Monsoon Multimedia are taking preorders for their Vulkano set-top box, which the company reckons can replace not only your TiVo but your Slingbox and Roku too. Basically a place-shifting streamer with optional DVR functionality and various smartphone clients for remote use over 3G/WiFi, the Vulkano also promises to keep pace with new STBs; the company has said they’ll be releasing updates to add Google TV compatibility, among other things.
As with a Slingbox, with the Vulkano and the right smartphone app you can remotely control channels and access the EPG; on the iPad and PC/Mac apps you can also pause live TV. UPnP streaming support allows you to display content stored on NAS or wirelessly-connected smartphones or PMPs, while Yahoo! Widgets, Netflix and Hulu compatibility is promised for the near future.
You can also view YouTube in up to 1080p HD quality, record to either 8GB or 16GB SD cards, or install up to a 1TB eSATA external hard-drive. Connectivity includes HDMI, composite, component and S-Video, among other ports, plus two USB 2.0 ports (host and device); the basic Vulkano comes with 16GB of storage for $279.99, while the Vulkano Pro comes with a 1TB external drive for $379.99. Both will ship on August 10th 2010.