# OT: Has Anyone Hooked up a SlingMedia SlingBox Yet?



## Kricket (Nov 18, 2005)

hey everyone,

hopefully this off-topic thread wont get on too many people's nerves - but i think this would be the best place to ask this question:

i am seriously contemplating getting a slingmedia slingbox now that i finally got my 622 installed - with the 811 i had previously, only one output worked so it would have been pretty much pointless - but now that i can have more than one output hooked up - i think this would be a fantastic device (especially for travelling)

anyway - has anyone hooked one up to a 622 yet? how do you like it so far? is it relatively easy to setup and is there a preferred method of setting it up?

amazon has these things on sale now for 199 so i think it would be a pretty good deal - any input is greatly appreciated!


----------



## Powie (Apr 9, 2006)

Kricket said:


> hey everyone,
> 
> hopefully this off-topic thread wont get on too many people's nerves - but i think this would be the best place to ask this question:
> 
> ...


So did you get your Slingbox? I've been thinking of one, or one of the Sony Location Free TV things since I just ordered a PSP. I would love to have the slingbox stuff built into the 622. Though E* would probably want to charge me more which would push me to the slingbox.


----------



## UTFAN (Nov 12, 2005)

Powie said:


> So did you get your Slingbox? I've been thinking of one, or one of the Sony Location Free TV things since I just ordered a PSP. I would love to have the slingbox stuff built into the 622. Though E* would probably want to charge me more which would push me to the slingbox.


Dish will charge you a Slingbox 622 access fee, a fee to cover the expense of accounting for the other fees, plus a DBStalk fee for posting bad stuff about DISH. If you post good things about DISH they charge you 299 dollars, but 200 dollars is refunded after the first month of good postings.

Nickel and Diming, the next generation.


----------



## Kricket (Nov 18, 2005)

Powie said:


> So did you get your Slingbox? I've been thinking of one, or one of the Sony Location Free TV things since I just ordered a PSP. I would love to have the slingbox stuff built into the 622. Though E* would probably want to charge me more which would push me to the slingbox.


actually - i never did get it - i still havent received verification that it really works with dish network

hopefully - someone with one might be so kind as to reply to this thread


----------



## socceteer (Apr 22, 2005)

Well... This I can answer

I actually have connected at home a Sling box, a Sony PSP LocationFree and the first original Sony LocationFree box.

I have all of them connected to my wireless router and I use cable as my internet provider. 

The LocatinFree TV and SlingBox give you a place to connect your cable if you have cable and 2 more component devices as inputs, they also provide you with 2 IR eyes to control your cable or dish boxes. So you will be able to view 2 possible inputs (cable, Dish and DVD and an example) With this setup you will be able to control you DVD, Dish and your cable (if you have cable) remotely from any computer. the PSP LocationFree also runs off the PSP, that is the only difference.

Location Free will only let you install the software in 2 PCs maximum, Slingbox is not restricted to 2.

Now regarding picture quality and usability. They both have a good usability GUI, but I prefer SlingBox. Also when it comes to picture quality SiligBox WINS hands down. it seams to control the streaming much better. Keep in mind that the upload speed makes a difference in the quality. For good quality Location Free requires at least 350K upload speed. SlingBox only requires 250K upload. Most internet suppliers do not supply more than 275K upload speed. Unless you have a business line.

I use both away from home and clearly prefer SlingBox for the picture quality. With LocationFree the picture is inconsistent. You can change the rate, but if you lower the rate too much, then the picture is almost not worth it. 

Now regarding the question if it works with Dish receiver...the answer is "YES" I have not tried it with the 622, but we are talking about RF signals that should work. 

I would connect the TV2 output to the Slingbox input and run on Dual mode. The only problem with this method is that I am not sure about how the remote control will work since it needs to respond to the TV2 remote codes not to the TV1. Or just using the S-video and audio (you may have to use a splitter for the audio) output from Tv1 connect it to the SlingBox input.

The way I run it today is off a standard Dish receiver. But I am sure you all want to be able to watch your recorded shows on the road, so the 622 is what you want. I am sure it will work, I just have to figure it out.


----------



## whatchel1 (Jan 11, 2006)

Don't see why it wouldn't work. It just take a composite input and then outputs to computers via ethernet connection.


