As I mentioned in over posts, I'm moving overseas. I've been doing research on how to access my American TV, and I ran across something called Slingbox. I'm just curious to see who on this Board has actually heard of Slingbox & what experiences you might have had with it.
For those of you that haven't heard of Slingbox, it accesses your DVR (in my case a TiVo) and lets you watch either live or recorded shows via the internet. There are a number of links in the Slingbox chain. First, you have to pay for cable (or satellite) at home. Second, you have to have a DVR (& since I have Tivo, I have to keep up my paid subscription). Third, you have to have a home network in order to broadcast your DVR material. Fourth, you need to have fast enough internet where you want to access the Slingbox. Fifth, you need a PC or Max.
Slingbox won't work if you don't have some sort of DVR. They have a regular version and an HD version. You can also access it via your phone, but you have to pay an extra $30 in addition to the regular or HD version. The one, IMO major, drawback to Slingbox is that it doesn't have a wireless connection. You have to either hook up your Slingbox via an ethernet cable, or pay $80 for something called a Slinglink Turbo, which is supposed to fix the prob. I've seen on-line that a regular wireless adapter doesn't work, but I haven't done too much research. It's important to note that Slingbox mentions a number of times on their web-site that using an ethernet cable will give you the best quality.
BTW, there isn't a monthly fee for a Slingbox. You just pay for the hardware up front & you're good to go. If I get a Slingbox I'll just leave my TV & Slingbox at my parent's house. That way I only have to pay the one-time cost of the Slingbox & Slinglink & then the montly Tivo subscription. My parents will pay for their own cable and internet.
P.S.- There is also something called a Hava that is supposed to be similar to a Slingbox. But, it lets you acccess the network wirelessly (no expensive Slinglink) & it also lets you record shows straight to your PC. You used to be able to buy it at Compusa, but now you can only buy it on Hava's web-site. It looked kinda shady... I clicked on the "Buy now" button and my Internet Explorer said it is having probs with Hava's security certificate.
For those of you that haven't heard of Slingbox, it accesses your DVR (in my case a TiVo) and lets you watch either live or recorded shows via the internet. There are a number of links in the Slingbox chain. First, you have to pay for cable (or satellite) at home. Second, you have to have a DVR (& since I have Tivo, I have to keep up my paid subscription). Third, you have to have a home network in order to broadcast your DVR material. Fourth, you need to have fast enough internet where you want to access the Slingbox. Fifth, you need a PC or Max.
Slingbox won't work if you don't have some sort of DVR. They have a regular version and an HD version. You can also access it via your phone, but you have to pay an extra $30 in addition to the regular or HD version. The one, IMO major, drawback to Slingbox is that it doesn't have a wireless connection. You have to either hook up your Slingbox via an ethernet cable, or pay $80 for something called a Slinglink Turbo, which is supposed to fix the prob. I've seen on-line that a regular wireless adapter doesn't work, but I haven't done too much research. It's important to note that Slingbox mentions a number of times on their web-site that using an ethernet cable will give you the best quality.
BTW, there isn't a monthly fee for a Slingbox. You just pay for the hardware up front & you're good to go. If I get a Slingbox I'll just leave my TV & Slingbox at my parent's house. That way I only have to pay the one-time cost of the Slingbox & Slinglink & then the montly Tivo subscription. My parents will pay for their own cable and internet.
P.S.- There is also something called a Hava that is supposed to be similar to a Slingbox. But, it lets you acccess the network wirelessly (no expensive Slinglink) & it also lets you record shows straight to your PC. You used to be able to buy it at Compusa, but now you can only buy it on Hava's web-site. It looked kinda shady... I clicked on the "Buy now" button and my Internet Explorer said it is having probs with Hava's security certificate.
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