No next-gen Slingbox at CES 2006
By Peter Rojas 
posted November 2nd 2005 10:25AM
posted November 2nd 2005 10:25AM
Well, those reports from yesterday about a next-generation Slingbox were a little bit, um, wrong. Obviously concerned about the Osborne Effect of announcing a next-gen product while you still have your current gen on store shelves, Jeremy Toeman from Sling Media posted a note in our comments yesterday clarifying the situation. Turns out that Philips' announcement on Monday of a "new family of audio/video decoders" that will be used by "consumer electronics customers, such as Sling Media, [who] will introduce technologies with this solution at CES 2006," doesn't mean that they're introducing a whole new Slingbox. What's actually going on is that these chips are going to be used in a new PAL-compatible version of the Slingbox.
Some people call it a Slingbox, I call it a Kaiserbox um hum. - (Am I the only one who things Billy Bob Thornton should do ads for this thing?)
I just can't get over the case. If I bought one I would take the guts out and put it in something else. Thing looks like some sort of "node amp" from the cable co. that you see on a telephone pole.
What is "PAL-compatible"...?
PAL is a television broadcast standard used in Europe (and elsewhere). We use NTSC here in the States, at least for standard definition broadcasts.
I wish, there was a place to try it before you buy, or more pictures on their website.
The case has no buttons or controls, only a couple of LEDs, so there's no reason why it needs to be in view. Mine is stuffed on the shelf behind my other HT components.
Could they announce the next gen, and put a discount on the current gen. Like what auto dealerships do.
How about the promised Mac version of the software?, might get some of these things sold. I, and others I know, would have bought a slingbox by now if it were.
somebody who has this post your broadband connections upstream stats and let us know how well it works... i agree about the "try before you buy" lament....
Just a little editorial comment: the 'Osborne Effect' is an urban myth (check out Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect)
Yeah, but at this point the "Osborne Effect" is becoming a generic term for a company cannibalizing its own sales by announcing a next-gen product too early, and in that sense it doesn't matter (at least for the purposes of this article) whether it was real or not.
My Slingbox is at home on a DSL connection that claims 896 kbps upstream. I'm watching TV as I type this, over my office T1 connection. The bandwidth bounces between 500 and 800 kbps, and it's close to NTSC quality. Don't expect HDTV quality though, which your computer screen might be capable of.
Using it on my home network, the bitrate is ~1.2 Mbps iirc, and the video quality is excellent. I've tried it on a dial-up connection, and it was hopeless. Lots of dropped frames and broken sound. Finally, I tried it once at a free Wi-Fi hotspot (Panera's) and got 300-400 kbps. It was definitely watchable, but not as good as at higher bitrates. This is a fun toy, and is great for sports fans to watch the home games while travelling. I also use it to remotely program the DVR if I hear of an upcoming show.
Whiskey, if you want to see some pictures of the Slingbox in action you should check out the review at the SlingCommunity.com site. http://www.slingcommunity.com/article/10062/
It's really informative, and is loaded with pictures and screenshots. From what I read on the site, the picture even looks better with the new version of the software.
I know I'm a little biased over here, but for those asking the 'hows the quality' questions, I thought I'd share my personal experience...
I have 384Kbps upstream at home (SBC Yahoo! DSL service), where I have 2 DirecTV+TiVo's, and 1 Slingbox connected to each. My home network has a 802.11g router and 3 Netgear powerline bridges in place (one for each Slingbox, one for my home server). Also, my laptop is a Dell Latitude D800 with a 15.4" widescreen at 1920x1280 resolution (HD-quality, looks awesome).
At home, my wife and I watch the Slingbox on either of our laptops, typically in the kitchen, bedroom, or backyard. We only have one TV in the apartment, so the Slingbox comes in handy in those locations. On our network, we typically average ~1400Kbps, which is good enough video quality that I can totally watch a hockey game (Go Habs) and follow the puck perfectly well (which I can only do because I'm Canadian).
When I travel (which is often), I typically average ~320Kbps streaming, either via a hotel wifi connection or with my Sprint or Verizon EVDO cards (yes, I have both). At this rate, I typically watch live news from home, or else watch prerecorded shows from one of the TiVos. When I go full-screen on my laptop (remember: 1920x1280 resolution), the picture is grainy, and can have blocky areas when there's a ton of fast action.
Is it 'TV-quality' at all times? Not really.
Is it 'enjoyably watchable'? Yes.
Do I prefer to watch MY shows from my TiVo rather than what I find in hotel rooms around the country (or world)? Absolutely.
For me, I need access to my shows, so I can always have Family Guy, House, The Office (BBC), Boston Legal, WPT, Montreal hockey games, or The West Wing with me!
Honestly, I am so used to time-shifting, that now I can't live without the place-shifting either!
We are working on coming up with a demo that will let people connect to a real Slingbox and try it out. In the meantime, we're here to answer any questions you may have!