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The receiver can be completely controlled thanks to
the virtual remote control
wall and are still happy with the picture
quality.
The Hava PC Player itself is a very
simply structured program that comes
with all necessary features. What stands
out is the virtual remote control. It can
control the receiver, whose signal is
transmitted via the Hava Platinum HD
Box, through the Internet as if you were
holding the remote control in your own
hand.
It functioned surprisingly well in our
tests allowing us to surf between Japanese,
Taiwanese and Australian TV channels.
Additional features such as EPG,
language selection, etc., were all available
and could be activated and controlled
via the Internet. Because of the
coding of the transmitted stream, there
is a slight delay when sending commands
from the virtual remote control, but it‘s
not very dramatic and after a short while
you‘ll get used to it.
Thanks to the integrated Time Shift
function, the currently running program
can be paused and then restarted at a
later time. At the same time, interesting
scenes can easily be replayed. But best
of all, the integrated recording function
lets you store the incoming stream on
the hard drive of your PC or laptop; even
timer entries can be set up! The software
displays the stored recordings in an
easy-to-read list and if desired the clips
can be burned directly to a DVD.
Even though we were already enthusiastic
with the Hava Platinum Box, Jim
promised us that there was still more to
come. He then sent us the signal from
the American provider Comcast and that
in HD no less! Once the stream appeared
in our test center a few seconds later, we
all stood there with our mouths open.
We really didn’t think that TV signals
could be carried via the Internet in this
quality. Naturally, the signal couldn‘t be
compared with a Blu-Ray player but it
still made quite an impression on us on
our 50-inch plasma TV; it was hard to
believe that we were looking at a TV picture
streaming from the Internet.
When Jim switched over to the Comcast
signal, the image of the virtual
remote control also changed so that we
were now looking at the remote control
of the Comcast receiver with which we
were able to control all of its functions.
Despite the incoming high-resolution
signal, the load placed on our somewhat
older PC was minimal allowing us
to receive the signal perfectly synchronized
and without any interference. We
enjoyed watching an NFL football game
live in our test center in HD quality.
Comcast‘s virtual remote control
Receiver settings can also be taken care via the Internet
We jokingly suggested to Jim that it
would be extremely practical to be able
to receive the stream from the Hava
Platinum HD Box on a mobile telephone.
This would make it possible to enjoy your
favorite TV programs away from home or
in your car.
Jim had an answer for this right away:
he provided us with a link to the Apple
iTunes store where Hava already has
an App in place that lets you do exactly
that! For just a few dollars it gives you
access to the stream of any desired Hava
Box and also, as we quickly found out
in a short test, in top-notch quality. In
addition to the Apple iPhone, the player
is also available for other platforms such
as Nokia and Windows Mobile.
Now it was time to turn things around
and convert our test center into a broadcasting
station. We quickly connected
www.TELE-satellite.com — 04-05/2010 — TELE-satellite — Global Digital TV Magazine
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