SlingBox Performance Update

[Nelson Atwell]

Here is a photo I took a few minutes ago. My streaming video has been traveling from Oklahoma City to my hotel in Poland at around 500 Kbps. I am simply amazed how well this has worked from this distance.



[Broken External Image]:

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Thanks for the update, Nelson.



Has Sling Media come up with the equivalent of a "media extender" product? Something low-cost (under $100) that hooks directly to your TV and performs the "settop" functionality that your PC currently provides?



Yes, I know PCs can have S-video and other outputs that can act as inputs to your TV. I was just wondering if Sling Media had a product that acts as a low-cost extender.



P.S. I just hit their site and didn't see anything.



Thanks,

TJR

 

[Nelson Atwell]

I am unaware of anything like that. My plan is to hook up my desktop to the flat panel TV that is in my new apartment. Since flat panels are essentially big PC monitors it should work well. It won't be HD quality, but it is better than nothing.

 

[Wes Davis]

Is the streaming video flawless? I would think you would need a very hi quality and very fast internet connection for this to work well. I am glad to hear reports from someone who is actually using this system especially from Poland to Oklahoma.

 

[Dale Carlson]

TJR,



Sling Media introduced a new product at CES this year, Sling Catcher, that might have the capability you're looking for. Obviously, not on the market yet...

 

[Nelson Atwell]

I did a test of the internet connection earlier today. The link is 1 Mbs upstream and 1 Mbs downstream. I may get a better picture at the apartment, since I will have 2 Mbs up and 2 Mbs down. Apparently, they don't know about asymmetrical connections. I can't imagine needing 2 Mbs upload capability.



What I am surprised at is the lack of latency (bottlenecks) between here at there. Afterall, Poland doesn't have a highly developed internet.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Kefguy...That is it... I remembered hearing about it.



I couldn't find mention of it on their site or when I googled. I didn't remember the name. It is what I was talking about.



Sub-$200 price tag and available this Summer. A little pricey. But it does also allow you to turn your PC into a media library and stream from it to the catcher (was well as from your existing Slingbox to the catcher), so it truly is a "media extender".



TJR

 

[Bill V]

TJR, are other media center extenders (for example, ones by D-Link or Buffalo) compatible with Slingbox? I have no idea--but if they are, those might be other options available, although I have no idea if they're any more price-competitive.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Bill V, I doubt it. My understanding is that Slingbox uses a proprietary protocol called Slingstream or something like that to compress video as needed, and change the compression on the fly. Some of the extenders simply assume a NAS (network attached storage) scenario in which your PC shares a folder of media via a UNC. But clearly, Slingbox isn't like that.

 

[Nelson Atwell]

It's definitely a clever device. Like you said, it adjusts to whatever bandwidth is available to keep the continuous video stream going.

 

[Matthew Pickwell]

Can you change your channels?

 

[Nelson Atwell]

Yep. The channels switch from my laptop. The signal travels both directions, so I have complete control of what channel I watch. I have the basic version. The more expensive version can also control the DVD player and other peripherals of your entertainment system. There is also a HD version, but I think the bandwidth from this distance would be insufficient for me to get true Hi-Def.

 

[Gavin Allan]

Nelson, what kind of internet do you have? Is it cable TV modem, DSL, ?

 

[Nelson Atwell]

Gavin,



Honestly, I don't know. I have an Ethernet line coming from the wall, and I am unsure how the Hotel is bringing in their service. It could be cable, DSL, T-3, etc. My fiancee has Cox cable, which is where the slingbox is installed. Her upload speed is 1/2 Mb, with download at 6 Mb. The slingbox seems to use ALL of her upload bandwidth, because I am getting a 1/2 MB video stream on my end. She barely uses her computer, and most of the time she is sleeping or at work when I am watching (I am seven hours ahead of her), so she has never noticed a performance issue on her side.

 

[Bob Kunkle]

I have the Slingbox Classic and the Slingbox Pro with HD adapter. I have 3/768 DSl and both boxes can max out my upload. The classic uses about 3Mb in the house and the Pro uses between 4Mb-8MB in the house depending on the CPU in the machine you are viewing on.

 

[Nelson Atwell]

I am pretty sure that if you connect to the slingbox and watch through a PC in the house, it will stay within your internal home network. I found that occurred at my fiancee's house. The link went straight from the two ports on my internet switch. I found this out accidentally during an internet outage at her house. I couldn't reach the web at all, but the Slingbox was going at max downstream speeds.