Sling Media
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Sling's upcoming SlingLink Turbo leaked?
When you're slinging media across the home, there's no such thing as "too much bandwidth," and it looks like Sling Media is beefing up its SlingLink line of home wiring network products with the SlingLink Turbo. The new device ups the bandwidth from 14Mbps to 85Mbps, and while the original SlingLinks were primarily designed for a single Slingbox connection, the Turbo vision should be able to handle more general purpose home media networking tasks. The SlingLink Turbo was spotted by a SlingCommunity member on Amazon.com, with an expected ship date of February 27th 2007 for $149. The device is interoperable with existing PowerLine adapters, and has four Ethernet ports beyond the PowerLine link. As far as rumors go, this one looks pretty legit, but with a February 27th date on the books, we should know exactly how legit before too terribly long.[Thanks TieGuy]
Sling under legal fire for patent infringement
A chap that goes by the name of Stuart Mershon is the latest in a line that stretches to the horizon of those bent on putting the legal spurs to our nation's antiquated patent (and legal) system, specifically over Sling Media's line of category-defining Slingbox placeshifters. We're by no means patent lawyers, so we typically try not to side (too heavily) when these kinds of suits rear their ugly heads, but seriously, you've got to check out Mershon's patent in question: the dude was issued a patent for in-home short range wireless headphones to connect to one's home speaker system. Perhaps we're missing out on some of the subtleties of his technology that overlap with the very wired (read: not at all wireless) personal television internet broadcasters that are Slingboxen, but it's in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas's surely capable hands for now.Read - News.com's writeupRead - Stuar Mershon's patent
Sling Media's Clip+Sling: sling video clips to anyone
Sling Media's already announced the Palm OS client and new Sling Catcher media streamer at this year's CES. Now they've dropped word of an inked deal with CBS that allows Slingbox customers to share short video clips with other Slingboxers as well as the public at-large. Using Clip+Sling, as the new technology is called, SlingBox owners can copy clips from their favorite CBS show or sporting event and post their "SlingClips" to an "interactive portal" which can be accessed by anyone. Interested? Then go ahead and apply for the public beta. Sorry, US only for now. Expect to see the software fully integrated into the desktop and mobile versions of the software by Q2.
Hands-on with the SlingCatcher
We managed to get some photos of Sling's hard drive-toting, PC video streaming SlingCatcher today. Seeing as our photos are just external hardware shots, this is technically more of a "SlingCatcher on-our-hands" rather than a "hands-on," but hopefully they'll give you a better idea of the scale of the device. In case you didn't catch our earlier post, the SlingCatcher will probably be released sometime around mid-2007, and is expected to include WiFi and a hard drive (making this the first Sling device with integrated hard drive based storage.) Check out a couple of other angles of the SlingCatcher after the break.
Sling demos Palm OS SlingPlayer client
We've been tracking the releases of different variants of the SlingPlayer software for quite a while now, so to see that Sling Media has finally shown off a working version of their SlingPlayer client for Palm OS doesn't quite have the wow factor it might have done a few months back. Still, it's nice to know that Palm users are finally assured the ability to view their media wherever they bring their Palm. According to Zatz, Sling is aiming to launch the final version of the software in Q1 2007, with a public beta coming sometime in the next 30 days -- you better watch out there Sling, we'll hold you to that! Meanwhile, Blackberry owners everywhere continue to collectively tap their fingers on the table.
Sling announces Symbian SlingPlayer, partnership with 3
Believe it or not, in some countries personal broadcasting to mobile video is actually encouraged, and Sling's about to capitalize on that more democratic "wireless dialtone" trend. (Verizon, Cingy, we're looking at you.) Paired up with 3, they've announced their SlingPlayer Symbian client for UIQ and S60 alike. At least the N73 and W950 have officially now been shown running the new client it as a part of 3's X-Series initiative, aimed at making mobile internet, well, useful to customers without fear of reprisal for data usage. (Verizon, Cingy, we're still looking at you.) UK residents will be able to get their hands on X-series gear come December 1st, but the rest of us may have to wait some undetermined amount of time before the Symbian client is released for mass consumption.
Sling Media to partner with major carrier soon?
