| 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.
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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. | 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. |
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 Easy to install, a pleasure to use - and great customer support. |
| Review Date: January 1, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Jerry Saperstein, Evanston, IL USA |
The unit is manufactured by Monsoon Multimedia. It is a lesser known brand than its major competitor, Sling Media, makers of Slingbox. Generally speaking, the Hava line offers more features at a lower price point. Hava has a very impressive comparison chart on its website. It is definitely worth reviewing as you make your decision. In fact, I would strongly suggest that you review the detailed specifications for each of the competing units on their respective websites. It's an education in what may be a new technology for many and well worth the time it takes.
Installation took a few hassle-free minutes, including a firmware update.
What is the result of so little effort? You can view your television channels on any computer connected to your local network - and from any computer connected to the internet.
With the advent of very lightweight, inexpensive but reasonably powerful netbooks, Hava can open a new dimension in portable entertainment. With WiFi, you can watch your television from anywhere accessible by your network. In my environment, on a 802.11g wireless connection, the picture is gorgeous and lags just a few seconds behind the cable-fed box. There's an onscreen remote to use with TiVo, in my case, any many others for those controlling their cable box or other device.
The number of users on a local network is limited only by bandwidth.
You can also log in via the internet, which is a hoot and also very convenient. Staying at a motel that doesn't carry your favorite channel? Watch it using your Hava and for a potent combination, your DVR, such as a TiVo.
Hava also provides remote clients for a number of cell phones and PDAs. For some reason, I had poor results with my two Windows Mobile 6.x VGA devices in landscape, but reception was nothing less than astounding in portrait mode. On one I was using WiFi, on the other, Sprint's EV-DO Rev. A network.
This is a product that delivers what it promises. A hassle free installation and problem-free performance. I am very, very pleased with it.
A word about Hava's customer support: it is exemplary. I had a problem understanding something: not a difficulty with the product - just something about its use that I could't figure out. I called Hava tech support and was amazed at how much time and energy the Hava tech spent with me. A rarity in this age.
Overall, I find the Hava to be an excellent product and would recommend it over the Slingbox, based on specifications and my personal experience.
Jerry |
Very good device, skimpy documentation
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| Review Date: April 30, 2009 |
| Reviewer: John Satterfield, Reno, NV USA |
I bought a HAVA Titanium HD WiFi so that I could watch live TV in my kitchen, where I don't have a cable connection. I connected the HAVA to my TIVO HD. I am delighted with the result: I now have a good picture and good sound on my laptop in the kitchen. I haven't tried HAVA's remote control feature or the DVR feature.
The setup process was difficult and frustrating, although not as frustrating as my experience with a Slingbox. I spent hours (due to Slingmedia's poor documentation) discovering that a wireless Ethernet bridge is necessary because the Slingbox is designed for an ethernet connection. Slingcatcher didn't work because my TIVO, and therefore the Slingbox, is in a different room on a different electrical circuit than my router. The Ethernet bridge procedure described in Slingbox's documentation doesn't help because it is for a Netgear bridge that apparently is no longer available, per my internet search. I bought a Linksys wireless Ethernet bridge, and, after spending two hours on the phone (he did try hard) with Linksys' tech support, I gave up when the Linksys technician wanted to transfer me to another tech because he thought the problem was with my 2Wire router's settings.See my review of Slingbox.
I had three problems with HAVA setup:
1. During the setup dialog, when I accepted the invitation to upgrade the software, the upgrade failed and I had to start the setup process again. This was a minor problem, but it's sloppy work on HAVA's part. I wasn't surprised, since other customers' reviews mentioned this.
2. Setup stalled when it tried & failed to connect to the HAVA. I had to move the HAVA to my router and connect it and my laptop directly to the router with two Ethernet cables, one of which was provided in the box by HAVA. Then setup detected the HAVA, and I was able to complete the setup. However, the setup dialog includes a chance to adjust the TV image, which is supposed to appear in a little box on one of the setup dialog screens. My box was black, presumably because my connection was by Ethernet cable, not wireless. I skipped this screen.
3. HAVA's setup documentation is woefully inadequate. I found the solution described in the previous paragraph by looking at a Setup Wizard Troubleshooting tip entitled "Can I configure HAVA's wireless properties if I set it up initially over Ethernet?" None of the other descriptions of the setup procedure (which are sparse) refer to the need to connect the HAVA directly to the router during setup. I realized that this was possible because the Slingbox requires it. Also, it would be helpful to novices to mention that the player software must be installed on the computer that you plan to view on. This isn't obvious if you don't have a clue as to how the HAVA works. Also, I had to search the HAVA online forum to find out how to view TV on Windows Media Center (which works well under Vista).
A comment on HAVA user support: I received prompt and helpful responses to two e-mails, in which I described a problem I was having. (This problem was of my own making, not a result of the skimpy documentation for the HAVA.) However, my several attempts to contact HAVA by telephone failed; I just wound up in an endless loop in which I was presented over & over again with their initial voice menu. If I weren't retired I probably wouldn't have had the time or energy to complete the installation process (or to write these comments).
The bottom line, however, is that it was worth the trouble--my wife can now watch the news and weather report in the kitchen while she's preparing dinner. With the advent of HAVA, Slingbox will be obsolete until it provides wireless capability.
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Love my HAVA Titanium HD WiFi...
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| Review Date: February 22, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Peter Huyen, |
Bought my HAVA two weeks ago and just absolutely love it. Locally, I can watch Comcast in HD quality. In the beginning, I had some problem with the the video being choppy but i was able to play around with my wireless channels until I found one that works the best. Now it works perfectly!
HAVA is less expensive compared with the Slingbox HD and it has wireless capabilities which the Slingbox doesn't. I am waiting for Moonsoon to release a player software for the Blackberry. |
excelent product
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| Review Date: February 25, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Jean Sainvilus, |
| I had a sony basestation lf-v30. i spent a week to had work properly after calling sony many times.Couple after when i saw this hava titatium at circuit city for $100.00 box i justtook it home because i read it's able to record live tv even can work with media center. the setup was quik no need to call customer service for tuning. i bought a hard drive and start recording shows. |
Watch your TV on your computer through your home network or over the internet.
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| Review Date: April 29, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Jon Berry, Central Illinois |
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. |
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HAVA Titanium HD TV Device with Wi-Fi
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