Sling Media Slingbox SOLO (SB260-100)
by Sling Media
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List Price: Our Price: Calculated in a shopping cart Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $129.99 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sling Media Slingbox SOLO (SB260-100)
Customer Review: Slingbox Rocks!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've known about Slingbox for a few years now and was a little hesitant to try it as I've heard mix things about them. I find myself traveling quite often and thought this would be a good way to help pass some time and bring MY favorite TV shows and movies right to my computer on the go.
Slingbox offers a few different boxes based on different setups. This particular box is meant to be used with an existing TV tuner. What this means is that you must have a cable/satellite box as the Slingbox does not have a TV tuner. You can connect the Slingbox through AV cables (included) or digital HD component cables (sold separately). I have not noticed a difference in quality between the two but its good to have both available due to different home theater setups. The Slinbox must have an internet connection for it to work, either a network cable connected to your router or Slingbox offers a powerline adapter which converts a network connection to run over your existing electrical wiring. The Sling Media SlingLink Turbo Powerline Kit ( SL200-100 )is quite expensive though at $118.00.
Once the box is connected to power, audio/video and network the software can be installed on as many PC's as desired. Software installation is easy as you only have to go to the Slingbox website, create an account and install a few browser plugins.
Slingbox just released their mobile player for Android which is absolutely awesome. It will allow you to watch from your Slingbox to any Android powered device, over WI-FI or even 3G! Quality is good but I have noticed some lag/tiling over 3G. The app is available in the market for $29.99 (ouch!).
Pros
- Watch TV from just about anywhere there is an internet connection
- Easy Installation
- No subscription fee
- Mobile clients for smart phones (Blackberry, IPhone, Android)
Cons
- Max resolution of 640x480 which may not look the best on large displays
- One user watching at a time
- 1.5mbit uplink required on broadband connection
Overall I am very pleased with my Slingbox and recommend it to friends and family.
Customer Review: Avoid Slingbox Solo
Summary: 1 Stars
This is my first review of any product online. I have decided to write this review to save all of you a lot of trouble down the road. I purchased this product in Novemeber of 2008 to watch my directv football package on the road (they now offer this with the nfl package). For a year, this product worked great. I used it to watch the Raiders lose each and every Sunday =/
The problem I have with this thing is that just after the warranty expired, staying connected for more than 10 min at a time on both my LAN and over the internet became impossible. This problem was not related to any sort of configuration or network setup (I have quite a few years of technical support experience).
A call to Support costs 30 dollars so I decided just to pack the Slingbox up and put it in my tech graveyard.
I purchased an Android phone a couple months ago (Epic 4g - which is great!) and I wanted to try it out on the Slingbox app. I dusted off the Slingbox and set everything up. Everything was great for 10 whole minutes and then the thing lost connection!
This time around an internet search gave me a forum post dated March 19th 2010, where hundreds (if not thousands...the forum has 42,122 Views!) of other customers experiencing the same exact problem. If you don't believe me, just Google the following:
"Slingbox SOLO starts streaming on LAN and WAN and then stops streaming after 1-20 minutes, even after appropriate troubleshooting is performed."
I decided to call support again. Keep in mind I have been in Tech support for years so I am always very courteous to the person on the line. I mentioned the forum post to the support rep. (October 16th at 11:35 am pacific time - in case those of managing support at Slingbox want to look into their staff behavior). I guess this guy was sick of hearing about the issue because he immediately became hostile. What I did eventually learn from the aggravated support person was that I could pay $30 bucks to talk to him, then $99 dollars to replace the unit if they determine something is wrong with it. For just a few more dollars I could buy a new unit here and save myself some hassle.
Avoid Slingbox.
Customer Review: Should have bought the PRO-HD
Summary: 1 Stars
My SOLO broke after only 2 months. The unit simply stopped working. Customer support even told me that the SOLO has had some major issues and that the PRO-HD is a much better product considering how often the SOLO fails.
PRODUCT: Before the SOLO broke, I was impressed with the streaming and the sound. The SOLO did just what I wanted it to; let me watch U.S. TV in South Korea. The set-up was a breeze. The warranty is 1 year warranty, but the customer service is only free for the first 3 months you own the machine. By the time I get the replacement, I will be out of the customer service window, so if it breaks again, I will have to pay to talk to support ($50/year) or risk paying S&H to have them determine if I deserve a replacement under warranty.
