Which Slingbox?

[MotionMan]

I am going to visit my parents in the Bay Area in about 2 weeks. I want to buy a simple Slingbox to hook up to an extra TV so I can watch the 49ers games.

On Craig's List, I see the following:

"Slingbox Solo - $90"
"Slingbox Pro - $80" (Note: It's red, if that makes a difference)
"Slingbox Red Version------Brand New in Box - $150"
"Slingbox AV - $70"

What are the differences between these Slingboxes? Which is the most basic (1 user, no HD reqd)? What is a good price for what I am looking for?

Thanks.

MotionMan

 

[MotionMan]

No help?

MotionMan

 

[mshan]

Slingbox Solo is most recent on that list, so I think it will work with iPad app.

If price doesn't matter, that's the one I would get.

 

[MotionMan]

Slingbox Solo is most recent on that list, so I think it will work with iPad app.

If price doesn't matter, that's the one I would get.

I don't want/need the most recent or iPad support and price certainly matters.

So, what is the opposite of your advice?

MotionMan

 

[Dirigible]

I've got a slingbox pro. It allows one user and doesn't normally have HD, but you can get an extra dongle for HD I think. Football games, with all the players moving all over the field at once, tended to result in a somewhat poor picture for me. Lots of pixelation rendered the action hard to follow.

I'm guessing you'll install the box at your parents, right? Then will you watch when you're back south? If so, unless they have a lot of internet bandwidth, the picture may not be all that is desired.

Worked better with normal tv shows with not a lot of things moving on screen at once. Better still when I just used it to stream tv to my laptop in the yard over the home network.

 

[A5]

Yeah the Slingbox compression doesn't work too well for sports unless you have a ton of bandwidth at the upload side.

My brother tried the same thing for a few years (left a box with me in Atlanta so he wouldn't have to pay for MLB.tv), but it would kill my internet speeds whenever he tried to use it - once I capped the bandwidth using QoS his picture got way worse. Eventually the power supply crapped out and he's now much happier with his MLB.tv subscription.

IIRC, the only one of those with a built-in tuner is the Pro - the others require a connection to a set-top box and an IR blaster to control it.