SlingMedia posts

SlingPlayer Mobile for BlackBerry coming Dec. 30

by Christina Clark Dec 18th 2008

If you have a SlingBox and a BlackBerry, get ready because on December 30th you'll be able to download SlingPlayer Mobile in a free public beta. The public beta supports BlackBerry Bold, Curve 8900, 8820, Curve 8320, Pearl Flip 8220 and Pearl 8120. Firmware must be version 4.5 or higher.

Some EDGE-only models will also work but due to slow video streaming and other versions it is not officially supported in the public beta. SlingPlayer Mobile is already available for PocketPC, Windows Smartphone,Palm OS and Symbian S60 and UIQ.

What does it all mean? You can carry a TV around in your pocket! The SlingBox set top box captures your home cable or satellite signal and allows you to watch it via the internet using the SlingPlayer software. I generally use mine while traveling - my parents don't have cable at all - so at their house I can snuggle up with my laptop and watch whatever is on at home.

I would think the BlackBerry would make for some tiny TV viewing, but it could certainly pass the time in airports and other places where you spend a lot of time waiting. And if you have one of those careers where you carry a BlackBerry because you need to know what is going on in the world, well, this would be the perfect way to be able to watch CNN and other news stations when you need information.

The public beta is free, beginning on December 30th. Other SlingPlayer Mobile players have a 30 day free trial before purchase is required. SlingPlayer Mobile is $29.99. You can expect the BlackBerry version to follow the same pattern after the initial public beta is over. You also need a SlingBox to make everything work and those start at $179.99.

Tags: slingbox, slingmedia, slingplayer, slingplayer-mobile, slingplayermobile

Filed under: Utilities

SlingPlayer 2.0 released today

by Christina Clark Aug 7th 2008

Slingbox from SlingMedia is one of my favorite things to use. Being rather addicted to watching the Food Network and TLC's What Not to Wear it's great to just grab my laptop and check out what's on wherever I am. My favorite time to use Slingbox? In the car on long road trips.

Normally to watch your cable or satellite box you have to be there, in front of your TV. With a SlingBox you can shift your viewing to any PC after downloading the SlingPlayer and entering your administrator password. A SlingBox can range in price from $129.99 to $229.99.

Today the SlingPlayer for Windows 2.0 was released with some nice updated features. First, and my favorite, a new program guide. Simply click view, choose show program guide and you no longer have to remember what channels are your favorites from memory. You can scroll through the program guide, just like on your home TV. This makes things much nicer to use in my opinion. You can finally find movies with just a click of the mouse.

Another new feature is the live buffering feature which works like a DVR or Tivo in the sense that you can pause, rewind and record up to 60 minutes of TV. Great for when you need a break to go to the kitchen or also if you are getting a crappy signal for some reason you could record a large protion before playing it so things wil run more smoothly.

The third major new feature is the use of Sling Accounts. Basically if you have a SlingBox and you set up an account you can then use your SlingBox on any computer with SlingPlayer. I can see how this could be useful when I visit some of my relatives who don't have cable TV.

Tags: sling media, slingbox, slingmedia, slingplayer

Filed under: Internet, Video, Macintosh

SlingPlayer for Mac OS X released

by Brad Linder May 1st 2007

After spending several weeks in public beta, SlingPlayer for Mac OS X turns 1.0 today, with hundreds of bug fixes and a redesigned GUI based on user input..

SlingPlayer is Sling Media's software for watching video streamed over the internet from a Slingbox attached to your TV, DVD player, personal video recorder, AppleTV or other A/V devices.

Probably the biggest updates from the beta version include support for remote control of several new Apple products, including Front Row, AppleTV, and the iPod in a Universal Dock or an iPod Hi-Fi.

SlingPlayer for Mac supports PowerPC and Intel processors running Mac OS X 10.3.9 and later.

Tags: appletv, sling media, slingbox, SlingMedia, slingplayer

Filed under: Video

CBS announces new online video strategy

by Brad Linder Apr 12th 2007

CBS has announced a major new online video strategy called CBS Interactive Audience Network.

For now, that means distribution deals with AOL, Microsoft, CNET, Comcast, Joost, Bebo, Brightcove, Netvibes, Sling Media, and Veoh. Curiously absent from the list is YouTube. All of the content, which will include full-length television episodes and video clips will be advertiser-supported.

While most of the partners are online video websites and portals, Sling Media is in the business of letting users stream their own media over the internet. Sling's upcoming SlingCatcher box will be a device for playing web video on a television set. But the company is also branching into the online video market with its upcoming Clip+Sling service that will let viewers share video clips with one another, with the permission of content owners like CBS.

Sling Media plans to launch a Clip+Sling online video site this summer, which will feature CBS content. But users will also be watch the videos using SlingPlayer software, or using the upcoming SlingCatcher box, which lets users watch web video on their television sets.

Some of the content to be made available will include clips and episodes from CSI, The Late Show with David Letterman, Survivor, Showtime Championship Boxing, and CSTV Game of the Week.

Tags: cbs, online video, OnlineVideo, sling media, SlingMedia, youtube

Filed under: Video, Hardware, Macintosh, Palm, Commercial

Sling Media starts to take over the (multimedia) world

by Brad Linder Jan 8th 2007

There's been a ton of news out of Sling Media during the first few days of CES. This morning, the company officially unveiled SlingPlayer Mobile for PalmOS.

A public beta of the Palm client is due out by the end of January, with an official launch date scheduled for the first quarter of 2007. There's no word yet on pricing, but seeing as SlingPlayer Mobile for Windows Mobile has been available for a while with a price of $30, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the Palm version will be comparably priced.

Sling also announced today that they'll be bundling some of their software with new HP notebooks, and they're demonstrating that SlingPlayer works with Vista, although I think the big surprise would have been if their software didn't run on Vista.

Tags: itv, mobile, sling media, slingbox, slingcatcher, SlingMedia, slingplayer, treo

Filed under: Audio, Photo, Utilities, Video, Hardware, News

SlingCatcher unslings your media

by Ryan Carter Jan 7th 2007

SlingBox owners are usually pretty happy with the performance and options offered by the SlingBox. Now, at CES (where else) the makers of SlingBox are introducing a new device, called the SlingCatcher, which does basically the opposite of the SlingBox. SlingCatcher allows your PC (and more importantly its content) to interface with your TV. I am not sure I would want to see YouTube clips on a big, HDTV, since YouTube is generally not very HD-friendly, but it is darn cool anyhow. You can get the whole scoop over at GigaOM, but the prospects are enticing. The computerized living room is getting that much closer.

via GigaOM

Tags: audio, media, photo, Sling, SlingBox, SlingCatcher, SlingMedia, video

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