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Slingbox

A

akshatp

Diamond Member
I am considering putting this on my xmas gift wishlist since I work nights and go through lots of downtime.

Questions:

1) Can I control my cable box DVR remotely through the slingbox?
2) Do you think I will be able to connect through the corporate firewall at work? (ie what ports does it stream on)
3) What is the quality of the video being streamed?

Let the discussions begin!
 
My friend has one he uses to watch TV while he's at the Naval Academy.

-He has a 5Mbit upload connection that streams the video, so it's not choppy whatsoever.
-From what I've seen, the quality is a little less than watching a divx DVD-rip or a standard quality film trailer.
-Depending on your cable box/DVR, you have complete control over your cable box via the software.
 
There are different models of slingbox depending on what you want to do. Slingbox AV requires your source to have a tuner, which it will control (TiVo, cable box, etc). Slingbox Tuner has it's own tuner so can connect to a basic cable connection w/no box. Slingbox Pro is HD and supports multiple inputs.

The original slingbox was basically a Slingbox AV requiring you to use a device with its own tuner.

Quality is *very* good on a variety of devices including smartphones. I believe they use a proprietary codec to achieve this.

Don't know what ports are used but I'm sure you can google this easily.

 
I have a Scientific Atlanta HD Cable Box/DVR provided to me by Cablevision. Can anyone confirm that Slingbox is compatible with this? I beleive Comcast provides the same or a very similar box to their customers.
 
I have the ability to use the original slingbox on Sundays and do so becuase it is that or nothing. Streams at only ~1000kbps and looks like smanus most of the time. It is better then nothing though.
 
Originally posted by: AStar617
There are different models of slingbox depending on what you want to do. Slingbox AV requires your source to have a tuner, which it will control (TiVo, cable box, etc). Slingbox Tuner has it's own tuner so can connect to a basic cable connection w/no box. Slingbox HD is HD and supports multiple inputs.

The original slingbox was basically a Slingbox AV requiring you to use a device with its own tuner.
Click to expand...
just a quick correction here -- original slingbox has its own tuner, so it resembles your Slingbox Tuner description above.
 
Originally posted by: HN
Originally posted by: AStar617
There are different models of slingbox depending on what you want to do. Slingbox AV requires your source to have a tuner, which it will control (TiVo, cable box, etc). Slingbox Tuner has it's own tuner so can connect to a basic cable connection w/no box. Slingbox HD is HD and supports multiple inputs.

The original slingbox was basically a Slingbox AV requiring you to use a device with its own tuner.
Click to expand...
just a quick correction here -- original slingbox has its own tuner, so it resembles your Slingbox Tuner description above.
Click to expand...

Whoops, thanks for the fix. I don't actually own a Slingbox yet--but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. 😉
 
Originally posted by: HN
Originally posted by: AStar617
There are different models of slingbox depending on what you want to do. Slingbox AV requires your source to have a tuner, which it will control (TiVo, cable box, etc). Slingbox Tuner has it's own tuner so can connect to a basic cable connection w/no box. Slingbox HD is HD and supports multiple inputs.

The original slingbox was basically a Slingbox AV requiring you to use a device with its own tuner.
Click to expand...
just a quick correction here -- original slingbox has its own tuner, so it resembles your Slingbox Tuner description above.
Click to expand...

What are the differences between the original slingbox and the slingbox tuner?
 
I have one I use all the time to watch my DirecTV when I am working overnight out of town. Works fine on as little as a 256k connection also.
 
Slingbox == greatest thing since the invention of ATOT

seriously, I love it. Mine is setup on my parent's TVs in Dallas. Allows me to watch the out-of-market college and pro games that I would like to watch while I'm in Atlanta (or wherever). Unfortunately my parents' DSL upstream tops out at 420kbps, which looks fine, unless lots of sports-blurred motion (basketball looks the worst, but I still watch). News, sitcoms, etc streams perfectly..and the abililty to watch it from anywhere is awesome. I keep the software loaded on my USB key and laptop, and I'm hardly ever without one of those.

 
I've used it before. You can change what port it streams through. So for a corporate firewall, put it on a common port like port 80 or 21. I changed mine to port 80 and was able to access the stream from my work.
 
Originally posted by: akshatp
I have a Scientific Atlanta HD Cable Box/DVR provided to me by Cablevision. Can anyone confirm that Slingbox is compatible with this? I beleive Comcast provides the same or a very similar box to their customers.
Click to expand...

