The Slingbox is a TV streaming device that enables users to remotely view their home's cable, satellite, or personal video recorder (PVR) programming from an Internet-enabled computer with a broadband Internet connection. It is produced by Sling Media of San Mateo, California.
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The Slingbox is a TV streaming device that enables users to remotely view their home's cable, satellite, or personal video recorder (PVR) programming from an Internet-enabled computer with a broadband Internet connection. It is produced by Sling Media of San Mateo, California.
Operation
A Slingbox can redirect one of its inputs to a single computer located on a local network or remotely, when using a broadband Internet connection, anywhere in the world. To avoid copyright infringement, only one user can access the stream from a Slingbox at a time. This way of accessing content is known as placeshifting.
A Slingbox connects a TV source (via coaxial cable, composite cables, component cables, or S-video cable) to an existing Internet connection. Digital video recorders and cable or satellite set top boxes can be controlled through a separate infrared (IR) cable that lets users change channels from the remote location. Software on a user's computer or mobile device connects to the Slingbox and provides the user interface for viewing the video stream and changing channels. Onscreen virtual remote controls are provided for controlling almost all connected devices. Note that all control inputs are done in the SlingPlayer window via computer mouse. There is no provision for use of hardware IR remote control units while watching SlingPlayer even if the PC has an IR receiver.
SlingPlayer software
The Slingbox utilizes Sling Media's proprietary SlingPlayer to display audio and video on Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh running Mac OS X, and selected mobile devices. SlingPlayer is not available for Linux, BSD or other open source systems. While old versions of SlingPlayer ran under old versions of Wine, there is presently no way to run SlingPlayer in Linux using current releases of either. The latest stable SlingPlayer version for Windows is version 2.0.0.465. This version includes a live video buffer to pause, fast-forward, and rewind up to 60 minutes of live video, an integrated channel/program guide, and a web-based account to assist in finding and connecting to the Slingbox via the internet.
Sling Media announced a Mac OS X port of the SlingPlayer at the January 2006 Macworld Conference and Expo with a promised release date of Q2 2006. The release was later delayed to Q3 2006, and then again to Q4 2006, leading to allegations that Sling Media was promoting vaporware. In September 2006, Sling Media began selling new Slingbox hardware in packages that had the official Mac OS X logo on the outside, indicating support for the Macintosh platform even though the Mac OS X port of the player software was still not available. Sling Media released the first public beta of their player for Mac OS X on October 31, 2006. A completed version was released in early 2007. Version 1.0 works on both PowerPC and Intel Macs as long as it runs at least Mac OS X v10.3.9. Official Version Page
