Slingbox PRO hands-on
By Ryan Block 
posted Oct 10th 2006 11:40AM
posted Oct 10th 2006 11:40AM
So we've had a Slingbox Pro kickin' around the joint for a couple weeks now, one of the three new Slingboxen released late last month; we figured it was time to let you know whether it was worth plunking down for, especially if you are already a current owner. So let's get on with it.
The Pro, much like the classic Slingbox, features an analog cable input, as well as an S-Video input. But unlike the previous Slingbox, the Pro features an analog cable passthrough (thanks!), as well as composite and S-Video ins (and their respective passthroughs, as well). Of course, the Pro in the title less likely comes from all those standard def inputs, and more likely from the long awaited HD support the unit now features. There are just two catches, though. First: it's not HDMI -- which we can live with. Second: to use the high def, you have to pay another $50 for the dongle, bringing your price up to $300 total. Read on for the full review.
So yes, finally your Slingbox can actually take advantage of that high def tuner (or DVR) you've got sitting in your living room console. Wonderful, fantastic -- unless you want to output in HDMI. Now, we don't see a super pressing need to use HDMI for our television watching needs. Unless we missed the memo, it isn't like there are any 1080p broadcasts causing us to really wish we had that digital input for, and let's face it, how many STV devices exclusively feature DVI compared to the amount which use component, but may also feature DVI? Unless you were planning on hooking this thing up to your Kaleidescape, upon which you've somehow managed to rip some HD DVD or Blu-ray movies or something, you really shouldn't be concerned with the HDMI. Plus, then Sling would have to get all icky on us with HDCP and stuff, which would make the device basically worthless anyway -- you think Blu-ray or HD DVD is going to allow your Slingbox Pro to access that content stream? Fat chance. More below.
But, if you want to use analog high def (component) with your Pro, you have to buy the $50 component dongle -- so that $250 price tag is now $300. Yeah, we think it's pretty silly too, since if you're buying the Pro, we'd pretty much expect you'd be getting the "pro" features and the "pro" experience out of box, even if they had to bump the price to $275 to do it. Then, to make things even sillier, Sling's component dongle input is actually an HDMI connector (yes, we tested plugging an HDMI cable into it), and it's labeled "HD." Again, it absolutely does not accept HDMI input, but the uninformed consumer might buy for the wrong reason and then drive him/herself crazy wondering why their HDMI cable isn't producing a signal when plugged into their Slingbox. It's a painful mistake, and we're still wondering why it was made. That said, if you're 100% clear on the fact that no, it won't take your HDMI signal, and yes, if you want high def you have to pay another $50 for a dongle, then you won't get stung.
What each of the new three Slingboxen does.
Note, the Palm sticker before we peeled ours off!
That's how many times the F-bomb got dropped by The Dude during Engadget fav The Big Lebowski. No kiddin'.
Adapter + Ethernet cable.
Thoughtfully included RCA cables, two coax, one coax splitter, one S-Video, and, of course, the IR blaster.
The box!
Flipped over like a turtle.
So the rest of the device is pretty straight forward. Ethernet port, power input, IR port, etc. The chassis feels like kinda cheap plastic -- especially compared to the Tuner and AV, which both have very nice metal bodies -- but besides the unboxing experience (which should never be understated!) you're not really going to notice very often just how plasticy your Slingbox Pro really feels.
The software setup experience was, well, a little painful. Unlike previous Slingbox setups, the version we used (v1.4) had a very difficult time finding our box on our local network, and required some restarts. We eventually got it working, and had zero problems thereafter. The new player's video quality looks great, especially coming off a high def source, but the audio to the set was cut by between 25-35% on the passthrough, requiring jacking up the volume while watching television. In the house (on WiFi) we were getting a good 4Mbps, significantly better throughput than the previous Slingbox was capable of -- and still not near the maximum 6Mbps the Pro is capable of producing. (We're chalking that lost 2Mbps up to the WiFi.) Sorry our pic of the new Slingplayer above couldn't grab the video stream -- Windows just refused to allow it, no matter how many screencap apps we tried. But you'll notice that it's streaming there at about 3Mbps, and maxed out on a 1280 x 768 display looked very decent.
The mobile Slingplayer client was, as always, seamless, and we were streaming widescreen video even on our crap-ass EDGE T-Mobile service in San Francisco with relative ease. So yeah, it's fair to say the Slingbox Pro is a welcome addition to our home theater rig; the high def support and higher bitrates are most welcome. The $250 price ain't to shabby, but whenthe original Slingbox can now be had for a full $100 less, you have to remember you're looking at additional port passthroughs, higher bitrates, and HD support. Yes, we're still feeling a tad stung by the extra $50 though, but what the hell, since when was high def anything super cheap?
