Sling box - who is using it and what you don't like about it?

[Disappointed]

I have been using Vulkano for several years and have been happy with it. Unfortunately they no longer support their app on iOS, my iPad flashes a warning that the app won't be compatible with the next iOS version.
I am looking at a Sling box, looks like the M2 is an equivalent of my Vulkano and the fact that they charge $15 for their app I assume they will continue to support their app in the future.

Also, is M2 an improvement to the M1?

Thx,

MP

 

[dadu007]

I don't have any SlingBox hardware, but I do subscribe to SlingTV (the "Sling Orange" package). All I need is an internet connection. The family uses it on our PCs at home or on our iPhones and iPad. The family loves it. Not sure how the actual SlingBox hardware differs from SlingTV. We also use the SlingTV app on our (latest generation) AppleTV. Just finished watching the 5-part series "OJ Simpson: Made in America" on ESPN through the service on the Apple TV. Excellent documentary.

 

[imoldernu]

Am waiting on 5G...

 

[Disappointed]

I don't have any SlingBox hardware, but I do subscribe to SlingTV (the "Sling Orange" package). All I need is an internet connection. The family uses it on our PCs at home or on our iPhones and iPad. The family loves it. Not sure how the actual SlingBox hardware differs from SlingTV. We also use the SlingTV app on our (latest generation) AppleTV. Just finished watching the 5-part series "OJ Simpson: Made in America" on ESPN through the service on the Apple TV. Excellent documentary.

Dudu, SlingBox is a place shift device, connect it to your Cable box and you can access (watch) TV anywhere that you can connect to the internet.

 

[dadu007]

Dudu, SlingBox is a place shift device, connect it to your Cable box and you can access (watch) TV anywhere that you can connect to the internet.

Gotcha. No cable box for us. Only internet connection, OTA HD TV (free), Amazon Prime ($99/year), YouTube Red ($14/month), and SlingTV ($21.44/month) for us.

 

[2017ish]

Dudu, SlingBox is a place shift device, connect it to your Cable box and you can access (watch) TV anywhere that you can connect to the internet.

We have had a Slingbox 350 for four years and have been happy with it. DW found it a bit fussy on the user interface on the remote end, but not a big issue. Not used it a lot recently though, and it appears to be at least a couple generations older than what you are looking at.

(And yeah, when "SlingTV" came out, I did a doubletake...)

 

[DrBrisket]

I used a Slingbox 500 a few years back to watch my DVR and satellite tv when on the road. I had previously been using SageTV which was no longer viable after being left to die on the vine after Google purchased the company that produced it.

Slingbox worked fairly well on an iPhone, iPad and laptop. It was attached to a set top box that was dedicated to remote viewing. The biggest issue was it would sometimes need to be power cycled (never figured out what was causing the problem). Kinda hard to do when you are hundreds of mile away for up to 2 weeks at a time.

My road warrior days are behind me and the Slingbox has been collecting dust for the past couple of years. With many channels now allowing streaming through their own apps (if you have a cable/sat subscription) along with services such as Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and Hulu, the Slingbox has lost a lot of its utility for the handful of trips I now make each year.

 

[Philliefan33]

We've been using Slingbox for a couple of years to watch tv at our vacation home. I think we have the Slingbox 350. We occasionally have buffering issues but I think they are caused by bottlenecks at that end. (We were recently notified that our internet speed will be doubled at the vacation home, so maybe that will help).

Changing channels is a little clunky waiting for the signal to go back and forth, so the setup is not conducive to channel surfing.

All in all it's been workable, and well worth the slight inconvenience to save about $80/month.

 

[user5027]

I have used slingbox for over 10 years and was a happy user. Very convenient when travelling and I used it around the home too. About three months ago I started experiencing random occasions where the slingplayer for web would go to a blank screen and display an "idle" message. It was frustrating to have to restart the player. I posted the problem on the slingbox forum and found several other users having the same problem and we never got a support response. I also learned from another user that Sling planned to stop manufacturing the slingboxes.

