Ultra Cool Gadgets

The first generation Slingbox was a big step forward for so-called “place shifting” technology, a device that allowed you to view incoming TV signals on any TV computer in your home, or on any Internet-connected PC around the world. Sling Media is now introducing the successors to this groundbreaking product. Now there are three Slingboxes to choose from, each with features that make it easier than ever to bring your TV and other media with you wherever you roam. Choose from the Slingbox Tuner, AV, and Pro models depending on your entertainment needs.
The Slingbox Pro ensures that you can watch all of your favorite home theater entertainment anywhere you go, with the ability to watch and control up to three standard definition and one high definition video (via component connection) devices. Using an Internet connected computer or compatible mobile phone (with purchase of SlingPlayer Mobile software), you can watch and control your home TV, DVR, basic cable, digital cable box, or satellite receiver anywhere around your home or around the globe. With a Slingbox Pro you will never be separated from your favorite TV shows, sports broadcasts, breaking news stories, digital video recordings, or video on demand. The Slingbox Pro also includes the free Slingbox Finder service to locate a Slingbox from any network location, in or out of the home.

Technical Details:
- Redirects the TV signal to the computer of your choice–providing high quality video, no matter the distance
- SlingStream technology delivers up to a 400 percent video quality improvement over the original Slingbox
- Connects to digital cable box, DVR, satellite receiver, DVD players, video/security camera, or any NTSC component HD, S-video, or composite video source
- Includes free Slingbox Finder service to locate a Slingbox from any network location
- Watch and control your home TV, DVR, basic cable, digital cable box, or satellite receiver anywhere around your home or around the globe

Customer feedback:

1. Installation was quick and painless, but what about the real question: How’s the streaming video quality? Well, on my home PC, which obviously has an advantage since it’s on the same network as the Slingbox, I can get great streaming video. But that’s no real challenge.
So I went over to a friend’s house, where there’s a kinda miserable DSL connection, installed the Slingbox player, and fired it up…And guess what? After about 30 seconds, where the slingbox player was adjusting the compression/resolution in order to provide stutter free playback, the picture was rock solid. Better than anything I’ve EVER experienced with video from any web server. And it stayed rock solid. W-O-W! I’m sold. This product is for real. What a great product.

2. The MAC OS X client works like a charm, despite being in Beta. On a Core Duo MacBook Pro, the OS X client is quicker than the WinXP client running on similar Core Duo Dell hardware (E1705). Very nice. Being able to customize the button interface and swap interfaces between Mac and PC (to suit what cable channels you commonly watch) is a nice touch as well.
Lacking any Pocket PC hardware, I can’t tell you how well the handheld client runs (are you listening Sling? My Blackberry feels left out!) although the friend that recommended this product to me has connected to my Sling over the internet with his handheld HP. I’m done here. Nice product, some extra features like 802.11 would be nice, not having to spend an extra 50 bucks on a proprietary HD cable would be nicer still. Despite that, I’m a happy camper.

Revel in astounding HD clarity with the BDP-S350 Blu-ray Disc player. The most noticeable additions to this year’s model are the Ethernet port that lets you download firmware updates directly to the player, and — with one of those firmware updates — access web contetent encoded to Blu-ray discs via BD-Live, compatibility with the Bonus View feature of select Blu-ray movies, and a USB port that allows you to add more storage to access the growing number of special features that will be available given the immense storage capacity of Blu-ray discs themeselves. This player also outputs a Full 1080/24p True Cinema picture, and upscales your existing DVD collection to 1080p when using an HDMI connection. Dolby TrueHD capability delivers lossless sound that is true to the original studio master. Bringing it all together is the new icon based Xcross Media Bar, which provides simple navigation of the player’s menu system.

Key Features:
- True 1080p Output
- Dolby TrueHD compatible
- Ethernet connection for BD-Live Compatibility and firmware updates
- USB Port Allows More Storage for Access to More Special Features, Like Bonus View
- Higher Bit Rates mean less video compression
- Emmy-Award Winning Xross Media Bar Interface
- Bravia Sync for Easy Connectivity

Customer feedback:

1. The Sony player was a pleasant surprise. The start up time was very respectable, and was comparable to the Panasonic DMP-BD30K. After setting up the player I proceeded to run the same tests that I ran on the Panasonic. I had read online that people were impressed with the BDP-S350′s upconvertion abilities, but having owned multiple Oppo DVD players (in my opinion, some of the best out there) I was skeptical. I put in a SD DVD and could immediately see the improvement over the Panasonic. Although the image is a little softer compared to my obsolete Toshiba HD-A20 HD-DVD player, and my other Oppo DVD players, it was still excellent. It made the Panasonic’s upscaling abilities seem unrefined and outdated. Next, I then jumped into the players setup menu and changed the players output resolution. What really amazed me was that when I exited the menu the player began playing my disc where I had left off. Finally, I tried powering the BDP-S350 down while in the middle of a DVD. When I powered the player back on it remembered where I had left off and began to play the disc. The Sony BDP-S350 seems the winner in my opinion due to its superior upconversion and disc playback memory.

2. My previous Blu-ray player was a Sony until late last year when I purchased a Panasonic DMP-BD30 which had all the latest profile upgrades. The biggest problem with the Sony was its slow loading time. With the BDP-S350, this has all changed for the better. Load time have vastly improved and it is a Profile 2.0 player. Picture quality is stunning, but most Blu-ray players display this picture.
One of the best features of this player is its size. Sony has been able to reduce the size of the player to just over a 2″ height and only 8-3/4″ deep. Sony’s previous model was nearly 15″ deep and just over 3″ high. Finally Sony adds a remaining time function to the display. Previous models only had a elapsed and total time display, so you had to do the remaining time in your head. Most Sony DVD players always had this function, but this is a first for their Blu-ray players.