Not a lot of info on this one just yet, but apparently Sling Media's reveling CEO made a potent announcement at the recent Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco. While Sling has made accessing your time-shifted material easier than ever -- even on a myriad of mobile devices -- Blake Krikorian has reportedly claimed that a deal is in the works to partner with "a major mobile carrier" here in the States. He also made note of a few European deals that were also going down, but giving MobiTV such much-needed competition here in the US of A is certainly what's piquing our interest. mocoNews seems to feel that T-Mobile or Cingular (or Amp'd?) could be the lucky provider to get Sling's blessing, but as of know, we're admittedly being left in the dark about exactly who's in line to seal the deal.
SlingPlayer for Mac OS X finally released (in public beta)
It's been almost a solid ten months since we first heard about the SlingPlayer Mac client, but those who've long waited to get their place-shifted Slingbox content on their Apple portable need wait no longer. It's now officially really actually available for public beta download and use, so knock yourself out with version 1.0.1.104 (fret not if that doesn't look right, it's listed on their site as 1.0.0.104). We gave it a go and it works pretty well, no complaints here, but you be sure to let us (and Sling Media) know if it's harshing your Mac's mellow. Click on for a couple more caps.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
SlingPlayer for Mac OS X (beta) lands 10/31
We've seen screenshots, and we've even seen it in action, but now Sharon R., in her first corporate blog post for Sling Media, has laid down the law by announcing a Tuesday, October 31st release date (yea, All Hallows' Eve) of their much-anticipated SlingPlayer for Mac OS X public beta. She even went so far as to 'guarantee' it, so that's gotta be worth something. We'll see whether they get hung up by a little too much partying over the weekend soon enough. Stay tuned (hah!).Thanks Mr. Zatz
Screenshots of SlingPlayer for the Mac
We've mentioned that Sling Media, the makers of the TV streaming Slingbox, are planning on a late October/early November release for the OS X version of SlingPlayer. SlingPlayer is the client that allows you to watch TV streamed from the SlingBox on a variety of devices (soon to include Macs running OS X).At the moment Sling is running a Beta, and no one has been able to get good screenshots of the client. We linked to a video yesterday that showed off some of the features, but that just wasn't good enough. One of my contacts called me up and arranged for a meeting in a remote underground garage. Once there he handed me a titanium briefcase and whispered in my ear, 'They call it a beta, but it runs like production software' before he ran off. I opened the case to find a small USB thumbdrive. 'Rather dramatic,' I thought as I went home to discover what was waiting on that drive.Read on to see the screencaps of the SlingPlayer that my source (who is shrouded in a fog of mystery so deep even I do not know what they look like) handed over to me.
SlingPlayer for Symbian gets official
The packing materials of Sling's new round of placeshfters foretold it, we just didn't know when or how it was going to go down. It turns out that they've selected London's Symbian Smartphone Show to announce SlingPlayer Mobile for the Symbian platform, surprisingly choosing to support both S60 and UIQ-based devices. We haven't seen the software in the flesh ourselves, but we'd expect the experience to be roughly on par with its Windows Mobile sibling, and we're hoping it comes out of the gate with the same attractive introductory $0 price tag. Expect to see it start to find its way onto Nseries devices (among others) in Europe and Asia starting this quarter, followed shortly thereafter by a US launch.
Engadget's relaunch giveaways: Slingbox PRO!
