Slingbox?

[mikeynl]

Hello, being a Dutchman in the UK I do sometimes miss watching Dutch telly, so I was thinking about getting a Slingbox and setting it up in a mate's flat in Amsterdam, so I can watch my Dutch shows here on my laptop in the UK. I read the Slingbox website back to front but I still have a few questions:

- what do I connect it to apart from the wireless? On the website it says "TV/video source". Does that mean I can just plug it into the cable TV socket on the wall? If so, does the Slingbox then have a tuner to find all the channels? And does that influence what my mate can watch or are we able to choose our channels separately (just like you would if you'd connect 2 TV's to 1 socket)?

- what's the quality like?

- how does it compare to Sony's Location Free? I have a PSP and wouldn't mind being able to watch TV on that, but it's not a priority. I do have a (new) MacBook, and it's a priority that it works on that.

[Sparky101]

Some of the Slingbox models have an internal DVB-T tuner so you can plug in a normal TV aerial and it will receive the Freeview channels, don't know if this'll work in the Netherlands. Or you can plug in any sort of set top box, cable, satelite, Freeview via S-video or composite but that means that you can only watch what whoever is physically there is watching (assuming they're using the same set top box) as you change channels on the set top box remotely via an infra-red repeater.

Quality depends on the bandwidth you have available. Thing to remember is that the limiting factor is likely to be the upstream bandwidth of your mate's internet connection in Amsterdam. If it's similar to the UK with ADSL Max for example you only get about 400Kbps upstream so that limits the quality of the picture you can receive. If you're using the Slingbox locally in your own house over wireless for example then the quality of the picture is very good as it can go up to 3Mbps.

[lookatbowen]

As Sparky101 has mentioned the upload speed is the actual problem here which effects the quality.

I have the slingbox connected into my Humax PVR and it works really well in the house or outside using a wireless laptop, but it's a different story 5, 10, 50 miles away because of the upload speed. I have ADSL MAX (448kbps upstream). On a normal PC it's OK if there are no other downloads taking place, unless you keep the screen size small. I watch TV on my Nokia N95 using 3.5G, and to be fair, it's good enough for watching anything.

It all depends on what your upload speed is where the slingbox is connected. The slingbox has to wired (not wireless), else it would be too slow. Try streaming a movie over a wireless. It worsens over great distances.

In terms of connection, my aerial cable is plugged to my PVR (which has it's own tuner), from there I have a cable that plugs into the slingbox (so the channels are coming from the PVR).

The slingbox is an exact mirror of whatever it is plugged into. It has two IR cables that go from the Slingbox to the device you are attaching too. You place them over the IR sensor. So if you plug it into a sky box or TV or PVR, then where ever you are in the world, when you connect to the slingbox over IP, you assume the role of (remote control) of the sky box or TV or PVR in my case at that moment in time.

Example using Slingbox Classic (single device):
If my wife is watching a recorded show on the PVR and I happen to switch on my Sling Client, then I see exactly what she is looking at. If I pause the recording, it pauses on her end (and she gets ****** off), but lets say my wife is watching channel 5 on TV and I switch on my Sling Client and want to watch Channel 3, then I can without any problem, because the TV has a separate tuner to the PVR, but if later she wants to watch a recorded show on the PVR, she would have to switch off the recording I am watching, and effectively take over the PVR. I could say "up yours" and leave the sling client or be forced to watch whatever she is watching.... (this happens on many occassions).

[simonv]

Originally Posted by stuffonmydesk

. I have ADSL MAX (448kbps upstream). On a normal PC it's OK if there are no other downloads taking place, unless you keep the screen size small.

Hi i live in finland and im thinking about getting one of these and connecting it to my dads internet so i can watch freeview tele from uk. could you say what kind of quality image do you get with your upload speed? would it be watchable on say a 32inch tv?

thanks for any advice!

[lookatbowen]

TBH, I have never streamed it back to a LCD TV of any size, so I cannot comment.

However I have streamed it to my 19" PC (CRT Screen) and video was fine.