Using it with a 8300HD which is probably what you have. Works perfect. Complete control of the DVR any everything else. You literally have the exact remote control on your screen with all the functions working.
 
Originally posted by: slayer202
Originally posted by: akshatp
I have a Scientific Atlanta HD Cable Box/DVR provided to me by Cablevision. Can anyone confirm that Slingbox is compatible with this? I beleive Comcast provides the same or a very similar box to their customers.
Click to expand...

Using it with a 8300HD which is probably what you have. Works perfect. Complete control of the DVR any everything else. You literally have the exact remote control on your screen with all the functions working.
Click to expand...

Yep. Just confirmed with my wife, it is the 8300HD Explorer box. Thanks for the reply, I will make sure this item gets to the TOP of my gift wishlist 🙂
 
Originally posted by: akshatp
One more question. Can more than one person watch the same stream. ie from two different locations?
Click to expand...

the answer to that is, no. They did this in part to keep the content providers off their back. For the average home DSL/cable connection though, I'm not sure if that's a real bad thing, because two people siphoning off the limited upload would cause the picture quality to become horrible anyway. My dad and I share the slingbox and we haven't had any issues - he mainly watches from work and I mainly watch at night.
 
Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: HN
Originally posted by: AStar617
There are different models of slingbox depending on what you want to do. Slingbox AV requires your source to have a tuner, which it will control (TiVo, cable box, etc). Slingbox Tuner has it's own tuner so can connect to a basic cable connection w/no box. Slingbox HD is HD and supports multiple inputs.

The original slingbox was basically a Slingbox AV requiring you to use a device with its own tuner.
Click to expand...
just a quick correction here -- original slingbox has its own tuner, so it resembles your Slingbox Tuner description above.
Click to expand...

What are the differences between the original slingbox and the slingbox tuner?
Click to expand...
i do not have any of the new ones (AV or Tuner), just experience from the original. From the descriptions on Slingmedia's site, it looks like the original is actually a combination of the AV and the Tuner. The original has it's own internal tuner as well as the ability to control your DVRs and cable boxes if needed. The description for the slingbox AV says it can control your boxes but has no tuner, and the description for the slingbox Tuner says it has a tuner but nothing about control your boxes.

I guess they split up the abilities into two product lines. Just going by description, I'd go looking for the original Slingbox or bumping all the way up the Slingbox Pro.
 
Originally posted by: erub
Slingbox == greatest thing since the invention of ATOT

seriously, I love it. Mine is setup on my parent's TVs in Dallas. Allows me to watch the out-of-market college and pro games that I would like to watch while I'm in Atlanta (or wherever). Unfortunately my parents' DSL upstream tops out at 420kbps, which looks fine, unless lots of sports-blurred motion (basketball looks the worst, but I still watch). News, sitcoms, etc streams perfectly..and the abililty to watch it from anywhere is awesome. I keep the software loaded on my USB key and laptop, and I'm hardly ever without one of those.
Click to expand...

If we ever move to Australia I'm going to give my Slingbox AV to a local friend or family member so I can watch American TV down under.
 
Originally posted by: HN
Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: HN
Originally posted by: AStar617
There are different models of slingbox depending on what you want to do. Slingbox AV requires your source to have a tuner, which it will control (TiVo, cable box, etc). Slingbox Tuner has it's own tuner so can connect to a basic cable connection w/no box. Slingbox HD is HD and supports multiple inputs.

The original slingbox was basically a Slingbox AV requiring you to use a device with its own tuner.
Click to expand...
just a quick correction here -- original slingbox has its own tuner, so it resembles your Slingbox Tuner description above.
Click to expand...

What are the differences between the original slingbox and the slingbox tuner?
Click to expand...
i do not have any of the new ones (AV or Tuner), just experience from the original. From the descriptions on Slingmedia's site, it looks like the original is actually a combination of the AV and the Tuner. The original has it's own internal tuner as well as the ability to control your DVRs and cable boxes if needed. The description for the slingbox AV says it can control your boxes but has no tuner, and the description for the slingbox Tuner says it has a tuner but nothing about control your boxes.

I guess they split up the abilities into two product lines. Just going by description, I'd go looking for the original Slingbox or bumping all the way up the Slingbox Pro.
Click to expand...

Slingbox AV seems okay for cable box users who dont need to sling in HD
 
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