Use a Slingbox to Watch Your DVR Away from Home

You’ve probably heard the term “Slingbox” at one time or another over the past few years, but most people don’t really know what one is. The Slingbox™ is a product from Sling Media, Inc. that allows you to stream your own content across the Internet. The content is usually your television signal, but it can be anything from recordings on your DVR, to DVDs in your DVD player. You can, in fact, connect any video source that has traditional outputs such as composite, component or s-video. The Slingbox™ is such a revolutionary product that it even won the 2007 Technology and Engineering Emmy® Award.

The Slingbox™ allows you to watch your content anywhere you have an Internet connection. A high-speed connection is recommended for the best quality. All you need is a computer and the SlingPlayer Desktop software installed. The SlingPlayer software works on both Windows and Mac computers. There is also a SlingPlayer Mobile software that works on cell phones including Windows Mobile, Palm, Symbian and BlackBerry devices. Not to worry iPhone fans, they are currently beta testing a version for the iPhone that should be released this year.

There are currently three different Slingbox™ models available – The Slingbox™ SOLO, Slingbox™ PRO and Slingbox™ PRO-HD. MSRP prices range from $179.99 to $299.99. There are no monthly service charges associated with the Slingbox™. As with most electronics, you can find the items at better prices online at popular stores such as Amazon.com. They currently have the Slingbox™ PRO-HD for $239.95. All models allow you to stream your content across the Internet, but the other models include extra features such as built-in analog and/or digital TV tuners, multiple video source connections and support for High Definition (HD) content. There is a handy chart on the Sling Media website (www.slingmedia.com) that shows the differences among the models to help you choose which device is right for you.

For this review, I choose the Slingbox™ HD-PRO model as support for HD content was important to me. The Slingbox™ comes well packaged and includes all the necessary cables you need to get connected. Once powered on for the first time, you are walked through an on-screen setup wizard that is one of the best ones I have encountered. The only step that may be challenging for some is the necessary changes you must make to your router to open a certain port to allow the Slingbox™ to communicate to the Internet. Fortunately, the wizard has you select the make and model of your Internet router and has an interactive tutorial for a large list of the most popular models. If you need additional assistance, Sling Media does have phone support and additional resources online.

With setup complete, I installed the SlingPlayer Desktop software on my laptop and in moments was watching my HD TV content. The desktop software worked well and was intuitive to use. There is even an on-screen remote control that looks identical to the one supplied with the cable box. From the software, you can control your TV just as if you were sitting in your living room. Channel surfing, watching DVR recordings or even setting up new shows to record, all worked remarkably well. The quality of the video was very good, even while watching a HD channel. I also installed the SlingPlayer Mobile software on my T-Mobile Blackberry device. There is an additional charge for the mobile software, but there is a 30-day, free trial to allow you to try it out. The quality of the video was very good on the Blackberry when connected to a Wi-Fi network, and was certainly watchable using the cellular 2G EDGE connection as well. Just like the desktop software, you can change the channels, or watch recording just as if you were in your living room with the remote control.

The Slingbox™ is a great device for anyone who wants to watch their content while away from home. Individuals away from home, or who travel often, will love the ability to catch up with their DVR recordings, or watch programming not available at their location. With its reasonable cost, no monthly service fee, easy setup and great performance, I’d be happy to recommend the Slingbox™ to family and friends. The one caveat to remember is that you are controlling your TV signal or cable box when watching. So if someone at home is also trying to watch the TV connected to the Slingbox™ and you decide to change channels or start a recorded program, the person at home will be watching the same thing. My wife never seems amused when I do this.

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