My husband and I are moving over with AFRICOM wave very soon. I was wondering if anyone has ever used a Sling Box to watch US tv? We hear lots about it but just wonder if it will work over there?

It does work, my friend lives on Patch Barracks and uses one. I've seen them for sale in the PX too.

Works like a champ. I use it on a relatives DISH network in the states. Just make sure to set it up along with a TIVO or PVR like device before you leave the states.

Best invention since the telephone Since my parents upgraded their internet I get a nice 1mb upstream

Sounds great! I know it is supposed to be used to watch on your computer, but have you hooked it up to your TV?

See also: Sling Media's Slingbox, Your home TV viewed anywhere via internet

You should see my setup...its pretty nuts...

I bought a 3000W transformer where I have a HTiB 5.1 sound system, 37" LCD and my desktop computer hooked up to this. I have a HD slingbox hooked up at my parents place in chicago and can watch HDTV whenever I want as I just connect my computer to my LCD TV. I live in Heidelberg and the internet is as fast as any that I have had in the US and my parents are on Comcast cable internet that is like a 6m down / 1m up. Picture is surprisingly quite good and I get about 500-800 Kbps.

It's very good for watching those 1-2pm cub games that I never go to see anyway because of work.

I got about the same setup, also to Comcast back in Chicago. Not sure what package my parents just upgraded to but over the last 10 days I'm getting from 800kpbs - 1mb. I have mine connected to my big screen as well and the quality is great. The sound is always impressive too. Like you said, gotta love those afternoon Cub's games. Nothing like catchin some Saturday afternoon westerns on AMC too

If I were close I'd ask to meet up for some beers to watch the games...I miss drinking beers outside of the bars in wrigleyville

Team is doing really well this year, got a lot of depth in our bats finally and just need our pitching to step up a bit.

Like this place? Great hot wings! My company had season tickets and my boss was a diehard Cubs fan so he insisted on us going to the games as often as he could sneak us out of the office. I can't count the number of times I spent work hours at that park enjoying a game on the company dime.

The owner is actually a family friend...awesome place to be for any sporting event.

Yep, one of the best parts about the city is I think that it's very common to have a diehard cubs fan for a boss, which means friday's in the summer are sometimes "work from home" days, haha.

(btw, sorry for the thread derailing)

Hey there. Back to the SlingBox... does the TV in the States to which the SlingBox is hooked up have to stay turned on 24/7 in order for you to watch stuff via Internet here? Can folks in the States watch that TV (i.e. change the channels, etc.) independently of what you're doing with the controls via Internet?
I'm hoping the answers to these questions might have changed since I last looked into SlingBox (about 18 months ago). I understand the newer models are different to the older ines but don't know what the differences are. I appreciate your advice.

Remember:

Where the Slingbox is physically located - They are the Master.

You operating remotely through your computer can only be the Master when they are not.

Here is an example. You are watching a show on your computer via your Slingbox Software and then someone located where the physical Slingbox is changes the channel - to bad for you.

Remember, the Slingbox only adds a function to an existing Cable / Satellite system. You can make your remote connection the Master, but that would probably piss off the people who are physically located where the system is. Better to work around their schedule. With the time zone change it really isn’t an issue, except during football season (Weekend Games)

The TV never has to be “On”, only the Cable / Satellite receiver (TIVO like device), the Slingbox, and broadband router have to be “On”.

Thanks for the clarification, TexMunich. Sounds like SlingBox is still not going to work for me -- unless I convince a family member in the States to have a cable/satellite receiver somewhere in their house that's dedicated only to me and my viewing habits here. Otherwise my desire to watch TV in the CET-evening will conflict with their kids' EST-late afternoon TV-watching. Anybody out there have that kind of set-up? Just want to know whether there are pitfalls I'm not aware of...