----------



## socceteer (Apr 22, 2005)

whatchel1 said:


> Don't see why it wouldn't work. It just take a composite input and then outputs to computers via ethernet connection.


yes...but I see my appendabout the remote control


----------



## JamesB (Apr 22, 2006)

I have a slingbox hooked up to a DirecTV R15 and connected via a wireless game adapter on my home network. I'm using cable as my broadband ISP. I am very pleased with it after a month of use. Since I travel to several countries, it is nice to have the ability to view my own television programming where ever I'm at on my laptop. I have yet to stay in a hotel location that didn't have internet connectivity good enough for decent picture quality.

James.


----------



## obermi (Mar 13, 2005)

I was told by slingbox people that the 622 will not work with the Singbox. I got the following message:

""Thank you for contacting Sling Media support.

I understand that you would like to see what devices will work with the 
SlingBox™. The DishNetwork 522 is supported but the VIP622 is not. 
Another device may have the same IR code that the 622 uses. 
The SlingPlayer™ Mobile (according to the Compatible Devices list at http://www.slingmedia.com/slingbox/slingplayermobile.php)
does not list the Palm 650. It does list the Palm Treo 700.""


----------



## ayalbaram (Aug 4, 2003)

The slingbox does work with the 622 and you can use the remote codes from any dishnetwork dvr (best to use a dual tuner DVR such as the 522)


----------



## hgeyer (Dec 4, 2004)

While everyone's talking Slingbox, let me say that I've had one attached to my 921 for the past 3 months and it is awesome. I've got a 622 on order, so I'm interesting on compatibility with other IR codes. A few points I'd like to make (for those who care):

1. Echostar recently invested something like $25 million and became a minority investor in Sling Media. I'd expect Sling-like technology sometime in the future - though it could be a while.

2. When running the set up program for the Sling Box, chose the option for "DVR" instead of "Satellite Receiver". Trust me, it will save a lot of frustration.

3. It has been a great investment for me. It's a great gizmo!


----------



## lujan (Feb 10, 2004)

What's a SlingBox?


----------



## hgeyer (Dec 4, 2004)

www.slingmedia.com/slingbox

The unit streams the output of your tuner to anywhere on the internet. If you have a computer and a high-speed connection, you can watch / control your tuner from anywhere.


----------



## bairdjc (Sep 22, 2005)

Well I've had a slingbox for a few weeks. I was originally using it on a 510 but I just installed my 622 last night.

I connected the slingbox via coax and a splitter from the RF out modulator on the 622. I wish I had thought of this yesterday (after the install), but I forgot to check and make sure the slingbox was setup properly. HEre are my observations:

1) the slingbox WILL work with a 622. DVR622 shows up as an option for control in the "DISH NEtwork/Echostar" option for remotes.

2) The peculiarity of the slingbox is that it has an internal NTSC tuner in it that goes from 1 - 125. The problem is that when you select the option to control an external cable or satellite box, it only gives you 3 options for what channel(s) that box broadcasts on: 2, 3 and 4! As you all know the RF modulator in the 622 WILL NOT modulate to those low channels. Seeing as how the slingbox is just tuning into 2, 3 or 4 using the built-in tuner, I don't see why it can;t tune to any channel in the 1 - 125 range for this option. Hopefully it is something they will fix with future firmware upgrades (they are VERY responsive to the requests of their users!).

That said, you can always go with component cables or svideo, however you won't have the option of switching back/forth between TV1 and TV2 (unless you have it in single mode then that's not a problem).

Had I thought about it yesterday, I would have set it up with regular component cables (red/yel/white).

Regarding its performance thus far - I have it connected (I ran some cat5e when running the coax for the satellite feeds) to a linksys BEFSR41 (4 port router/switch). On my home "LAN" I can get speeds to the box in excess of 1300 kbps - away from home here at "work" I get in the 420 range typically, which is fine for watching just about anything. With my 510 there was a slight delay between when you "press" the buttons on the onscreen remote and when they actually took place. All DVR functions are still operable.... it's just not as fast as if you actually had the remote in your hands. You might have some slight picture kerkyness/audio sync problems immediately after you change a channel, but after the player is done "optimizing" (there's an indicator in the window), all is well.

Here's a screencap of the selection menu showing the 622:


----------



## lujan (Feb 10, 2004)

bairdjc said:


> ...
> 
> Had I thought about it yesterday, I would have set it up with regular component cables (red/yel/white).
> 
> ...


Component cables are blue/green/red. Composite cables are red/yel/white.


----------



## bairdjc (Sep 22, 2005)

sorry - you know what I meant


----------



## AllieVi (Apr 10, 2002)

I assume SlingBox provides full screen/full motion video. Sounds like a very interesting capability.

