the major problem with it is you need to connect it to your router via
ethernet, not Wifi, so your TV must be near your router. Other than that it
is a great idea


"Jennifer L. Boyd" wrote in message
news:[email protected]
Anyone heard of this? Sounds good to me. Anyone using it yet? Great for
travel. I must get one.

http://www.slingmedia.com/

the major problem with it is you need to connect it to your router via
ethernet, not Wifi, so your TV must be near your router. Other than that
it
is a great idea

Wifi for high resolution streamed video sucks. All by itself with perfect
conditions and no other wifi devices and it barely works. Add another
device that's also doing bulk transfers and streaming starts breaking down.

Mike Brown wrote:
I've had Slingbox for a couple weeks now and love it for what I use it for.
Very easy to set up. For me, it's a convenient way to do two things:

-wireless way to get my DirecTivo on my upstairs pc.
-remote DirecTivo at work (beware you do have to be running on XP)

I'm about 8 miles from home to work, and the resolution looks as good as it
does at home (not superb, but not awful).

Two more big tests coming up are trying it on my laptop when I travel to
Ohio next week (I'm in California) and then Ireland the next. It's just
kind of a gee whiz kind of thing that I would be able to control my Tivo, or
other box from Ireland. Home away from home.

Thanks for the real-world review, Mike!

Randy S.

"wkearney99" wrote in message
...
the major problem with it is you need to connect it to your router via
ethernet, not Wifi, so your TV must be near your router. Other than that
it is a great idea

Wifi for high resolution streamed video sucks. All by itself with perfect
conditions and no other wifi devices and it barely works. Add another
device that's also doing bulk transfers and streaming starts breaking down.

The Slingbox device is compressing the video to a much lower bit rate than it
exists on the Tivo (it is also using more sophisticated compression, so it can
do more with less bandwidth, but it's compressing it much more than an
equivalent quality level). It has to use a much lower bitrate, otherwise it
wouldn't be streamable from a DSL or Cable connection (which typically have
outgoing rates in the neighborhood of 256 Kb/s).

Wifi is easily capable of sustaining rates that can saturate a typical
DSL/Cable connection.

Ken