In regard to keeping the TV on, the US location doesn't need to have a tv connected to the slingbox. You just a cable box, slingbox and internet connection. So you can have them hook it up in a spare bedroom and put it all under the bed. This way it is out of the way and the best part for you is there not a TV to watch, so there is no one turning the channels (except you).

dolfan, thanks for the confirmation. Sounds like it could in fact work for me that way. Will call my family Stateside and see who's willing to host the equipment for me, attached to their internet and cable connections. Cool!

ya this is how mine is setup. i have it sitting in the basement not connected to any TV so i have ultimate control to it. I just send my parents a check for $7 / month or whatever for the extra box rental.

Incorrect, maybe with the crappy bottom line model or the older ones, but i've been using it for almost a year now and we have verified that changing the channel at home does not affect me.

Thanks for your further comments, folks. This is very helpful. I haven't been able to sort things out Stateside to give it a shot (owing to the holiday weekend and what-not) but will do so as soon as I can and report back on my experiences.

--Liebling

Let me clarify. If the "Home" based receiver has two LNB's - no problem. But if it is being used at "Home" and also recording another station then the external user can't change channels, unless of course they have set up the system to allow the external user to be the master.

With the time zone change it really hasn't been a problem.

We use a slingbox from my husbands house to our IMac. works great especially since we are currently in a hotel room and the kids don't get their favorite US programs. My husband can also watch his favorite sports except the local soccer games are a must in our house. The slingbox we have is dedicated to us. Two people can not watch two separate programs on two different computes/tv at the same time. It doesn't really matter much though because the time difference between the slingbox and us here in the Stuttgart area. We can also record using the slingbox. I highly recommend it.

Slingbox is a dream!

We have ours hooked to our HD Tivo, which is hooked to digital cable (Time Warner)...and we took it offline so the housesitter can't control it... So, it is 100 % ours.

We didn't upgrade our cable modem speed, just use the normal stuff... But, even though the video isn't the best resolution, the audio is very good and you can see what is happening quite well.

We still miss the 52" LCD and 7.1 surround sound...we just miss it less than we would without Slingbox!

Oh...and the Slingbox and software are solid and robust!! No glitches when streaming on the laptop (or on the mobile phone when in USA)...

Thanks for all of the replies and info! Liberty23; can you hook up your Tivo/slingbox to your TV instead of watching it on your computer? I hope this turns out to be as simple as it sounds!

A slingbox doesn't need a PC. Just connect it to your TV.

As mentioned above, the video quality is usually sub par, for the costs of a slingbox and CATV connection
you could download HD content for the internet and play it on a normal media streamer connected to your TV.
The streamer will set you back 200 Eur or so, and the monthly internet account for content is $29.95.

For this use get access to just about every TV show, CD, and Movie known to man..

You hook the slingbox up to your cable box in the states. You use a PC to watch somewhere else.

I don't think you can watch on a TV in Germany easily, unless you can send a PC signal to a TV (even then, remote control would not be the same I bet).

Also, you need the slingbox to be wired into your home network. I don't think they do wireless. Usually you also need a cable box, although I think some slingbox versions have their own cable input (just put coax right in, not just RCA).

When you say "sub par" quality, what do you mean? Just not HD or like youtube grainy quaility? I'm considering a Slingbox but I don't know anyone here in Stuttgart that has one I could see in action.

Also who do you purchase HD content from online for 29.95? That would be an interesting alternative. I already have a TV tuner in my PC. I could send it to my TV that way without the streamer.

The slingbox is just to let you watch your TV when you are not at home (or not in the same room).

We streamed video from our den to our PC in the bedroom so that we could have a single Tivo. The quality was fine on a local 100 Mb wired network. There always was a little lag when you do controls (change volume or channel).

I used to stream it across town and it was fine.

Streaming across the ocean to a new continent has been pretty good, but the quality sometimes suffers depending on the link.

I don't know if they support HD in slingboxen today. We just had a simple old one. Plug a RCA in, plug in Ethernet, get PC client to connect.

@Crazy
Youtube grainy quality... Unless the entire internet connection between the player and your PC are 100MB.

