Their new tack seems to follow in EchoStar’s/Sling Media’s ‘SlingLoaded’ footsteps, looking to get Slingbox technology into other products such as cable STBs and DVRs. However, to date, the SlingLoaded effort hasn’t met with much success. Some of this could be attributed to the close ties between EchoStar and Dish Network. If you’re an MSO looking to add placeshifting to your offerings, you might be hesitant to be seen as supporting the competition (Dish Network) by licensing from their sister company (EchoStar). Perhaps Monsoon, unencumbered by such competitive issues, real or perceived, might have more success, despite being less well known than Sling? Could be.

Here’s what they’re offering to prospective licensees:

Monsoon has developed five integrated modules that enable semiconductor encoder companies to easily begin offering placeshifting capabilities. Including Adaptive Bit-Rate Encoding and Transcoding, Http Live Streaming (HLS) for Live Video Sources, Proprietary Streaming Protocol, Connection Management and Multi-Screen Client Technologies. Monsoon has already ported these modules on multiple encoders.

Monsoon will also make a large number of applications, such as YouTube, VoD, Web Browser, Time Shifting, UPnP/DLNA and other Smart TV applications, available as part of its licensing arrangements.

Adaptive Bit-Rate Encoding continuously measures the available network bandwidth and adjusts the encoding bit rate to deliver smooth video streaming Quality of Service (QOS) over a wide range of network conditions.

Http Live Streaming (HLS) has been extended by Monsoon to support a real-time bit-rate control method of delivering live video sources via the industry standard HLS protocol, without requiring pre-encoding and caching of multiple bit-rate copies of the file.

Proprietary Streaming Protocol moves video from inside the house to outside the house with much finer granularity of the video encoding and without requiring any router set up. UDP protocol with hole punching and NAT (Network Address Translator) traversal is deployed to eliminate the need for router port forwarding.

Connection Management is a secure cloud-based service that allows clients to connect to servers without using fixed IP addresses or DNS (Domain Named Service).

Multi-Screen Client Technologies include video playback of placeshifted live TV streams, recording and trick play (Pause/FF/RW) on clients, and virtual on-screen remote control for set-top boxes, EPGs and side loading. Client technologies are available on iPads, iPhones, Android smartphones and tablets, Blackberry phones and tablets, PCs and Macs.

I used to think Monsoon might be the best bet for TiVo to add placeshifting to their products, since there was no way they’d adopt Sling’s technology as long as the lawsuit with EchoStar was ongoing. But now that the lawsuit is settled and TiVo and EchoStar claim to be BFFs, and EchoStar has an interest in licensing TiVo’s patents for their products, it might be more likely that TiVo would negotiate a license for Sling’s tech as part of a future deal. But Monsoon’s technology could be of interest to other set top box vendors looking for a competitive edge.

Via Placeshifting Enthusiasts.

HAVA, from Monsoon Multimedia, is the primary competition to Sling Media’s Slingbox. HAVA has some features not found on Slingboxes – such as supporting multicast on a LAN (multiple, simultaneous clients), officially supporting recording on PCs, working as a tuner within Windows Media Center, learning new IR codes, and more. Additionally, all HAVA Mobile clients are free, unlike SlingPlayer Mobile. However, the HAVA products tend to be less polished than Sling, and little rougher around the edges. While Sling has clients for Windows and Mac OS, and mobile clients for Windows Mobile Standard & Professional, Symbian S60 & UIQ, Palm OS, and BlackBerry, HAVA Player is available only for Windows, Windows Mobile Standard & Professional, Symbian S60, and Maemo (the Linux flavor on Nokia N810 Internet tablets).

Sling has submitted their iPhone client to Apple, while HAVA demo’d an early version of their iPhone client at CES, so they’ll hopefully be submitting that soon. HAVA is also apparently developing a client for Mac OS. So as long as you have a supported platform, it could work fine for you.

Good luck!

You know, if HAVA really wants to compete with Sling, they should probably go after markets where Sling isn’t yet – like Android and Linux desktops. And since all HAVA boxes stream in MPEG-2 and MPEG-4/H.264, while Slingboxes stream in WMV/VC-1 (except the PRO-HD which also supports MPEG-2 and MPEG-4/H.264), and Flash video supports H.264, they might be able to put out a Flash-based client. A Flash client would be a killer app. Release a reference implementation and open-source it – widespread client availability would sell hardware.