CUSTOMER SUPPORT: There is a reason SlingMedia has a "C" rating from the BBB. After speaking with Customer Support, one of the service reps told me that I may have broken the SlingBox by plugging it into a surge protector. No where on the packaging does it say I cannot do that (the only product that would be affected is the SlingLink); he concluded I had burned out the power supply and sent me a new one. That was not the answer, as my SOLO was just completely dead. The second salesman had us run through the whole testing process again before he told us that the SOLO has had problems and decided to ship us a new SOLO. When I asked if I could upgrade to the PRO-HD since I was sending in the SOLO, they told me "no" and it was against their policy. I then asked why they would say no to a customer that wants to pay the difference to get the PRO-HD, as the company is not necessarily losing any money. The rep then responded that it was my fault for choosing the SOLO.
RECOMMENDATION: I like what this product offers. But I would recommend getting the PRO-HD if you are going to invest your money. Plus, the SOLO can only have one device connected at a time, whereas the PRO-HD can have multiple: Roku box + DVR. Customer Service leaves something to be desired, but it does work if you are in the window, or are willing to pay for it.
Customer Review: Great Product (with caveat)
Summary: 4 Stars
Just purchased the Slingbox solo recently. It was fairly easy to set up, with one exception discussed below. I have it hooked to my DirecTV HD receiver, connected to my router via a Sling Turbo bridge. The Sling Turbo was a breeze to set up, and connecting the Slingbox itself was simple.
The one problem I had was with the software setup. I am generally technically savvy, but by no means an expert in home networking. My home system consists of a ActionTec Q1000 router/modem feeding an Apple Extreme wireless router running on a PC. As the SlingBox does not come with a CD, you have to download the software from their website. Unfortunately, they make it a bit difficult to actually find the download (a proper google search eventually found the right page on their website to download SlingPlayer). Once installed, the software walked me through the setup. Finding the Slingbox was no problem, and setting up the soft remote for the DirecTV receiver was fairly intuitive as well. The problem came with setting up the router - which, I admit, is not something that I am all that familiar with. For the most part, it appears that the software/website has instructions for opening up the port on many brands and models of router. However, the instructions for the Apple Extreme were only for a Mac, no PC instructions were evident. Additionally, there were no instructions for my particular model of ActionTec router. I managed to figure out how to open up the appropriate port by googling the router model on the web and finding ActionTec's website.
Even with the frustrations with the above, I have to say that, once set up, the Slingbox works like a champ. I was able to view my DrirecTV feed on my PC at home, at work, and on my iPhone (although the $29.95 price for the iphone app seems a bit steep, the software for the PC is free). The interface is entirely intuitive, particularly on the PC where a graphical replica of my DirecTV remote is all you need to operate your box. And, with the iPhone app, I now have a true pocket TV. If not for the issue above, my rating would be 5-stars, easily.
Customer Review: SlingBox Rocks
Summary: 5 Stars
The Good
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 640x480 resolution with a maximum stream rate of 6000Kbps with Near CD quality Audio.
It works! It works! It Works!!
The Bad
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This box did not come with a software CD or SVid cable. So I had to dig one up. I had the player software from SlingBox AV that I had tested. In any case you will need to download the latest software from the SlingMedia website. I had to dig up an aditional Svid cable.
The Ugly
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Couple things that I realy hate about the SlingBox technology.
-Max Res 640x480 res
-Only one connection allowed at a time. If you try to connect and someone else is watching the slingbox you will get a Buisy indication. Thats why it is called a Personal TV Viewer.
-No Recording Option available. There are some third party venders offering this at a cost of $49.
-Mobile Player software is not free. You must pay $29 for wach mobile device you want to install the player software on.
Final Thoughts
All this said, I still love the SlingBox. I had originaly purchased the Slingbox AV but found its connection options limited with out a pass through connection. I now have two devices set up. Dish Sat box and Panasonic E55 DVD recorder/player. I can remotely change the channel and start my recorder from anywhere in the world that I have an internet connection.
BTW this box retails for $179 and I picked mine up for $159. Thats only $30 more than I paid for the AV.