@Gatzke
The Slingbox currently does not support HD.

For those looking for a Media streamer to play downloaded content (Even at HD) - Conceptronics CFULLHD (Can be had for 200 Eur delivered)

Thanks for the advertisement, and thanks for misquoting me.

I believe I said my Slingbox does not support HD and I did not know if the newer slingboxes do.

It appears Sling makes a HD capable device, http://www.slingmedia.com/go/slingbox-pro-purchase

And it is only $230, or about 150 of your Eurodollars. Sling is the standard in the US, I have heard of them for years. I have never heard of conceptronic.

You need to read more carefully.

http://www.slingmedia.com/
From Slingbox - "The Slingbox™ AV allows you to watch and control your favorite TV source from anywhere in the world on your laptop or cell phone. So now you can watch your DVR, digital cable, satellite receiver, or DVD player wherever you see fit.

http://www.conceptronic.net/site/desktopde...x=0&tabid=1
From Conceptronic - "The Grab’n’GO Full HD Media player is your personal bridge to stream digital media files to your TV in full HD 1080p resolution. The built in UPnP AV media client offers easy access to all your files from compatible storage devices (like the Grab’n’GO CH3WNAS and CH3SNAS) or connects to your PC. The easy to install media player has a very sleek design and is the most flexible way to stream all your personal movies, music, radio channels or photos over your network. You can even connect a USB hard disk or flash drive to watch your digital media locally, thanks to the built-in USB host port. To create the best cinema effect, the CFULLHDMA has HDMI and component connections for sharp images and a digital audio connection (SPDIF) for overwhelming 5.1 surround sound.These are two items do

These two devices perform different tasks and should not be compared. Just reread the product descriptions.

Just read the web sites.

http://www.slingmedia.com/

For HD content.

Slingbox SOLO

Slingbox PRO

To make it wireless.

SlingLink TURBO

FYI - I only use the Slingbox, because it does what I want. If I wanted to stream other downloaded content - Quicktime, Windows Media, Music, Photos then I would need another device.

And what's with the your Eurodollars? You got a little chip on your shoulder? I spend in both USD and Euros depending on what works out best.

Right, I did not read up on this. Since the thread was about slingbox, I thought the conceptronic streaming device was similar in function to a slingbox. It looks like it is something to move stuff from a PC to a TV, not from TV/DVR to a PC.

Apologies to those offended, pleas don't beleidigung me for a Eurodollar insult fine.

I was thinking about one of these PC to TV 1080P devices so that I could move video from my HTPC to my big TV. Instead, with slingbox it is easier to move stuff from my TivoHD to my HTPC. Plus the HTPC was always sketchy at best (unstable) and Tivo now allows drive expansion on the Tivo HD. My wife and I think the slingbox even without HD is fine quality streamed to a 1080P HTPC (across my own network). Streaming it to Germany is adequate (better than youtube).

The point of using the CFULLHD as opposed to a slingbox, is that since the downloaded content is local to the player, the playback quality is
much better than trying to stream content over a congested internet connection. If you like watching choppy, crap quality video/audio playback
in a 6in windows on your PC, then get a slingbox. If you would like to enjoy your playback on a full size TV with excellent video/audio quality,
then get the CFULLHD.

The CFULLHD, also supports more video formats and has much more options and features than the Sling, and doesn't require an Internet connection
for basic playback.

I saw something similar for HTPC from Sage TV. Sage TV is a software program to convert a PC with decoder to a usable HTPC. They sell a $200 frontend to access your media from a TV through your network, very similar to what you are talking about but tied ot the Sage TV software I think.

For us coming over I bought a big portable USB hard drive. We ripped DVDs and kept Beyond TV (HTPC program) running to write mpg files of TV shows, so now we have a ton of movies and TV ready for the kids on a PC. This is nice for the train as well, since my kids are not used to that either. And watching on a laptop is not bad, considering the tiny TV our apartment came with. The laptop is an improvement. I miss my 52 inch monster at home :-(