Sling Media Slingbox SOLO (SB260-100)
See it at Amazon.com for $133.00Average Customer Rating
(4.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First
(5 out of 5)Much Improved Over The Pro
I have spent the last couple hours playing with the new Slingbox Solo. In comparison to the Slingbox pro I like this new model better. It is about 1/2 the size and does not need an extra dongle for HD video.
The software to setup the device is very easy and very fast. Video quality on a home network is superb. Internet is not bad but depends on how much upstream bandwidth you have available.
The only gripe I have with it is the unit does not come with any component cables. This however is a small gripe.
Overall this device is well worth the money if you like watching TV.
Hopefully slingmedia will come out with an iPhone client soon.
(5 out of 5)SlingBox Rocks
The Good
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The technology works! Using a Sprint Air card I was able to keep tuned into my TV while driving in the country. This is probably the worst case scenario for remote reception. I was only getting about 100K download speed with occasional dropouts. No other streamer that I have tested would work under these conditions.
I was running 320-240 res under these conditions. With faster more stable connection you can run higher.
At home on my home network I run 640x480 resolution with a maximum stream rate of 6000Kbps with Near CD quality Audio.
It works! It works! It Works!!
The Bad
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This box did not come with a software CD or SVid cable. So I had to dig one up. I had the player software from SlingBox AV that I had tested. In any case you will need to download the latest software from the SlingMedia website. I had to dig up an aditional Svid cable.
The Ugly
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Couple things that I realy hate about the SlingBox technology.
-Max Res 640x480 res
-Only one connection allowed at a time. If you try to connect and someone else is watching the slingbox you will get a Buisy indication. Thats why it is called a Personal TV Viewer.
-No Recording Option available. There are some third party venders offering this at a cost of $49.
-Mobile Player software is not free. You must pay $29 for wach mobile device you want to install the player software on.
Final Thoughts
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All this said, I still love the SlingBox. I had originaly purchased the Slingbox AV but found its connection options limited with out a pass through connection. I now have two devices set up. Dish Sat box and Panasonic E55 DVD recorder/player. I can remotely change the channel and start my recorder from anywhere in the world that I have an internet connection.
BTW this box retails for $179 and I picked mine up for $159. Thats only $30 more than I paid for the AV.
(1 out of 5)So disappointed.... beware.
We were upgrading from the Slingbox Classic, so that we could remote to our main HD TV with TiVo. During set-up we could not get a video signal with the new Solo unit and called Slingbox tech support. Let me just cut to the chase: we were told the Solo is not able to receive the signal if your TV and DVR are connected via an HDMI cable (isn't almost everyone's?) unless you disconnect the HDMI connection. Sorry, but I find that to be just a bit too much to ask; are we to disconnect the HDMI before we leave the house every time? It seems to me this little incredible fact should be prominently available; we did the research and had even called Sligbox with compatibility questions before our purchase and no one said a thing.
So, we waited for our delivery, installed the unit, spent wasted time with Tech Support only to be told - if you want to use your new upgrade, unplug your HDMI from your brand new, state of the art 52" LCD every time you leave your home. I don't thinks so.... back it goes.
We are so disappointed!
(5 out of 5)Incredible Little Box
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.
(3 out of 5)Great product... Doesn't connect everywhere
This is a good product, especially on the same network as the device. However, I thought it would be easy to connect to this device remotely. I don't really need to watch TV on my laptop at home. What I found is that many networks block ports that would allow you to connect to this device. There is no way around this. I have an apartment in Chicago and they have a firewall blocking network intensive applications. This means the device has no real use for me because I have it hooked up in Detroit and can't find anywhere to connect in Chicago.