How the Slingbox works
The Slingbox can redirect up to four live Audio/Video signals from a cable box, satellite receiver, DVR, or other Audio/Video source to the viewer's PC located anywhere in the home or, when using a broadband Internet connection, anywhere in the world. For copyright reasons, only one user can access the stream from a Slingbox at a time. This way of accessing content is known as placeshifting.
The 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.
[edit] SlingPlayer software
The Slingbox utilizes Sling Media's proprietary SlingPlayer to display audio and video on PC, Mac, and mobile devices. The latest SlingPlayer version for Windows was released on December 22, 2006. Version 1.4 (technically 1.4.0.206) included a new theme to go with the other three previously included themes. This theme still works on the first generation "candy bar" Slingbox despite being designed for the new generation boxes.
Sling Media released a Windows Mobile version of their player on April 26, 2006 which allows users to stream their video over Pocket PCs and smartphones. A high-definition-compatible version of the Slingbox was announced in September 2006[1].
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 Palm OS client Beta has also been released [2].
Players for Nokia N73, Nokia E65 and Nokia N95 and unlimited (up to 10GB per month), free access are available as part of the X-Series from 3 in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Austria, Australia and Hong Kong.
During the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show the company announced a future feature known as Clip+Sling that allows users to share clips of their favorite TV shows with each other through a hosted Web service. The announcement was made during Les Moonves' keynote.[3][4]
[edit] Customer Support
Slingbox customers have requested help configuring their Slingbox's on the slingcommunity web site [5]. SlingCommunity is an interactive community dedicated solely to Sling Media's Slingbox? Personal Broadcaster. The configuration of a SlingBox requires several technical steps including configuring the consumer's firewall and setting WAN mode of the device. Help is available at Sling Media's support site [1].
[edit] Versions