TiVo HD XL – You’re ultimate HD cable experience. Discover a whole new universe of entertainment – in crystal-clear THX sound and picture-optimized for digital cable. It’s all the digital entertainment you want, whenever you want it! With the Emmy Award-Winning TiVo service, plus movies, music, and videos from the internet, TiVo HD XL makes the most of broadcast and broadband.

Technical Details
- More recording space, up to 150 hours of HD shows
- THX Certified for exceptional sound and video quality
- Pause live TV, plus rewind, slo-mo, and instant replay any channel, any time
- 1 Box. All Entertainment.
- Download your favorite movies and TV shows from the web, stream music, watch YouTube on TiVo, and more!

Customer feedback:

a. First off this is the fourth DVR I’ve used (fifth if you count the Tivo Series 2 I bought my parents years ago). My first was a 160-hour ReplayTV (no longer available), and I loved it. As you’d guess when you have 160 hours to play with you have a lot of options. I was first afraid I’d become a TV addict, recording and watching far more TV than I ever did before – and in the first month or so that was basically true. Over time, however, you find your habits change – I eventually grew tired of recording every show ever broadcast, and instead used the capacity to only record my favorite shows, but with multiple episodes. That is, if you have a ton of room you don’t have to watch ‘ER’ every Thursday at 10 – you can read a book instead until you’re tired, then just hit the sack. Only when you’re in the mood will you fire the DVR up, and you’ll find multiple episodes of your favorite shows to watch. I actually found I was watching less TV, or at least TV on fewer evenings, with the large capacity DVR – I’d broken the habit of sitting down in front of the boob tube at 8 to be fed by the networks (and waiting through their commercials).
Well when the HDTV switch came around and I started using the DVR from my cable company and it’s 15 hours of High Def capacity, I went from DVR bliss to recording-management he$$. I could not record much at all, and so instead I seemed to spend all my time massaging my recordings (recording repeats at a later time to free up space now) or, what was worse, finding myself trapped between watching a show when I wasn’t in the mood or finding it gone the next day. Also, obviously, I couldn’t record near as much a variety as before.

b. 1. Tons of memory. Since I’m only recording SD programming (for now) just to give you an idea, I can record 500+ hours of high quality SD video as compared with the series 2 that held about 20.
2. HD 1080i/surround sound capability. The feature is there when I need it, I can hook it up to over the air antenna for local HD broadcasting if I so desired (just got it so I haven’t set that up yet)
3. Dual channel recording. This was the major limiting feature of the series 2, only one channel before and it was whichever channel the TiVo was set to at the time. Now you have two, and if you hook it up right you can watch 3 programs simultaneously (2 on TiVo, one ‘live’ through TV)
4. The cable card feature that allows your TiVo to act as a cable box for your cable company (provided you actually have a cable company who has the cable cards). I talked with the people at TiVo and they said EVERY cable company is bound by an agreement to support TiVo, however I couldn’t get either of my cable companies to admit that or even acknowledge whether they had cable cards I could use.
5. Everything else that makes TiVo wonderful is also here.
To me this was worth every penny. If you have a cable provider who’s not willing to jack you around and actually let you use the cable card feature for your HD programming, don’t let anyone talk you into those “better than TiVo” DVRs. You’ll miss out on the, “I wonder what my TiVo recorded for me today…” and the “bloop bloop” …commercial skipping.. “bloop” with the perfect auto-backup that takes human reaction time into account.

The Slingbox SOLO allows you to watch and control your favorite TV source from anywhere in the world on your laptop or mobile phone. So now nothing can come between you and your DVR, digital cable, satellite receiver, or DVD player. The Slingbox SOLO not only allows you to watch your home television anywhere, but it also allows you to watch any cable subscriptions, special programming, or sports packages you may have–at no extra cost. If it’s on your home TV, it’s on your computer and phone–with no monthly fees. With the Slingbox SOLO, you can watch all your favorites wherever you see fit.

Features:

- Watch your HDTV anywhere on your laptop or mobile phone.
- No monthly fees.
- Watch and control a high-definition or standard definition A/V device, such as a DVR, cable set top box, satellite receiver or DVD player.
- Full set of pass-through connections for easy integration with virtually any A/V device.
- On screen remote control. Every feature that’s available on your TV remote control is accessible through the included SlingPlayer software for your Windows or Mac laptop. This means you can view your electronic program guide (EPG), change the channels, queue a recording on your DVR, or even watch pay-per-view movies.
- Clip+Sling ready. Use your Slingbox to clip segments of your favorite TV programs and share them with friends and family online.
- Mobile phone compatibility. SlingPlayer Mobile software lets you watch and control your TV and all of its programming on compatible Windows Mobile, Symbian or Palm mobile phones. Separate download required.
- Crisp video streaming. SlingStream is the innovative streaming technology that ensures you receive the clearest picture possible at any given location.
- Supports over 5,000 A/V devices.
- Broadband internet connection w/router required.
- Supports Windows XP/Vista, Mac and Windows Mobile, Symbian or Palm OS-based mobile devices.

Customer feedback:

1. 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.

2. 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 640×480 resolution with a maximum stream rate of 6000Kbps with Near CD quality Audio. It works! It works! It Works!!