Also, since they give away their clients for free, unlike Sling, they’d have nothing to lose by getting HAVA Player built into things like Boxee, VLC, the Roku Digital video Player, etc. Maybe even TiVo – since Sling Media parent EchoStar and TiVo are still slugging it out in court, and EchoStar is adding placeshifting to DISH DVRs and cable boxes, TiVo could use HAVA to respond.

But that’s a tangent and maybe I should just do a whole post on my thoughts on the placeshifting market.

Unrelated, sorry I haven’t been posting. I thought I’d be jumping back in when I posted a few weeks ago, but I underestimated just how draining the job hunting process can be. The good news is I’ve accepted an offer and should be back to work soon. The only downside is that the job is in Somerville, MA, and I live in Worcester, MA, so I’ll have a commute of about an hour each way. But I’ll be working 3rd shift, so traffic shouldn’t be bad, and I’m happy about the job itself.

Disclaimer: I’m employed by Sling Media and HAVA is an erstwhile competitor.

Disclaimer: I’m employed by Sling Media and HAVA is considered a competitor.

The press release:

Sep 11, 2008 12:03 ET

Monsoon Multimedia Announces Availability of HAVA Mobile Player for Nokia Internet Tablet

Control and View Your TV Over WiMAX or WiFi with HAVA Mobile Player for Nokia Handheld Devices

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 11 /PRNewswire/ — (CTIA Wireless) — Monsoon Multimedia, an innovative digital video solutions provider, today announced the availability of the HAVA Mobile Player for Nokia N800 and N810 Internet Tablets. Available from Monsoon as a free download, the HAVA Mobile Player allows HAVA customers to view and control their home television and services, including satellite and TiVo, from anywhere in the world on a Nokia Internet Tablet.

The HAVA Mobile Player for Nokia Internet Tablets was designed for seamless integration with Nokia’s unique multimedia device allowing viewers to control the television (whether cable or satellite, receiver or DVR, standard or high definition) via the Internet Tablet’s physical keys or stylus in real time over a WiFi or WiMAX connection.

“In today’s content rich market everything from banking to gaming and now even TV is going from laptops to mobile devices so adding the handheld feature was a logical next step,” said Paul Friedman, President of Monsoon Multimedia’s US Operations and head of the company’s mobile business. “Our support for Nokia’s Internet Tablets gives HAVA customers the ability to watch their favorite baseball team play or their local news, regardless of their location, wherever WiMAX or WiFi is available.”

The Nokia Internet Tablet version of the HAVA Mobile Player is tablet- optimized software for the video-streaming service that Monsoon also provides for PCs and other mobile devices. Monsoon’s HAVA features unique video multicasting capabilities which allow users to broadcast their home television to multiple devices within their home network while simultaneously place- shifting video to a connected PC or Nokia Internet Tablet anywhere in the world.

Pricing and Availability

The Monsoon HAVA Player for the Nokia Internet Tablet is now available as a free direct download available at http://www.myhava.com/products.html. The HAVA product line is available from Monsoon at http://www.myhava.com/ and through select retailers and etailers nationwide.

About Monsoon Multimedia

Monsoon Multimedia provides advanced, standards-based multimedia products and technologies for the PC and Consumer Electronics industries. Monsoon licenses highly optimized multimedia solutions comprised of applications, drivers, frameworks, middleware and reference designs. Our customers and partners are semiconductor companies, PC manufacturers, software suppliers and consumer electronics companies. Founded by the founders of Dazzle and Emuzed, the company has offices in California, India and Russia. For more information, please visit http://www.monsoonmultimedia.com/.

Media Contact:
Anders Steele
FortyThree, Inc.
831.239.0960
anders@fortythreepr.com

Source: Monsoon Multimedia

CONTACT: Anders Steele of FortyThree, Inc., +1-831-239-0960,
anders@fortythreepr.com, for Monsoon Multimedia

Web site: http://www.monsoonmultimedia.com/
http://www.myhava.com/

Disclaimer: I work for Sling Media, and HAVA is ostensibly our competitor.

I work for Sling Media, and the HAVA is ostensibly our primary competitor.

Picked up from Zatz Not Funny.

Disclaimer: I am currently employed by Sling Media, for whom HAVA is the leading competitor.

