Slingbox officially out

As expected, the Slingbox rolled out officially today. We knew it would be available at CompUSA, and the other of the two major retailers will be good ol' Best Buy. It'll also be available at the equivalent online stores of the two chains for $249.99.

[Leomar @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

This is great, now I can watch my shows while I'm avoiding my job.

[Swift @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

I'm so sick of these media devices coming out and not supporting HD. I know those of us who visit sites like this are generally early adopters, but it isn't THAT early to start including HD support as a standard in things such as this. If I want standard definition, I can use my old VCR. To me, one of the major advantages of the digital "era" is high definition, and too many companies are ignoring the demand for it.

Everytime I see a media device reviewed... whether it be a dvr, media center pc, or whatever... the first thing I look for is HD support, and the majority of the time it's lacking. I have to wonder if the companies are just waiting for the high density disc formats to be released and become more commonplace to further drive HD into the media device market.

So many HD displays, so little to display on them.

[John @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

Why didn't they just include a built-in wi-fi connection? It seems silly to think that I would have to hard wire this thing to my router, which is another part of the house from my main DirecTV box.

[DNordbak @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

yes, we would all love to have this thing support HD, but can you imagine how much of a strain that would be on your bandwidth? Forget finding a network where you can watch it, because do you really think your house line could take uploading an HD signal constantly? It would cause the rest of your network to come to a dead stop.

[WAE @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

I've seen this thing in action, and it's amazing. These guys have done a great job building a nice PC based app, and the hardware couldn't look more cool sitting along side all my next generation gadgetry. Way to go SLING MEDIA!

BTW, the special sauce of Slingbox is it's ability to transcode the video signal at a bandwidth that suits whatever connection you may have - on-the-fly with no interruption. The effect is pretty cool, and it is scalable to a time whenever accessible bandwidth catches up with HD.

[Disco Stu @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

Ummmm........so.....if the Slingbox is "released" today then why can't I BUY it anywhere? I've checked their website, www.slingmedia.com, and their online store is not even set up. They also state on their site: "The Slingbox can be found at the following national consumer electronics retailers: Best Buy & Compusa." Here's the problem: I can't find any info about the Slingbox on their websites and I've also called the local stores and the clerks have never heard of the Slingbox.

One other small bone of contention is that Slingmedia is hyping their "Sling Bling" on their website. According to their site: "You'll find the coolest Sling stuff around [such as] coffee mugs, t-shirts, key chains, baseball hats..." What the f*ck is that about? I don't give a rip about "Sling Bling"! I just want the damn unit.

Either this company has the worst marketing department ever or I'm beginning to smell a rat.

Am I being overly critical? Why has no one heard of this device at Best Buy or Compusa? Something doesn't seem quite right.

Am I missing something?

[Tim @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=329231&pfp=SEARCH

[MM @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

no hd support forget it. not worth it, not for me. if i want to watch tv on pc i got my hd card from ati.

if they come out with hd maybe i look at it but right now forget it

[Disco Stu @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

Tim,

You're right. CompUSA DOES have the Slingbox on their website. BUT, you still can't order it. It isn't "released".

I just can't believe no one aside from us tech geeks in forums and chatrooms are aware of it. Where's the promotion? To me, this is HUGE for the mass market that don't want to deal with Tivo hacks or rss tv torrents or whatever.

[Thomas Hawk @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

I want my HDTV. Without HDTV this thing is worthless.

[Cord @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

No mac support? blah
Cool device though. I can see a potential for it if it works well with PDA's and Mobile Phones. Why not software for the Sony PSP? It has Wi-Fi and a great screen. Also, the Samsung i730 with it's EV-DO and Wi-fi. I can't think of a huge amount of applications that I would use it for because 1) won't be able to watch it at work because my computer is locked where I can only install specific software and 2)I get enough TV at home. Perhaps if you travel overseas frequently and must watch all your TV live.

[jaxun @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

Hey, this looks semi-cool. But wait, what's this in the minreqspec? The client has to run on XP? O you got to be kidding me. How you gonna convince me this is better than Beyond TV? You won't.

So there. Nyaaahhh.

[Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

Regarding alternative clients, here's a quote from the company's CEO on that issue:

"Regarding software and clients, here's the plan:
when we release the product it will support XP PC's (notebooks and desktops and tablets).
Then, we will roll out support for other platforms (we have publically demonstrated all of the platforms that you mention with the exception of Palm...not that we won't support Palm, just haven't shown it)...also, there are other very cool mobile devices with nice bright screens and wireless connectivity...one more thing: many folks have asked us to create a Mac client as well."

