Sling Media Slingbox SOLO (SB260-100)
by Sling Media
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List Price: Our Price: Calculated in a shopping cart Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $109.99 (click here) 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 SOLO (SB260-100)
Customer Review: paired w/ direct tv and Symbian phone
Summary: 5 Stars
awesome awesome device.
i hooked it up using a direct tv box and started watching on my laptop wireless computer and on my phone at work.
it took about 30 mins of set up because i had to physically connect the router to my laptop while the slingbox updated its firmware. Then I had to find the Slingbox ID (which is under the Edit portion of the Slingbox directory for your slingbox). And of course, install the slingbox app on the computer.
it tired to detect and automatically configure my router but i had the UPnP feature turned off so I had log onto the router and turn that on before it started working outside of my network.
i primarily use the slingobx on my Nokia N75 on a 3G connection (w/ the unlimited data plan) w/c makes it glitchfree. I tried the MobiTV app on the phone and that was a disaster. Not only do you have to pay $10/mnth but the 'live' tv had about a 5 second gap between the audio and the video. The news audio wasn't in sync with the video and to top it off, it was very pixelated. You wouldn't be able to read the bottom news ticker AT ALL.
On the slingbox mobile, however, it is crystal clear and in SYNC. To top it off, when I'm watching using the EDGE network, it would constantly buffer every 30-40secs BUT it would continue the audio AND video to where it stopped so you don't miss a second! Plus, it's crystal clear and everything on the phone screen is VERY readable. And it can be viewed FULL screen w/c dispalys the video sideways! And unlike MobiTV, it doesn't keep asking every 20mins if you want to keep watching and if you dont' respond it turns off. Slingbox keeps streaming until you exit the app.
I was initially very skeptical at the viability of the 'internet tv' based on my experience with MobiTV but this is the real deal. An actual TV broadcast on your phone/ computer and you have complete control of the channels! Everything from accessing the tv guide to changing settings!
The only con I have for now is the fact that if you're watching at home, you wouldn't know somebody is watching using the slingbox until they change the channel. I wish they had a feature that indicated it's in use on the home tv.
Also, you can't use the slingbox in two locations at one time. So if I was watching on my phone, I can't use the computer to watch it simultaneously. Only one at a time is permitted.
And since my phone is a flip phone, the app closes when I close the phone. I wish it didn't. But then again I'm guessing it's memory intensive so that might be a good idea. But I can't listen to the XM channel with the phone open (the N75 is huge when flipped open.
And finally, I don't like that the phone app is not free (while the comp app is free). At least there's a 30day trial. But I guess they have to make their money somewhere.
Small gripes.
Just make sure you have broadband (both ways) to enjoy this device. So if you're on the edge about buying... don't! Go out and get it!
Customer Review: Works Exactly as Advertised
Summary: 5 Stars
I was a bit skeptical about the Slingbox solo - I was concerned that the set-up would be difficult and that the video quality would be poor. Well that simply is not the case, in fact it works a little better than I had hoped. There are a few things you need to consider.
1 - This is NOT a wireless device. You will need to have your TV/DVR/Cable Box hear your router or you will need to buy a device such as Slinglink Turbo 1PORT Enet Connection Bridge (SL 150-100) which can use your home's electrical wiring to extend your network (it really is a cool product!).
2- You can use Sling Media SlingCatcher SC100-100 Universal Media Player for TV to watch your Slingbox remotely on a separate TV. This is great for kids that are away at college and still want to watch their home team sporting events.
3- Will "Sling" to your Blackberry (Model Dependent) or your iPod/iPhone (Requires the purchase of a separate application).
4 - You can also just watch on any computer (Macs included!) once you remotely log into your Slingbox
5- Only 1 viewer at a time - meaning if you and your buddy want to watch the Slingbox remotely using two different devices (one of you using an iPhone while the other using a computer or any combination) you are out of luck. The Slingbox will deliver programing to ONE discrete viewing device.
6- The Slingbox "Hijacks" the TV/DVR/Cable box that it is attached to - meaning that if you are using the Slingbox to view channel 3 - then the person who owns the TV will also have to watch channel 3. It could create a dispute if the owner of the TV decides that they want to watch something different than the person using the Slingbox.
7- Need to keep an eye on your network settings - If your router is in Powersave mode your network connection may go to asleep which would make remote viewing impossible.
8 - Video quality - we vary depending on your network speed - ideally your network will be able to work at speeds greater than 1Mbps - but it is not necessary. at 1Mbps you can expect video quality to be slight less than what you get using a standard definition television.
Final Verdict - Works great - but you really ned to keep you expectation in check. This is not a HD Slingbox and does not deliver to the quality. However, for what I am using it for - it is an outstanding product.
