Review and first look: Monsoon Multimedia Vulkano Deluxe Pro

by Scott Carmichael on

To say I’ve considered the Monsoon Multimedia Vulkano to be “highly anticipated” is quite the understatement. I can’t help being a geek, and on paper, the Vulkano really does appear to be the ultimate in video streaming and placeshifting (more on those terms later).

Yesterday, the mailman dropped off a large box containing one of the first Vulkano systems to ship. So, in this first “quick look”, lets see whether this box really can live up to its hype.

Before we go on – let me explain a little bit about what the Vulkano does. The main function of the Vulkano is to stream video. It can do this from your cable box, satellite box or other video source over the Internet. This means you can be sitting in a hotel in Tokyo, connect to your home network using the Vulkano software, and watch TV just like you would at home. The box uses a remote control “blaster” to mimic your own remote, which means you can use the included software to change channels and anything else you’d do with your physical remote.
Now, to be honest, none of this is particularly new – this basic technology is already five years old, and launched with the Slingbox in early 2005. The Vulkano can stream high quality video up to 720×480 pixels (also not that new), but it also acts as a digital video recorder (this is where the box starts to get special). The Vulkano is the evolution of the previous generation box by Monsoon Multimedia – the HAVA.

So, lets take a closer look at the Vulkano itself. The kit is very complete – a large box filled with a variety of video cables, an Ethernet cable, a remote control, a power supply, a remote blaster and a hard drive (in the Deluxe Pro version, others come with an SD card). The product starts off very well, because it comes with ALL the cables you need to use it – including an HDMI cable.

Connecting it to your current setup is rather simple – you plug it into your cable box, TiVo, satellite receiver or other video source using component or composite cables. You then connect the box to your TV using HDMI or composite.

If your TV was already connected to your video source, you’ll either use the Vulkano as a “pass-through” device, or rely completely on the Vulkano to deliver the new signal. You then hook it up to your network (wired) or simply turn it on and use its built in WiFi.

The setup procedure is easy and menu driven. Using the included remote, you tell the box about your zip code and TV provider (for the electronic program guide), you then provide a user name and password, and pick a remote code.

This is where I ran into a minor bug – the remote code for my TiVo was not showing up, so I finalized the programming on my desktop computer. I’ll just assume that this is a bug that’ll be fixed in an upcoming release.

Once configured, I was immediately able to watch TV on my desktop computer. From unboxing to streaming, I was up and running in about 10 minutes. Next up was a test on my phone.


Edit: I’ve uploaded a short HD video clip showing playback over 3G on my phone.

As I mentioned earlier, streaming video like this is nothing new, I’ve been doing it for five years. Using the app on my phone (Google Nexus One) is where I started to realize the potential of the Vulkano – the quality is astounding. I’ve now watched about an hour of video on my phone, using WiFi and 3G, and in most cases, I can barely tell this is streaming. The quality is on par with locally stored video content.

In the mobile app, you can watch live TV, check out the TV guide, view recordings and change settings. The guide is as impressive as video streaming – you can browse the guide by name or channel number, and search for shows.

Once you’ve found a show you like – you can watch it live, or schedule it to record. This recording is made on the Vulkano, so you do not need a separate DVR to store the show. Shows are recorded to an SD memory card or USB/eSATA hard drive.

I’ve only been using the box for a day, so I have not had enough time to make any recordings. In a second review, I’ll show off the DVR features as well as the on-TV features of the Vulkano.

Final thoughts in this quick-look

As I said – the basic foundations of this box are not new. What is new is how well is works. Yes – there are a few minor glitches in the configuration, but the mobile client really is astounding and hasn’t failed once. Best of all, the desktop and mobile players are free. Players are available for the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Blackberry, Android, PC and Mac. A Symbian client is coming soon.

Streaming to another PC also works very well and the quality is the best I’ve ever seen from any TV streamer / placeshifter, including the top of the line Sling product.