As to HD, I agree with DNordback. There isn't widepsread availability of adequate upstream bandwidth required to support HD streaming. Beyond that, I wonder if people misunderstand what the main purpose of the Slingbox is. Sure, you can use it on your own LAN or WiFi network, but the main usage is away from home. For streaming over the net, you can't do HD given most residential bandwidth limitations.

[Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

Beyond tv and Orb are just software solutions that run on a media center or other computer with a tuner card. Lot's of people don't have or want a computer near their sources (satellite, cable box, etc). That's where Slingbox comes in.

[Nareau @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

I got mine, and I love it. There are a few things that they need to fix, some of which most should be easy to do via a firmware upgrade:

1) Implement a standard static IP addy when DHCP fails. I didn't have a DHCP router handy when I set it up for the first time, and I had to hack one together using my laptop. It was extremely painful. The device should function like any other network device, and have a default IP addy.

2) Allow the video to pass through. I was really hoping I would be able to use the SlingBox as a TV tuner, and pass the tuned a/v signal through the box and to my TV. Alas, it doesn't seem to work that way. Oh, and while you're at it--give us a remote control.

3) Get rid of the proprietary player. I suspect some clever hacker is going to figure out a way to get the stream to play on a regular player. But I don't want to have to download and install a 30MB app every time I want to use it on a new device.

4) Market the damn thing properly. Best Buy was listed on their site as having the device on 06/30, but that was later changed to say 06/07. Nobody at Best Buy had heard of the thing. By 07/01, CompUSA still didn't have them out on display. I had to ask around, and get someone to go into a back room to see if they had it.

5) Generally, the company needs to get their crap together. The device is great, don't get me wrong. But the marketing flubs, typos in the configuration files, problems with their support number, etc. make me think they have a long way to go in the QC dept.

Nareau

[RK @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

"Slingbox: Why it is an interesting product" to which Slingmedia CEO's interesting perspective as a response:

http://www.talkativeman.com/talkativeman/2005/07/slingbox_why_it.html

[TechieZero @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

It would be great if they made their software open source. Then we can really have fun with it.

[Mani @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

If all of you guys want to criticize the slingbox of its short coming such as (wi-fi ready & HD support and it not being availble on its release date) then you really don't need the slingbox. What you need doesn't exist anywhere on this planet. For $250 it's a steal. It pays for itself in about 5 months. I will use it in my real estate office and not have to pay $30-$50 for cable service. It's a simple device for an afordable price. For all those people who demand every type conectivity should develop their box.....

[John Smith @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

I bought one at Compusa and it came with a defective IR cable. I have had 3 support calls and finally they admit it's bad.
They don't have any to send me. Compusa has no more to swap with.
The video and audio work great. I can;t change any channels. ARGDHD^#^#%@

It is going back for a credit.

[JColtrane @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

Give me a good PPC client for this so that I can get a decent feed on my Samsung i730 and you will have another customer. *salivating at the thought*

[steve @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

Can anyone tell me what the screen size and resolution is like for watching over the internet. I assume it is better than normal streaming tv channels which are only effective in a postage-stamp sized window!

[j5 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

"Normal TV" mode appears to be 640x480. The default "Small TV" mode appears to be 320x240, and then you can always scale the window to any resolution you want. Anything larger than "Normal TV" size stretches the image so it begins to blur (the program warns you this will happen). The quality of the image using S-Video as a source is reasonably clear at the default resolutions even with my slow 384k upload limit to connections outside my home. Within the home network, it streams at ~800k (that might be adjustable, haven't tried) and looks a bit better, but really the only noticeable difference has been on high action content.

[Gregg @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

Sounds like still the best bet for downloading good quality shows that can be burned to dvd is still to hack a TiVo? I have a tuner card but the cable signal is crap, so I can't imagine being able to burn to dvd anything of any decent quality.

[bill @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

A lot of people are spouting off about this device without understanding it's true purpose. IE, complaining about lack of HD, quality issues etc.

I think the real selling point of the device is the ability to stream virtually any media you have at home anytime... specifically LIVE television. Ok, so you want it to stream some DVD or some movie file to your laptop/pc in great quality?... Then why not just bring the dvd with you or transfer the movie file to your remote system and then watch it locally? This device is geared for shlubs like me who get stuck working in the office on Saturdays sometimes or Monday nights. So that means I miss all the college games and monday night football. But not anymore, this will allow me to still catch the games LIVE. Yeah its not as great as sitting in my home and watching it in HD, but it's still better then not watching it at all. Plus, I would never expect to get HD or a perfect movie picture over the net with this. Theres not a friggin magic genie in the box people.. it still has the same limits of bandwidth and processing out now.