A few weeks later I got a free upgrade from Comcast to go to the Xfinity 1 DVR. They sent me the new box and found out the Xfinity streaming had the same function as I was using the slingbox for. I switched to xfinity streaming and never went back to the slingbox.

 

[explanade]

I have a Vulkano and a Sling 350.

I do get warnings about the Vulkano player. I think it's a 32-bit app. and Apple will stop supporting apps which aren't 64-bit.

I use the ad version of the Sling player apps on iPhone and iPad. The ads aren't bad, just the first time you connect. Usually dismiss in 10 secs at the most.

 

[Disappointed]

Esplanade, which is a better unit?

 

[Disappointed]

User5027, looks like the Xfinity1 incorporated the slingbox functions. Good to know in case I move over to Comcast. My wife likes DIRECTV because of their tennis channels, they allow you to choose which match to watch not just one channel.

 

[explanade]

I would say the Sling, more modern unit, suppose to support higher resolutions.

One feature that I really liked about the Vulkano is that you can record or download the shows for offline viewing.

But I can now do that with my TiVo and use the Sling for live Tv when I'm away from home.

So for instance I have watched NBA games from Europe over Sling.

 

[CaptTom]

Question for those who use Sling and similar technologies:

How often do you find places away from home that support high enough bandwidth to use it, much less use it at Hi Def?

The places I find free WiFi, like airports, stores, marinas, and hotels usually have poor to awful throughput. Maybe ONE person can stream video, but if more than one try it, the performance plummets for everyone on the network.

 

[explanade]

Not very often, especially most hotel wifi networks.

I often buy prepaid mobile SIM cards which will provide fast LTE or 4G bandwidth but limited data because if you leave a stream going, it will quickly consume a few gigabytes in a few hours.

Sometimes tho, Sling streams can work with a few megabits per second of speed so hotel wifi can work.

 

[marko]

We got one of the very first Slingboxes back in 2004-05 when we moved to Europe. Worked like a charm!
Got to watch my beloved Patriots live at 3AM!!

 

[Disappointed]

Just ordered Slingbox M2 from Amazon. User 5027 said that they may stop making these boxes, I guess those new cable boxes can handle the place shift so the market is drying up. Hopefully they will continue to support the app, otherwise this will be a complete waste of money. Reviews on Amazon not very positive but this is the only option left.

 

[txtig]

I got a Slingbox a few years ago for my college student son, who didn't have cable at his apartment. He has had pretty good success with it, but says that occasionally it stops working due to bandwidth / sped issues either on his end or on mine. As long as you have good internet service on both ends, it works very well.

 

[Disappointed]

Got the M2, connected it to my DirecTV box, it worked as long as the TV was on, turned off the TV and it stopped working. The DirecTV box needs a handshake on HDCP to allow the signal out on the component (that is why the TV has to be on), without the handshake M2 is not working.
There is a way to work around this issue, need to get a HDMI splitter so that the splitter can act as a device for DirecTV HDCP handshake.

Return the M2 to Amazon this morning.
So, if you want to use Slingbox with DirecTV box, you need to add a HDMI splitter, otherwise it won't work.

 

[explanade]

Hmm, my Tivo box is always on, if you plug in the power cord.

So no problems using with Sling.

Are you sure you can't set up a IR blaster to remotely turn on the DirecTV box?

 

[Disappointed]

It' not that the DirecTV not on, the box won't output signals (HDMI and component) unless it detects a valid HDMI device (TV), this is done to prevent digital download to a storage device, kind of like music used to be. So, the HDMI output on the box needs a handshake from the tv or a non recording device to authorize the outputs. When the tv was on I was able to use the slingbox and controlled it with no problem. I don't know how my Vulkano fools the DirecTV box to output the signals though.

 

[l8_apex]

Didn't work well enough during my trip to Thailand. So, not sure how useful it will be for my purposes (catching TV from home while away on travel).