Sling Media Slingbox PRO-HD SB300-100
by Sling Media
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List Price: Our Price: Calculated in a shopping cart Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sling Media Slingbox PRO-HD SB300-100
Customer Review: Works exactly as advertised
Summary: 5 Stars
I gave this box 5 stars because it does exactly what it says it does. I was able to research through the Slingbox website and Amazon which model I should go with to fit my situation and so there was not a second of disappointment when it actually arrived.
That's not to say its perfect. There are drawbacks, but overall, the Slingbox Pro does exactly what it says it does - transmit cable/broadcast signals to a remote computer anywhere else in the world.
Basically we bought this for the purpose of watching some American TV (namely American Football) overseas where we're stationed. We would have preferred a cheaper model, but this is the only one that took the signal straight from the wall - which allowed my brother-in-law (BIL) to plug this directly in his spare bedroom.
My very benevolent BIL offered to set the entire thing up on his end, and he said the process was a piece of cake. I will admit that he's a pretty good computer techy guy, so I can't really comment on the ease of set-up.
From my end - things couldn't be easier. There is some signal degradation when I play it on the 42" flat panel, but when playing back on the laptop the signal is actually quite sharp.
My BIL's internet connection was a factor. We actually had to upgrade the upload speed on his connection in order for my signal to improve. Before when they would so much as check the mail while the sligbox was on, the signal on my end was terrible. After they kicked up their upload speed, this made things much better. Now their upload speed shows to be 790kbs where before it was roughly 350kbs. 350KBS was not nearly enough to show a smooth picture on my end - regardless of what the slingplayer documentation says.
I like the sling player software and I think it functions well. The slingbar-right option is nice as the rest of my windows re-size on the laptop.
Other thoughts:
-I have no problem with using Slingplayer wirelessly, even though it's not suggested.
-The pause TV button is great.
-I am regularly using the slingplayer 7 time zones away from the Slingbox. This might explain the extra upload speed needed on the other end.
-The program guide is great - we love it.
-When my BIL replaced his router, the Slingbox did not like that. It has to be completely reprogrammed. This is to be expected I guess, but it did cause me a couple of days outage.
Overall, this does exactly what we want it to do. Paying the $260+ for this box seemed a bit pricey, but we have not been disappointed because we've been able to accomplish exactly what I wanted to do.
Customer Review: Amazing device
Summary: 5 Stars
I was in Italy a couple of months ago and found that I was very limited in being able to watch TV over my laptop. Netflix streaming and most everything else said that broadcasts outside the US were not allowed. We finally were able to find that we could watch Southpark reruns off their website, which was great, but we wanted a little more variety the next time we traveled. I had heard about a Slingbox and got this one when we returned. I haven't traveled with it yet, so I don't know how it will do under differing situations, but from other reviews it looks like it will be fine.
From computers on my home network the Slingbox picture looks great. It works flawlessly and you are able to lower the resolution of the picture so that it shows well at your transmission speed. Cable internet going through 802.11g wireless works fine.
I was a little concerned that I would need to have the AV (surround-sound) system and/or TV on as my devices are connected to them by HDMI cables, which transmit information both ways and devices sometimes will not operate with HDMI-connected output devices off. The Slingbox operates the digital cable box/DVR fine with the AV system and TV off. I am waiting for my new Roku box Roku HD Player (my first one quit on me) to see if that will work OK, but I suspect it will.
Setup was easy enough. You may have to struggle some with your home network, but they give good step-by-step instructions on getting it to connect. True it does not have any HDMI connections, but the composite connections worked fine. The software needed by the computers to watch the signal downloaded and installed fine for both Windows XP and Vista computers.
You do not need a Sling catcher if you are only going to watch TV through a laptop or cell phone. Slingbox is developing software to use it on Android phones. It already will work with iPhones.
The Slingbox really works amazingly well and if you want to watch video from the sources you have in your home anywhere you happen to be, it is a great device.
Update 2-12-2010 - Hooked up Roku (Netflix) player. Works great. I am able to switch quickly between the cable box/DVR to the Roku player quickly on the browser. I haven't tested it on the road yet, but operating on the same home network, it works great.
Customer Review: so far it's as good or better than first two Slingboxes
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I live and work in Europe and like to follow all sorts of American sports, especially my Michigan teams (yes even the lowly winless Lions!). Before getting the PRO-HD I used an original Slingbox at my home in Ann Arbor and a Slingbox Pro at my brother's home in Arizona.
Sling Media does a great job of upgrading/updating its software improving picture resolution. When I upgraded to the Slingbox PRO I saw significant improvement in the picture quality. It really gives a much crisper pictures at large viewing sizes.
