Please explain what Slingbox is/does.

[IamDavid]

I think I might want a Slingbox setup but I'm not completey sure what is is or does.

If I have a Slingbox connected to my home DVR/Cable/PC I can veiw it on another Slingbox'ed TV/Computer cell phone? So every different TV I want connected I need a slingbox? What's the different from ATT Uverse? Uverse can't send over internet? I want the ability to play all my MP3's to all my radios throughout my home. Would this be an option or complete overkill?

 

[simonizor]

No. You need one slingbox attatched to the signal that you are broadcasting. That signal can then be accessed over the internet from a number of devices, such as your cell phone or computer. If you want to watch it on your TV, however, I think that you would need a second slingbox to stream it from the first one. You could just connect your computer to your tv and eliminate the need for that, though.

 

[Chapbass]

David you're thinking about it the wrong way (at least what it was designed to do).


I'll give you an example:

Person 1 and 2 are both from the US. Person 2 moves to Britain (or anywhere else), but wants to see US tv. Person 1 sets up a slingbox on his tv, tells person 2 the name of the slingbox. Person 2 can watch whatever is on that TV over the internet on his computer, phone, whatever. If the computer for example has an output to a TV, then you could watch it on your TV.

There might be a device to hook up the receiving end to a TV, but I haven't used it. I have the Slingbox Pro.

 

[Tifababy]

The device you use to watch your slingbox on a tv is called a sling catcher. I have a slingbox pro HD and a sling catcher. The sling catcher is not quite HD, I think it's something like 540p. On my 50" tv, it looks pretty good and it's usually hard to tell the difference between a 720p feed. But when I tried the sling catcher on my 100" projector, it looked pretty bad.

The sling catcher/slingbox are great if you're watching live tv or a movie without commercials. But it's a little annoying to fast forward/rewind recorded shows on a DVR because there is a delay between when you hit the button because the computer or sling catcher sends the signal to the slingbox over ethernet and then the slingbox sends the signal out to the DVR with an IR extender.

We've had our slingbox for about 18 months and I really like it. We've had our slingcatcher since Christmas and I like it, but not sure I'd highly recommend it until they can do a real HD feed and increase the responsiveness.

 

[simonizor]

The device you use to watch your slingbox on a tv is called a sling catcher. I have a slingbox pro HD and a sling catcher. The sling catcher is not quite HD, I think it's something like 540p. On my 50" tv, it looks pretty good and it's usually hard to tell the difference between a 720p feed. But when I tried the sling catcher on my 100" projector, it looked pretty bad.

The sling catcher/slingbox are great if you're watching live tv or a movie without commercials. But it's a little annoying to fast forward/rewind recorded shows on a DVR because there is a delay between when you hit the button because the computer or sling catcher sends the signal to the slingbox over ethernet and then the slingbox sends the signal out to the DVR with an IR extender.

We've had our slingbox for about 18 months and I really like it. We've had our slingcatcher since Christmas and I like it, but not sure I'd highly recommend it until they can do a real HD feed and increase the responsiveness.

I would just connect my computer directly to my TV and watch the streamed TV that way. No need for a "sling catcher" as long as you're TV can accept your PC's input (if it's HD, it more than likely can).

 

[Tifababy]

I would just connect my computer directly to my TV and watch the streamed TV that way. No need for a "sling catcher" as long as you're TV can accept your PC's input (if it's HD, it more than likely can).

If I had an extra computer that can play HD video, I might have done that. But the slingcatcher was on sale for $99 last thanksgiving and it's much easier to teach my wife how to use it. And the slingcatcher uses a lot less power and turns on instantly.