Snappy's HAVA Video Streamer

It might not be quite as edgy as the Slingbox in the design department, and the software support seems a bit lacking as far as client viewers, but the HAVA from Snappy Multimedia has a couple of welcome additions to the Slingbox repertoire. First off, the box includes built-in 802.11b/g WiFi, so adding it to your network shouldn't as much of a hassle. Second, the HAVA includes its own TV tuner, so you can have dual TV inputs if you'd like, or even use it as the primary (and wireless) tuner for your Windows Media Center box. Of course, all the usual location shifting capabilities are there, with up to 30fps DVD quality video available to multiple users over your home network, while lower bit-rate video can simultaneously be encoded for viewing over the Internets. Currently the HAVA is going for $200 after a pair of rebates, so if you're not bent on handheld or Mac support, and your inner fashionista is willing to take a hike, this little unit doesn't seem like a bad option for the remote viewing lifestyle.

[poolboy @ Jul 3rd 2006 11:28AM]

Am I the only person that finds the slingbox ugly as sin? As for Snappy's offering...it looks like they received design inspiration from Canon's PIXMA iP90 printer.

[Tim Schier @ Sep 11th 2007 6:11PM]

Me win too!

[Kamalot @ Jul 3rd 2006 11:30AM]

This thing looks 100 times better than the slingbox.

[miron @ Jul 3rd 2006 1:56PM]

i have to agree with Kamalot here, this looks way better than the slingbox.

[Stuart @ Jul 3rd 2006 4:52PM]

The article mentioned a built in tuner as something special - the Slingbox also has a built in one and can select between it, a video in and an s-video input for multiple devices. Sling has remote control codes for almost anything and more are added all the time.

As the owner of an ugly/wacky looking Slingbox I can say you should compare actual performance and device compatibility before you buy. If you want Porsche design, buy a Porsche.

The positive attributes of Slingbox are many and not all obvious at first - do your homework before you buy something like this.

Stuart - very happy with Slingbox and it gets better as features are added.

[Marke @ Jul 3rd 2006 10:27PM]

slingbox has an internal tuner....

[Sted @ Jul 4th 2006 7:12AM]

Sure, yet does slingbox provide support for MCE, letting it act as a remote PVR like HAVA does?
I'd love to be proven otherwise if theres anyone out there in the know

[Jon Bauer @ Jul 4th 2006 2:11PM]

So this thing can only do 480p?

- Jon

[Charlie @ Jul 25th 2006 4:59PM]

I don't feel the need of a MCE PC with either of them as both do not necessarily need a Media Center PC. Anyone can check the product specifications of the HAVA Device online at http://www.snappymultimedia.com/products_specification.htm It is not much it is asking for. I think if one has a wireless laptop and a HAVA installed then he is ready for enjoying TV anywhere in home and outside with an internet connection. I don’t see a need of getting a MCE on top of it.

[Redbeard @ Sep 11th 2007 10:58AM]

oh jesus,

is this from the company that made the "snappy" still image grabber a decade ago? that was a horrible product.

[Robert Plasko @ Mar 28th 2007 1:07PM]

March 28, 2007 HAVA Pro HD Experience Nightmare

I received my Hava Pro HD last Friday and was out of town until Sunday evening. Monday, I attempted to install and configure the device. I installed the updated software and firmware from your internet site and was able to configure the device. However, the video and audio was very choppy (P4 2.4 GH, 1GB RAM) and I suspected from the way my computer was behaving that I may have acquired a virus since my visiting daughter had used the machine a week ago. I purchased Norton Internet Security 2007 and installed this and during the scan it detected and removed the backdoor.bitrose? trojan. The computer then behaved normally.

I ran the Hava Player and I had no video display. I re-ran setup wizard and it said it was unable to preview the video. I called tech support who advised me to uninstall the Hava software and re-install. When I tried this with Norton on and off, and in safe mode, the software hangs up on the grey screen where drivers are supposed to be installed and say it has failed and to roll back the install and remove the software and re-boot. I did this many times. I removed all references to HAVA from my registry to no avail. Next, tech support advised me to do a system restore to a point last week which was successful, but required several hours of work to straighten out the computer so all programs ran properly and the behaved properly. I tried to install the HAVA again and got the same error! I even tried to install version 1.5 that was shipped with the unit. I power cycled the unit many times alone with also resetting the unit. Nothing worked at all.

Therefore, this morning, I set out to install on another computer XP Pro P4 2.4 GH 1 GB ram. Norton Internet Security was running. The latest HAVA release from the web was installed and configured with smooth video. The player worked well. I exited the player and when I re-started it, it displayed video for about 2 seconds, then the screen went black and then I got the message that the connection to the HAVA was lost. I tried to re-connect, but got the message the HAVA was not found on the local network.

I turned off all Norton Firewall, Spyware, etc. No use. I tried to run the setup wizard, but it could not find the HAVA. I power cycled the HAVA and also did a reset a couple of times. I re-booted and ran the player with and without Norton activated. I get the same problem: the player displays for 2 seconds, the screen goes black, the message is unit is not connected and then HAVA unit not found on local network when I to re-connect.

At this point, I have spent a generous amount of time as well as many hours with technical support. In my opinion, either the hardware or software is severely flawed. The device is not ready for commercial end-user sales and is useless. It does not deliver on it's promises and representations. I am unwilling to spend an unlimited number of hours trying to get the device to work when your forums are just full of people with all kinds of problems.

I suggest that sales be suspended until a reasonable sized group of real world beta testers can work with you and report that the device is easily installed, reliable and meets the stated claims of the company. Otherwise, I am afraid that you are committing economic suicide by trying to sell this thing before it is ready. I would categorize this as strictly experimental at this point in time.