Now Archos is adding place-shifting to the TV+. Called ‘TVportation’ it will be a $49.99 software plug-in for the TV+, or free if the TV+ is registered on the ARCHOS web site. ARCHOS claims it will allow streaming of content from the TV+ to the ARCHOS 605 WiFi and ARCHOS 705 WiFi PMPs, as well as PCs, laptops and smartphones. You can also use an ARCHOS 605 WiFi or ARCHOS 705 WiFi as the streaming source, but you need to leave it docked in its base station. (So if you have two you can have one at home as the source and one as the client.) Details on the smartphone support is thin, saying only “compatible with Symbian later this spring”. Though the demo video on the website shows it running on a Windows Mobile Palm Treo.

A little exploring shows they have downloads for Windows Mobile 5 & 6 both Professional and Smartphone as well as Symbian Series60. But most curious is that all of the links are right to Monsoon Multimedia’s HAVA clients – on Monsoon’s servers! At first glance it looks like they’re leeching the clients, but perhaps Monsoon and ARCHOS did some kind of deal. Still, it looks sketchy.

There’s a lengthy demo video up on YouTube:

From the video it is clear that one client at a time is supported, so you can’t have multiple devices streaming from one TV+.

Spotted in EngadgetHD.

Disclaimer: I’m currently employed by Sling Media, which produces the Slingbox series of place-shifting products. And I suppose TVportation is ostensibly a competitor to Sling.

The company’s four set-top boxes already provide place-shifted viewing to Windows computers and to Nokia’s palm-top N810 Internet appliance. Like the Slingbox PRO, Monsoon’s HAVA devices support multiple video sources connected at the same time, and their high-end units can stream to multiple viewers at once on a local network, though only one at a time over a broadband connection to the Internet.

Monsoon licensed new audio and video compression decoders from On2 Technologies, Inc. in order to implement the handheld client software; handhelds pose a significant challenge for receiving decent video quality thanks to low (and often unreliable) network bandwidth and low processing power compared to home computer setups.

A beta evaluation copy of the HAVA Mobile Player for Windows Mobile (including Palm Treo smartphones based on Redmond’s OS) is available now from the company’s web site.

I will warn you that the video is, well, slow paced. There isn’t a lot exciting there – it is a new version of the HAVA Mobile Player running on a Nokia tablet. The most interesting thing about that, to me, is that the Nokia tablets run Linux, so maybe this was an exercise to prepare for the growing number of Linux smartphones, etc. I just don’t see support for the N800/810 really selling any HAVA boxes, since the tablet market is fairly small. I’d think Monsoon would’ve gotten more return on investment by releasing a client for Mac OS or Symbian OS.

Picked up from EngadgetHD.

The first is the announcement of HAVASoft, a software application for tuner equipped PCs which gives them streaming abilities like those of the hardware HAVA platform. So if you have a PC with a tuner, you can use HAVASoft to stream that content to another, client PC, or mobile device, with the HAVA client software.

The second is more of a rah-rah puff piece announcing their ‘ongoing development commitment’ to the Windows Rally Platform. I had no idea what ‘Windows Rally’ was, I had to look it up. It is just a framework to simplify connecting wired and wireless devices with Windows.

The press releases:

Jan 10, 2008 13:06 ET

Monsoon Multimedia Announces HAVASoft

Monsoon HAVASoft Allows Major PC and TV Tuner OEM’s to Extend Full Featured Video Streaming, Time- and Place-Shifting Technology to PC Users

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 10 /PRNewswire/ — Monsoon Multimedia, an innovative digital video solutions provider, announced today HAVASoft, a full featured wireless video streaming, place- and time-shifting application that supercharges TV-tuner card enabled PCs. Using HAVASoft, customers can stream video to multiple PCs throughout the home or view and control live home TV from anywhere in the world on a broadband-connected PC, Windows Mobile phone or handheld computer.

Monsoon HAVASoft allows connected PCs to operate with TiVo-like functionality. Customers can pause, fast forward, rewind and record live TV to a PC hard disk and burn the recorded content to DVD for archiving purposes. In addition, HAVASoft can employ WiFi to serve as a wireless network TV tuner for Media Center PCs within the home allowing customers to share a TV Tuner card between several Media Center PCs and enjoy the full functionality of their Media Center XP or Vista PC without the need of additional hardware tuners.

Users can now leverage the power of TV tuner enabled PCs while eliminating the clutter of wires and multiple set-top boxes. HAVASoft offers a portable and convenient video streaming, place- and time-shifting solution that is TV Set Free.

