Monsoon Media’s new Vulkano Flow video-streaming device lets you stream live TV directly to your mobile device, including the iPad or iPhone.
Like Sling Media’s venerable Slingbox line, Flow connects to your TV’s set-top box and lets you placeshift video content to your computer or mobile device, over your local network or the Internet. You can then pause, rewind, or fast forward live TV, as well as remotely access any channel on your cable or satellite set-top box via an Electronic Program Guide. Flow even allows users to schedule recordings to save on their desktop computer and mark favorite channels for quick access.
Video is passed from your set-top box to Flow over its composite or component ports at resolutions of up to 1080i, then streamed via its built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi support as H.264 video. With variable bit rates that can go as low as 150 kbps, you should even be able to watch video over a mobile device’s 3G connection.
Flow runs $100 and is compatible with PC, Mac, iOS devices, Android, and BlackBerry. In order to stream video to your mobile device, you’ll need to shell out an additional $13 for the respective app; the iOS version requires an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad running iOS 3.0 or later. Monsoon Media also plans to offer access to Symbian, Windows Mobile 6, and Linux users very soon.