In the Vulkano PC Player, you can also access the program guide, view recordings and schedule recordings. One handy feature brought over from the previous generation is a local recording option, which means you can store live TV on your computer. This is perfect if you are watching TV in a hotel room and need to head downstairs for a sandwich – simply return to your computer, and watch the buffered and locally stored content.

The price of the Vulkano is reasonable – $279.99 with 16GB internal storage or $379.99 with a 1TB external drive. The top of the line streamer from the competition retails for $299.99 ($261 from Amazon), but lacks the DVR function, internal storage and requires a $29.99 investment for each mobile player. The Vulkano also works as a DVR for when you are at home, and it can play YouTube clips (whether this is a selling point depends on how much you like YouTube.) To top it all off, the Vulkano also supports music, photo and video files for local and remote viewing, with a decent format support.

Both products are now shipping, and can be ordered from Myvulkano.com or Amazon.com.

As promised, next week I’ll give you a closer look at the local viewing feature, a video clip of the mobile player and a review of the DVR features.

Monsoon Multimedia Vulkano placeshifting/streamer now available

by Scott Carmichael on

Right on target (give or take a few days), the Monsoon Multimedia Vulkano placeshifting/streaming box is available to the general public. As a quick reminder – this all-in-one box lets you remotely stream live or recorded TV anywhere in the world and even allows for downloads of recorded content to your portable computer or smartphone.

The box comes in a variety of “flavors”, with different versions offering various levels of local storage for video content. With the box, you’ll be able to travel the world, and still keep up to date with the latest in your favorite reality TV show. When you find yourself at home, you’ll be able to use the box as a DVR, media player or online video box. When traveling, you can also schedule recordings. Best of all, other than the investment in the box itself, there are no other costs involved.

We hope to have a full review of the Vulkano next week, but if you can’t wait for our opinion, head on over to the Vulkano site or Amazon.com where you’ll be able to place your order. Prices start at $259 for the basic 8Gb Vulkano up to $379 for the Vulkano Deluxe with a 1TB hard drive.

Vulkano by Monsoon Multimedia promises the ultimate in on-the-go TV and video

by Scott Carmichael on

In two weeks, Monsoon Multimedia will begin shipping their Vulkano multimedia streaming device. Described as the world’s first “all in one video product”, the Vulkano will let you record live TV and watch recordings at home or anywhere in the world on your PC, Mac, iPhone, iPod or iPad, Blackberry or Android device.

Vulkano even lets you watch live TV on the go, and playback local video files off its internal storage or an external hard drive. To make a great list of specifications even better, you can also transfer recordings from the Vulkano to your device, no matter where you are. On your laptop, desktop or mobile device, you also get access to an electronic program guide, which means you can schedule TV recordings anywhere you are.

All in all, this product really does seem perfect for some entertainment on the road – it means you can arrive at the airport, and wirelessly download recordings from home to your mobile device, giving you something to watch on your flight. Once you get back home, you can use the Vulkano to watch recordings and Internet content from YouTube and other providers.

The Vulkano is available for pre-orders today, and shipments are scheduled to take place starting August 10th. The “basic” Vulkano comes with 16GB of storage, and the “professional version” comes with an external 1Tb drive. Prices start at $279.99. You can learn more about the Vulkano at its product page, where you’ll also find pre-order links.

We’ll have a full review of the Vulkano as soon as we can get our hands on one!

Daily deal – HAVA Titanium HD streamer with WiFi for $85

by Scott Carmichael on

My daily deal for today is for the HAVA HD TV streamer. I mentioned this device several weeks ago in my “watch TV in your hotel room” article, at the time, the unit sold for about $180.

Today only, you’ll find the HAVA Titanium HD WiFi at Woot.com for just $79.99 (plus $5 shipping).

As the title says – this is for the WiFi version, so you get the HAVA Titanium and their WiFi kit, all for under $80.

With the HAVA, you can watch whatever is on TV at home, anywhere in the world. The viewer application runs on Windows, Windows Mobile, Symbian and even for the Nokia Internet Tablet.

In addition to streaming live TV, the HAVA Titanium can act as a DVR and a media player, when you connect a USB memory stick or hard drive to its USB port.

