Why do people have such a hard time understanding what a Slingbox does?

[aphex]

I swear, even to my techy friends, I have to explain 2-3 times what it is and how it works...

What is it about the Slingbox that makes it so complicated to understand?

 

[RossMAN]

because their first assumption is it's a DVR like TiVo.

 

[Maleficus]

too lazy to google, what is a slingbox? I remember hearing about them when they first came out, something about mobile media right?

 

[moshquerade]

Mama's got a Slingbox, Daddy never sleeps at night

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: Maleficus
too lazy to google, what is a slingbox? I remember hearing about them when they first came out, something about mobile media right?

http://www.slingbox.com

 

[wyvrn]

So, how does that box control the dvr, etc? Hmm sounds interesting.

 

[Bootprint]

Originally posted by: Maleficus
too lazy to google, what is a slingbox? I remember hearing about them when they first came out, something about mobile media right?

DVR = Time shifting your media
Slingbox = Location shifting your media, but not onto narwhals.

 

[Drako]

Becuase it's something nobody really wants or needs. People don't understand why they would want one.

 

[40sTheme]

Sweet! I can watch my alien on a lounge chair or a narwhal!

 

[Dacalo]

My friend has his connected at his brother-in-law's house to a spare box that they don't use. He gets to watch all the channels, for free.

 

[Iron Woode]

this thread is now about Narwhals.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narwhal

 

[daveymark]

Originally posted by: Drako
Becuase it's something nobody really wants or needs. People don't understand why they would want one.

that, and orb is free

 

[moshquerade]

http://www.woot.com/

 

[sonambulo]

The files are...inside...the computer?

 

[pontifex]

explain that again?

 

[mpitts]

Originally posted by: daveymark

Originally posted by: Drako
Becuase it's something nobody really wants or needs. People don't understand why they would want one.

that, and orb is free

Orb streams live TV over the internet?

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

Some people call it a Kaiser Box... I call it a Sling Box... mmmMMMHmm

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: moshquerade
Mama's got a Slingbox, Daddy never sleeps at night

god damn you, that's what I clicked on this thread to post

 

[LS21]

what bandwidth would be required for decent quality watching? what about cell phones? what formats are supported?

 

[Mikey]

A slingbox is like a slingshot...it shoots your media (a marble) from the computer (the slingshot) to the tv (the douchebag).

 

[BoomerD]

Since Mosh linked to the woot.com sale of these, I'll cut and paste part of their wordy description:
"we feel that a more sober explanation of the Sling Media Slingbox AV is appropriate. Watch, like this: you hook it up to your TV, log in to the web-based player anywhere in the world, and watch and control your TV, TiVo, satellite, cable, or DVD player right there on your PC. Your office, your hotel room, your prison cell ? if you?ve got a broadband connection, your TV back home is at your command. Take your living room with you wherever you go, without the strain on your back and damage to your home that would result from moving your actual living room. You can even watch on your cell phone, if it?s fancy enough."


Edit: But after watching the vid on the Slingbox site, I think this is a MUCH better description:

Originally posted by: 40sTheme
Sweet! I can watch my alien on a lounge chair or a narwhal!

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: mpitts

Originally posted by: daveymark

Originally posted by: Drako
Becuase it's something nobody really wants or needs. People don't understand why they would want one.

that, and orb is free

Orb streams live TV over the internet?

Yea but orb requires you to have a windows computer (which not all of us have) connected at all times, as well as a tv tuner card connected to your cable line.

Sling lets you watch anything on your DVR or Digital Cable box without needing a windows computer connected all the time. Its standalone.

For me it works great, I sling my HD DVR to my laptop wherever I am. I can go through all my HBO On Demand Stuff, as well as sling my recorded programs or live tv. It works, and works well.

 

[sciencewhiz]

Originally posted by: wyvrn
So, how does that box control the dvr, etc? Hmm sounds interesting.

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: sciencewhiz

Originally posted by: wyvrn
So, how does that box control the dvr, etc? Hmm sounds interesting.

It uses an IR Blaster.

 

[LS21]

orb, as great an idea as it is, is really really really resource-hogging. if i leave it runnign for a while, streaming nothing but mp3s, after a while it jacks up to 80% CPU usage on a dual-core athlon xp4000+... thats when its NOT streaming