Slingbox

[Reynolds]

Anyone have one? How good does it work? I just bought a smartphone, and read you can use it to view video streamed with your slingbox. Tivo anywhere sounds kick ass.

[jetdog]

..i call it a kaiser box...

[Reynolds]

..i call it a kaiser box...

That's great.

[sailor]

never got one, but i'd heard aboot people streaming like sports games to their phone with it. you'd have to set it up before you left, right? like, you can't change the channel on the fly.

[Fezticle98]

..i call it a kaiser box...

Too quick for me. Well played.

[Reynolds]

never got one, but i'd heard aboot people streaming like sports games to their phone with it. you'd have to set it up before you left, right? like, you can't change the channel on the fly.

You can change the channel from wherever you're watching it. You get full function of the remote.

[sailor]

You can change the channel from wherever you're watching it. You get full function of the remote.

sweet!

[PhishHead]

its the best thing in the world. Everyone should get one.

[JustJon]

What else can it stream, beyond streaming tv?

[sailor]

What else can it stream, beyond streaming tv?

well, i think it just hooks up to your cable box, so whatever that pulls in it can push out. yeah, that's the ticket. it was basically made to broadcast (http://us.slingmedia.com/page/slingboxtuner.html) your tv tuner to a secure web-site so you could watch it at work or on the road, but with smart phones it just got betterer.

[JustJon]

I thought it could do other media too. I'm recalling webcams too.

[Reynolds]

There's a tuner box that you can use for your basic cable needs, and an av box, that I'm guessing you can connect anything with a AV / S video out on.

[OGC]

As usual I'm trailing the technology curve. I'm thinking of getting a Slingbox

I understand the concept of the Slingbox but if I was to set it up at home and try to watch the streaming tv at work, wouldn't the quality depend on how good my home internet connection is ?

[boosterp]

You do need a fast internet connection, better than DSL speed especially in the up stream (up loading of bytes).

[KnoxHarrington]

You do need a fast internet connection, better than DSL speed especially in the up stream (up loading of bytes).

With things like Slingbox and Skype, people really underestimate the importance of a good upstream connection as well. They go cheap on the internet plan, and get like 10MB down but only like 1MB up, and wonder why their picture breaks up when they're jacking it on cam in a Paltalk room.

[paulisded]

As usual I'm trailing the technology curve. I'm thinking of getting a Slingbox

I understand the concept of the Slingbox but if I was to set it up at home and try to watch the streaming tv at work, wouldn't the quality depend on how good my home internet connection is ?

It's the second greatest invention out there, right behind the squeezebox (basically, the music version of a slingbox).

And yeah, you need a great upload from home, and at least DSL speed on whatever you're watching it on.

[boosterp]

It's the second greatest invention out there, right behind the squeezebox (basically, the music version of a slingbox).

And yeah, you need a great upload from home, and at least DSL speed on whatever you're watching it on.

Also many wifi cards, etc. from the cell companies are not fast enough. The bandwidth and latency issues prevent true streaming of quality media such as HD content.

[Melk]

I have 2 Slingboxes. One in Chicago and one here in Japan. I love them. The downside is that if you have to reconfigure the unit (due to a power outage for example) and you are not at home, you have to rely on someone else to reconfigure it for you.

At this point the place that hosts my Slingbox in the states doesn't have a PC near it so I am going to have to wait till November to watch my favorite shows from my TIVO. It completely stinks.

It works like this. You connect your antenna (lame), cable box (better, not great) or DVR (deflintely awesome) and your home internet-connected network then configure the video connection (takes no time from a PC) then set the unit up for remote viewing. After you configure the device for remote viewing, you can watch TV over the internet.

There are a few downsides:

1) As I said before, if the connection on the unit gets disrupted you will need to reconfigure the Slingbox on your home network (the one the SlingBox is hosted on). So, I am screwed out of watching it till I get back to Chicago. If only they made a way to reset to the last known good configuration without having to reconfigure locally...:furious:

2) It automatically updates. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but for a short period of time, my SlingBox had a firmware on it that made the video stream is was receiving not work. I contacted Sling, they blamed my network and my router. Meanwhile, a guy on Sling's message board gave me advice on reloading the previous firmware build by changing the date of the firmware flash so it would allow a manual installation. Problem solved. After loading the firmware made available in March of this year, that problem went away until there was a power outage in Chicago (see reason 1 again)

If you are home often, it a great. If you are not home, it is a pain in the ass.

