Update: Replacing the unit fixed the problems. After further experiments, I think the original problem was likely the network cable connecting the Slingbox to the wireless bridge: at first, I thought my wireless bridge was acting funny, but it worked perfectly with the replacement. Had I been thinking, I might have actually tried replacing the network cable.
Original post follows:
Well that’s two hours of my life I’ll never get back.
This evening, I ran out and picked up a Slingbox, a media distribution tool. The idea is that you hook the Slingbox up to your cable/satellite box, your Tivo, or even your DVD player, and it can stream the video to any computer with Windows XP installed. So, for example, I could hook it up to my Tivo and watch an episode of Justice League I might have recorded and control the playback from my PC. It basically acts like a pass-through box: the Tivo hooks up to it, then it hooks up to your television. There’s an ethernet port on the back that connects you to your home network and streams the video. By punching a hole or two in your firewall, you can also connect to it remotely and watch shows from any network-connected Windows XP computer.
So, I picked up a Slingbox at CompUSA and connected it to my Tivo. Things were going somewhat fine: the packaging looks cool, but it’s one of those origami-like boxes: getting the thing out took longer than hooking it up. One big plus is that it comes with all the cables you need to get it in place: normally, I end up having to make a trip for cables for half the things I buy, so it was a nice surprise to have it all in the box.
Had some difficulty with the wireless ethernet bridge I had, so I cannibalized one I had elsewhere. Took about 15 minutes to get everything in place. Then I went upstairs to my PC and downloaded and installed the software. Pretty painless: it downloaded new firmware into the Slingbox, configured the video, then voila, it was streaming the video signal. Only one problem: the sound was non-existent. I could get sound by cranking up my speaker volume, but then normal Windows sounds were deafening. The video quality wasn’t too bad, though, considering I was using an 802.11b wireless bridge for it. There was some compression artifacts, but nothing I couldn’t live with. But sound is also sorta important. So back downstairs to take a look.
The Slingbox itself looks like a giant silver candy bar, and the cables all plug into clearly marked places on the back. However, the build quality is a little suspect; downstairs, it wasn’t doing a great pass-through job to the television: jostle the Slingbox and watch the signal appear and disappear. Eventually, there was no way I could get an image on either the TV or the PC. I attempted using the composite connection, rather than S-video, but with no joy. Reluctantly, I repackaged the device.
Tomorrow, I think I’ll exchange it for a different unit and see if I’m just unlucky.
Some other people have had better luck:
This entry was posted on Friday, July 1st, 2005 at 9:34 pm and is filed under Computers, Electronics, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Responses to “The Slingbox”
Any luck in getting it to work better?
Charlie
July 2nd, 2005 at 6:27 pm |
Yep! The replacement unit appears to be working perfectly!
July 2nd, 2005 at 6:48 pm |
Which store did you return it to? I am thinking it must have been a bad cable or something. but want to find it before it goes into CompUSA la la land. Theoretically, we should get it back, but you never know…and it certainly wouldn’t get to us as soon as i want it to.
My bet is on the cable, but want to know for sure. we believe that we have only had 2 returns nationwide during these first few days, which historically is pretty phenomenal…but in my opinion, one return is one return too many. we need to learn from this one.
very glad and relieved that your next slingbox is working great!
–Blake
co-founder/CEO, Sling Media
July 3rd, 2005 at 12:06 am |
I returned it to the Freehold CompUSA (store #575). It is entirely possible that it was the cable, or possibly the housing: it seemed that the slot for the S-video cable output was having problems. I did only try one of the other AV cables, though, so that’s a possibility, as well.
July 3rd, 2005 at 12:17 am |
Now I’m impressed. Kudos to Blake, co-founder / CEO, Sling Media for paying attention to the net and addressing a posted issue with a direct communication!
Glenn
July 6th, 2005 at 7:24 pm |
No kidding! I gotta say that it certainly gave me a lot more confidence in the product. My replacement is working perfectly, too, and the folks at work thought it was pretty keen.
July 6th, 2005 at 9:44 pm |
Slingbox – What’s All The Hype About
Sling Media’s Slingbox was just released on July 1st and it is getting a lot of media attention. What boggles my mind is that lots of blogs, review sites, even large respectable magazines like Forture and the Wall Street Journal
July 7th, 2005 at 8:51 pm |
Greetings,
I seem to have gotten a box with this same problem. I can get audio but only buzz on the video regardless of using the RCA or S-Video. Uggg.
July 30th, 2005 at 10:23 pm |
I am glad to see Blake (co-founder/CEO, Sling Media) is showing concern on the issue being discussed here. I was wondering if we can get rid of the cabling as I will have to lay a cable all the way to my living room to connect my wireless router in my computer lab (my bedroom eventually). Laying a cable is not a problem from me however my lab is already filled with cables as I have 5 PCs and 2 MACs in there where I practice networking scenarios and develop websites (as a hobby). I recently read about Snappy’s HAVA, however the thing was not very convincing as when I called their support number they directed me to the website and it is not very informative. Above all the product is yet to release (date published on website is July 17, 2006). Is Sling Media planning to release their product with the wireless feature? If yes then I would like to know how long should I wait? or, maybe I should order one HAVA for me now.
July 25th, 2006 at 2:55 pm |