Switched On: Let Freedom Sling
posted Nov 9th 2005 2:45PM
In describing the sweet taste of victory, Family Guy resident philosopher Cleveland Brown wistfully notes, "I bet it
tastes good like salt-water taffy. Or a Chunky." Last month, Sling Media provided a sweet-tasting update to the
software that provides the window into its flagship product — the $250 Chunky-bar-inspired Slingbox. The product was
conceived when founders Blake and Jason Krikorian became frustrated that they couldn't catch live sporting events when
they were traveling.
However, the peanut butter to this video chocolate is the DVR. If you were one of those pioneers who bought a
first-generation TiVo or are stuck with a LAN-challenged cable or satellite-supplied DVR, the Slingbox is your ticket
out of prerecorded prison. Not only can it stream recorded programs to Windows PCs and wireless PDAs around the house,
but it can even enable you to watch TV programs from a remote location as well as schedule recordings using your DVR's
native interface – all blessedly free of yet another monthly fee.
While these features are offered by Sony's pricier Location-Free TV, it's not a part of many popular DVR solutions
today. Sling's latest software improves video quality and allows you to switch among two video sources, including DVDs
that flummox Windows Media Center extenders.
When Sling Media chose its company name, it likely sought to evoke the excitement of media flying through a home
network or the Internet as if catapulted from a sling. However, like a medical sling, the company provides great
support where it is otherwise scant. This becomes evident if you want to access your Slingbox via the Internet (the
hard part). If your router does not support Universal Plug 'n' Play (UPnP), you must configure port-forwarding
manually. Thankfully, my Belkin router did support UPnP, which meant I got to experience the frustration of learning
that UPnP doesn't always work before having to configure port-forwarding manually.
SlingPlayer’s on-screen help makes heroic efforts to walk you through the port-forwarding process, and product
management VP Jeremy Toeman is a discussion-board dervish who must deserve partial credit for the Slingbox’s remarkably
low return rate. However, the complexity of inbound ports and private IP addresses resigns the Slingbox to the
networking section of stores while its benefits deserve to be highlighted in the video section alongside those
iridescent TiVo boxes.
In any case, once it’s up and running, the Slingbox is nearly as empowering as the DVR itself in terms of changing how
you watch TV. As far as video quality over remote broadband connections go, the dog talks. Over a wired LAN, though, it
renames itself “dogg” and starts its own hip-hop label. You’ll want access to the Slingbox from nearly every screen
bigger than the countdown timer on your microwave oven and there’s a natural opportunity for Sling Media to create a
receiver that connects directly to other TVs.
Sling’s software is geared around replicating the remote control that matches your cable set-top. While intuitive,
navigation is slow and suboptimal for controlling from a PC. Integrating the EPG into the software could enable some
neat tricks, like dynamically switching among multiple Slingbox-controlled DVRs. Unfortunately, the Slingbox is
constrained to working with closed systems through which it must communicate through primitive infrared blasters, one
of the weakest links in the digital home.
Probably one of the most requested features is to enable remote recording of shows. The company has done a great job
of avoiding Hollywood ire, but if TiVo’s software can deposit recorded shows onto a PC hard drive, why can’t Sling
Media’s? This would benefit the company in addition to users. The Slingbox would become a more attractive option for
primary TVs by operating more transparently and could gain greater independence from the DVR. Like TiVo-to-Go, it would
also be ideal for occasionally-connected laptops.
And it would be great if, like its more PC-centric server software-based rival service Orb, the Slingbox could stream
music and photos. While the Slingbox has no storage, it could conceivably leverage PCs or NAS devices around the home
network. You can kludge some media access today by burning a DVD of your photos or using a widely available MP3-capable
DVD player or by letting a TiVo Series 2 or other digital media receiver do the heavy lifting in terms of PC
connectivity.
The Slingbox’s market is likely to remain significantly smaller than that for DVRs. With its recent software update,
though, the Slingbox builds on its strong introduction. If the continuing flood of improved UPnP routers into the
market can simplify its installation, Sling Media should continue to win fans who will support its long to-do list for
potatoes cruelly kept from their couches.
Ross Rubin is director of industry analysis at NPD Techworld, a division of market research and analysis provider The NPD Group. Views expressed in Switched On, however, are his own. Feedback is welcome at fliptheswitch@gmail.com.
The SlingBox hasn't had an update for around a month.
is this compatible with apple? maybe i read the article too quickly...
Would love it if they came out with an OSX version of the software..
"Thankfully, my Belkin router did support UPnP, which meant I got to experience the frustration of learning that UPnP doesn’t always work before having to configure port-forwarding manually."
ROFL. Thanks for the laugh Ross!
Hmmm, all this time I thought they came up with the name by watching monkees sling sh*t at zoo walls.
It is an appropriate methaphor if you have actually seen one of these hideous devices in person.
Hmmm, all this time I thought they came up with the name by watching monkees sling sh*t at zoo walls.
It is an appropriate methaphor if you have actually seen one of these hideous devices in person.