Has anyone tried using camera inputs on both ends to establish a high-quality videophone connection?


----------



## bairdjc (Sep 22, 2005)

Both ends? you'd need 2 slingboxes then.

It will provide full-screen video (window is sizeable) but the video quality wouldn't be great unless you had a SUPER connection to one another.


----------



## AllieVi (Apr 10, 2002)

bairdjc said:


> Both ends? you'd need 2 slingboxes then.
> 
> It will provide full-screen video (window is sizeable) but the video quality wouldn't be great unless you had a SUPER connection to one another.


Yes, that's exactly what I had in mind. Two systems _slinging_ signals back and forth. The bandwidth requirement appears to be well within the limits of many newer broadband systems (I have 5 Mb/s down, 2 Mb/s up - others have much more).


----------



## Powie (Apr 9, 2006)

AllieVi said:


> Yes, that's exactly what I had in mind. Two systems _slinging_ signals back and forth. The bandwidth requirement appears to be well within the limits of many newer broadband systems (I have 5 Mb/s down, 2 Mb/s up - others have much more).


Unless I'm not getting something, two decent webcams and a decent video conference software would suit you better, and cheaper to boot. Netmeeting is even pretty decent for free.

--

As a side note, after spending several hours reading threads on both the Slingbox, and the Sony Locationfree device, I've jumped on the Sony Locationfree ship. I bought mine off Ebay $212.00 new in box. I'll post back more with my thoughts when I get things setup later this week. A big factor is pushing me to the Sony is having the PSP, otherwise I might have went with the slingbox. Well and I also think the slingbox is ugly as hell, and I don't even want it hidden in my Home theater system, lol. I don't really need the wireless the sony has, but as another bonus it does run linux, and the source is avail, so maybe someone out there will make the product even better.


----------



## AllieVi (Apr 10, 2002)

Powie said:


> Unless I'm not getting something, two decent webcams and a decent video conference software would suit you better, and cheaper to boot. Netmeeting is even pretty decent for free. ...


Maybe I just haven't seen the best there is in webcam technology. What I have does not deliver high quality full screen/full frame rate a/v. I get good quality at 320x240, but even then it doesn't seem to be full frame rate.


----------



## wingnut1 (Nov 10, 2005)

If what you want is to watch your recorded programs, why wouldn't you just use a DishPlayer?


----------



## Rogueone (Jan 29, 2004)

maybe you want to watch something being broadcast right now. Like say you work Sundays and your fav NFL team is on, you sling that to yourself at work and you don't miss the game. or you have the kind of job where you sit around all night, and you want to watch TV, so with SBox you can watch anything you have recorded OR anything that is currecntly showing on all of your channels. Dishplayer can't do that


----------



## hgeyer (Dec 4, 2004)

Rogueone said:


> maybe you want to watch something being broadcast right now. Like say you work Sundays and your fav NFL team is on, you sling that to yourself at work and you don't miss the game. or you have the kind of job where you sit around all night, and you want to watch TV, so with SBox you can watch anything you have recorded OR anything that is currecntly showing on all of your channels. Dishplayer can't do that


Another cool use is when you forget to set the DVR to record a show. One can use the Slingbox to program the DVR remotely.


----------



## socceteer (Apr 22, 2005)

Powie said:


> Unless I'm not getting something, two decent webcams and a decent video conference software would suit you better, and cheaper to boot. Netmeeting is even pretty decent for free.
> 
> --
> 
> As a side note, after spending several hours reading threads on both the Slingbox, and the Sony Locationfree device, I've jumped on the Sony Locationfree ship. I bought mine off Ebay $212.00 new in box. I'll post back more with my thoughts when I get things setup later this week. A big factor is pushing me to the Sony is having the PSP, otherwise I might have went with the slingbox. Well and I also think the slingbox is ugly as hell, and I don't even want it hidden in my Home theater system, lol. I don't really need the wireless the sony has, but as another bonus it does run linux, and the source is avail, so maybe someone out there will make the product even better.


I have both Location Free and SlingBox. I prefer SlingBox's picture quality and remote control. I have not tried the PSP remote access, but I have it installed on my computer and the picture quality is noticeable better with SlingBox

However I do love that fact that I can access my TV from my PSP.