P.S. -We're going to give them a pass in our review on the lack of out of box Symbian and Mac support, as their packaging suggests it should have. We all know by now it was a scheduling flub, and they didn't make their product release deadlines by the time the packaging was put through. But we will say this: we've had a copy of the Mac Slingplayer client kicking around here as well, and it's good. Like, really, really good. Way simpler to get rolling with than the PC client (no kidding, right?), and rock solid thus far. What's more, they've more or less carried over all the interface menus, options, and what have you, so the learning curve is very low for Windows users. Expect it this month, Slingboxers.
will the sling box pro work with the black n95 8gb??
Excellent article and comments about the Slingbox PRO.
http://www.1-satellite-tv-facts.com
It's more than bizarre that they wouldn't include a component input cable in the package - the fact that they're charging $50 extra for it is scandalous, and the "let's fool people with an HDMI connector" isn't any better.
Excluding that (I'll mentally raise the price to $300), it's a pretty nifty box. What I don't understand is whether it can output to a TV in HD - it doesn't look like it, but I'm just trying to be sure. Also, does it have one tuner or two?
is it true that the HD-Connect is not out yet? if it is out, where can i find one (I looked all over and no luck!!)?
I personally think these new slingboxes are useless. Most HD equipment have composite or Svideo outputs. What they should have made is a slingbox that can be be used as a client without needing a computer. Guess I'll be waiting for iTV.
"Most HD equipment have composite or Svideo outputs"
What do you mean by this? The whole point is that it can use the higher quality signal outputted by the component video source on an HD box.
That's great that you gave them a pass. But for those of who bought and returned units thinking they had finally got their Mac support done... giving them a pass isn't going to happen.
They blew it, again. They should learn to not promise things they can't deliver.
What I would really like is for Sling to host some of these boxes for me, and provide me with a list of channels I can subscibe to (directly to their facility).
I travel alot and don't want a PC running 24/& at my place, and having to pay for storage and whatnot.
Sling, I like your service, now please make it work without me even needing a PC at home and not even needing Cable reception at my place.
Oh, and make sure I can get HBO too.
Also, Sling, if you could cook my meals on the road, and then make sure to feed my pets and water my plants while I'm gone, that would be wonderful.
I like what you offer, but if I didn't need any equipment at all to make it work, that would be ideal. Telepathy
Olivier, With the Slingbox you don't need to run a PC 24/7.
I've had the classic since the first month it was released. You don't need a PC running at home at all! You just connect the slingbox to your input source and you turn the slingbox and your source on and off from your computer wherever you are in the world w/an internet connection. I don't know why you believe you need a local computer hooked up to the slingbox but you are mistaken. Slingbox is great give it a shot.
you dont need to have a PC at home for the slingbox to work. You need a pc to install it, then its not necessary for the home config
Well said Curious Party..
Yet I am still convinced that there an unnecessary middle-stage in the process, which is your house.
I just wish a service company would offer direct feeds without the need for hardware like this (although I do realize that this has value for many people).
What I had in mind would also benefit expats...
Just to be clear, the Pro doesn't output or stream HD video. It simply accepts HD sources. The original review was a little vague on this point.
so, what does a Slingbox give you that Orb.com doesn't provide for free?
sxt173, with Orb.com you DO need a PC running 24/7.
sxt173, not having to run your computer 24/7 or buy a tv tuner card etc.
can I watch my direct TV HD tivo while I am in tokyo with orb?
For future reference... in case taking screenshots of video stream don't work, try turning off video hardware acceleration. You usually get to it on the Displays control panel. Click on the "Settings" tab, push "Advanced," then the "Troubleshooting" tab. Remember to put it back on when done, otherwise it may make the machine crawl to a stop.
What gets me (and maybe this is no longer the case) that you can't discretely IR-blast more than one device. If you have a device connected to the s/video in and a second connected to the HD in, you can split the two emitters but you better hope that they're different enough (different IR code sets)
Hey Ryan, was that a sly Brian Regan reference? (Slingboxen) Feel free to drop some more anytime.
Take Luck!
About the HDMI port: Did you try it with a non-HDCP source? It could be that it IS a HDMI port, just without HDCP. If so, you can use non-HDCP devices with it (or HDCP + a HDCP stripper). If not, then that's a REALLY silly design (or a possibly firmware upgrade route).