I called the 866 number and spoke with your technical people located in India. They were unable to provide me with an RMA number and told me I would get a call back from your company. I told this person that I was going out of town for a week over Spring break beginning next Saturday morning and would like to be able to ship this product back to you ASAP.

I expect a full refund less shipping charges to be credited to my account. This product does not meet the criteria of being re-stocked since it is not ready for sale yet and simply does not work for all the reasons described above. The word "DEFECTIVE" does not even begin to describe this product since another physical unit would perform the same way.

[rplasko @ May 3rd 2007 3:43PM]

I am updating my review.

After working with the support department at Hava, I was sent a link to a new version of software. I had to install this version on top of my existing version. This was completed without difficulty. After power cycling the Hava Pro box, the updated software found the Hava Pro on the network (which accepted an IP address from my DHCP server) and completed the installation and configuration. On the local network, I was able to connect to the Hava Pro (I am using S-video and composite audio from my satellite receiver). The picture quality was outstanding. The Hava Pro pushed out a 6 MB video/audio stream that was able to be viewed on the Hava Player at 4:3 or 16:9 dimensions. I experimented with the stream rates and determined that any stream 3 MB or above resulted in essentially a perfect picture. I used both wired computers locally and wireless G protocols on my laptop all with excellent results.
On the local network, I was able to use the DVR function of the Hava Pro to pause and resume live TV as well as direct record and playback to disc, This function is not available via remote watching on the internet.

Watching remotely is done by entering a unique name that you assigned to your HAVA box along with an optional password to protect unauthorized use.

Across the internet, the HAVA player produces a very watchable picture on connections with a 384K rated uplink. Stream rates are displayed in the lower right corner of the player. Buffering is used as well as MPEG4 compression. The stream rates displayed range from 15K to 435K and the wide fluctuations is a result of the carriers, not the HAVA as the local stream rate remains constant. The stream is watchable and in the event that the connection is lost due to heavy network traffic, the HAVA automatically tried to re-establish the connection. On occasion, the audio may be slightly ahead of the video, but this resolved after a few minutes of watching. The actual delay times across the internet vs. direct TV watching runs in the 2-10 second range. Control of the remote device, in my case a satellite receiver is performed by clicking on the remote icon of the player, displaying a graphical representation my remote control with all of the functions.

Additionally, the HAVA player can be displayed in 2 different window sizes or expanded for full screen viewing.

In summary, the HAVA Pro software is maturing and the company has been diligent in working to get the "bugs" out. The hardware box is excellent and the product does what is says it does: Allows local multicasting and remote internet viewing of your satellite, cable or DVR/DVD player. I can now say that I recommend this device to my friends and it has an excellent price advantage over the Slingbox.

[Morgan @ Sep 11th 2007 6:06AM]

Today's my birthday! Maybe I'll win something super rad.

[shuyin198x @ Sep 11th 2007 6:14AM]

The end is near....

[Matt @ Sep 11th 2007 6:31AM]

Can i has a HAVA?

[lickmygiggle @ Sep 11th 2007 7:29AM]

Having a HAVA would be the coolest thing ever.

[Justin @ Sep 11th 2007 7:32AM]

gotta hava soma thinga pleasa...

[Justin @ Sep 11th 2007 7:33AM]

ooops posted this in the wrong thread

[sid @ Sep 11th 2007 7:44AM]

will win

[noobs @ Sep 11th 2007 7:49AM]

The video streamer could be useful.

[xtron @ Sep 11th 2007 8:00AM]

i want something please !

[noel.lastrella @ Sep 11th 2007 8:01AM]

hey engadget, yuo friggin rock! hook me up!

[bahamamama @ Sep 11th 2007 8:05AM]

I like to hav'a snappy

[mhuang03gt @ Sep 11th 2007 8:21AM]

Engadget is the best, so wheres my snappy?

[Irvingdizzle @ Sep 11th 2007 8:38AM]

the hava would be nice

[Smitty @ Sep 11th 2007 8:52AM]

I'll take it!!

[Dylan @ Sep 11th 2007 9:09AM]

Ahh, boo does this mean i voted too late on the last round :(

[chujak @ Sep 11th 2007 9:32AM]

i havan't won a damn thing yet!!!

[H @ Sep 11th 2007 9:43AM]

MEMEME!

[E. Harvey @ Sep 11th 2007 9:59AM]

Love your contests!

[Donatron @ Sep 11th 2007 10:09AM]

HAVA

[Bryan @ Sep 11th 2007 11:23AM]

I love engadget and would love them even more if I won a prize!

[Gustavo @ Sep 11th 2007 11:39AM]

So good!

[malaeum @ Sep 11th 2007 11:53AM]

I could make use of a hava

[Sudheer @ Sep 11th 2007 12:52PM]

Nice, a Slingbox with wireless feature.

[lifesucksdie @ Sep 11th 2007 12:58PM]

long time reader. first time commentor.

[Jefferson @ Jan 28th 2009 9:15PM]

The problem with the Hava unit is that it is a difficult setup process and, if you can manage to get it to work, there are a number of frustrating limitations with the system.

Save your time -- get a Slingbox.

The Hava support engineers are all based in India and they all read from a script. I think they get paid per minute. You'll be on the phone with them and explain the situation and then they will insult you by asking you questions for which you already gave them the information. For instance:

You: I have a Hava Platinum -- serial number is xxxx - and I can't get it to work. I am using Microsoft Windows XP. I downloaded and installed the latest player from your website. It's coming up with a fatal error.
Them: Okay so you have a Hava Platinum?
You: Yes?
Them: And what Operating System are you using?
You: ***GETTING MAD*** Yes, I just told you that.
Them: And you're using a Hava Platnium? What's the serial number?

Save your time and go with folks that give world class support like Slingbox.