HAVA Titanium HD TV Device with Wi-Fi

by Monsoon

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 13.8 x 3.8 x 10.2 inches ; 3.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000YQ6DIS
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: 052507HT
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: November 12, 2007

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description 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.

The Monsoon HAVA Titanium HD WiFi: Wirelessly streams your HD television programming through your home network. Automatically adjusts the encoding for smooth video delivery depending on your network bandwidth. Lets you watch local programming on your cell phone or from anywhere else you have broadband Internet. Has additional USB port that can support an external hard drive for PVR recording.

You'll have control of your A/V components from your computer, complete with customizable virtual remote. View larger.

Wireless networking is built-in, so you can stream your video throughout your home without any cables. 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.

Using the HAVA mobile player software, you can watch television on your cell phone.

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.

Stream television to computers in your home, or to your cell phone wherever you are.

Product Description

The Monsoon HAVA Titanium HD WiFi lets you extend your home theater experience within your home and beyond! Now you can wirelessly stream your live TV over your home network, and watch and control programming from your HD video source on any PC or mobile phone. You can turn your PC into a DVR by recording your favorite programs onto a hard disk or an externally connected USB hard disk for playback at a later time. HAVA also enables TV functionality on a Media Center PC without having a TV tuner installed in the PC. With WiFi built in, there are no ugly cables to worry about and setup is a breeze. Wirelessly Stream Live TV Around Your House By connecting your HD video source to the HAVA Titanium HD WiFi, you can wirelessly stream live television to multiple PCs and other WiFi devices around your house using your existing 802.11g wireless home network. You no longer require TV connections and set-top boxes in each room. While streaming live wireless TV at DVD-quality, multiple users can watch, pause, rewind, fast forward or record the same program independently and simultaneously. View Your Home Television From Anywhere In The World The HAVA Titanium HD WiFi allows you to watch and control your live home TV programming, or other connected A/V devices, from anywhere in the world over a broadband internet connection on your notebook PC, cell phone or other mobile devices. While remotely watching your home TV, other members of the household can also watch TV on their PCs around the home at the same time. Remotely control any A/V device, including DVRs, Satellite Set Top and Cable Set Top boxes, DVD players and video cameras as if you were sitting on your sofa with your favorite remote control in hand. Two USB Ports For Additional Storage & Functionality The HAVA Titanium HD WiFi has two built-in USB ports, allowing for peripheral upgrade possibilities. By connecting an external USB hard disk record hours or full series

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

81 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good value Slingbox HD competitor that doesn't nickel and dime you for add-ons, October 22, 2008

By 

David Pearlman "sound fanatic" (Arlington, MA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: HAVA Titanium HD TV Device with Wi-Fi (Personal Computers)

(What's this?)

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.

58 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Video Quality, Reasons to Love, Reasons to Cry, September 24, 2008

By 

Truth Teller (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: HAVA Titanium HD TV Device with Wi-Fi (Personal Computers)

(What's this?)

This device simultaneously exceeded my expectations and failed to meet them. Let me start with the bottom line of whether or not you should buy this device.

Buy IF:
- You want good quality streaming video
- You want to watch this from a Windows PC.
- You want to watch this from a Windows mobile device or one of the other supported mobile phones.
- You have a wired LAN.
- You run your TV signal through a box of some sort (even a vcr works).
- You don't mind doing some cable re-wiring on your home theater.

Buy WITH CAUTION IF:
- You want wireless at home, but you have a lot of wireless interference on your current network.

DON'T Buy IF:
- You want to watch this from a Mac
- You want to watch this from an unsupported phone (such as a Blackberry or iPhone).
- You are expecting to be able to run a COAX signal to the HAVA.
- You want HDMI input and output.
- You are expecting it to be more or less cable free.
- You want to run a WIFI connection other than 802.11g.

Tips:
- If you want to use a mobile phone, check the HAVA website for support for your phone before buying.

- Don't install the software using the disk included. Go straight to the HAVA web site and get the latest software. If you don't you'll end up doing it anyway.

Now for some background information.

I really didn't know what to expect in terms of the actual device and the setup. I was left both pleasantly surprised and frustrated.

To start with, the packaging is surprisingly simple. All the cables (except HDMI) are included and are clearly labeled in individual packages. The device itself is quite small and lightweight. The getting started guide is simple and straightforward. You can tell that they took time thinking about the initial experience out of the box.

I have a wired LAN, but I don't have an HD receiver other than the one built into my TV. Since I didn't want my TV to be on every time the hava is accessed, I ended up routing the signal through a DVD recorder. Luckily, the included cables made it easy.

