HAVA Titanium HD TV Device with Wi-Fi
by Monsoon Multimedia
(Click here)
Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: Monsoon MultimediaFormat: CD
Platform: Windows
Model: 052507HT
Product features:
- Lets you wirelessly stream television content via your home network and watch from anywhere with a broadband internet connection
- Automatically adjusts video encoding for smooth video, no matter the network activity
- Functions as a PVR, letting you record, pause, and rewind live television
- Two USB ports allows you to add an external hard drive and upgrade the wireless capability from 802.11g to 802.11n
- Backed by a 1-year warranty
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of HAVA Titanium HD TV Device with Wi-Fi
Customer Review: Watch your TV on your computer through your home network or over the internet.
Summary: 5 Stars
I've spent months buying TV tuners and such to try to broadcast my analog cable TV over my home network so I can watch TV on my laptops instead of buying a TV for a newly remodeled bedroom. Most everything I tried didn't work. The Hava Titanium Wifi works.
Here is what I did and what I got out of my efforts. To install the Hava, I took the output from my analog Comcast cable coming from my DVD/VCR player and input it into the Hava using their special cable. This left my RCA jack cable only attached at one end, in my theater receiver. So I used the other Hava cable to connect the Hava to this location on my home theater receiver. In short, you replace the output signal from your cable source, a DVD/VCR player in my case, with the Hava box and provided cables. This puts the Hava "in-line" with the TV signal.
Then, I plugged in the "IR blasters," which allow the Hava software to send remote control instructions to your source equipment (my DVD/VCR player) so you can control the channels, video input source, etc. There were little adhesive strips to attach these blasters and instructions that made it sound like placement was critical, but I just used the weight of some DVDs to hold the blasters in place to cover the front of my DVD/VCR player.
Next, I hooked up the Wifi adapter, which is the easiest step of all because you plug into the Hava and then set it down. That is it.
The last step was to install the software on my laptops. The installation software went to the internet to look for a newer version and found one so I had to wait for a 90MB file to download. I installed this version of the software and then went through the setup.
My setup was particularly easy because I have analog cable without a "cable box." All I had to do was tell the software the brand and model of my DVD/VCR player so it could know the remote control frequencies. I have a popular Sony model, so no problem.
I was then watching video. I had two problems though. The video was choppy and the colors were not right. A visit to the Hava support site told me the Hava software was not smart enough to throttle the video signal being broadcast to the quality of my source. As a result, it was trying to send hi-def signal for my low def source. So, I changed the maximum bitrate and fixed that problem without any loss of quality.
The colors were the other problem. This was strictly trial and error. I really increased the brightness and saturation. I also moved the contrast up a bit. This took a while, but now it looks like I think it should.
I was watching TV on my wireless laptops!
To be able to watch the Hava remotely, you have to install that 90MB software. Then you just skip the "Hava Setup" that is run when the software is installed. From the Hava source menu, you call up your home source by the name you gave it in the original setup. You will also have to give the password you gave it. From then on, you just pick it from the menu.
I did have to reinstall that 90MB software within a week of setting up my Hava because they released a newer version, which is kind of annoying but something I'm used to after living with iTunes for years.
The one issue I have that other people don't seem to have is my Hava only broadcasts at about 2.2 to 3.8MB. Others are saying they get a steady 5MB. Occasionally, I get an image skip because the stream is buffering. I'm not sure about this problem. It is rare, and I have conceded to living with it.
Another issue is the long time it takes between pressing a button on the remote by clicking on it with your mouse and the time it actually responds to the input. This is several seconds. Luckily, I only have basic cable, so this isn't a big deal, but it would be a huge deal if I had a lot of channels to scan through.
I will remind everyone the Hava controls a TV source such as a cable box or DVD player. And so it only displays what is showing on that source. It cannot display a different channel while someone sits in front of the original source watching another channel. However, since my source is a simply DVD/VCR player, I just split my cable using a cable splitter and ran it to my old DVD/VCR player. I then ran the other leg of the split to a new DVD player and hooked it to my TV. The Hava is happy running off the DVD/VCR player without my home theater or a TV hooked to it, and my home theater is left in tact (upgraded). I can now watch different channels simultaneously on my Hava and my home theater. You may have a harder time doing this with an expensive cable or satellite box.
The last issue I have is my home network is wireless N, but this thing is only wireless G. I don't think I would have to ever worry about bitrate settings if the Hava would broadcast in wireless N.
I haven't tried the image storage / DVR / TIVO portion of the Hava yet, but I did connect an old LaCie 250GB hard drive. It mounted and appears to be ready for me to just tell it to record. I could just as easily connected a bigger drive. I cannot tell you if you can pirate the stored files off the hard drive as this is not my interest with this device.
One positive I was surprised to see is I can change the input on my DVD/VCR with the Hava software so I can watch a DVD or a VCR that I have put into the player. That is much appreciated so I can now have the option of watching a DVD or VCR tape on my laptop without hassle.
I have watched my Hava over the internet when I took on of my laptops on a trip with me. It worked great.
I have called on Hava support via their email address two times. I've gotten an intelligent to the point response within a day both times.
This certainly is a cutting edge solution. Subsequently, your expectations must be aligned to this fact. However, I've tried a great deal of products in this arena, and this one works. It is by far the most developed, easiest to use, most effective solution in the remote TV viewing arena. I'm very pleased to finally call this project finished.
Btw, I bought mine for $79.99 + $5.00 shipping on Woot.com when it was the deal of the day. Now that I have my Hava and know it works, I would be willing to pay the "street" price for it.
Description of HAVA Titanium HD TV Device with Wi-Fi
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 seriesAmazon.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.
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 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. |
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. |
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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