OSX Client....PLEASE
Looks like it isn't mac-compatible. That's a shame. Hopefully they'll fix that soon.
Not to bring up a continuing battle, but Mac only has 5% of the market, and they're "testing the waters" on Windows, which holds 87% of the current desktop market. Smart business. If you want to test all the new, neat stuff... well, you know what you have to do... :)
Bill
The SlingBox does not support a Comcast HDTV PVR, unless you set your PVR into SD mode! I couldn't believe it either, but apparently the overlays for the menus don't appear unless you set the box to anything less than 480P... this is unacceptable! Slinboxes email support was responsive, but I wish they would have been more upfront in their documentation on their support site about "known issues". It took me several days to figure out the problem and ultimately return the product.
Bill -- I don't think anybody's blaming them for testing the waters with a Windows version, just expressing interest in OSX software. In his Engadget interview, the Sling CEO said he actually appreciated the complaining and begging from OSX users because it gives the company more leverage when they seek cooperation from Apple. Here's the link:
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000933050954/
Oh, and by the way, OSX client, please!
Thanks for clearing things up for Bill, Johnny. Slingbox's original press release at product launch specifically mentioned Mac support as imminent. That was a while ago.
We're just asking them to follow-up on something they already promised. Pretty simple...and nothing to do with the PC vs. Mac debate you're attempting to start.
Nice try. ;)
When this thing can record HDTV feeds wake me up, right now it's all about HD fellas.
According to JeremyT at Sling Media, Sling is "going to have a Mac build out as soon as we possibly can. We are very interested in supporting the Mac community, and want to get y'all Slinging away as soon as is humanly (or even inhumanly) possible."
http://www.slingcommunity.com/forum/thread/10173/
I'll cast my request for a Mac OS X client as well. I almost bought one of the these the other night, I would buy one if I could actually use it.
I find this device one of the best of the year although would love to have the option to record feeds on my homenetworks or even when wanting to capture the stream on the go. (any hacks available?) I travel regularly with my notebook and connect to the 'old VCR' stacked on an unused cable outlet at home. I get more comments when tuned into a news feed or ballgame when sitting at a hotspot. "Wow ... how'd you do that!" : ) The Slingshot truly is an "Engadget!"
Uh, I use MCE + Orb. Monthly fee: $0.00
Watching live tv on my cellphone without paying my carrier anything extra? priceless.
Jason, it may be "all about HD fellas", but having the Slingbox transmit HD is just not realistic. The Slingbox doesn't "record" anything, it just encodes it (off an external recorded source such as TiVo) and streams it across the Internet. Transmitting HD content would require a huge amount of upstream bandwidth. It's something that most consumers just don't have right now.
Darn, Mario... so close... :) Guess I'll have to scour the OSX i386 forums!
Bill
All that work developing it and no built in wireless networking?
What kind of idiot made that decision??
As far as I know it CAN'T stream to a PDA even if it is windows based. Would love to use this on my Samsun I730.
"Not only can it stream recorded programs to Windows PCs and wireless PDAs around the house"
I use my Sling Box in Hong Kong and in my office in Vancouver. I just love it. The set up was so easy a child could do it. I am so impressed with the unit that I am going to buy another so that my son can watch a different channel, while I watch the NHL Canucks games.
The Sling Box makes me feel close to home while I travel in South East Asia.
DJ
So given that they would either have had to pay for it themselves and rename the place "Bush" or something, or get a corporate sponsor, it looks like they were the smart ones in getting someone else to pay for it and give them 10 years of free TV to boot.
http://www.analogstereo.com/satellite_radio_canada.htm
Hmmm, all this time I thought they came up with the name by watching monkees sling sh*t at zoo walls.
It is an appropriate methaphor if you have actually seen one of these hideous devices in person.
I'll add my call for Mac OS X client, however, I think this product is just
a small step in the direction of what I really want.
My ideal product would be something like a TiVO which had the ability
to receive and record ATSC, NTSC, DirecTV/Dish. This product would
have little or no internal storage, but, would be capable of using
storage attached via USB2, Firewire, or, Ethernet. TiVO has done a
great job with the integration of the program guide and the selection
process for what to record. These features are needed, no question.
Tivo falls down on the ability to expand storage, the ability to pass
recorded content around to different devices, and their support for
HD.
Ideally, instead of streaming to a proprietary client, the ideal box would
use a CODEC conforming to an open standard, and, the content could
be streamed (given sufficient bandwidth/jitter profile) or downloaded
(given sufficient user patience). The box would have a 10/100/1000
base T interface for networking and would be capable of trading at
least 4 HD streams at one time over said interface.
Given those capabilities, sure, HD would be impractical for most
consumers today, but, the box would still be viable as the network
and storage capabilities improved.
As a consumer, where I'm sitting now, TiVO does part of what I want.
Sling does part of what I want on the wrong platform. Neither of them
offers some of the things I want, so, even together they don't do all
of what I want. However, clearly, things are starting to move in the
right direction, so, it's all about the first vendor to deliver all of what
I want. That's who will get my business. So far, Myth TV is in the lead.