I just received my Vulkano with great hopes of it replacing my HAVA box.

I was looking forward to recording my favorite TV shows and watching them at a later time on my iPad or the TV.

Here are the current feature limitations:

Record one show at a time

Can’t watch another show while it is recording

To watch a saved show, It must be fully downloaded to the iPad before you can watch it.

I have just finished installing the device, and turned it on.  Color bars appeared and then a setup wizard began after i hit the ok button on the supplied remote.  It scanned for wireless networks and found my access point.  I gave it my credentials to log in, and it continued on to the next section of the install.  I am using the Verizon Fios DVR with the componet video cables hooked up between the two devices.  I am using the HDMI out to my TV.  The setup wizard detected that a new firmware release was available and it began to download.  It said it could take a half hour to complete.  I was tired and just shut off the tv and let it run overnight.  I woke up to find that it was frozen after about 15% completion.  I had to power off the unit, and when it turned back on, it completed the setup wizard.  A simple menu came up and Live tv was the first option. I selected it and it began to show what was live on TV.  After about 3 seconds i noticed a pause, and that the video quality was less than desireable.  It looked like 320i or less on the HD TV. Then I noticed that it began to fast forward and then it slowed down.  I made watching live TV next to impossible.

I then went to my iPad and download the free Vulkano app, and launched it.  I loaded and found my Vulkano.  It started to buffer, and after about 30 seconds, I had a video showing on the screen.  After about 5 seconds it started to get pixialized and then paused.

I called tech support and they said they will work on it and get back with me, since it is a new product, they think the next firmware revision will solve my problems.

My first impressions, they took 10 steps backwards from the Hava, and 1 step forward with being able to record to the supplied esata 2.5″ 1tb hard drive.

I do not recommend this device at this point in time.  Wait till they get all the bugs worked out.

• Hava / Monsoon is releasing the new Myvulkano DVR on August 10th $279 or $379
• Android Tablet is available to be purchased at K-Mart only.
• Starcraft is released today by Blizzard
• Apple release’s new iMacs and battery solutions… Last up to 10 years?

HAVA for Microsoft Media Center MCE Supports both Microsoft Vista and WinXP MCE Creates a virtual networked TV Turner for Media Center PC’s Control HAVA connected video sources through Media Center user interface Utilize Media Center’s PVR/DVR functions: pause, rewind, fast forward and record to hard disk Place- shift your Media Center TV experience without requiring a TV connection in the viewing room

The PC client for HAVA Wireless HD and Platinum HD offers a seamless Media Center plug-in that enables users to watch live TV on their Media Center PC without requiring a TV Tuner card installed in the PC or even having a TV connection any room you wish to enjoy the Media Center experience. That’s right, watch live TV on multiple Media Center PC’s simultaneously using your existing home Ethernet or wireless (802.11a/g) network and create a virtual TV Tuner environment that provides true home media freedom by taking Media Center to any room in house or outside on the deck. Of course all of the Media Center TV features like scheduled recording, pause, fast forward and rewind of live TV are all enabled when using the HAVA Media Center plug-in.  

Easy Setup

Simply connect HAVA up to any video source including HD of course, and launch Media Center. It really is that simple!

CNET Says

• “HAVA really shines for owners of Windows Media Center.”
• “Windows Media Center users may very well find it (HAVA) to be a must-have accessory.”

David has been working with John on designing a home theater that would use a PC as the main Server in the Home Theater.  Since then, they have discoverd devices like the Hava and Sling player that gives you access to your recorded media anywhere on the internet.  In looking into the types of media that you could broadcast on the internet, they have Discovered Adobes media server.  Being able to stream video in high Definition was one of the features they were looking for.  Converting your DVD’s to MP4 format, you could acheive high quality viewing with a Flash Media player app.  In the process, they also have purchased the Panasonic HDC1 High Definition video camera.  Learning that the video camera stores video in AVCHD format, they needed an application to convert this media into either MP4 or DVD MP2 format to be able to view the videos online.

Nero video provided a great solution to the conversion process.  Sony Vegas 8 Pro also allows editing of the AVCHD footage.  Dissapointed, Adobe is not currently supporting the AVCHD format, even though it was promised to be out in a future release of there software suite.

We have come a long ways in discovering what it takes to do high definition on the internet.

Sony’s Playstation 3 seems to be the easiest solution, though not complete in the media center.
Hava is a great way to record HD TV with the Componet cables (un-encoded video).

Panasonic HDC SD1 Camera

HD Broadcasting device on the internet.