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Sling Media working on Apple TV compatibility
So we just got it straight from the horse's mouth -- the horse in this case being Sling Media's and Zatz Not Funny's own Dave Zatz -- that the company is hard at work on adding Apple's Apple TV to the growing list of devices compatible with your SlingBox. As Dave points out, not only will Apple TV compatibility allow you to placeshift your video content, you'll also be able to stream your entire iTunes library thanks to the 'Box's audio-only mode; who needs an iPod when you can access all your music directly from your Windows Mobile, Palm, and possibly J2ME-equipped cellphone sometime in the future? As usual, we'll let you know when you can start slinging your Apple TV swag, and of course, if and when Team Sling does decide to build a Java client (hint hint, nudge nudge).
SlingPlayer Mobile for Palm OS Beta is live
Hey you, rabid Palm OS fan, 700p owner, and Sling advocate -- remember that SlingPlayer Mobile for Palm OS Beta you signed up for last month? Well, it's time to lose a little more sleep over it, but this time you'll be enjoying the niceties of streaming media on your handset instead of sweating the release date. According to SlingCommunity, the beta will be going live today, and will officially support the 3G-enabled Treo 700p, but "early reports" are suggesting that 680 owners may be able to enjoy limited success even without Sling's stamp of approval. Of course, the beta will remain free of charge until a public release is ready to rock, and then you'll have the option of cutting ties or ponying up the $29.99 purchase price to keep on slinging. Additionally, the kind folks over at UneasySilence have done the hard work for you already, so be sure to hit them up for a nicely appointed pictorial walkthrough while your waiting to get your own install on.[Via jkOnTheRun, thanks Tie Guy]Read - SlingPlayer Mobile for Palm OS Beta launchingRead - UneasySilence's Walkthrough
Sling lets its latest boxes loose in Canada
It took them a while, but Sling Media has finally seen fit to officially release its current batch of Slingboxen in Canada, carting its Slingbox Pro, Slingbox AV, and Slingbox Tuner across the border. Canadians hoping for a little something extra given the delay, however, will likely be a bit disappointed, with the only changes coming in the currency. In Canadian dollars, the Slingbox Tuner will set you back $180, while the Slingbox AV carries a slightly higher $200 price tag, and the Slingbox Pro tops things off at $300 -- the HD Connect cable and SlingLink Turbo 4-Port will also both be available in Canada, running $60 and $180, respectively. In addition to the hardware, Sling also took the opportunity for officially announce its SlingPlayer Mobile software for Windows Mobile and Palm OS devices in Canada, with the former version now available for $35 Canadian and the latter still open for beta testers.
SlingLink Turbo and friend get their glamor on
As if we needed any more verification of the existence of such a device, Sling's SlingLink Turbo just go peeped from all sorts of angles for some fancy press shots, and seems to be accompanied by another new SlingLink model that keeps the sexy design but loses the Ethernet hub. What a charming couple.%Gallery-1702%
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.
SlingCatcher to tread on iTV vapor trail?
In the first of what will probably be several moments of Macworld/CES friction, there are reports from Engadget, among other sources, of the latest Sling Media product: the SlingCatcher, a remote receiver for Slingbox streams that will work as a set top box for TVs. With wireless networking and an internal hard drive for storing hypothetical purchased content, this begins to sound very much like a preannounced product we've heard about.It was too much to wish that everyone else would stay out of Apple's way while the iTV finished baking; perhaps the shadow of SlingCatcher and similar devices on the horizon caused the atypical WWDC "It's Showtime" preview of unreleased hardware. If you knew that the simplicity of the iPod/iTunes combo was on the way for your video streaming, would it be worth waiting for? Or would you go Sling instead?
Sling Media's new SlingCatcher
Although Sling Media's first CES announcements aren't until Sunday night, thanks to GigaOm we have a few details of Sling's latest product: the SlingCatcher. This is another device designed to bring more media to your TV; not only will it allow you to view content from your Slingbox like you can with your PC, but it also will allow you to view whatever is on your PCs screen, on your boob tube. The box is about half the size of a Slingbox Tuner and includes S-Video, Component, HDMI and a couple USB ports. It also includes a hard drive -- a first for Sling -- this will allow you to eventually buy content from Sling, although they haven't announced any deals with content providers just yet. Also, the device doesn't include WiFi, but it is capable, making it the first Sling product with wireless connectivity. We'll keep you updated as we learn more and of course a few pics when we get 'em.Update: According to Dave Zatz the SlingCatcher will be released mid-2007 with a MSRP of less than $200. Contrary to our earlier reports the device will include Integrated WiFi and an optional Hard Drive.Read Sling to Debut PC-to-TV Box at CES [GigaOM]Read SlingCatcher Is Real! [Zatznotfunny.com]
SageTV releases Placeshifter for Mac
SageTV has released their Placeshifter client for OS X. SageTV is a two piece solution for making a PC centered PVR. A Windows or Linux PC (with video capture hardware) runs the SageTV Media Center software which offers standard PVR type functions (scheduled recordings, pause live TV, etc.). The Placeshifter client allows you to access this recorded content over the internet. In this respect it's similar to Slingbox and LocationFree (both of which also have Mac clients), but instead of a hardware box at home you run a Media Center PC. Unfortunately, the Media Center software itself is still only Windows or Linux, but they expect a Mac version early next year. Thus, while the Placeshifter client allows Mac users to access recorded content on the road, you still have to have a Windows or Linux box at home to do the actual recording.
Pinnacle rolls out PCTV To Go placeshifting box, bundles WiFi
If you're scouting the perfect placeshifting device to cure those television blues while stuck at your TV-less grandmother's house for Thanksgiving, the Slingbox might not be the obvious choice anymore. Granted, it'll probably be awhile before the current king is dethroned, Pinnacle is giving the shifting game its best shot with the PCTV To Go. Sporting built-in WiFi / Windows MCE support, this content liaison works essentially like any other timeshifting device out there, and channels MPEG4 video to wherever you're logged in (or MPEG2 if connected locally). It also allows full control over your attached DVR, giving you the opportunity to schedule a recording for that oh-so-critical rerun of Nick Arcade, Season One. It reportedly works seamlessly with your home entertainment system, acting as a pass-through device that won't complicate things when wiring it up, but there's no word on whether it supports HD signals. The Pinnacle PCTV To Go should be available just before Turkey Day for a very competitive $249.99.[Via PVRWire]
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]
Mac SlingPlayer Public Beta to be released on Halloween!
Well folks, we've finally got a date for the Mac SlingPlayer client: October 31 (well, for the public beta at least). So Mac users, while you're waiting for trick-or-treaters at your front door, kick back at your desk and take the new SlingPlayer for a spin. Sharon Rylander, Sling's beta program manager writes that if some act of God prevents this release from happening: "I will setup a mini-private beta on the 31st for anyone who has posted on Sling Community and is willing to abide by our beta rules. In other words, for all of you who have been hanging out here at Sling Community, waiting all these months, I'm guaranteeing you a download on the 31st." So there you go.[Thanks, TieGuy]
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
Engadget's relaunch giveaways: Slingbox PRO winner!
Last week we put our final Slingbox -- a Slingbox PRO -- out to give away, and we've got a winner! G-Man is taking this one home, but don't feel sore, we've still got plenty more giveaways to come. Thanks for entering everybody, and be sure you've entered our other contests, as well! Fourth shot at a Zune Win a VidaBox SLIM for the best Halloween costume! Seriously, you can win a Philips 42PF9631D 42-inch plasma Xbox 360 Premium Pack here! HD has a Helios X3000 Nikon D80 for our photo contest!
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.
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.
