Review: SlingMedia Slingbox media streaming device

For internet users, the equivalent boast of having a supercharged V6 car engine, is a high-speed broadband connection.

However, while ISPs are now offering speeds of upto 24Mb, there currently isn't a great deal of services or products that make use of this virtual velocity.

One such product that does is the SlingMedia Slingbox. In fact, it's one of the most innovative products we've seen this year and in the running for our favourite gadget of 2006.

In short, it's a device that allows you to watch and control your satellite, cable and Freeview receiver on any computer with an internet connection.

At the back of the gold-bullion-shaped device is a network port for attaching the Slingbox to your broadband router and an s-video (and audio line-in) input for feeding a picture from a satellite or cable receiver (in our case, Sky+). All the necessary cables are supplied.

The installation process then requires that the Slingbox is properly detected on your network. Because the Slingbox uses UPnP (Universal Plug and Play), everything should talk nicely; however, it caused us a little grief.

After consulting the manual for a spot of troubleshooting we found that switching off our computer's firewall did the trick. Naturally, we ensured our router's firewall was switched on. We then needed to position a brace of IR receivers over the front of our Sky+ box, so it could be controlled remotely.

The next step was to install the SlingPlayer software on the computer and tell the set-up wizard what set-top receiver we were using. Doing so loaded a virtual Sky+ remote control on our Desktop and a window in which the TV signal would be displayed.

Then a picture appeared, displaying exactly what we'd normally watch on television.

The virtual Sky+ remote control will work just like it would if you were pointing it at the Sky box and all our recorded content could be accessed, watched, deleted and scheduled.

In essence, the SlingBox allows you to watch and control Sky+ (or any other PVR, cable receiver or Freeview tuner) on any internet-connected computer.

Picture quality is completely dependent on the speed of the internet connection.

The Slingbox requires a minimum upstream of at least 256kbps, and at this speed will display a television window about half the size of a 17in monitor. However, using our 24Mb broadband connection, with a 1Mb upstream, we were able to expand the window to full screen.

Up close, the picture can get blocky but we were able to watch World Cup games very clearly. Stepping back from the monitor, also reduces blockiness on the eye.

Using the Slingbox over a home network, where streaming speeds are much faster produced even better results and allowed us to have a previously disused computer running as a second TV, with all the trimmings of Sky+.

The Slingbox also has an integrated digital TV tuner, so will receive Freeview too. However, only one video source (Sky, cable, Freeview) can be viewed at once. This also means that if someone at home is watching Sky and you change the channel, someone could miss their program.

It costs £180 to buy but there's no monthly fee. Unlike Sony's LocationFree, the SlingPlayer software can be installed on an unlimited number of computers, although only one can be connected at once.

While the SlingBox isn't perfect, it's an amazing piece of technology and as superfast broadband becomes more widespread, gadgets like this will reap all its rewards.

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