Philliefan33
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2014
- Messages
- 1,677
I thought I would share my current experiment with Slingbox, in case anyone is thinking of giving it a try. (Note this is not SlingTV – that is a different thread).
Slingbox is a device that uploads television the Internet, to be captured for use by a different device. Once you buy the necessary equipment there is no additional cost. I am interested in using Slingbox to provide us with “cable TV” at our weekend home in the mountains. We currently pay $100/month for cable and internet at the mountain house, and while we can afford it, it sort of bugs me every time I write the check.
My setup: Fios cable and internet (75 Mbs download / upload) at home. HD box/DVR combo attached to our primary TV, within easy reach of the router. Out cable box is one of those “always on” models. It’s only DH and I, so if we are in the mountains there is no one at home. At the mountain house, I have internet service (15 Mbs download) / wifi and a Roku.
I purchased a Slingbox 350 on sale (~$70) through Amazon. It is connected to the home cable/DVR with component video, in parallel with the TV (which is using the HDMI output from the cable box). The Slingbox is connected to the router with an Ethernet cable. There was an initial account setup necessary with a computer and slingdotcom. At the mountains, I had to install the Slingbox channel on the Roku (free). I also needed to get the Slingbox iPad app ($15, good only for iPad. If I want the app on my iPhone it will be another $15).
To watch at the mountain house, we turn on the TV, select the Slingbox station on Roku, and open the Slingbox app on the iPad. It takes a few seconds for the app to connect to the Slingbox, and the content shows on the iPad until you select on option to send it to Roku. To change channels you use the iPad. The response is a little slow – like ~5-7 seconds to change the channel. You also use the iPad to navigate to your DVR content (we were able to watch a show that had been recorded to our DVR).
Last weekend was our initial use of the Slingbox at the mountain house. I was worried about two potential drawbacks: DH’s ability (or lack of) to understand the steps needed to watch TV; and bandwidth issues. In the first case, DH seemed to get the hang of it by Sunday afternoon. On the bandwidth issue, we had buffering problems twice. Friday evening and Saturday evening, I suspect during peak use time, our picture froze. Once I had to restart the connection, the second time it resolved itself in about 20 seconds. We had no streaming issues other than those two instances. There was a bonus that I hadn't considered – our cable service at the mountain house has always been standard tv – I don’t pay for HDTV up there. But we have HD at home, and since we were watching our home cable we got HD. That little flat screen tv at the mountain house never looked so good!
Assuming we continue having a good experience with the Slingbox over the next month or so, I will be cancelling our TV service up there and switching to internet only. That should save me at least $40 per month. I’ll make back my outlay for equipment and apps in less than three months.
Slingbox is a device that uploads television the Internet, to be captured for use by a different device. Once you buy the necessary equipment there is no additional cost. I am interested in using Slingbox to provide us with “cable TV” at our weekend home in the mountains. We currently pay $100/month for cable and internet at the mountain house, and while we can afford it, it sort of bugs me every time I write the check.
My setup: Fios cable and internet (75 Mbs download / upload) at home. HD box/DVR combo attached to our primary TV, within easy reach of the router. Out cable box is one of those “always on” models. It’s only DH and I, so if we are in the mountains there is no one at home. At the mountain house, I have internet service (15 Mbs download) / wifi and a Roku.
I purchased a Slingbox 350 on sale (~$70) through Amazon. It is connected to the home cable/DVR with component video, in parallel with the TV (which is using the HDMI output from the cable box). The Slingbox is connected to the router with an Ethernet cable. There was an initial account setup necessary with a computer and slingdotcom. At the mountains, I had to install the Slingbox channel on the Roku (free). I also needed to get the Slingbox iPad app ($15, good only for iPad. If I want the app on my iPhone it will be another $15).
To watch at the mountain house, we turn on the TV, select the Slingbox station on Roku, and open the Slingbox app on the iPad. It takes a few seconds for the app to connect to the Slingbox, and the content shows on the iPad until you select on option to send it to Roku. To change channels you use the iPad. The response is a little slow – like ~5-7 seconds to change the channel. You also use the iPad to navigate to your DVR content (we were able to watch a show that had been recorded to our DVR).
Last weekend was our initial use of the Slingbox at the mountain house. I was worried about two potential drawbacks: DH’s ability (or lack of) to understand the steps needed to watch TV; and bandwidth issues. In the first case, DH seemed to get the hang of it by Sunday afternoon. On the bandwidth issue, we had buffering problems twice. Friday evening and Saturday evening, I suspect during peak use time, our picture froze. Once I had to restart the connection, the second time it resolved itself in about 20 seconds. We had no streaming issues other than those two instances. There was a bonus that I hadn't considered – our cable service at the mountain house has always been standard tv – I don’t pay for HDTV up there. But we have HD at home, and since we were watching our home cable we got HD. That little flat screen tv at the mountain house never looked so good!
Assuming we continue having a good experience with the Slingbox over the next month or so, I will be cancelling our TV service up there and switching to internet only. That should save me at least $40 per month. I’ll make back my outlay for equipment and apps in less than three months.