Overall, I enjoyed watching my TV remotely using the Flow and various software players. The quality was better than I'd experienced with older versions, and I particularly liked being able to access my DVR recordings and on-demand content, since that's the content I watch most frequently (I rarely watch live TV at home). The only thing that really can be irritating is having to wait for the remote to get through menus that at home you'd be able to navigate in a few seconds.

Of course, audio and video quality takes a hit (and I'd highly recommend listening to the audio with a headset since the volume through speakers tends to be rather low, even when turned up all the way). But that hit is not big enough to preclude enjoyment, especially when your only other options are the generally limited TV lineups you get when you travel. Also, when I'm at home, I can still watch the best quality HDTV using the HDMI input from my HD cable box--there's no reason to disconnect it, and you really only need to tune to the analog input from the Flow during setup. The only conceivable problem that might arise is if two people attempt to control the set-top box simultaneously, one at home and one using a Vulkano player remotely.

Monsoon's decision to drop some features (most notably the more elaborate DVR functionality and built-in storage) and market a lower-priced unit seems like a good one. When I'm on the road, a price of $100 (with no service charges) seems like a bargain for a product that allows you to watch pretty good versions of the programs I enjoy at home.