Watch YOUR TV anywhere!

Gone are the days where fans had to schedule things around their favorite shows. With the rise of DVRs, TV has become more attached to people’s lives than ever before. Now, a person is just several button pushes away from having that season finale of “Lost” or the rubber-match of the Cubs-Sox series recorded for later watching.

As a passionate Chicago sports fan, my first year away from home at college proved to be a trying task. Going to school deep in The Hoosier State, I was stuck without the option of watching my beloved hometown Cubs, Bulls, and most importantly, the Bears. I also missed having my DVR at school to record my favorite shows. I didn’t have the luxury of scheduling that study session for a psychology test around an episode of “Survivor.”

Enter Slingbox, the next home theater accessory everyone must have. Simply put, the Slingbox is a device that lets you watch your TV anywhere with an internet connection. Whether you have a DVR at home or just a straight cable connection, Slingbox allows you access to that content. The device takes the normal TV feed, digitalizes it, passes it through your home network, and makes it available to internet-connected computers anywhere else.

The setup of the device is quite easy. In my case, I took the cables that normally plugged into my TV from my satellite box and plugged them to the Slingbox instead. Slingbox comes with cables you can then plug into the device that go to the TV, passing the same signal to the TV like originally. A network cable then needs to be connected. There is no wireless option that comes with the device but other accessories can be purchased to supplement the need for no wires. An added step of installation applies to people who have a satellite or cable box. Infrared sensors can be set up for remote control use over the internet.

Software than must be installed on a computer currently on the home network to ensure the Slingbox is working properly. This takes a matter of minutes in most cases. A password and device ID is than assigned for you to use whenever you want to access the box elsewhere.

The playback software is included and you can install it on whatever platform you want to access the device from. It is also available on their website in case you need to download it to another computer. In my case, I installed it on my laptop I had for school. The software, called SlingPlayer, accesses your device at home using the password and device ID assigned during the initial software installation. The program either then displays a generic remote to use to control the feed or in the case of satellite/cable box users, uses a picture the exact remote of your box to emulate the use of the real remote.

The user can then freely change channels, record shows if a DVR is used, access recorded shows, etc. Essentially, anything you would normally be able to do with your TV if you were in front of it can be done via the SlingPlayer.

The one main downside that is realized quickly after initial use is that Slingbox uses up the signal/box that it is connected to. So if it is connected to the family room satellite box and you are on a business trip in another country, whatever you are accessing or watching over the internet will be watched on the other side by your family. Both sides can control the feed although only one program can be watched at a time. Ideally, you have an extra box or jack to devote to the Slingbox.

Also, only one person can be “connected” to each Slingbox at a time. For obvious copyright purposes, that means you can’t be watching the Cubs game while you are at school in Indiana and also have your friend who is out in California watching at the same time using the same box. One box means one person.

The quality depends on the upload and download speeds of your home network. One can also fork out a little more money to buy the Slingbox PRO which enables HD use. I actually bought this one and while the quality is watchable over the internet, it still is nowhere near normal HD quality. Think of it as a video you would watch over You Tube, a little above average quality.

There is software that enables the user to access their Slingbox via certain cell phones and select Pocket PCs with specific system requirements. However, all software needed for these viewing methods costs extra.

There are many online sites and other devices priced similarly that do the same thing that Slingbox does however, none do it with even close to the quality or ease of Slingbox. For the price that you pay only once, it allows you to access your TV anywhere in the world via a stable broadband connection. The software is easy to use and makes you feel right at home. In my case away from school, I was able to watch Cubs and Bulls games live and also record my favorite shows to watch when I had free time. Slingbox’s value applies even more to people who are constantly traveling and want to have some consistency of what they watch on television. One will even be able to tune into the late local news from Chicago if they are in Beijing for business.

Pros: Access your TV from any computer with a broadband connection; great, intuitive software; no fees besides initial cost of product; great gift for any college student or world traveler that misses their local programming.

Cons: Depending on your connection speed, quality could suffer; the software for cell phone/PDA viewing costs extra; no wireless option built in (sold separately); uses up attached device during viewing.

There are three versions:
HD version, multiple inputs (Slingbox Pro, $180)
HD version, single input (Slingbox Solo, $140)
Standard definition, single input (Slingbox AV, $107)