UPDATE: Item sold out about an hour after this article went live. Sorry!

Hacking the hotel TV – making the most out of being stuck in your room

by Scott Carmichael on

We’ve probably all been there at one point – you are stuck in a boring town, with nothing more than the hotel TV to keep you occupied. It doesn’t really matter where you are, the channel selection on most hotel TV’s is going to be useless.

You’ll usually get one or two hotel welcome channels, some local news stations and a couple of sports channels. Forget HBO or any of the “other good stuff”, unless you are willing to pay for it.

In this article I’ll describe how you can use the TV for your benefit – and how you can bring your own TV programming with you.

(Despite the catchy title, this article will not describe theft of service, or physically hacking the hotel entertainment network, sorry!).





The aux input – the “holy grail” of personal in-room entertainment

On virtually every hotel TV, you’ll notice a set of connectors on the front of the unit – usually yellow, white and red connectors. These are the plugs you’ll need in order to plug some better entertainment into the tube.

On more modern TV’s they may be on the side, or even the back. Just be sure you don’t slide the TV off the dresser when you move it check on the rear, as most hotel tend to frown on a TV with a busted picture tube.

Once you find the inputs is where things can get tricky – hotels would much rather have you spend $19.95 for the latest movie than have you watch your own content for free. The agreement hotels have with their entertainment provider means they grab a pretty nice chunk of whatever they charge you.

The easiest way to check whether the inputs on the front of the TV are enabled is to simply plug something in and press “play” on your device.

I’ve been in many hotels that specifically mention that their TV video inputs are disabled, and from the remote it would indeed seem like they removed the option.

However, as soon as the TV detects a signal in those inputs, it switches right to it, without the need to press any buttons. When on the video input, the TV will usually say “camport”, “aux” or “line in”.

If you find one of those TV’s, life is easy, but if you plug something in, and nothing happens, it may be time to become a little more creative, so here are some tips to get the video channel enabled on your hotel TV:

  • Use the channel buttons on the front of the TV, not on the remote. The line-in channel is often right before, or right after the regular channels.
  • Try channel numbers not in the usual “up/down” lineup, like 00, 000 or 100.
  • Try a universal remote control and program the various codes for that specific TV into the remote, then try the “input’ button on the remote, you’ll be surprised how often a $10 remote can bypass what the hotel does not want you doing. It may take a couple of attempts, but what is 5 minutes of your day when the alternative is watching the TV welcome channel over and over again.
  • When I travel, I carry a Logitech Harmony remote, which can be programmed using my laptop – its remote code database is extremely extensive, and I have yet to run into a TV I can’t “tweak”. You can find a Harmony remote for as little as $40.

Hotels (and their entertainment providers) are getting smarter – I’ve recently seen some TV’s that allowed me to switch to the video input, using a universal remote control then move me away from it seconds later.

Unfortunately for them, simply unplugging the cable/Lodgenet/OnCommand box on the back of the TV fixes that problem.

Of course, some may ask whether any of this is ethical – in my opinion it is – as long as you leave the TV in the same condition it was when you arrived in the room, nobody should care, switching to the AUX input does not break the TV, and the only “damage” you cause, is preventing the hotel owner from making money off selling overpriced movies.

Modern TV’s make life easier (sometimes)

Some hotels are slowly coming to the realization that guest need more than just a 26″ 80’s wood grain TV.

Those hotels are beginning to replace the old tubes with nice flat panel TV’s. Of course, the less-than-smart ones replace the TV, but still broadcast non-HD stuff on it.

One disappointing trend I’ve noticed is that these hotels provide a really nice TV, with a ton of inputs, but screw a panel over said inputs to prevent you from watching your own content. Of course, this is where a screwdriver in your carry-on bag can help. In some cases, you may even be able to use a spoon to unscrew the panel and plug your cables in. Just be sure to remove your own cables and replace the panel before you leave.

Then there are the hotel chains that really care for their guests, and understand that you’d like to have access to all those plugs. Those hotels are installing “AV boxes” next to the desk, which let you access all the ports without having to reach behind the TV. A good example of such a hotel chain is Aloft, which is part of Starwood.

