slingplayer posts

Filed under: Internet, Video, iPhone, Mobile

SlingPlayer comes to the iPhone, sans 3G support

by Brad Linder May 12th 2009

We've been waiting for Sling Media to release an iPhone version of the SlingPlayer for a while now, and it looks like the wait is just about over. Engadget reports that the application will be available in the App Store early tomorrow morning for about $30.

For the unitiated, the SlingPlayer is an application that lets you watch live and pre-recorded TV on a computer or mobile device. The catch is that you'll need to have a Slingbox hooked up to your home entertainment system to stream that TV over the internet to your computer or phone. The good news is that while Sling Media had originally indicated that the iPhone version of the SlingPlayer would only work with the latest Slingboxes, it looks like most versions of the Slingbox should work.

What won't work is streaming TV over 3G connections. SlingPlayer for the iPhone will only work when you're connected to a WiFi network.

Tags: iphone, slingplayer, slingplayer-mobile

Filed under: Internet, Video, Commercial, BlackBerry, iPhone, Mobile

SlingPlayer Mobile for BlackBerry drops beta, iPhone version soon?

by Brad Linder Mar 27th 2009

Sling Media, the makers of the Slingbox set top box and SlingPlayer software have taken the beta label off the company's BlackBerry client. What that means is if you own a Slingbox and have it plugged into your home theater setup, you can stream live TV to your BlackBerry - for a fee. The SlingPlayer Mobile client will set you back $30. There's a 30 day free trial if you don't want to commit without trying the software out first, but you'll also need to have a Slingbox. There's no way around that constraint (unless you've got a friend who's willing to let you login to his or her Slingbox account).

Sling also has mobile clients for Windows Mobile, Palm, and Symbian. And it looks like an iPhone client is on its way. There's a new SlingPlayer for iPhone web page which shows a software demo video, and you can sign up for an email notification when the program is added to the iPhone App Store.

Tags: sling-media, slingbox, slingplayer, slingplayer-for-blackberry

Filed under: BlackBerry

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, iPhone, Beta

Sling Media to demo SlingPlayer for iPhone and iPod Touch

by Brad Linder Jun 8th 2008

Want to watch live TV on your iPhone? Pretty soon you may be able to... assuming you've got a Slingbox set up at home. While Sling Media has been releasing client software for Windows, Mac, and a variety of cellphones for years that lets you stream live or recorded TV over the internet, there's been no iPhone version so far.

But tomorrow Sling Media will be showing off an early proof of concept version of SlingPlayer Mobile for the iPhone at WWDC. The company started working on the software before the release of the iPhone SDK, so this is not the final version of the software, and Sling Media does not plan to release a public version just yet. But if you happen to be in San Francisco and want to check it out for yourself, Sling Media product manager Vicky Shum will be hanging out at the Starbucks at 120 4th Street from 10am to 4pm today.

The company will be releasing a commercial version of SlingPlayer Mobile for the iPhone at some point. Just not this week. This week, the company's releasing a pretty picture (see above), and a bit of hope.

Update: Check out some hot video action after the jump, courtesy of Dave Zatz:

Tags: iphone, sling-media, slingplayer, slingplayer-mobile, slingplayer-mobile-for-the-iphone

Filed under: Internet, Video, Open Source, iPhone

MythTV FrontEnd for the iPhone

by Brad Linder Apr 23rd 2008

Want to watch TV on your iPhone? Yesterday we would have said the best way to do this is to purchase TV shows from the iTunes store or transfer recordings (or downloads) from your computer to your iPhone the old fashioned way. But now Chris Carey has released a MythTV FrontEnd for the iPhone.

The application lets you browse recorded shows, check out program information, and stream videos from your Linux PC with MythTV BackEnd installed.

While Sling Media is considering developing a version of its SlingPlayer software for the iPhone that will let Slingbox owners stream content from their home TV or PVR to a handset, Carey's MythTV FrontEnd application is the first tool I'm aware of that actually lets you stream recorded TV to an iPhone.

You can check out a video of MythTV for the iPhone after the jump.

[via Automated Home]

Update: Dave Zatz reminds us that Elgato's EyeTV software also supports streaming recorded programs from a Mac to the iPhone.

Tags: iphone, mythtv, sling-media, slingplayer, tv

Filed under: Internet, Video

SlingPlayer 2.0 coming soon

by Brad Linder Jan 7th 2008

Sling Media is announcing the next generation of its SlingPlayer software to go along with the next generation of Slingboxes the company is showing off this week at CES. If you're not familiar with the Slingbox, it's a contraption that you plug into your TiVo, DVD player, TV, or other video source that lets you stream live video over the internet and effectively watch live TV from any PC, Mac, or mobile device running the SlingPlayer software.

SlingPlayer 2.0 includes a couple of nifty updates including a 60 minute buffer that lets you pause, fast forward, and rewind videos instantly, without having to send a signal over the internet telling your PVR to pause first (which can take a few seconds). You also get a new electronic program guide based on your local TV lineup, which makes it easier to flip channels from your PC. And Sling Media has also added the Clip+Sling feature, which will let users save clips from TV shows and movies and share them with friends.

SlingPlayer 2.0 is a free upgrade for current and new Slingbox customers and should be available sometime in the next few months.. There's no word on when we'll see Mac or mobile clients of SlingPlayer 2.0.

Tags: slingbox, slingplayer, slingplayer-2.0

Filed under: Fun, Internet, Windows Mobile, Web services

Get the game while you're on the go

by Lisa Hoover Sep 5th 2007

It's been a cruel, cruel summer without our beloved NFL football, and pre-season games don't really cut it. Fortunately, kickoff is tomorrow (not a moment too soon for the rabid fans around here) and we'll able to get our fill of long punt returns, bone-crunching tackles, and (hopefully) more hilarious MasterCard commercials.

If despite your best intentions to stay on the couch and catch all the games, you end up needing to be out being, you know, social or something, you can always avail yourself of the latest technology and take the games with you.

Mike Spitalieri over at Laptop Magazine takes a look at five ways to make your football games follow you wherever you go. Unfortunately, only one option is (almost) free, but that's mainly a symptom of a sports league trying to squeeze every last nickel out of fans.

If you need something to keep you occupied between games, be sure to add AOL's FanHouse blog to your RSS feed. Go Bears!

Tags: aol funhouse, football, ineedfootball, mobile, mobile phone, must have football, nfl, slingbox, slingplayer, sprint

Filed under: Games, Video, Features, Linux, Windows Mobile, Microsoft, VoIP, Mobile Minute

Mobile Minute News: Silverlight on Windows Mobile, Skype on a smartphone

by Brad Linder May 7th 2007

In today's mobile Minute, we'll take a look at some of the latest news and software related to Windows Mobile devices.

Silverlight coming to Windows Mobile

Microsoft's Silverlight technology is taking aim squarely at Adobe's Flash, which currently dominates interactive video on the web. But one area where Flash implementation has never been very good is mobile devices. It looks like Silverlight could be the platform of choice for interactive mobile web applications.

Check out this interview with .NET Compact Framework Principle Product Unit Manager Scott Holden for a look at a prototype of Silverlight running on a Smartphone.

Tags: flashthemes, sega genesis, sega megadrive, SegaGenesis, SegaMegadrive, silverlight, skype, slingbox, slingplayer, umpc

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, 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

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