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Major League Baseball not a fan of placeshifting
After alienating fans with long strikes and doped-up players, you'd think that Major League Baseball would be wise to make moves towards recapturing its lost fan base; instead, recent comments by an executive from MLB's media division indicate that baseball may be intending to further sour relations with its customers by cracking down on the placeshifting of televised games. Speaking at this year's Digital Media Summit in LA, MLB Advanced Media executive VP George Kliavkoff went toe-to-toe with fellow panel member and Sling Media marketing VP Rich Buchanan, arguing that Slingbox customers are "violating the scope of their [cable and satellite] user agreements" when they rebroadcast content out of their home market. The whole issue seems rather silly to us, as baseball is essentially complaining that you're somehow screwing a local affiliate by watching an out-of-market game when you're traveling to its city, even though the sport as a whole is still benefiting from your viewership and the vast number of placeshifters probably ensure that no net eyeballs are actually lost. Note to MLB: Cricket is starting to look more and more attractive every day.
Slingbox released in UK
Because you can never have convenient enough access to all that great BBC programming, Sling Media has just released a version of their popular Slingbox for British TV junkies. The UK model has been tweaked a bit for European viewing, with PAL tuners replacing the NTSC versions found in US boxes, and a DVB-T tuner thrown in for placeshifting that sweet, sweet OTA Freeview content. In conjunction with the UK rollout, the folks at Sling also announced an updated version of the SlingPlayer PC software, whose main upgrades include widescreen 16:9 support and a skinnable client. Slingbox: UK will initially be available exclusively at PC World's website and retail locations -- and at Currys stores in four to six weeks -- for £180, VAT included.
SlingBox going PAL with DVB-T support?
Oh, just in case you weren't following along super closely this last week, the SlingPlayer update we covered that has some expanded PAL support options? Yeah, looks like that corresponds to the new UK PAL SlingBox we were expecting at some point, which according to SlingBox manual version 1.1.0.153 (PDF) will include broadcast DVB-T support, and is apparently due any time now. We'd like to take this opportunity to complain about not having integrated ATSC in our SlingBoxes, but we know it won't do us a ton of good until we get some more channels digitally broadcast anyway -- so to Europe we tip our hats, and say congratulations on your new gadget.[Thanks, Dave]
Sling updates SlingPlayer software
Normally software updates for our devices go unmentioned by the Engadget team, but Sling's new version (1.1.0.153) of their SlingPlayer software commands some attention for its new features, such as doubled resolution for local streaming (640 x 240), 16:9 support, favorites bars, skins and interface tweaks, and expanded European PAL and DVB-T support. Enjoy, SlingBoxers.[Via Zatz Not Funny]
SlingPlayer Mobile for Windows out of beta
The honeymoon is over, folks, so if you aren't already among the proud army of Slingbox owners you're gonna need to shell out $30 for the mobile client software if/when you decide to become a Sling Media customer. As of today, the company's SlingPlayer Mobile app has officially transformed from a beta into a commercial product, although this means little to customers who purchased their 'box prior to April 26th, as they are entitled to a free copy of the current Windows Mobile version, the upcoming Windows Smartphone version, and, according to Sling's website, versions for "additional mobile platforms and operating systems" when they become available. In case you're not a semi-frequent reader of this site, or another excellent destination called Engadget, SlingPlayer Mobile is a bit of software that allows Slingbox owners to watch and listen to both live and recorded content from their home theaters on any broadband-enabled, Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition- or WM5-powered device.[Via Zatz Not Funny]
SageTV Placeshifter offers mobile content streaming
Those of you who do the home theater thing from your PC and are for some reason unhappy with the free streaming service offered by Orb now have a new way of "slinging" your content to a remote computer with SageTV's Placeshifter add-on. The $30 software, which requires the $80 SageTV media center package, offers remote access to videos, music, photos, and if you have a TV tuner card or USB device, both live and recorded programming. Cnet got a "first look" at Placeshifter in action, and reports spotty but acceptable performance, with the delays and artifact-infested video we've come to expect accept from these remote streaming services. While we're pretty happy with our free Windows Media Center and Orb setup, if you already own SageTV, the one-time fee might be worth it to free your content with the knowledge that someone's there to troubleshoot the inevitable problems.[Via PVR Wire]
Orb works TiVo with DVR Everywhere
