Slingbox: good stuff

powernoodle

powernoodle

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For those who aren't familiar, the Slingbox device allows you to watch your home tv channels on any internet connected computer or on many cell phones.

There are a couple of flavors of the device, but you attach your cable tv coax (or cable box, etc.) to the Slingbox, which communicates with the router on your home computer. This lets you view your home tv channels on any computer, anywhere in the world that has an internet connection. Thats cool.

Thats good enough by itself, but you can also watch your home tv channels on an iPhone or Blackberry anywhere you have a cell or wireless connection. I have my Blackberry 9700 setup now to watch the Slingbox thats in my livingroom, and it lets me surf the channels and watch everything that I have at home. I also have an unlimited data plan on the Blackberry, so there is no additional cost for me to watch tv on it.

For someone like me who sits around waiting to pick up the kids at school, or like last Saturday I sat around for 2.5 hours at an ice skating rink while my 12 year old learned what girls are, its awesome to be able to watch the Olympics, ESPN or anything else I dang well please while I am sitting around.

My version of the Slingbox cost $300, and the app for the phone is something like $40. Not inexpensive, but there are no monthly fees. So its a one-time cost.

There is some competing kind of service you can get - the name of which I cannot recall - that AT&T offers, but it has a very limited channel selection, and a monthly fee. Pardon me, but screw that.

Powernoodle gives Slingbox a "good stuff" rating. Available at Bestbuy, etc. Dang it, I like having a full range of tv channels on my cell. :thumbup:

Link to Slingbox.
 
wow that sounds cool....any downsides besides the initial cost u ran into...hard to install?....doesn't work all the times? etc?.....ryan
 
Easy to install. Plug it in to the tv and the router, go to the website and it walks you thru online configuration of the device. So far so good.
 
Another option for streaming TV is actually Orb, although you need to buy a compatible TV tuner card.
 
When the Sling Boxes first came out, I worked for a company that had the exclusive rights to sell it for 6 months. The demo's I saw were pretty cool and now we have one setup at my current job and it's really fun to play with. If I still had a laptop, I'd have a Slingbox. :thumbup:

Thanks for the review.
 
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ESPN.
 
I set one up for a customer. He lives part of the year in Germany and part in the US. He has a Slingbox at each house to watch TV from either country in either location.

I was extremely impressed by their efforts to make setup as simple as possible for non-technical folks. It makes an attempt to configure your router for you and if it can't, it has instructions for most models of routers.

In the short time I was there, the video looked pretty good even when displayed on a 42" TV. There were no artifacts or buffering issues.
 
I have Slingbox too. I have it connected to my XBOX / iPhone / PC so I can watch what the kids are up to when they're playing online.

I concur that it's an excellent product.
 
So Mr. Viking, you can remotely view what your kids are doing on the xbox or PC, is that right?
 
powernoodle said:
So Mr. Viking, you can remotely view what your kids are doing on the xbox or PC, is that right?
Click to expand...

No remote view of the PC but I can see and hear what they're doing on the XBOX via my PC or iPhone.

As you already know the PC version of the viewer records up to 60 min, I use it alot to settle disputes between them about who's played how many games and who's turn's next. :D
 
I've been debating getting one of these, maybe the one with the PVR built in. Thanks for the reminder. I was also debating the iPhone app but since I'm almost always on a WiFi network at home, I downgraded my plan to 512Mb (we have expensive Data/Voice plans here!) I'd eat that 512 up in no time on 3G. Still, I may get it for my laptop in my office. The only problem is that if I change channels on the laptop then the channel changes on the main TV right?
The main reason I'd watch on the laptop is because my wife's watching something else on the big tv outside.
LOL, now that I'm thinking this through, I'll probably still get another HD box and flat screen for my office so I can watch what I want without affecting her!

Sorry, just thinking out loud! Pardon the rambling!
 
mikeal said:
I set one up for a customer. He lives part of the year in Germany and part in the US. He has a Slingbox at each house to watch TV from either country in either location.

I was extremely impressed by their efforts to make setup as simple as possible for non-technical folks. It makes an attempt to configure your router for you and if it can't, it has instructions for most models of routers.

In the short time I was there, the video looked pretty good even when displayed on a 42" TV. There were no artifacts or buffering issues.
Click to expand...
The disadvantage of Slingbox for overseas use is that you have to have a buddy or relative who can dedicate an extra cable or satellite connection to your Slingbox and have it stream to their web connected computer. The big advantage is that you don't have to worry about it being blocked if you are outside of the US like you do with services like Hulu. I have read that even over the web, you still can get a Euro grade 540p standard definition signal (better than our standard 480p DVDS and 480i TV signal) if you buy the HD box. it won't stream HD over the web, but you will get the same signal as you would for most channels in Europe. The apparently have hardly any true HD channels in places like Germany. From what I read, you can also remotely control a DVR if it is hooked up to the Slingbox. I thinl that the BIG deal with this may be that you could watch not only your sports and regular shows, but also premium movie services, which seem pretty thin on the ground in Europe when compared to the US.
 
NaturalMystic said:
The only problem is that if I change channels on the laptop then the channel changes on the main TV right?
Click to expand...

Mine does not change the home tv, but I think it depends on how it is configured. I don't have a cable box or Sat dish, etc., but just have a cable that come out of the wall and (before the Slingbox) went right into the tv. Those with a cable box, etc., might have a different result. When I change a channel on the Slingbox, my home tv channel is unaffected.

As you already know the PC version of the viewer records up to 60 min
Click to expand...

Well, I didn't know that. I just bought the sucker and haven't explored everything yet.
 
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