A marginal improvement for LAN performance and no real improvement for remote slinging.
In case anybody still doesn't get it, this DOES NOT sling HD, as in 720p or 1080i/p, anywhere. It just takes over the job of downconverting it to 480p max. The best you can hope for is viewing a HD program over LAN in 720x480 with better quality than SD on your TV. I can already sling my HD channels with the old SB and it's broadband speed (at home and at the remote location)that determines picture quality over the web.
OG Slingboxes are going for a lot less than I paid. Too bad this version is the reason for the price drop. I just don't understand why they didn't incorporate 802.11g. I have other devices that stream HD(DivX, Xvid and WMV9)over 802.11g just fine.
Where can i get my hands on the Mac version of the slingplayer !??!? PLZ HELP!!!!
Quick answers:
HD Dongle is not available yet. Check the Slingmedia.com store in late October.
The use of HDMI is just for a physical connector thing - lots of density for the 10 RCA jack pairs on the Component pass-thru. It is "keyed" to not allow an HDMI device as it is not an HDMI interface and could let the smoke out of your SlingBox or the device on the other end. Lets not find out.
IR is discrete for each of the 3 A/V input sources on the Pro. You can put a TiVo on one, XBox 360 on another and the third on an IR controlled Pan/Tilt camera if you wanted to. You will only send the IR commands for the input selected in the Slingplayer software.
Bonus: The HD Dongle comes with a 3-headed IR blaster for the additional source. Feel free to do with you want with the 2-headed monster that comes with the Pro box by default.
Olivier said:
> What I would really like is for Sling to host
> some of these boxes for me, and provide me with a
> list of channels I can subscibe to (directly to
> their facility).
Unless things have changed, only one person at a time can connect to a Slingbox. So Sling would need to most one box for every simultanous user. How many devices do you think that would require?
I will use it with my Compaq V2020 laptop if I win.
Motorola v3x and a ibm t43, and a soon to be purchased samsung i607
id would be watching this on an ibm t42!
pleeeeeeeeease!!! pick me!
If I were to win I would use it with my home-built PC. Its an 2.4 GHz Intel box with all other generic parts. Im in the Army and am looking at my second deployment to Iraq in the near future. So internet-based TV would be an awsome thing to share with my buddies over there. I just hope that I can adjust the bandwidth to a level where TV would be watchable and not crash the network. I can dream of a little piece of home (TV) while Im there.
I'd use the PRO with my Toshiba Satellite.
Toshiba satellite
If I won, I'd use this with my black macbook, been wating for a slingbox over here in mac-land
My Dell Inspiron that I haul to work everyday would love it's own Slingbox.
Hey guys, im a student and im currenlty using a MBP 15" with 1 Gb mem. and the 2.0ghz Intel duo, running OS X, Windows, And SUSE. I plan on doing a little media on my lap top but mostly i handle all of that kind of stuff on mine and my girlfriends mini. You see , last month I bought her the base model core solo which she loves, but i have recently decided to turn it into our media server. Dont worry, im gonna buy her a MacBook. But, since i have already decided to go forward and set up the mini as a media system, i think it would be pretty nice to have the sling box until I purchase her the MacBook later next month. Thanks Guys, I love the site. Caden
I'd love to give this thing a workout on my lovely macbook! :)
If my old linux box (now living in a gutted NeXT cube!) plays nice, she might get a taste too!
As for a phone? Probably my w800, I'm trying retire this treo!
I'm gonna use my trusty powerbook g4 and Treo 650 combo
HP RX3715
I will use my inspiron 5100 to connect to the Slingbox if I won.
I'd love to use this with my Treo, but I want Mac support too!
Will be using a gateway 15" widescreen laptop.
I'd definitely be using this on the road with my Toshiba Tablet PC (Portege M200), doubt my SE K750i phone would support the video, so no question I'd be upgrading...maybe a Motorola Q or Samsung SCH-i730.
Finally would be able to watch what I'm paying for!
Dell Inspiron 700m and Motorola Q - plan to use on both
My Dell laptop would love this.
It's all business which is great depending on what side of the transaction you are on, but if I win "The Slingbox" here free from the great folks at Engadget then what is $50 MORE ON TOP OF FREE.99....
=D
I would be using it with my Motorola Q, which I just love. However as soon as the iPhone, or what ever it ends up being called, comes available I will be getting that.
if I feed the slingbox with a digital over the air signal (ATSC), could I connect the coaxial output to other hd tv's in the house? would the image be HD?