San Mateo, Calif. – Monsoon
Multimedia joined Sling Media in offering
a video place-shifting application for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Monsoon’s Hava
Mobile Player app is available on
Apple’s app store at $9.99 for iPhones and Touches with OS 2.2.1 or
higher.
With the app, consumers stream live TV programs and stored DVR
content from their home video system to any place where their iPhone or Touch connects
to a Wi-Fi network. Via Wi-Fi, iPhone users also remotely control their home
video system, enabling them to remotely program their DVR. Like Sling’s $29.99
iPhone app, introduced earlier this year, Monsoon’s iPhone app doesn’t use
cellular airwaves to stream or control a home video system.
Monsoon does offer place-shifting apps that operate via 3G cellular
on select smartphones, and EchoStar-owned Sling offers the same for BlackBerry,
Windows Mobile, Palm and Symbian smartphones. Both companies also place-shift
content to broadband-connected laptops and PCs.
To use the Monsoon app, consumers must buy one of four Hava set-top
devices that connect home video components to a home’s broadband network. Some
of the devices are Wi-Fi equipped. Prices range from $149 to $249.
The Hava set-tops enable full remote control and channel
changing of any video sources, including cable and satellite set-top boxes, DVD players and DVRs. The devices also enable
remote browsing of program guides. Some of the models turn networked PCs or
network-attached storage devices (NASs) into a DVR.
Monsoon licenses multimedia applications, drivers,
frameworks, middleware and reference designs to semiconductor companies, PC
manufacturers, software suppliers and consumer electronics companies.