Orb (finally) just officially took a page out of the Book of SlingBox today with the release of DVR Everywhere, their TiVo-streaming and controlling Orb add-on (not to be easily confused with TiVoAnywhere, that other Orb / TiVo add-on which is now apparently DVR Everywhere). Basically you'll get the same easy-to-use no firewall adjustments necessary Orb experience steamed to your laptop or portable in Real, Windows Media, or 3GP, but with recordings culled from your Series2 TiVo (which is also controllable by said software -- something also available for a while). Not quite as versatile as your SlingBox, which can pull video from just about any DVR device you can throw at it, but hey, it's a start -- especially if you've been considering that new dual tuner TiVo that we've been dangling from a string.[Via PR Newswire]
Motorola combines DVR with cellphone for place-shifting service
Motorola appears ready to take on the Slingbox and Sony's LocationFree TV with a new service that allows customers to stream television from a DVR to a cellphone. However, there are some caveats that may make the service little more than a novelty for the time being. The biggest limitation for the moment is that the service will require both a Motorola DVR and a next-gen RAZR phone. Since Moto's DVRs are built into set-top boxes provided by cable companies, and not sold directly to consumers, this means the potential user base is defined not by customer choice, but by the vagaries of the cable market. And, of course, you need a specific phone model -- one that doesn't currently exist on the market -- to make the service work as well. However, given that the service is just in demo mode at this point, a lot can change before it goes public. And Moto may well learn from Sony's experience with LocationFree that it's better to open up, rather than trying to force customers to stick with a closed system.
Motorola combines cellphone with DVR for place-shifting service
Motorola appears ready to take on the Slingbox and Sony's LocationFree TV with a new service that allows customers to stream television from a DVR to a cellphone. However, there are some caveats that may make the service little more than a novelty for the time being. The biggest limitation for the moment is that the service will require both a Motorola DVR and a next-gen RAZR phone. Since Moto's DVRs are built into set-top boxes provided by cable companies, and not sold directly to consumers, this means the potential user base is defined not by customer choice, but by the vagaries of the cable market. And, of course, you need a specific phone model -- one that doesn't currently exist on the market -- to make the service work as well. However, given that the service is just in demo mode at this point, a lot can change before it goes public. And Moto may well learn from Sony's experience with LocationFree that it's better to open up, rather than trying to force customers to stick with a closed system.
Thinking laterally: slingboxing games
Heard of the Slingbox (pictured above)? It's a hardware and software product that allows a person to "sling" content from a home television set to any Internet-connected, Windows-based computer or PDA. This enables some pretty cool behavior. For example, you're stuck in some crappy hotel while away from home on business and so you decide to skip the meager hotel offerings to watch your home television programs on your Windows-based laptop. Let's take it a step further. Eventually, we imagine a product that will enable remote control of game consoles from any broadband device. Initially, it'll be simple. You'll be able to play simple games like Hexic on your mobile phone. Eventually, it'll be possible to experience PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, or Nintendo Revolution gaming from anywhere. How cool would that be? There's nothing technically impossible about it. We just need slightly faster mobile devices, slightly speedier Internet connections, and slightly better video compression technologies.
Sling Media garners $46.6 million from Echostar and others
Although we love Sling Media's Slingbox for helping us place-shift television from our homes to any Internet enabled display, we've been waiting for the evolutionary next slinging steps. Perhaps today's news will shoot us forward so that we can start Slinging some HDTV through our home (or to someone else's) as Sling Media just received $46.6 million in funding from Goldman, Sachs & Co., Liberty Media Corporation and Echostar Communications. Is this Charlie's next move in helping DISH Network slingshot past DIRECTV in the HDTV satellite space? Could we see some Slingbox integration with new DISH receivers and DVRs?We're on the cusp of broadband everywhere, which removes one the largest bottlenecks to providing HDTV programming everywhere you want, whenever you want. Once that hurdle becomes nonexistent, we'll need new and innovative devices like the Slingbox to fully take advantage of the new era in HDTV. If you think moving your programming to your variable location isn't important, just think back to that not so little Sony Walkman that first allowed us to listen to our cassette tapes on the go. Then it was our CDs and of course, thanks to MP3 players and digital music stores like iTunes, it's now all of our digital music. Is digital video that far behind in the portability and place-shifting market?