There is also a product called the Hava Monsoon, which I intend to setup in Chicago and here sometime in the near future... I'll let you know if it is as good as the Sling.

[boosterp]

I have 2 Slingboxes. One in Chicago and one here in Japan. I love them. The downside is that if you have to reconfigure the unit (due to a power outage for example) and you are not at home, you have to rely on someone else to reconfigure it for you.

At this point the place that hosts my Slingbox in the states doesn't have a PC near it so I am going to have to wait till November to watch my favorite shows from my TIVO. It completely stinks.

It works like this. You connect your antenna (lame), cable box (better, not great) or DVR (deflintely awesome) and your home internet-connected network then configure the video connection (takes no time from a PC) then set the unit up for remote viewing. After you configure the device for remote viewing, you can watch TV over the internet.

There are a few downsides:

1) As I said before, if the connection on the unit gets disrupted you will need to reconfigure the Slingbox on your home network (the one the SlingBox is hosted on). So, I am screwed out of watching it till I get back to Chicago. If only they made a way to reset to the last known good configuration without having to reconfigure locally...:furious:

2) It automatically updates. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but for a short period of time, my SlingBox had a firmware on it that made the video stream is was receiving not work. I contacted Sling, they blamed my network and my router. Meanwhile, a guy on Sling's message board gave me advice on reloading the previous firmware build by changing the date of the firmware flash so it would allow a manual installation. Problem solved. After loading the firmware made available in March of this year, that problem went away until there was a power outage in Chicago (see reason 1 again)

If you are home often, it a great. If you are not home, it is a pain in the ass.

There is also a product called the Hava Monsoon, which I intend to setup in Chicago and here sometime in the near future... I'll let you know if it is as good as the Sling.

You could always use an UPS to keep the Sling powered. I have an UPS just for my router, modem, and switches. It is separate from the one that powers my computer.

[Melk]

You could always use an UPS to keep the Sling powered. I have an UPS just for my router, modem, and switches. It is separate from the one that powers my computer.
Yeah, but Sling really should just make it possible for you to reset the unit once it turns on again. At this point, I have to rely on my family (who don't have new computers) to reconfigure the unit (not possible).

[styckx]

I own one and it's fantastic.

No, you're never going to stream HD content to your phone, that's not the point. You can adjust the bandwidth options so you don't get buffering, at the expense of picture quality. I'm not worrying much about picture quality though. If I can still catch a show on the road that I would have normally missed, picture quality isn't a concern. If it's watchable, I'm good to go.

As far as streaming media, a fantastic app is Orb. Stream music, divx, whatever is sitting on your PC to most devices.

http://www.orb.com/

[Reynolds]

I forgot all about this.

I have a few extra bucks to spend, a tivo, a blackberry with unlimited internet, and the premium package for my internet at home... Will watching my tivo on my blackberry be a high possibility?

[Tenbatsuzen]

Bump. Is it that good?

[paulisded]

Bump. Is it that good?

Yes.

[Tenbatsuzen]

Yes.

They have cable out there? I thought you rigged some professor on gilligan's island shit to get Vikings games.

[paulisded]

They have cable out there? I thought you rigged some professor on gilligan's island shit to get Vikings games.

Asshole.

[mikeyboy]

Asshole.

His reputation precedes him.

[Tenbatsuzen]

So if I'm going to get sling for my phone or ipod touch, I do not need to get the HD box, right? Just get the standard box?

[DH 215]

I have owned the standard box since 2007 and it works well for me.

[Tenbatsuzen]

I have owned the standard box since 2007 and it works well for me.

which app do you recommend? I tether my Touch via my phone, so I can use either.

[Tenbatsuzen]

Slingbox ordered. Should come tomorrow. Now here's aquestion:

I like "clean" installs. I really hate that IR dongle that you have to align on the cable box. Is there any way to have a direct line from Slingbox's infrared out to the cable box's infrared in jack?

[Melk]

Slingbox ordered. Should come tomorrow. Now here's aquestion:

I like "clean" installs. I really hate that IR dongle that you have to align on the cable box. Is there any way to have a direct line from Slingbox's infrared out to the cable box's infrared in jack?
No. Some DVRs/Cable Boxes have a "Serial Port" which may support a direct connection for channel changing, but I don't think the SlingBox has one (From my experience) .