So far my experience with the PRO-HD has been somewhat limited through no fault of Sling. I'm still waiting for an HD upgrade of my cable service at which time I'll update this review.
I tried setting up my new PRO-HD as a new Slingbox and encountered quite a bit of difficulty. The instructions were not very helpful. I also looked online and still could not figure out the setting. I ended up using my original Slingbox's setting. This did the trick. When I set up my original Slingbox I recall going through quite a bit of frustrating trial and error before figuring out the right setting fro my wireless network. I can imagine that people who are not as technically inclined may need some assistance to get their Slingboxes working.
As for the picture quality, I got the usual crystal clear picture while streaming at home on the wireless network. After returning to my overseas home in Budapest I kept my fingers crossed and hoped that I could reach my Slingbox. The streaming is fine but For some reason the Kbps is rather low. On my end here in Budapest I know that I have more than enough bandwidth as I receive NFL Gameplan HD at almost triple the Kbps. I suspect this is more a problem with my ISP in Ann Arbor. I'll need to check this as the picture is not as crisp as I know it should be.
I'm still waiting to stream with HD and to try controlling on demand features. As soon as I have these services I'll update this review. In the meantime I can recommend this Slingbox and its predecessors to people who want to view their home television from remote locations as close to another room or as far as around the world.
Customer Review: Excellent product
Summary: 5 Stars
As long as you set your expextations appropriately, you should be very happy with this product. I have had it a few weeks now and watched on my Blackberry in Startucks and on my laptop in various places.
You do need a decent network connection but so long as you do, I have found quality to be pretty good.
So what I should mention is my set-up because you can set things up in many different ways.
I have the coaxial going into my Slingbox and then back out into my DVR/Cable box with no other connections. This means I only get basic cable but, I have no impact on the folks at home, do not have to worry about people knocking the IR blaster etc.
It was not clear to me that you could have your coaxial flow through the Slingbox with no effect to the cable box so that was a nice surprise otherwise I would have had to buy a cable splitter (already splitting the signal at that point with cable modem)or locate the SB somewhere else in the house near anothe rcable point and messed around with an airport express network extender to plug it into (I have an airport extreme wireless router).
The other really nice surprise is the online TV guide. It pops up and then you are able to select the program you want and it changes channel.
I downloaded the 30 day free Blackberry app and this was very impressive. However, I will pay the $30 for he ipod app when I buy a new ipod touch or ipad.
All in all this is very impressive technology - I find myself wondering why my cable company does not offer a Slingox type app from their own website so I do not even need a Slingbox.
Update:
I thought some people might like to know that I tested the Singbox on the in-flight internet service on Delta last week. Initially the quality was bad (picture kept breaking up) but after a while the Slingobx software seemed to optimize based on the connection speed and it became very watchable (although no where near as good as a decent ground-based network). you have to say that this is impressive.
Customer Review: Too Good To Be True, But IS
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a 64-yr-old Slingbox junkie. Started with the Pro 4 years ago, but Sling Media didn't have it's tech act quite right yet. Gave it away when the Solo was introduced and would have replicated this review at that time. I was amazed at its performance in terms of the video quality and video/audio sync and ultra smooth play.
Then came the HD. I was skeptical. I was already happy that I could watch NCIS on my 17" laptop in fine quality while my wife watched the lame "American Idol" on the Sony Bravia 52" HDTV--in the same room. I have the most ideal setup for a Slingbox: I have 2 HD Cable boxes, one attached to the Sony and one attached to another 42" Sharp on the other side of the house--it happens to be next to all my computer equipment, most importantly, my hard-wired router.
Decided to take the plunge for the Slingbox HD. No instructions needed if you know component setup. When I turned this baby on, I was totally blown away. How could a laptop display produce an image as sharp as the Sony 8 feet from where I sat. I don't mean almost, I mean exact. Sling Media put every bell and whistle into this box, including the ability to access the box from anywhere via a browser (not need by me)--tried it on my Firefox and it was a winner. Caution: Image deterioration when distance grows, as noted in the instructions.
I'm still in awe! YES, I could have remained in "pig heaven" with the solo. However, once you see the difference in HD on a laptop 28" from your eyes with little peripheral interference with a quality set of headphones--NIRVANA. Last night I chose to watch the SAME program as my wife, but I used my Slingbox HD via the other cable box--it's so much more immersive.
Best "Toy" I ever bought and Amazon had the best price--worth its weight in platinum. Price may seem steep, but the reward far outweighs the small long-term investment. As my title says, "Too good to be true", and we ALL know what that means. Yet, in the case of the Slingbox HD it *IS TRUE*.