The Slingbox Rules!
So you'ren a five-hour train ride from Toronto to Ottawa with a burning desire to watch the World Cup. What do you do? Well, if you're Stuart MacDonald, you fire up the laptop, connect to Via Rail's Wi-fi network and watch the Holland-Argentina soccer game using a Slingbox. How cool is that?!
While the Slingbox is wonderful technology, the nagging question is how broad its appeal can be. I used to think the Slingbox was a no-brainer for road warriors and people able to watch TV at work but the more I see it used, the more I think it's a relatively inexpensive (one-time expense of $170 to $250) tool to give you even more control over how, when and where you watch TV. For anyone who spends a few thousand dollars on a big-screen TV, why not spend a few more bucks on a nice-to-have feature.
June 21st, 2006 at 10:15 pm
Used the SlingPlayer Mobile to watch the second period of the Stanley Cup game on my Dell Axim X50v during the intermission of a show at Stage West Theatre. Their hotel has free WiFi which reaches into the theatre area. Several around me wondered how I knew the “current” score. (Was too polite to leave it hooked up while the play was on but was able to check into the post-game stuff with Cherry afterwards.)
The SlingPlayer was challenged to keep up with the fast action of a hockey game — got a little choppy on the image updates but I certainly was still able to follow the play-by-play. (And the WiFi signal was “Poor” according to the WiFi program.)
June 21st, 2006 at 10:18 pm
Further comment and clarification: Understand I am talking about SlingPlayer Mobile on a small 640 x 480 screen when mentioning the picture was choppy. SlingPlayer on my PC keeps up with the hockey action quite nicely (even when I go Full Screen on a 1650 x 1080 display) and is a good test of the overall quality.
June 22nd, 2006 at 8:55 am
Whilst I was excited by the prospect of slingbox when I first read about it, I've found orb.com's software solution to provide an excellent alternate, once you've hooked the TV/Satelitte up to the PC. Better yet, its free at present
June 27th, 2006 at 8:12 am
Interesting, Mark. I just joined the ranks of Slingers. I think you'll find my post on my blog (which references your post on your blog) interesting.
Alan