“We developed HAVASoft for our OEM partners to bundle with their products to add place-shifting and video streaming capabilities to further enhance their TV solutions for new customers and extend these features to customers who already own TV tuner enabled PCs,” said Colin Stiles, EVP of Marketing and Sales at Monsoon Multimedia. “Consumers can now enjoy TV content whenever and wherever they happen to be through their PC without the need for an actual television or additional devices.”

Combined with TV-tuner enabled PCs, Monsoon’s breakthrough time- and place-shifting technology offers households a viable alternative to the traditional TV set. Users can enjoy television and video content on their laptops as a portable, hi-resolution alternative that brings together all of the features of a television and the power of a PC.

  HAVASoft Features
  -- Stream Live TV to multiple PCs within the home (Multicast)
  -- Supports Windows Vista
  -- Functions as a wireless networked TV Tuner for Microsoft Media Center
     PCs on home network
  -- Connects to any TV source including Cable, Satellite, DVD, TiVo or a
     Camcorder
  -- Enables TiVo-like functionality on the PC. Users can record, store,
     pause, rewind and fast forward stored video
  -- Schedule and record programs for later viewing
  -- Allows archival of recorded material to DVD
  -- Streams video directly to PCs in a home network in MPEG-2
  -- Streams MPEG-2 format over the home network, MPEG-4 format over the
     Internet
  -- Supports Windows Mobile 5.0, 6.0 cell phones and PDAs

  Licensing and Availability
  Monsoon's HAVASoft licensing arrangements will be available in early 2008.

  About Monsoon Multimedia

Monsoon Multimedia provides advanced, standards based multimedia products and technologies for the PC and Consumer Electronics industries. Monsoon licenses highly optimized multimedia solutions comprising applications, drivers, frameworks, middleware and reference designs. Our customers and partners are semiconductor companies, PC manufacturers, software suppliers and consumer electronics companies. Founded by the founders of Dazzle and Emuzed, the company is headquartered in Noida, India with offices in California and Russia. For more information, please visit http://www.monsoonmultimedia.com/.

  Media Contact:
  Anders Steele
  FortyThree, Inc.
  831.239.0960
  anders@fortythreepr.com

Source: Monsoon Multimedia

CONTACT: Anders Steele of FortyThree, Inc., +1-831-239-0960,
anders@fortythreepr.com, for Monsoon Multimedia

Web site: http://www.monsoonmultimedia.com/

Jan 10, 2008 14:24 ET

Monsoon Multimedia Announces HAVA Development Initiatives for Microsoft’s Windows Rally Platform

Monsoon HAVA with Microsoft Windows Rally Support Allows Customers to Easily Enjoy the Digital Lifestyle

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 10 /PRNewswire/ — Monsoon Multimedia, an innovative digital video solutions provider, today confirmed its ongoing development commitment to the Windows Rally Platform by demonstrating seamless wireless setup of the HAVA device to Vista PCs. Monsoon will support Microsoft Windows Rally across its HAVA line of video place- and time-shifting devices, allowing customers to effectively integrate Monsoon Multimedia’s technologies into their digital lifestyles by easily connecting HAVA devices to their home wireless networks.

The Microsoft Windows Rally platform provides a seamless method for network-connected PCs to effortlessly setup and connect Monsoon’s HAVA devices to the Internet or to other computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system. With integrated discovery and automatic configuration, Microsoft Windows Rally offers easy, reliable, secure connectivity to HAVA users, delivering a rich video streaming, place- and time-shifting user experience.

Monsoon’s HAVA line of video streaming devices allow customers to stream video to multiple PCs throughout the home or view and control live home TV from anywhere in the world on a broadband-connected PC, Windows Mobile phone or handheld computer. The included HAVA Player software includes a wide range of familiar virtual remote control designs allowing users to change channels and control other features of their video source as if they were sitting at home.

Monsoon’s HAVA also allows a PC to operate with TiVo-like functionality. Customers can pause, fast forward, rewind and record live TV to a PC hard disk and burn the recorded content to DVD for archiving purposes. In addition, the HAVA can employ WiFi to serve as a wireless network TV tuner for Media Center PCs within the home, allowing customers to enjoy the full functionality of their Media Center XP or Vista PC without having to install a TV tuner card or place their PC in the living room.