[Ron @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

So clear it up for me. Can I watch say channel 61 on my PC at work, while on the same TV my wife is home watching 22 or do we both have to view the same channel?

[Phil @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

Ron, depends. If you're using the built-in analog cable tuner and a splitter, then yes, you can both watch different channels. If you're using the Slingbox's ability to control a cable box or DVR (via IR blaster), then no, you're both watching the same thing.

[Leroy @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

Ok...so how is this thing streaming through your home router firewall and more importantly company firewalls and such?

It sounds great, but I am thinking of all the issues with Messenger and other products that need to stream data over the net, and how office firewalls play havoc with those...

[Mac Chin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

Has anyone figured out a way to have multiple clients access the same Slingbox? My use is to have other users on my LAN also have access to their own "tv" connection (since I'm on analog). I'd rather not have to buy a seperate Slingbox for each user. Thanks!

[Mac Chin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

Has anyone figured out a way to have multiple clients access the same Slingbox? My use is to have other users on my LAN also have access to their own "tv" connection (since I'm on analog). I'd rather not have to buy a seperate Slingbox for each user. Thanks!

[ryan @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

There are some out there that are overthinking it. Basically it's for ppl like me that travel a LOT and would like access to a tv (that they can control) when somewhere with a connection, like say... Starbuck$, airport terminals, a hotel lobby, or in the passenger seat of a car with a 3G phone for connection. I still can't see paying this much for it when I have a computer near my cable connection but if I didn't use an old network stack for a tv stand then yeah, this thing might come in handy. HD wouldn't work well for any of those locations, further more there aren't a lot of business people that use linux on their laptop. Think bandwith and transmission lag time and you'll realize HD isn't possible right now. Also if you're looking for most of the other features that were mentioned, build a streaming media server and see if it comes in below the cost for this thing.

[mike @ Dec 19th 2005 1:23AM]

ok. couple questions. first one, can slingbox stream say a cable television "PAL signal" over a high speed internet connection from argentina to my "xp" device (laptop) in the u.s and display it in ntsc? That would be cool cause then i can watch cnn international and other local spanish channels. Second, can i use my dishnetwork HD channels and regular def, but only to display low def from the high def channels?

hope thats not too confusing.

thxs,

mike

[Ray @ Dec 27th 2005 9:50PM]

I've had mine about a week now. First impressions: Set up was easy. I had to download a new client first thing, so I guess the CD that cam in the box was stale. It is a LARGE download.



Quality on the network is excellent for streaming video. It goes into a lower quality mode when you change channels so the lag as it syncs back up isn't as painful as I thought it would be. When you decide on a channel it settles down and improves the picture quality. Nice feature.



Closed Captioning should be on the short list of things to add.



A TiVo like playback of the stream should be possible with the client. Maybe even launch, connect and record the stream based on a schedule. At least a playback and live pause feature. All this should be possible in the client without a lot of changes in the box.



The XM Radio PCR device could be a good model for Sling Media. XM released the specs so everyone could create their own client for the blackbox receiver. And a lot of better ones for lots of platforms came out quickly.



While I know it wouldn't adjust the streaming rate so well, but we really need the option to watch it with degraded quality on Windows Media Player. I agree with others that it's just too much to install to show it off or use it somewhere else.



One thing they don't make clear: This is a 1:1 device. If someone else is watching your SlingBox you get a busy message. 1:many would challenge the DSL uplink speed, but it would be enough for LAN and one WAN connection maybe.



An A/B RF switch could switch between Cable TV and a TV antenna. This wouldn't add much to the parts cost and would add functionality.



As for the 'it doesn't have HD' comments, it shouldn't. You'll be disappointed if you're buying this to watch on your media center. It doesn't have surround sound either. The client is a tuned to support a window on a laptop, not a large 16:9 monitor. If you want HDTV, you need an HDTV. Since there's very little local HD content anyway, you wouldn't miss much. You'll see the same stuff on satellite or the local cable feed. Your local news is in SD, Jay Leno is in HD. At 11:35 you don't need to see your home town cable.



For such an early release, the software is quite smooth.



Cost point: From what I know about electronics, this box could sell for $50. It has fewer parts than a basic cable TV converter. It's now to $200 in the stores now. As soon as another device like it comes out watch for a price drop down to the sub $100 range.



If you gotta have the latest toy, get it. If you want to save money, wait a few months.