SlingPlayer Mobile Software Now Compatible with Microsoft Windows Mobile 6

[Paul Martin]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://us.slingmedia.com/object/io_1182437950559.html' target='_blank'>http://us.slingmedia.com/object/io_...2437950559.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Sling Media Inc., a digital lifestyle products company, today announced that its award-winning SlingPlayer™ Mobile software client is now compatible with Microsoft’s new Windows Mobile 6 operating system. SlingPlayer Mobile gives Slingbox owners the ability to watch and control their home TV from a network-enabled Windows Mobile powered device. With today’s announcement SlingPlayer Mobile is now compatible with devices that run Windows Mobile 6 Standard and Professional editions, Windows Mobile 5.0 and Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition. SlingPlayer Mobile is available for download from Sling Media’s U.S., Canadian, and UK web sites."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/PPC_Remote_Control.jpg" /><br /><br />The SlingPlayer Mobile offers a free 30-Day trial, and then can be purchased for <a href="http://us.slingmedia.com/page/downloads.html">$29.99 US</a>, <a href="http://ca.slingmedia.com/page/downloads.html">$34.99 CAD</a>, or <a href="http://uk.slingmedia.com/page/downloads.html">£19.99 GBP</a>, including VAT. A localized Japanese version is also coming. For Slingbox users, are you also using the Mobile software?

[rookcnu]

I admit that I don't know a thing about Sling Box and Sling Player, but can someone tell me why I would want to spend all this money on these products when I can get all of the same things using Orb at no cost?

Am I missing something that Sling does that is head and shoulders above Orb?

I have been using Orb for almost a year and a half and absolutely love it!

Thanks!

[happety]

I'm about as familar with Orb as you are Slingbox, but I always thought that Orb allowed one to stream audio/video from your PC.
Slingbox allows you to directly stream your TV/sat receiver/Tivo directly to your WM device. There is no PC involveed.

I don't have a TV tuner on my PC, but have a DirecTV Tivo. The slingbox software allows me to view my TV from anywhere with full control just as if I was sitting on my couch.

I can watch live TV, change channels, watch any show recorded on my Tivo, view the guide, find a show and set my Tivo to record - anything. Like I said, it's just like being on my couch with remote in hand, it just works anywhere I have Internet access.

This software works Like a charm and I've been using it since its original Beta release (over a year at least?)

In addition, though I know Orb is free, but am I correct that Orb relies on their network to stream video or is this directly peer to peer? If they were to shut down the Orb network or decided to start charging, would you be up a creek? The other great thing about the Slingbox is that its streaming directly from the hardware to my WM Device. If SlingMedia ever went away, as long as my hardware works, I will always be able to stream my Tivo to my phone.

[happety]

For Slingbox users, are you also using the Mobile software?
I meant to answer that question in my original post, but forgot.

I purchased my Slingbox the first weekend it was available. How long has that been? 3 years? And used it often since then.

Since the Windows Mobile software came out, I probably use that 80% of the time compared to the PC Software.

I have a Treo, so the screen's a little small, but it still works well enough to get pretty much full enjoyment our of watching.

It even works with Sports - Basketball, Tennis, Football and Hockey. I'm not gonna lie and say that's it's as good as watching HD on the big screen, and I'll admit that it's pretty hard to find the puck on my little 240x240 screen, but for everything else, it works fine.

[rookcnu]

Well,... I have a tv tuner in my pc, so my pc is my tv. Therefore, I can stream live tv to my WM device. I can also record live tv to my pc using the hard drive, like you do with your TiVo. I too can watch the live television as though I were sitting on my couch. I can change channels, record, etc.

In addition, I can get to all of my other media through Orb. I can see my collection of movies (about 150 DVD's), my collection of music (over 4,000 songs), my collection of photos (over 3,000). I can also see the web cam live from my WM device as well. I can even get to all my RSS feeds in Orb all in one place. Again,... it is free.

Now the last part of your post is where I agree with you. If Orb decided to charge or if their servers went down, than I believe I am out of luck. But I think what I will do until then is continue to enjoy Orb since it is free and gives me everything Sling has ( and more it appears) until they start charging or until I can't rely on their servers (this has never happened in a year and a half).

When/if either of those two things happen, then I will pay money for Sling. When that happens, Sling will probably be cheaper than it is now.

Just my two cents.