“Monsoon is dedicated to creating innovative, easy-to-use technology that lets our customers do more with their TV,” said Colin Stiles EVP, Sales and Marketing at Monsoon. “Our inclusion of Microsoft Windows Rally support is a significant step in Monsoon’s mission to enrich the consumer TV experience for the connected home.”

HAVA features Monsoon’s vBooster technology which provides superior picture quality and enables multicast video allowing an unlimited* number of PCs connected to a home network to view video content while simultaneously transmitting video to a broadband-connected PC or mobile phone anywhere in the world. Monsoon’s vBooster technology allows the local MPEG-2 video streams to bypass the router, effectively doubling the available bandwidth, while simultaneously keeping the PC connected to the router for non-video traffic.

  Monsoon HAVA Features:

  --  Stream live HD TV to multiple PCs within the home (Multicast)
  --  Component input and support for HD video source (1080i, 720p,
      480p/576p) played back in the native 16:9 aspect ratio on the client
      display
  --  Supports Windows Vista
  --  Functions as a wireless networked TV tuner for Microsoft Media Center
      PCs on home network
  --  Connects to any TV source including Cable, Satellite, DVD, TiVo or a
      camcorder
  --  Enables TiVo-like functionality on the PC. Users can record, store,
      pause, rewind and fast forward stored video
  --  Schedule and record programs for later viewing
  --  Allows archival of recorded material to DVD
  --  All inputs include a pass-through connector, eliminating the use of
      splitters when connecting HAVA to home video equipment
  --  Streams MPEG-2 format over the home network, MPEG-4 format over the
      Internet
  --  Supports Windows Mobile 5.0, 6.0 cell phones and PDAs

  Pricing and Availability

The Monsoon Multimedia HAVA product line is available directly through Monsoon’s e-tailing division at http://www.myhava.com/.

About Monsoon Multimedia

Monsoon Multimedia provides advanced, standards based multimedia products and technologies for the PC and Consumer Electronics industries. Monsoon licenses highly optimized multimedia solutions compromised of applications, drivers, frameworks, middleware and reference designs. Monsoon customers and partners are semiconductor companies, PC manufacturers, software suppliers and consumer electronics companies. Founded by the founders of Dazzle and Emuzed, Monsoon Multimedia is headquartered in Noida, India with offices in California and Russia. For more information, please visit http://www.monsoonmultimedia.com/.

  * The number of PCs is based on available network bandwidth

   Media Contact:
   Allison Frantz
   FortyThree, Inc.
   831.401.3175
   monsoon@fortythreepr.com

Source: Monsoon Multimedia

CONTACT: Allison Frantz, of FortyThree, Inc., +1-831-401-3175,
monsoon@fortythreepr.com, for Monsoon Multimedia

Web site: http://www.myhava.com/
http://www.monsoonmultimedia.com/

“The HAVA Titanium, combined with an external hard drive will allow customers to have a TiVo-like experience without requiring a TiVo. With the introduction of forthcoming USB peripherals, we will continue to provide tremendous value to the HAVA customer TV experience,” said Colin Stiles EVP, Sales and Marketing at Monsoon. “We’ve created a technology that allows customers to not only do more with their home television but help customers stay current with their HAVA purchase as new technology evolves.”

Memo to Monsoon – there is more to the TiVo experience than just being able to record and playback programs. It sounds like the HAVA turns into a very basic DVR with single, manually scheduled recordings. Thats hardly ‘TiVo-like’ folks, don’t flatter yourselves.

No pricing or availability dates yet.

The press release:

Jan 8, 2008 18:55 ET

Monsoon Multimedia Announces Support for HAVA Titanium USB Peripherals

New Addition Turns HAVA Titanium Into a Standalone DVR Device

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ — Monsoon Multimedia, an innovative digital video solutions provider, today announced support for USB-connected external hard drives for the HAVA Titanium product line, enabling standalone DVR operation. The HAVA Titanium, a wireless video streaming, place- and time-shifting device, can be used to stream video to multiple PCs throughout the home or view and control live home TV from anywhere in the world on a broadband-connected PC, Windows Mobile phone or handheld computer.

The HAVA Titanium was designed with USB ports for the option of added functionality. The release of the stand-alone DVR capability allows HAVA owners to do more with their TV and enhance the HAVA experience.