Connecting a media player

Once you figure out how to change the TV input, it is time to connect your media player. I’ll focus on the player I personally find the most pleasant for travel – the Microsoft Zune.

Why the Zune? Its AV connection kit is affordable, and the docking station comes with a remote control. The Zune also displays its menu on the TV, unlike the iPod which forces you to pick your movie on the device, then switches the TV output on.

Trust me, it is much more comfortable when you can lie in bed and use your remote to pick a movie instead of having to get up all the time (and yes, I am that lazy).

The Microsoft Zune AV kit retails for about $55, and comes with a video cable, docking base, power supply and remote control. The kit is nice and compact, and provides everything you need to entertain yourself in your room.

A similar branded solution for the Apple iPod/iPhone costs $100 and still doesn’t provide the ease of use found on the Zune.

Connecting your laptop

If you’d prefer to use your laptop computer to watch movies, you’ll usually need to invest in a special video cable. Almost every laptop on the market can output its video to a TV, as long as it has the right cable.

A compatible video cable can be found on places like Ebay for as little as $5, or you can check with the manufacturer of your laptop and order an (overpriced) cable from them.

Take TiVo with you!

Anyone with a TiVo back home probably hates being stuck in a hotel. Whenever I am watching TV in my hotel room, I always find myself reaching for the remote to skip commercials, only to find the sticky hotel remote.

There is thankfully a way you can bring TiVo with you, get access to digital programming and your familiar TiVo remote.

Last year, Nero (of the famous CD recording software) teamed up with TiVo to release Nero Liquid TV.

This software/hardware package turns your computer into a full TiVo, with all the features you’d expect, including season passes.

The $125 package includes a digital TV tuner, a TiVo remote control, a remote control receiver and a 12 month subscription to the TiVo service.

The package allows you to do several things – it can network with your home TiVo and transfer recordings from the box to your laptop (and the other way around), plus it can use the included TV tuner to record shows with the included antenna when you get to your hotel.

Just to clarify – this is not the same as TiVo desktop – Nero Liquid TV actually turns your computer into a TiVo, which goes way beyond what TiVo desktop can do.

When you get to your hotel, you simply configure your location (based on zip code), and you can immediately start watching live TV, and schedule recordings.

If you’d rather not bother with a tuner, you can watch programs you transferred off your home TiVo, or even watch movies in one of the many media formats supported by the application.

There are one or two minor limitations to the software – it does not work with digital cable, even though the included tuner is compatible, and I found the TiVo to PC transfer option to be a little unreliable at times, but being able to turn your laptop into a TiVo is absolutely fantastic, and helps you feel a little more at home when you are stuck in a hotel.

You will need a fairly powerful laptop to run Nero Liquid TV, but I’ve found that it actually works fairly well on a 1.6GHz Netbook, as long as you have a fast hard drive and 2GB of memory.

Watch your home TV – away from home

The final option I’ll be describing in this article is potentially one of the coolest – it involves “streaming” your home TV signal, over the Internet to your hotel. No matter where in the world you are, as long as you have a reliable Internet connection, you can use your computer to watch whatever is on back home.

One of the more advanced products for TV streaming is the HAVA Titanium HD WiFi. This $249 device (currently on sale for $179) combines several devices in one – it can stream your home signal inside your house to other PC’s, or over the Internet to a PC, smartphone or Internet tablet. It can also act as a DVR, and finally, it is also a media player (when you plug an external hard drive into it).

The HAVA Titanium goes between your cable box/satellite receiver/DVR/TiVo and your TV, and broadcasts that signal wherever you want. The included infra-red dongle controls your devices, and you are presented with an on-screen remote on your PC that looks just like the one back home.

The quality of the streamed image is great – as long as your Internet connection is reliable. The Hava can adjust the quality of the image based on the speed of your co
nnection.

Of course, the final stage of watching your home TV in your hotel room, is connecting your laptop to the TV, and sitting back to relax, and watch all the channels you have back home.