Product Review: Page (1) of 2 - 05/06/06

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It looks like a jumbo candy bar, but the sweetness it provides won?t rot your teeth.  The Slingbox from Sling Media allows you to watch your favorite show from thousands of miles away.  All you need is a computer and an Internet connection.

When I first heard about the Slingbox, I was a little skeptical.  The website (www.slingmedia.com) and box both proclaim this device will transform your PC into a television allowing you to watch your content from anywhere in the world.  I finally bought into the hype and hooked it up a couple of weeks ago.

Out of the box, the Slingbox is small, lightweight, and because of its simple no-nonsense design, you might be wondering if you bought a wondrous new piece of technology or a piece of plastic that does nothing but set you back a few hundred bucks.

If I were to list the easiest electronic devices I have ever set up, the Slingbox would rank very high on the list.  It connects between your cable/satellite box or your PVR with a few simple plugs, and then to the Internet via your network cable or wireless adapter.  All in all it took about 5 minutes to set the device up.  In my case I connect the Slingbox to my DirecTV/Tivo box with the supplied RCA cables.  There are also a couple of infrared remote controllers that need to be positioned correctly to change channels. Depending on your device this may increase set up time as you figure out the exact position needed to get the best signal strength.

Once you have the video and audio going into the Slingbox you need to connect the device to the Internet.  For those lucky enough to have bought or built a house in the last three years, chances are you have a Cat-5 network cable running throughout your house and to your router, but for those of us who want to kick it old school and live in a chic house reminiscent of the good ol? days a wireless adapter will be needed.  Sling Media does sell a wireless adapter for a couple hundred dollars, but a run down to the local discount chain store for a Linksys Wireless Game Adapter will do just fine. 

Once the router is configured correctly, connected to the Slingbox and is recognized by the network, the only thing left to do is install the software on the laptop (or any other PC) you want to watch TV on.  Again, another five to ten minutes of software install and updates and you are good to go.  The software will search out your networked device and lock it into your computer system.   If you want to install the software on other laptops, it provides you with a code so you get the right device and not Joe Bob?s Slingbox next door.  It provides a couple layers of security, but I?m sure there is a way to hack into a Slingbox and mess with the viewing habits of millions of users.  Thankfully, a secure network will prevent this from happening.

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