HAVA Titanium support for a USB-connected storage device allows users to record favorite TV shows without requiring the PC, effectively turning HAVA Titanium into a standalone DVR device. The HAVA Titanium DVR function allows users to schedule recordings locally or remotely through a PC and store the recordings for later viewing.

“The HAVA Titanium, combined with an external hard drive will allow customers to have a TiVo-like experience without requiring a TiVo. With the introduction of forthcoming USB peripherals, we will continue to provide tremendous value to the HAVA customer TV experience,” said Colin Stiles EVP, Sales and Marketing at Monsoon. “We’ve created a technology that allows customers to not only do more with their home television but help customers stay current with their HAVA purchase as new technology evolves.”

Monsoon continues to integrate unsurpassed technology into the HAVA Titanium product line from companies like ViXs Systems and Intel Corporation which propel HAVA’s very high video quality and support for multiple USB devices into new consumer TV solutions.

HAVA Titanium products feature Monsoon’s vBooster technology which provides superior picture quality and enables multicast video allowing an unlimited* number of PCs connected to a home network to view video content while simultaneously transmitting video to a broadband-connected PC or mobile phone anywhere in the world. vBooster allows the MPEG-2 local streams to bypass the router, effectively doubling the available bandwidth, while keeping the PC connected to the router for non-video traffic. The included HAVA Player software features a wide range of familiar virtual remote control designs allowing users to change channels and control other features of their video source such as a DVR, as if they were sitting at home.

Pricing and Availability

The Monsoon Multimedia HAVA product line is available directly through Monsoon’s e-tailing division at http://www.myhava.com/. The Monsoon Multimedia HAVA Titanium USB peripherals will be available through select retailers and etailers nationwide.

About Monsoon Multimedia

Monsoon Multimedia provides advanced, standards based multimedia products and technologies for the PC and Consumer Electronics industries. Monsoon licenses highly optimized multimedia solutions compromised of applications, drivers, frameworks, middleware and reference designs. Our customers and partners are semiconductor companies, PC manufacturers, software suppliers and consumer electronics companies. Founded by the founders of Dazzle and Emuzed, the company is headquartered in Noida, India with offices in California and Russia. For more information, please visit http://www.monsoonmultimedia.com/.

  *  The number of PCs is based on available network bandwidth

   Media Contact:
   Anders Steele
   FortyThree, Inc.
   831.239.0960
   anders@fortythreepr.com

Source: Monsoon Multimedia

CONTACT: Anders Steele of FortyThree, Inc., +1-831-239-0960,
anders@fortythreepr.com, for Monsoon Multimedia

Web site: http://www.monsoonmultimedia.com/
http://www.myhava.com/

On the other hand, the HAVA’s integration with Windows allows it to be used as a Windows Media Center tuner, just like a tuner installed in the PC only over the network. And HAVA’s PC software allows for recording the streams, something Sling has yet to offer in their official products. (There have been 3rd party solutions for recording Sling streams.)

The HAVA Wireless with HD has a built in NTSC/ATSC tuner (no mention of QAM like the SB PRO-HD) as well as component video input and can stream video up to 1080i. There is no mention of any digital audio input however, so it doesn’t sound like it has the ability to stream 5.1 audio like the PRO-HD.

The HAVA streams using MPEG-2 locally, which probably explains the need for 11n WiFi instead of 11g, while using MPEG-4 for Internet streaming.

It will be available in ‘Spring 2008′, and no pricing has been announced at this time.

The press release:

Jan 7, 2008 11:30 ET

Monsoon Multimedia Announces Streaming HD Video Over WiFi With HAVA

Monsoon HAVA First to Stream True 1080i Video to any PC Throughout a Home Wireless Network

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ — Monsoon Multimedia, an innovative digital video solutions provider, today announced HAVA as the first consumer solution to stream HD video throughout a home 802.11n or wired network. Customers can now enjoy the full glory of HD video on multiple PCs throughout the home or view and control live home TV from anywhere in the world on a broadband-connected PC, Windows Mobile phone or handheld computer.

The HAVA wireless hardware setup is fast, easy and eliminates the need to run ethernet cables, or purchase costly HomePlug or PowerLine adapters required by similar place-shifting solutions. The included HAVA Player software includes a wide range of familiar virtual remote control designs allowing users to change channels and control other features of their video source as if they were sitting at home.