Last week we put a Slingbox AV out to give away, and we've got a winner! Randy P is taking home that AV, but today we're giving away the new top of the line Slingbox, the Slingbox PRO. This thing pretty much does it all, including high def, so today in order to have your chance to take home a PRO we want you to leave us a comment telling us what kind of phone (or laptop) you have that you're planning on using this thing with. You'll have until next Wednesday (the 18th), then we'll pick the winner at random, assuming s/he follows the rules: You may enter other Engadget contests, however... You may only enter this contest once; if you enter more than once on this particular contest post you'll be automatically disqualified and barred from all future giveaways. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) You may enter future Engadget relaunch giveaway contests though! You can only win once. (If you win and then try to go for a second prize during our relaunch giveaways, you'll be automatically disqualified, etc.) This contest is open to the US only, sorry! You will be shipped your PRO when all the contests are up, so sit tight! Good luck, and be sure you've entered our other contests, as well! Here's a second Xbox 360 Premium pack The final Nikon S7c digital camera! Fourth shot at a Zune Win a VidaBox SLIM for the best Halloween costume! Seriously, you can win a Philips 42PF9631D 42-inch plasma
Sling Media's Slingbox HD Connect up for pre-order
Now that you've had time to let the barrage of new Slingboxen news sink in a bit, you may be eying that crimson-colored Slingbox PRO to use with that oh-so-stunning HD service. Trouble is, Sling Media's making us HD junkies fork over an extra $50 to gain 1080i support from high def tuners / DVRs -- but at least we now know (almost) exactly when we can start streaming that HD goodness to our PCs, laptops, and bevy of mobile devices. Sling has just now opened up the pre-order gates for the HD Connect dongle via its own online store, and while the brief description doesn't tell us much more than we already know (still no HDMI support, folks), those who get their orders in now can expect to start tapping the full potential of that snazzy Slingbox PRO in early November.[Thanks, Aaron]
Slingbox PRO hands-on
So we've had a Slingbox Pro kickin' around the joint for a couple weeks now, one of the three new Slingboxen released late last month; we figured it was time to let you know whether it was worth plunking down for, especially if you are already a current owner. So let's get on with it.The Pro, much like the classic Slingbox, features an analog cable input, as well as an S-Video input. But unlike the previous Slingbox, the Pro features an analog cable passthrough (thanks!), as well as composite and S-Video ins (and their respective passthroughs, as well). Of course, the Pro in the title less likely comes from all those standard def inputs, and more likely from the long awaited HD support the unit now features. There are just two catches, though. First: it's not HDMI -- which we can live with. Second: to use the high def, you have to pay another $50 for the dongle, bringing your price up to $300 total. Read on for the full review.
Engadget's relaunch giveaways: Slingbox AV!
Last week we put a Slingbox Tuner on the block to give away, and today we've got us a winner! JD Schut's the man going home with one of these suckers, but we've got more. For example, today we're hooking you up with the new Slingbox AV, the Slingbox designed for set-top box or DVR users. We want to give it to you, but first you've got to leave us a comment telling us what kind of box you're currently using which you plan to hook this thing into. (Don't be shy, you can tell us if you hate it, too.) You'll have until next Wednesday (the 11th), then we'll pick the winner at random, assuming s/he follows the rules: You may enter other Engadget contests, however... You may only enter this contest once; if you enter more than once on this particular contest post you'll be automatically disqualified and barred from all future giveaways. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) You may enter future Engadget relaunch giveaway contests though! You can only win once. (If you win and then try to go for a second prize during our relaunch giveaways, you'll be automatically disqualified, etc.) This contest is open to the US only, sorry! You will be shipped your AV when all the contests are up, so sit tight! Good luck, and be sure you've entered our other contests, as well! Hows about an Xbox 360 Premium pack? Second shot at a Nikon S7c WiFi cam! Got a third chance on a Zune! What would you say to a 56-inch Samsung HL-S5679W DLP with LED backlight?
Sling planning Slingplayer client for Palm OS? Update: yes!
