Slingbox anybody help please.

puddd4

We live in Calangute Goa for 6 months in the winter. Very, very very, non geekie OAPS. My husband misses his British tv programmes. Sad case (him) not me. We have a laptop and broadband in our flat I have seen these slingboxes advertised apparently they get your uk programmes to anywhere in the world. Would Goa be one of these? I was thinking of getting him one for Fathers Day can some nice technical person help me is it worth it,and there seems to be a range of them,which one should I buy ? Need all the help I can get.

Thanks

Nick-H

I would think it would depend on the speed of your connection. Obviously that wouldn't be a problem in the UK, but here I don't even find YouTube to be bearable on my 256K connection.

Unless the Service Provider blocks it for any reason, I should say that, in theoretical terms, anywhere in the world means anywhwere.

Given the time difference, it could mean your husband beeing up half the night watching the UK evening programs!

But I expect there's some sort of software VCR solution to this.

Nice idea

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IndiaMike Mod Team (The Grumpy One)

onajourney

It would work technically IF, as Nick said, your connection is fast enough. In Delhi, my connection (which is the fastest Airtel offers), doesn't even come close to the speed I would need to run Slingbox.

puddd4

Thanks guys bought one anyway so will let you know how we get on or whether it will be a very curious ornament. Thanks for your help really appreciated'

Puddd4

crvlvr

Puddd,

I am not sure if you are aware that the slingbox needs to be hooked up in the UK. It will then broadcast the programs via the internet. The quality of the broadcast will depend on the bandwidth.

In short you will need the following:

1. Access to broadcast in the UK.
2. A decoder box in the UK if you are expecting to watch cable/satellite. The slingbox will allow you to change channels on the decoder in the UK.
3. you can time delay the broadcast by using a Tivo/DVR and play pre-recorded programs at will.
4. A broadband connection in the UK and India.

trvl_in

The Slingbox should work in general as it's strong point is that it automatically evaluates available bandwidth several times per second and adjusts encoding on the fly to maintain steady throughput. When your bandwidth chokes you'll experience choppiness and occasional interuption, not failure.

Be aware that if you buy a new slingbox you will not be able to record your slingbox signal for time shifting. The reason for this is that slingbox caved in to media conglomerate pressure and installed encryption on their latest boxes that makes recording of incoming signals "impossible".

Older slingboxes allow recording to DVD or hard drive. If you can find one of the old ones, disable firmware "upgrade", and always refuse to upgrade firmware if an offer pops up on your screen. Any firmware "upgrade" offered by the company will definitely kill off the capacity of an older slingbox to record.

You can get older slingboxes via online auction sites.

crvlvr

Youcan work around that by having a DVR installed at the location the TV signal is received. Programs can be recorded on the DVR and played through the slingbox.

trvl_in

That method invariably fails. First because, even when a DVR works properly, it will require an occasional prod. Most people who have used a remote for a tv/video device will be familiar with trying "every" button on the remote before getting up off the couch with a groan and going over to the machine and trying all the buttons, ejecting/re-inserting media, testing cables, plugging/unplugging, until something works. When this happens via remote over the Internet it can't be so easily fixed.

And secondly this kludge relies upon a 1 Euro IR broadcaster. There are literally thousands of factors that can cause these gizmos to fail. The most common causes of failure are jarring of the IR unit or its cable, movement of the DVR, or config problems following a power blackout. And in fact things as slight as a change of temperature or humidity, a speck of dust, or a spider crawling on the IR unit can cause it to fail.

The zen of the slingbox is that it has no moving parts. That's why it's better to get an old school slingbox. Or if you can't get one, then consider one of the work arounds that operate at the user end. None of them that I know of permit capture of the digital signal, but most of them, including the Archos AV 700 allow for capture of a watchable recording.