I installed the software on my Vista Home Premium computer. The install didn't have any crashes and was fairly simple, except that it doesn't ask you to check for updates until it is completely done. You immediately then are redirected to a site where you download the whole setup and re-run the install, which includes a reboot and several messages from Windows about Media Center being stopped and started. Wasn't a problem, just something to note.

The setup wizard was simple. I was surprised at how easy it was to configure the device and to be remotely changing channels, powering off, etc. It also upgraded the device firmware without issue. Having it on the wired LAN saved a lot of time. I had it fully setup in about 10 minutes (not including the time it took to install the software). The wireless option works fine (with the included usb attached WI-FI adapter), but if you use an encrypted network, expect to have to take a few extra steps to get it all working (visit their support website for details).

The player that is installed on Vista is very nice looking. The interface is simple and attractive. The video quality exceeds my expectations. I am very impressed with the video quality over my 100/1000 Mbit LAN.

The next thing I wanted to do is view it on my blackberry curve... this is where I wanted to cry. This was the main reason I wanted the device and I find out that, as of the time I write this, that only Windows mobile devices and a couple of Nokias are supported. No Blackberry, no iPhone, etc. This was very disappointing. Be smarter than me and check what mobile devices are supported before you buy.

I was able to view it remotely over the internet without much hassle. I had to register my device with the service (which actually happens when you run the setup wizard) and then install a player on the system that I wanted to watch. All I had to do was use the name and password I gave it during the setup wizard... really couldn't be much easier.

So, why 3 stars and not more? I have a Macbook. I have a Blackberry. I can't watch TV via the HAVA using either device. If you only want to watch using Windows or Windows Mobile devices, then I would give this 4+ stars (assuming the cell phone player works well) and can certainly recommend it for the price.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hava Titanium HD Wi-Fi VS Slingbox Pro, November 10, 2008

By 

Shevi "FantasyWeaver" (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: HAVA Titanium HD TV Device with Wi-Fi (Personal Computers)

(What's this?)

The Hava Titanium HD Wi-Fi is the obvious competitor for the better known Slingbox Pro, which lets you watch your TV on your laptop or other mobile device while you're on the go. But which one is better? You decide.

Both the Hava and Slingbox are easy to connect to your TV, DVR (like TiVo), cable or satellite box, but the Slingbox Pro offers three inputs. You can connect your Slingbox to your cable box or satellite box, your DVD player and your DVR at the same time. Both work with HD. The newer version of the Slingbox Pro (not tested) has a digital off-air tuner to work with a digital signal received through an antennae. Hava comes with a Wi-Fi dongle. The Slingbox Pro doesn't, but the company offers products like the SlingLink Media Ethernet Connection Bridge or the Slinglink Turbo Enet Connection Bridge for an additional price. Still, when it comes to input options, the Slingbox Pro is easily the winner.

Both the Hava and the Slingbox are easily set up on your computer with a little help from customer service. Both offer excellent customer service, and--at the time of this review--both let you talk with native English speakers, not a small thing in this day and age when most companies seem to hire customer service employees with impossible to understand accents. Slingbox customer service can take over your computer if needed to make installation easy and pain-free. Hava's device is so easy to connect, their customer service can simply walk you through it. Both let you download the latest software easily. Both are constantly updating their software and offering new features. For example, at the time of this writing, Slingbox says it will soon allow you to watch many popular TV shows directly from their website. Round two is clearly a tie.

But what about the picture? Here's where I started to notice a slight difference between the Slingbox Pro and the Hava. The picture quality is good for both, but the Slingbox Pro's tended to drop on occasion and cause a delay in streaming. That wasn't a problem for the Hava. Comparing both systems to live TV, the Hava had a two second delay, but the Slingbox's delay became longer with each drop in the picture, with delays up to 12 seconds on a computer in the same house. Round three goes to the Hava.

Both give you buffering, which lets you rewind and so on. However--and this is a big plus--the Hava lets you record what you're watching to your computer, something the Slingbox does not do. This is a clear win for the Hava.

And finally there's the most important question: do both systems let you watch your home entertainment programs while you're out of the house like they're supposed to? I have repeatedly encountered problems with the Slingbox. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. But I have never encountered this problem with the Hava. Another round for the Hava. I have yet to test either device with a smart phone.

All in all, I like the Hava better than the Slingbox Pro because it works when I need it out in the field, and not just on my home network. Still, I like the Slingbox Pro's multiple inputs. Which one is best for you? You decide.