Combined with 802.11n-enabled laptops, Monsoon’s breakthrough technology in streaming true HD offers households a viable alternative to the traditional TV set. Users can enjoy television and video content on their laptops as a portable, hi-resolution alternative that brings together all of the features of a television and the power of a PC.

“Wireless-N technology with notebook computers based on Intel(R) Centrino(R) processor technology featuring 45nm Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor delivers the speed and coverage needed for consumers to wirelessly enjoy their digital entertainment in full HD,” said Erik Reid, Director of Marketing, Mobile Platforms Group, Intel Corporation. ” Our wireless-N technology improves the home network experience — especially when multiple people access their wireless network simultaneously and enjoy bandwidth consuming applications such as full HD video entertainment.”

Monsoon’s HAVA also allows a PC to operate with TiVo-like functionality. Customers can pause, fast forward, rewind and record live TV to a PC hard disk and burn the recorded content to DVD for archiving purposes. In addition, the HAVA can employ WiFi to serve as a wireless network TV tuner for Media Center PCs within the home allowing customers to enjoy the full functionality of their Media Center XP or Vista PC without having to install a TV Tuner Card or place their PC in the living room.

“Wirelessly streaming HD TV to PCs and other portable devices throughout the home has been a dream until now,” said Colin Stiles EVP, Sales and Marketing at Monsoon. “Our world class engineering team continues to enrich the consumer TV experience, by mobilizing HD TV content with 802.11n and eliminating the inconvenience of wires or costly power-line adapters. Monsoon’s leadership position in place-shifting technology is really TV Set Free”

HAVA features Monsoon’s vBooster technology which provides superior picture quality and enables multicast video allowing an unlimited* number of PCs connected to a home network to view video content while simultaneously transmitting video to a broadband-connected PC or mobile phone anywhere in the world. Monsoon’s vBooster technology allows the local MPEG-2 video streams to bypass the router, effectively doubling the available bandwidth, while simultaneously keeping the PC connected to the router for non-video traffic.

  Monsoon HAVA Features:

  -- Stream Live 1080i, 720p and 480p HD TV to multiple PCs within the home
     (Multicast)
  -- ATSC/NTSC hybrid tuner to receive off-the-air HDTV broadcast
  -- Component input and support for HD video source (1080i, 720p,
     480p/576p) played back in the native 16:9 aspect ratio on the client
     display
  -- Supports Windows Vista
  -- Functions as a wireless networked TV Tuner for Microsoft Media Center
     PCs on home network
  -- Connects to any TV source including Cable, Satellite, DVD, TiVo or a
     Camcorder
  -- Enables TiVo-like functionality on the PC. Users can record, store,
     pause, rewind and fast forward stored video
  -- Schedule and record programs for later viewing
  -- Allows archival of recorded material to DVD
  -- All inputs include a pass-through connector, eliminating the use of
     splitters when connecting HAVA to home video equipment
  -- Streams video at an average of 18-20Mbps directly to PCs in a home
     network in MPEG-2 at HD resolution up to 1920x1080
  -- Streams MPEG-2 format over the home network, MPEG-4 format over the
     Internet
  -- Supports Windows Mobile 5.0, 6.0 cell phones and PDAs

Pricing and Availability

The Monsoon Multimedia HAVA with true HD streaming will be available Spring 2008 through select retailers and etailers nationwide as well as directly through Monsoon’s e-tailing division at http://www.myhava.com/

About Monsoon Multimedia

Monsoon Multimedia provides advanced, standards based multimedia products and technologies for the PC and Consumer Electronics industries. Monsoon licenses highly optimized multimedia solutions compromised of applications, drivers, frameworks, middleware and reference designs. Monsoon customers and partners are semiconductor companies, PC manufacturers, software suppliers and consumer electronics companies. Founded by the founders of Dazzle and Emuzed, Monsoon Multimedia is headquartered in Noida, India with offices in California and Russia. For more information, please visit http://www.monsoonmultimedia.com/.

  * The number of PCs is based on available network bandwidth

   Media Contact:
   Anders Steele
   FortyThree, Inc.
   831.239.0960
   monsoon@fortythreepr.com

Source: Monsoon Multimedia

CONTACT: Anders Steele of FortyThree, Inc., +1-831-239-0960,
monsoon@fortythreepr.com, for Monsoon Multimedia

Web site: http://www.myhava.com/
http://www.monsoonmultimedia.com/