[happety]

It's strange, because as "Techie" as I am, I've always kept my entertainment (especially video) separate from my PC. I have the classic entertainment system so I enjoy Slingbox quite a bit.

rookcnu, you talk about the future and if Orb ever went away you might get a Slingbox, but the future is where you're at. In the (near) future, more and more entertainment systems will be PC based, be it your setup, an Xbox or Apple TV - Everything - Live TV, movies, pictures, video, audio, you name it will be Hard Drive based and viewed and interacted with from the TV, PC, remote laptop, and remote portable device (phone, WM, etc...)

Even if Orb went away, there will be something (probably multiple competing somethings) in its place to take up that slack, of course, it probably won't be free as more and more companies are looking to expand into subscription based services, but regardless, this is where it's all going. (I'm looking forward to that.)

Where Slingbox will fit into this scenario, who knows. As I look more at Orb, I can tell it's very cool. Right now, the Slingbox is a good, solid alternative for the average consumer (and me.) In the future, though, it's much more likely that we'll be headed where you are rather than the other way around.

[Shaun Stuart]

I use both Orb and Sling.

Orb is great but the problem with it is that it uses the PC tuner for TV - My tuner does not work with satelitte or cable tv in the uk (or at least not very well) I only really get the standard terrestrial channels.

I could setup my satellite or cable box through the PC but have always had problems trying to get all channels working and controlling the channels, menus and functions with anything other than the dedicated box remote.

Additionaly in order to use Orb you really need to leave your PC on all the time.

Sling Player can be used with satellite or cable straight out of the box - and without the use of a PC - giving me access to 100's of tv and radio channels and my recorded shows.

Sling also allows you to power your cable or satelite box on and off remotely.

The disadvantage of Sling is that when you use it, anyone at home using the cable or satellite has to watch what you watch (easy to get around by having two boxes as I do).

[barrypowers]

I used to use both - started with ORB, had both, then went exclusively to Sling. There were two things that made me switch:

1) Lack of premium channels: I could not figure out a way to see my premium channels through my TV Tuner card and be able to change the stations on my digital cable decoder without being there using ORB. The only reason I used either solution was to be able to watch the Red Sox while anywhere in the world. I can do this very easily with Sling and if I choose flip between HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, and NESN.
2) Power outage - my computer would not automatically boot up after a power outage. Granted, this only happened once but it was Red Sox Yankees. I can turn my cable box on remotely with Slingbox.

Of course I was an early user of ORB and they may have addressed this in subsequent releases, but Sling was light years ahead of ORB in ease of set up and ongoing use. No one can monitor my viewing as I am directly connecting to my device and not going through an ORB server (and no, I do not subscribe to Spice network). Finally, when I explained how both worked, Sling would amaze my non-techie friends and ORB made them look at me like I had a cone on my head.

There would be more reasons if I used it for my other AV components (I don't) but see distinct advantages to Sling. I would not have to rip all of my media to my computer in order to access all of my CD's, DVD's, and DVR recordings. ORB is a great free solution, but I think I only paid $89 for my Sling box and will never pay again. Not so sure ORB can maintain a free ongoing service model and would expect that they begin charging in the future. This ongoing charge is what I was trying to avoid; why pay to watch a subscription I am already paying for at home?

[yvilla]

I got a Slingbox AV earlier this year just before a trip to Venezuela. As I was going to be there for 3 months, it allowed me to make use of my cable box, and not feel like I was throwing so much money away while not at home to use it.

I have not tried the Sling player for WM yet however, as I just use my Tablet PC for internet access and not my PPC, including the times I watch TV with Sling. I will try it when I get my Advantage 7501 though (on pre-order from Amazon right now!), as the bigger screen will probably make it much more reasonable and enjoyable for internet browsing and to watch TV on.

[disconnected]

My PC doesn't have a tv tuner, and Orb sounded pretty complicated to me, so I bought a Slingbox. It wasn't too expensive, it was easy to set up, and it does everything I need with no ongoing cost. I use it on my laptop in hotel rooms, and on my PPC just about everywhere else.

[Fedorov]

I bought a Slingbox Classic the day they were released in the UK, so easy to setup and it "just works" - I now have my Mac Mini upstairs in the bedroom able to watch all the channels from Sky wireless and I also use SlingPlayer on my WM5 mobile phone and on my HX4700 pocket pc :)

[fresh-popcorn]

If your going to use Orb to watch TV it is Not free.
Your still going to need a Video Capture card which for any decent ones will cost $100 +.
Using the Orb service is free just like Slingmedia is for other computers or laptops (not counting PDA/Smartphones).

I use both and I prefer Slingbox for streaming TV content but Orb is great for being able to access files from your computer at home/work when your on the go.