----------



## Powie (Apr 9, 2006)

socceteer said:


> I have both Location Free and SlingBox. I prefer SlingBox's picture quality and remote control. I have not tried the PSP remote access, but I have it installed on my computer and the picture quality is noticeable better with SlingBox
> 
> However I do love that fact that I can access my TV from my PSP.


Have you applied the firmware/software updates? I did a bunch of reading the other day on these two units, (actually on the sling forums) and several peeps reported the Sony looks just as good, and in some cases (text display) better. Well I look forward to getting mine, perhaps a slingbox will be in my future as well. I would imagine Sling software will be better as I'm sure they listen to their customers better than Sony.


----------



## socceteer (Apr 22, 2005)

Powie said:


> Have you applied the firmware/software updates? I did a bunch of reading the other day on these two units, (actually on the sling forums) and several peeps reported the Sony looks just as good, and in some cases (text display) better. Well I look forward to getting mine, perhaps a slingbox will be in my future as well. I would imagine Sling software will be better as I'm sure they listen to their customers better than Sony.


I have updated the Firmware on the PSP, however I have not tested it outside of my network. I have not heard of any update to the Base or the PC software, I will research.

If you find out, I would love to hear.

I love my LocationFree and my PSP, even if the quality is not as good


----------



## Powie (Apr 9, 2006)

socceteer said:


> I have updated the Firmware on the PSP, however I have not tested it outside of my network. I have not heard of any update to the Base or the PC software, I will research.
> 
> If you find out, I would love to hear.
> 
> I love my LocationFree and my PSP, even if the quality is not as good


I tried downloading the base station update via Sony's website but it has been removed with a link stating it must be updated from within the base unit itself. My LFTV arrived today, just waiting for the clock to hit 3, and my girlfriend to get home since it was delivered to where she works. Still waiting on the PSP to get here. Hopefully by Friday.

Here's the link to the Sony LFTV "update" page.

http://esupport.sony.com/perl/model-swu.pl?mdl=LFPK1


----------



## Powie (Apr 9, 2006)

Well I have my Sony LFTV up and running. It was a bear setting it up, mostly because the instructions suck. And for some reason the LFTV unit wouldn't show up in the player software. It also didn't want to grab an IP address from the DHCP server at first. Not sure what was up with that, but after messing with things for a while it finally grabbed an IP, I was then able to use the Web interface to setup the unit, and allow myself to "register" the PC to the box. 

The video and audio is clear as a bell on the local LAN. My girlfriend was really impressed as well. I do think the software could use some tweaking, and the "virtual remote" as well could use for some increased functionality. Using the remote is a bit sluggish, so you're not going to "surf" the channels too much.

I am now at work, where we have Satellite internet, and it works suprisangly well. While the picture quality is not that of the LAN, it's very watchable. 

Pro's: 3 Unique inputs - RF w/tuner, Vid1 = Svideo or Composite, Vid2 = Composite - Dynamic DNS for those of you on dynamic IP's.

Cons: Install sucked - Remote functions / sluggish - Cannot see how to turn off the built in WIFI on the unit. Software restriced to one computer at a time. But you are able to buy additional licenses. (4 devices can be registered to the unit)

So far I would rate it a 6.5/10. I better get back to TV, errrr I mean work!


----------



## kbdrand (Apr 16, 2006)

wingnut1 said:


> If what you want is to watch your recorded programs, why wouldn't you just use a DishPlayer?


Because you can't watch content on your receiver while you are in a hotel in another state unless you downloaded it before you left.

With a Slingbox you could be gone for a week and watch a show that was recorded the previous evening.


----------



## scooper (Apr 22, 2002)

With a Slingbox - you could watch it in (almost) realtime


----------



## Jim148 (Jun 22, 2004)

I am sure most people already know about this, but here is a forum about the SlingBoxes

http://www.slingcommunity.com/;jsessionid=411457BD6705229C54FB1AD689258927

Here are some 622 specific posts

http://www.slingcommunity.com/forum/thread/11954/

http://www.slingcommunity.com/forum/thread/12863/

http://www.slingcommunity.com/forum/thread/12043/

http://www.slingcommunity.com/forum/thread/12005/


----------



## kenglish (Oct 2, 2004)

Also, you can locate a few Slingboxes at friends homes around the world, and watch TV and Satellite from anywhere.


----------



## Kricket (Nov 18, 2005)

holy cow - where have i been? looks like i havent been getting ANY of the thread updates...

oh well - looks like the slingbox may be a solid choice - maybe ill jump on the bandwagon with this one...


----------

