| Ever been three and a half thousand miles from | | | | Two thumbs up. |
| home and felt an overwhelming urge to know | | | | Tech notes: |
| what your local weather was like? Is your dog | | | | · The biggest issue that I encountered |
| sitting in the rain? Have you even been desperate | | | | was getting the Slingbox through my firewall. The |
| to know what your favorite regional new station | | | | device requires NAT/port forwarding on TCP |
| has to say about your football or baseball team? | | | | ports 5001 and 5678 and UDP 5001. If you run a |
| Sad I know, but for all of you who absolutely | | | | firewall expect to have to do this. |
| have to know the answers to these questions a | | | | · You can choose to use different ports |
| stroke of sheer genius recently arrived in the | | | | during the setup wizard if you so desire. |
| form of the Slingbox from Sling Media. | | | | · The Slingbox communicates with a |
| Over the last couple of years several ideas that | | | | location server on the Internet, sending its IP |
| allow remote TV viewing have hit the market. | | | | address in a 36 character encrypted string called |
| Most notable of these was the eternally clever | | | | a Finder ID. Write/copy this Finder ID down as |
| LocationFree TV from Sony, which is arguably the | | | | you will need it to locate your Slingbox when you |
| granddaddy of all home-TV-to-internet-broadcast | | | | are on the road. |
| systems available. Unfortunately Sony's idea was | | | | · If you are lucky enough to have a |
| flawed as you were forced to carry a book size | | | | static IP address at your house you can use it to |
| LCD screen with you wherever you went. This | | | | find your Slingbox instead of the Finder ID. |
| device contacted the base station back at your | | | | · The software must be installed on all |
| house via the Internet and BAM! TV anywhere | | | | devices that you plan to use to connect to the |
| you wanted it. As the entire solution was | | | | Slingbox at your house, but can be downloaded |
| proprietary it was not possible to make use of | | | | from Sling Media's site if you forget the CD at |
| your laptop or a friends PC to view your | | | | home. |
| LocationFree TV base station. | | | | Product Specs taken from Sling Media's website: |
| This and several bandwidth related issues have | | | | Inputs |
| been resolved with Sling Media's solution. Simply | | | | RCA Audio L/R |
| connect the Slingbox to your home entertainment | | | | Composite video |
| system, stereo system, satellite or cable receiver | | | | S-Video |
| then using the onboard RJ45 connector connect it | | | | RF/Coxial |
| to your Internet connection. Note that the device | | | | Outputs |
| requires a network connection that will provide it | | | | RCA audio L/R |
| a DHCP assigned IP address, which most home | | | | Composite video |
| networks have; if your home network gear is | | | | S-Video |
| new enough the Slingbox will configure itself and | | | | Device Control |
| the network up using UPnP. Software installation | | | | IR emitter |
| was brief and painless, and required me to answer | | | | Network |
| a few basic questions before my system was on | | | | RJ-45 |
| the air. | | | | TV tuner |
| The Slingbox allows you to actually control | | | | NTSC (built in) |
| independent devices that you connect to it; you | | | | Dimensions |
| can turn your VCR on or off, change channels on | | | | 10.6 in. W x 1.6 in. H x 4 in. D |
| your cable receiver and even change radio | | | | Weight |
| stations on your stereo to suit your viewing | | | | ~1.5 lbs |
| listening preferences. Unfortunately only one | | | | Power |
| person can use the device at a time, which is a | | | | 110v |
| slight drawback in my opinion. It can also be | | | | Package contents |
| connected to your TiVo for instant replay or | | | | 1 x Slingbox |
| watch your prerecorded programming at your | | | | 1 x software CD |
| hearts content from your hotel room. | | | | 2 x Audio/video cables |
| In conclusion, this product is a must for anyone | | | | 1 x S-video cable |
| incapable of completely detaching themselves | | | | 1 x power adapter |
| from their lives while away from home. It is very | | | | 1 x network cable |
| reasonably priced, coming in at around $200, | | | | 1 x IR emitter |
| simple to configure and use and very simple to | | | | 1 x Coaxial Cable |
| locate from anywhere in the world. Picture quality | | | | 1 x quick setup guide |
| is surprisingly good and the sound quality is great. | | | | All copyrights and trademarks belong to their |
| You can even try it wirelessly from your couch! | | | | respective owners. |