Slingbox

We no longer have a TV. We gave away our gi-normous 200 lb Sony (including the integrated stand), and our smaller tabletop TV, just because we had no where to put them, and they didn't fit in our long-term plans. So the question is, how to watch television for the next 30-60 days while the project is being completed?

We could buy a new TV on craigslist.org... we don't have much room, so it would have to be a small flat-panel TV if we bought one. A quick scan indicated we could probably get one for about $250 or so. Another possibility would just be to not watch TV. That's completely out of the question, since the Tour de France starts next week. There is only one, you know, and there are certain things you just can't miss!

So it turns out there's this product called Slingbox (and some apparently inferior variants) that allows you to watch TV over your home network. The box plugs into your video sources and your home network. The software that comes with it has onscreen remote controls (that emulate your real remote), and you can control the devices with that. The Slingbox Pro handles up to 4 external devices. If you set it up correctly, you can also watch TV remotely over the internet (like if you're on a trip, for example).

We went to Circuit City and I was able to get it there for $149 (the retail price is $250). Not bad! I went home, followed the quick start instructions, connected the RF + TiVo to it, and it worked with no fuss!

I downloaded the software application on my Mac, and watched one of my saved programs. It turns out that the video quality on a "big screen" (my 17" Mac) is only so-so, but it's definitely of acceptable quality for the next couple of months. Since I have to watch TV in a smaller window that I thought (due to the video quality), I will load the Windows application on my PC and see if that does a better job. On the Windows version, they also have an on-screen TiVo remote, so I'd like to get that. They also have a Treo version, and I'm hoping to try that out.

I'd give this a definite thumbs up! It saves me from having to buy a TV until the house is done and we have enough money to buy our 50-60" LCD or Plasma. And it could be that in our quest to get the best technology at the cheapest price, we don't buy it for quite some time!