5 Stars
Customer Review: Does what it's supposed to do
Summary: 5 Stars
I read the reviews on this item and had to discount most of them for lack of effort and research. I have a friend who has the unit so I saw it work before I purchased one. Everything in the box was packed well and complete. The quick setup guide is very easy to follow. I suggest reading all of the instructions first, map out your gameplan and then start the install as you have several options. Before you buy this item figure out how you will connect to the internet. My house is wired for internet in every room so it was no problem. I don't suggest wireless as I think it's not reliable enough to operate this unit...it's bandwidth hungry. My friend uses the plugin devices and they work great. I first setup the unit with composite cables but decided to switch to component video cables. I did get a better picture but the composite cables work just fine. When everything is setup you need to login to your computer and setup up the unit. I loaded the software on both a PC and a Mac with no issues. It takes a while to go through the process so give yourself about an hour. The hardest part was finding the virtual remote that looked like mine. I had to type in my cable provider as the maker and I was able to find it right away. I tested the remote buttons and everything works like a champ. The video was seamless....no chop at all. If you have a choppy video I would suggest upgrading your router. As I said, this machine requires major bandwidth so be prepared if you are using slow peripheral equipment. If you have a DVR I would definitely hook up to that since it gives you the most options for remote watching.
IPhone setup: I did purchase the Slingmedia app for my IPhone 3GS. It's pricey at $29.99. It installed very easily as well, sound is very good and the picture surprisingly good. It took a bit of work to get used to the remote buttons. Many are hidden and you slide your finger left or right to see the rest. All of the remote buttons are there and they work fine. The app works great if you have a decent signal and are not moving. It works OK if you are in a car or moving about but you may have some signal loss. A window will pop up and it's very easy to reconnect. Overall very pleased with the app.
I did not call customer service so I can't tell you how bad or good they are. I tend to not call customer service unless I am at a total loss. Probably all the answers you need are on the forum or somewhere on the internet. You don't need to be overly techie to set this thing up but you do need to take your time and follow directions.
Customer Review: Incredible Little Box
Summary: 5 Stars
I have heard the Slingbox advertised for several years and have often wondered what the appeal was--with other technologies like tv tuner cards and portable media players, I never saw the point. Recently, however, I purchased a 3.5G smartphone and found there was Slingbox client software available for it. The idea of watching television anywhere from my phone [with an unlimited data plan] intrigued me enough to make the relatively minor investment in a Slingbox.
After trying it, I can only say it is incredible. Having a device in my pocket that can receive television is amazing, and the fact that it is not some choppy over-the-air signal but a beautifully clear signal with access to an entire cable tv feed, on demand services, program guides, and recorded programs is mind-blowing. Even from a laptop or other client, having access to all the channels and features you normally have in your living room, no matter where you are, makes the Slingbox much more powerful than a simple tuner card. For those so motivated, it is also possible to spy on what your kids are watching when you're not home (or annoy them by changing the channel).
I purchased the Slingbox SOLO because of the built-in high-definition component input. Because I was eager to set-up the box, I initially connected it with a simple composite connection--later, I dug-out an RGB component cable and connected it that way instead, but found with the lower resolution and compression artifacts introduced by the Slingbox I didn't notice a significant difference and ended-up switching back just to eliminate some cables and to take advantage of the cable-box's ability to convert everything to the same aspect ratio to avoid having to switch the client. The video quality looks perfect on the cell phone [although I don't think anything less than 3.5G service would work well] but from a PC or laptop, the picture quality is similar to a high quality standard-definition tuner card, even when viewing a high-definition source.
Setting-up the Slingbox was absolutely simple and almost completely automatic; it does require a pc on the same network. The box was detected and video was working as soon as set-up started. A huge variety of equipment is supported, with pc client software displaying a remote that looks almost identical to the actual equipment remote. I did not have to make any adjustments to the box's IR signal timing to the cable box and it has worked flawlessly without ever missing a command.
Customer Review: Pretty good, but a few gotcha's
Summary: 5 Stars
I use the slingbox solo to be able to watch TV on my various computers around the house. The picture and sound quality are excellent once you get it running, especially if you have it hooked to a high def cable or satellite box via the component cables. I have a dish network DVR 622 and it works perfectly, when it is running. All the remote control and software functions as advertised. I run it through my 100Mbit local ethernet home network, but the DVR is not near a hard wired Ethernet port, so I put the Slingbox through an ethernet switch that shares the DVR ethernet port and a PC on a home AC wiring ethernet box back to the main hub and router. This all works fine, and the Slingbox transmits at about 3Mb/sec across the network in automatic mode, so it doesn't use anywhere near all the network bandwidth. I would not recommend the high def version of slingbox, the results with this one are good enough, and you can still surf and do email etc while watching slingbox in the corner.
So what are the gotchas? Number one, the slingbox mysteriously stops transmitting periodically. This can be anywhere from a few seconds to a couple of minutes. Then it starts up again on its own. You can use Windows task manager (ctrl-alt-del) to monitor network traffic, and you can easily see that slingbox has stopped transmitting. Then it just as suddenly starts back up. This means you miss everything that happened while slingbox was frozen. This can be pretty irritating, as it was for me when this happened during the last minute of a football game.
Second gotcha, Slingbox tech support is terrible. When I reported this problem, they blamed it on everything but the slingbox - must be my PC, must be windows, must be my anti-virus, must be my router, my switch, blah blah blah. No, it is clearly a problem that the Slingbox has stopped transmitting. They have a bug in their firmware, but they don't even want to look into it. So if you are not a tech guru, you probably won't have a very good experience getting this going.
Luckily, they have a firmware update utility, so if they ever fix this, I will be able to upgrade my slingbox. But until then, I will have to use the DVR rewind feature to watch all the stuff that slingbox skips over when it is frozen. If you don't have a DVR, you will have to get used to it.