Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I am a HUGE fan of the Slingbox Pro, another video broadcast device which is the direct competition to this unit (see my review of the Slingbox Pro elsewhere). It is the rare internet based appliance that does exactly what it promises, with minimal headaches and excellent support.
What I don't like about the Slingbox Pro is that they nickel and dime you to death for add ons. Want wireless? You'll have to pay for that. Want to actually use the high definition capabilities of the "HD Pro" Slingbox? That'll cost you another $50 for a proprietary dongle. Want to watch your Slingbox on a cell phone? That also extra.
The HAVA includes all those options in the package AND it's cheaper to boot. In addition, the HAVA offers capabilities not available on the Slingbox, namely the ability to stream to up to three devices simultaneously (Slingbox only streams to one device at a time) and the ability to record to an attached hard drive (option), to act as a low budget DVR (I didn't test this). So far, so great. But the question is: How well does it work.
The answer is, mostly, very well. Setup is not quite as slick as for the Slingbox (which is incredibly easy), but I found it straightforward and not particularly time consuming. Once setup (using their setup program), and having connected my Tivo Series 3 high definition box, I was ready to see how it worked in the field. The first test was using a PC elsewhere in my home. The connection there is very strong, and not unexpectedly, given the good bitrate, the picture was excellent. (Note that although this is marketed as "high definition" it's actualy the low definition version of high definition, 720 x 480--a limitation of wireless among other things). The picture was strong and constant--no stuttering or other snags. Of course, this was an easy test, since the wireless signal is excellent.
The better test was to see how the remote software player dealt with poor or mediocre bit streams. To test this, I took both my laptop and my Windows Mobile phone to a local coffee shop where the wireless connection is only fair. Trying out the laptop first, I found the video to be pretty good. On occasion the video would stall, but it was mostly smooth and DEFINITELY very watchable. As is the case with Slingbox, the viewing software appeared capable of reducing the resolution as the bitrate fell (the picture got softer when the bitrate fell). I had the same experience watching on my Windows Mobile phone.
For comparison, I also viewed my Slingbox remotely from the same location. The picture quality was generally comparable, although if pushed to the wall I would say that the Slingbox picture was perhaps a little better. But it was certainly not a substantial difference.
On the whole, I found the HAVA + player software to be nearly as good as the Slingbox. Now, if they were comparably priced, I'd suggest going with the Slingbox. However, given that the HAVA player gives you several options for free that Slingbox charges for, and offers two functionalities not available at all on the Slingbox (stream to more than one device at a time, connection to a USB hard drive) I am inclined to recommend the HAVA.
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The Monsoon HAVA Titanium HD WIFI lets you extend your home theater experience, both within your home and beyond! With WiFi built in, the HAVA accepts an HD video source and wirelessly streams it throughout your home in DVD-quality video. You can also watch and control programming on any PC or mobile phone with a broadband Internet connection.
You'll have control of your A/V components from your computer, complete with customizable virtual remote. View larger. Wirelessly Stream Live Programming Around Your House By connecting your HD video source to the HAVA Titanium HD WIFI, you can wirelessly stream live television to multiple PCs around your house using your home network. The video is streamed wireless via an 802.11g network, and the Titanium HD WIFI automatically adjusts the encoding based on dynamic calculation of the bandwidth to ensure smooth video to all clients on the network. In addition to the wireless, there are also wired Ethernet connections available.
Programming comes in at DVD-quality wherever you are in your home, and multiple users around your house can watch/record the same program at the same time thanks to VBooster Multicast technology.
View Television Remotely From Virtually Anywhere The HAVA Titanium HD WIFI allows you to watch your local television programming, or programming from another connected A/V device, from anywhere in the world with a broadband Internet connection. As you are watching, other members of the household can also watch the same programming on the home network. You can even remotely control the settings for virtually any A/V device, including PVRs, satellite TV, and digital cable boxes; a customizable virtual remote will show up on screen allowing for complete control of the device. It's like having a remote control that works everywhere!
Works as a PVR! The HAVA Titanium HD can also function as a PVR. You can record, pause, fast forward, and rewind live TV right on your computer. Recorded shows are stored on your PC's hard drive, or on an external USB drive (sold separately). After you've recorded shows, you can burn them onto DVD for archiving or viewing during those instances when you don't have an Internet connection. The HAVA works out of the box with Microsoft MCE, or you can install the included PVR software for non-MCE PCs.
Compatible with Windows XP, Vista and Media Center PCs and Notebooks When you connect HAVA Titanium HD WIFI to your network, you are in essence creating a virtual TV tuner for Media Center PCs. This eliminates the need for a separate TV tuner card, and the need for any hard-wired cable connection.
Two USB Ports for Upgradeability The Titanium HD WIFI has two built-in USB ports, allowing for upgrade possibilities. The wireless functionality is provided by a USB 802.11g dongle, and this can be optionally upgraded with a USB 802.11n dongle to stream higher quality video. You can also connect an external USB hard drive for use with recording shows.
High-Quality Viewing By employing the standard MPEG-2 format, the HAVA Titanium HD WIFI achieves the best possible video quality over a home wireless network. (Of course, you can also view using wired connections if you have any computers that lack wireless capability.) Television programming that is streamed through your home network boasts DVD-quality clarity. The video is also simultaneously encoded with the MPEG-4 standard, which has a higher compression and allows for remote viewing over a broadband Internet connection by a single client.
Thanks to the VBooster technology, all the users on the home network can experience high-quality video. While watching video, users can simultaneously use the Internet for regular uses such as web browsing, email, chatting, printing, transferring files, etc. The encoding is automatically adjusted based on the available bandwidth to ensure steady and smooth video all the time.
The HAVA Titanium HD requires a home network with either a 10/100 base-T router with an available Ethernet port or a wireless connection, a broadband Internet connection (300Kbps upstream recommended) for remote viewing, and a PC with Windows XP/Vista and a minimum of an Intel Pentium 1.2 GHz CPU, 512MB of RAM for XP and 1GB of RAM for Vista, 75 MB of disk space for the HAVA software, an Ethernet connection or 802.11g wireless capability, DirectX 9-class video card, and an audio output.
The HAVA Titanium HD WIFI is backed by a 1-year warranty.
What's in the Box HAVA Titanium HD WIFI unit, two composite cables, Ethernet cable, power adapter, IR blaster cable, two component cables, 802.11g wireless dongle, quick start guide, software CD.
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