Hands-on review: Hava Titanium HD Wi-Fi

Monsoon Multimedia's Hava series is a relatively new player in the "place-shifting" arena, and I had a chance to take the top-of-the-line Hava Titanium HD Wi-Fi for a test drive. (For a review of the Platinum HD model, check out Gina's hands-on review).

On the surface, the Titanium HD Wi-Fi and the Platinum HD are almost identical. They share the same shape/LED front panel, many of the same features (local and remote viewing, recording to local hard disk, DVD burning, HD connectivity), but there is one key difference that sets this model apart.

The Titanium HD Wi-Fi adds two USB ports, with one USB port designated for use with the Wi-Fi dongle. The Wi-Fi dongle actually comes in two pieces—the actual dongle and a USB extension cord/stand. This allows you to hide the dongle in the back, or if you need better reception, you can use the included stand. Nice touch.

The second USB port is for USB hard disk support. Although this isn't supported at the moment, in the future, the Hava box should be able to record directly to the USB hard drive in high quality and playback stored content, regardless of if you're watching from home or a remote location. I'm particularly excited about this option, but it looks like we'll have to wait a bit before we can see it in action.

Hooking up the Hava box was simple and straight forward, and software installation went smoothly, although my ClearType Font settings were altered for some reason. I first set up the Hava with a local area Ethernet connection with component cables, and I was set to go.

Quality while on the local network was very impressive. The nice thing about the Hava software is that it will tell you the quality of the stream in real time in the lower-right hand corner, and while on the local network, I was getting a 6-7Mbs stream with no stuttering. However, when I connected the Hava via wireless G (to my WRT54G v2), I noticed that the quality suffered a bit. The bit stream had gone down to the 2-2.5Mbs level, and the quality was still good but I did notice some artifacts at times. I would recommend sticking to wired connections if possible.

Remote viewing quality was pretty good. My stream level was around 850Kbs-1Mbs, and I did not experience any major stutters. Definitely a watchable experience, but it was definitely lower quality when compared to the local viewing.

The best part about the Hava box was the fact that the device supports multiple connections at once, regardless of local and remote viewing. I shared the software with a buddy of mine all the way in Texas, fired up the cable box, and we were both simultaneously watching the Daily Show in real time. Good stuff.

At $249, it's hard to justify the $100 price increase over the Platinum HD, especially when hard disk support is still in the works, but the Titanium HD Wi-Fi is still $50 cheaper than the Slingbox PRO-HD (check out Ben's review of the Slingbox PRO-HD). I personally think the Platinum HD is the best bang for the buck in the HD-place-shifting arena, but if Wi-Fi connectivity and additional USB support wets your appetite, go for the Titanium HD Wi-Fi.

Related Links:

Monsoon Multimedia - myhava.com

Hands-on review: Hava Platinum HD