCP and static IPs work flawlessly and connection is immediate so it's either a hardware fault, which to be fair is unlikely (and I've not seen this before), or a firmware glitch. Before sending it back I'd first do a full factory reset (Settings/Other/Recovery and reset/Restore factory settings) and then update to latest firmware: http://forum.zidoo.tv/index.php?threads/beta-version-v6-4-05-for-z9x-release.93658/
it was actually my mistake. troubleshooting some more, the ethernet switch was at fault. however, if have some GUI criticism: -when I go to the ethernet section and turn off "Use DHCP" (which was saying ethernet not connected) -I entered some iP settings that could have worked if the switch didn't have an issue -zidoo was saying after I click on "connect": "ethernet connected". However there was no chance it could have been connected. I believe this is an issue and misinforms the user. It was this that led me to believe there was no connection issue outside the zidoo. the GUI should have said "ethernet not connected" same as when USE DHCP was on. thanks for the swift answer anyway!
For the ethernet to show connected there does have to be a current connection - when you hit connect it kills all current sockets then updates several processes to establish first an ethernet connection and then a network connection and then it tests them - it's not something that can return true if these processes haven't completed successfully. Wasn't a duplicate IP address was it?