Slingbox SOLO gets reviewed

First spotted in FCC pics back in August, the Slingbox SOLO has finally hit the review circuit. Lacking the hardware-assisted HD streaming output of the just announced Slingbox PRO HD, the SOLO brings the original Slingbox Pro's HD inputs and VGA-res output to a dongle-less existence. The people at PC Magazine hooked up up the 'box and found plenty to admire in Sling's software and easy setup, pausing only to lament the short included ethernet cable and lack of WiFi. With its $180 MSRP, this Slingbox is a good option when your HDTV is far away, at least until the PRO HD hits the streets.

[Quentyn @ Jan 25th 2008 1:02PM]

Not that I have room to complain about Engadget's writers, but why do you guys never explicitly explain what a product does when you're reviewing a successor to another product? I just think it would help people out that don't know exactly what it is, like me.

[Sameer Surampalli @ Jan 25th 2008 1:06PM]

Because they're not reviewing it. It's a reference to PC Mag's review of the Slingbox. So, if you have so much of a desire to learn about, click the link that says "Read"....

[Quentyn @ Jan 25th 2008 1:08PM]

Oh,I'm sorry. I'm new to Engadget, and I've NEVER noticed that read button. Seriously. Thanks.

[gb @ Jan 25th 2008 1:18PM]

you can also click the image in the summary

[L.Rawlins @ Jan 25th 2008 1:24PM]

To be fair to you fella, it is fairly obscurely placed given it's the actual content of the article. Why on Earth 'tags' take precendence over the material itself is beyond me. I couldn't care less about the associated 'tags' unless I'm searching for something personally.

Maybe an Engadget graphical button for actual article content would make navigation 'pop' a little more through it's current layout.

Hopefully you won't be buried for making an honest mistake... oh, and welcome!

[L.Rawlins @ Jan 25th 2008 1:27PM]

I didn't even know that one myself. Hahaha!

[Erick @ Jan 25th 2008 1:31PM]

You dont want it to "pop" above the almighty advertisement just below.

[Taylor @ Jan 25th 2008 2:40PM]

It probably took me 2 months of reading Engadget before I really took note of the importance of the 'read' link.

[Paul Stamatiou @ Jan 25th 2008 1:17PM]

I'm surprised PC mag is only just now reviewing the Solo. I got my review unit back in October.. http://paulstamatiou.com/2007/10/22/review-slingbox-solo

[wctodd @ Jan 25th 2008 1:36PM]

Glad I got a HAVA Wireless HD for the same price at the SlingBox SOLO! Multiple inputs that you can easily switch between through the player software, Wireless G or Ethernet. The only down side is the player software doesn't work on OS X.

[Jerod @ Jan 25th 2008 2:02PM]

The SlingBox solo is not a good solution for HD streaming. In fact it is terrible. The max resolution it will pump out is 640 x 480. I recently purchased one, and then promptly returned it. While the idea is nice, it simply does not deliver something worth buying.

[Jerod Dunn @ Jan 25th 2008 2:04PM]

I should also add that I didn't get a review unit, I bought the thing. Why has it taken so long for the review to surface?

[RyanTV @ Jan 25th 2008 3:25PM]

when is the one that will sling around divx files come out??

[Matt W. @ Jan 25th 2008 3:27PM]

Reviewed now? SOLO came out fall of last year. The guys over at SlingCommunity hae had a full review out since September 07: http://www.slingcommunity.com/article/24597/Slingbox-SOLO-Review--Hands-On-With-Sling-s-Latest-One-Source-Wonder/

[Tom @ Jan 28th 2008 9:42AM]

I recently purchased the SOLO for my TiVo S3 and must say I've been really satisfied. I bought it just after the HD Pro was announced (but hesitated at first). Although I would've liked to have HD streaming, I really wondered what remote environments I would be in where the HD streaming wouldn't be degraded by bandwidth and through put issues. After considering that, I thought the SOLO's resolution would be an acceptable trade off.

I wonder how the HD Pro will handle streaming remotely. It'd be nice to have an A Vs B comparision of the quality of an HD stream of the Pro with VGA of the SOLO.