Sneaky Sling, slipping one right under everyone's noses -- just yesterday we happened to be pondering to ourselves why they'd develop a Windows Mobile Slingplayer client and announce their intentions to develop a Symbian version, but not do one for Palm OS? (Yes, we really do think about this stuff in our spare time.) The side of the new Slingbox boxes, as we know, clearly show Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and Mobile logos, Mac and Symbian support (which is a little unfair considering neither client is out even in beta yet) -- as well as an innocuous black sticker we totally didn't even notice. That is, until our pal Dave peeled it off and revealed the Palm logo, too. Maybe it was just too soon to pre-announce, maybe maybe they're going to wait for ALP before they make a move on Palm, or maybe they just killed their Palm client plans -- we don't know, but for our many Treo using friends, you've now a bit more hope than you did yesterday for getting your place shifting on without having to finally let go of Palm.P.S. -We pinged Sling to see what's going on, but we're still waiting back for the official word back. Stay tuned for more info.P.P.S. -Did anyone else notice Sling recognized the Engadget Award they received last year? Nice! (Picture after the break.)Update: Ok, we just got off the horn with Sling. So, the same with their forthcoming Symbian client, consumers can in fact expect a Palm client! (Huzzah!) Unfortunately, Sling would not comment on whether this would be a Palm OS or ALP-based product, nor would they give any timeframe of release for it or the Symbian version. (Boo!) Sling told us they're working with partners on the two client releases (no, they wouldn't tell us which ones, either); as packaging was being completed and units were being shipped to retail, Sling apparently mis-predicted the Symbian and Mac clients' readiness (thus leaving them unstickered) -- but successfully estimated the Palm client would not be ready at the time of launch. So, what have we learned? Mac client: soon. Symbian client: probably lined up to be the next after the Mac client. Palm client: probably going to be the last.Update 2: Interesting! So a very trustworthy insider let us know that we can apparently expect the Symbian client within 30 days, and the Palm client in Q4. Believe it if you want, but it definitely make sense as to why Symbian was so close to the cutoff.
Engadget's relaunch giveaways: Slingbox Tuner!
Last week we put two Slingboxes up on the block to give away, and today we've got some winners! Pete and Andy, come on down! (To all the Petes and Andys who entered -- if you didn't get an email from us, it wasn't you, sorry!) So, you no doubt heard about yesterday's big Slingbox announcements, and we've got a little something to give away here; want to get yourself a new Slingbox Tuner? (That'd be the Slingbox meant for users who want to place-shift their analog cable.) We want to give it to you, but first you've got to leave us a comment telling us who your analog provider is (or if you're rocking it OTA) -- feel free to leave a few words about 'em. Hell, vent if you must. We feel your pain, and we hope a Slingbox Tuner might alleviate some of it. You'll have until next Wednesday (the 4th), then we'll pick the winner at random, assuming s/he follows the other rules: You may enter other Engadget contests, however... You may only enter this contest once; if you enter more than once on this particular contest post you'll be automatically disqualified and barred from all future giveaways. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) You may enter future Engadget relaunch giveaway contests though! You can only win once. (If you win and then try to go for a second prize during our relaunch giveaways, you'll be automatically disqualified, etc.) This contest is open to the US only, sorry! You will be shipped your Tuner when all the contests are up, so sit tight! Good luck, and be sure you've entered our other contests, as well! And a Philips 42PF9631D 42-inch plasma! Hows about an Xbox 360 Premium pack? There's a Nikon S7c WiFi digital camera! Another chance to get a Zune!
SlingPlayer Mobile heads to Symbian?
Well, lookey here: a Symbian logo hiding out in a little, out-of-the-way corner of the box for Sling Media's new Slingbox AV. If we had cash riding on it, we'd guess this means an S60 version of SlingPlayer Mobile is getting ready to roll. Don't get us wrong, a UIQ client would be cool too, but seeing how S60 handsets outnumber their UIQ counterparts by, like, a bazillion to one, we don't want to get our M600 pals too fired up until we get the full scoop.
Slingbox AV spotted in the wild!
Ah, the Slingbox AV -- a not so wily creature which has appeared not only on the FCC twice, but now on the internets in some hot Slingbox-gone-wild nudity. We're not sure why the AV is so much more popular a leak than the Tuner or Pro, but boy can we not wait for this Thursday.
Sling to launch Slingbox Tuner, AV, Pro
It apparently slipped beneath our FCC-radar, but a posting on Sling Community shows some interesting developments according to FCC filings. Sling Media's apparently planning at least three new devices (here, here, and here), the Tuner, AV, and Pro. All are listed with confidentiality agreements, but here's what we know, between the FCC and the forums: the SB220-100 tuner will supposedly just have coax in and out; the SB240-100 A/V is the one we saw a week ago today, with S-Video and composite ins (and is apparently not equipped with a tuner); finally, the SB200-100 Pro supposedly has HDMI, a coax tuner (like the original Slingbox), composite, component, and S-Video inputs and outputs. The FCC confidentiality agreement goes up next Thursday, the 28th, so it would seem either Sling's going to have some announcements to make, or the FCC's going to have some announcements to make for them.[Thanks, KC]
