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iPhone and Slingbox

NDimichino

NDimichino

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 14, 2008
593
0
New Jersey
Hi all,

I did a search and didn't find much about the iPhone and Slingbox.

Just wondering if it's worth it. Anyone have it? How's the quality? Which Slingbox would be best? It's an expensive investment, but I'm intrigued that I could have the ability to watch the World Cup this summer wherever I am.

Any information you have would help.

Thanks in advance...
 
I have and the quality is good. It is capped at 500 kb/s I believe and only wireless internet unless you jailbreak. The Slingbox Solo and newer model are the only ones supported but the older ones still work but might not with newer firmware updates.
 
Worth it to me!

The quality is pretty good for sitcoms, news, etc, a little less for sports only because golf balls, tennis or baseballs are kinda difficult to see. Also, you can only use Slingbox app while on a wifi network... unless you jailbreak.

So, if you're near a good wifi network most of the time you'd want to use the app, then go for it. If you're jailbroken, I'd say it's a big YES. Keep in mind that you may have to stay at 3.1.2 or lower to keep jailbreak as I have no clue if the future OS update(s) will be jailbroken. Best luck!!
 
I have a slingbox and use it on my iPhone a ton. Grandted I watch over 3G because I am jailbroken. But even on that the quality is good for me. On Wifi its great too. I use it alot, well because I am on the road a ton. And catching up on hometown news and sports is big to me.

Go for it I say OP! You'll love it.
 
To be clear the SlingPlayer app for the iPhone is WiFi only. So unless you jailbreak your iPhone, you can't do it over 3G or EDGE.
 
I got my Slingbox at the end of December, just a regular Slingbox Solo. The Pro HD was tempting, but money is tight, my primary viewing device is my iPhone, and I have a spare VCR to use for a tuner. So I chose the Solo when B&H had it for about $150 after Bing cashback. I had thought of scoring a used Slingbox one off eBay for $80-100 or so, but opted for a new model because of guaranteed iPhone compatibility and so I have a warranty if need be.

The reason I got a Slingbox is because we have several rooms in our house where I can't install cable, and I once had old TVs that could pick up a few local stations so I could have the news or the game on while I did stuff. With the new digital TV, I can't pick up any of the stations in my market on these TVs. So, iPhone + Slingbox = Always-Working Portable TV.

Anyway, I couldn't be happier with this combination. I jailbroke my iPhone 3G for the specific reason that I wanted Slingbox to work on 3G. It's fantastic and I can't recommend it more. I'm a big fan of TV in general and I am in shock that I hadn't set this up for myself before.

The software works great.Tap the icon, and your TV is on 10 seconds later. Works fantastically over 3G; I think that the quality is almost better over 3G than my Wifi.

Cons? It eats through your battery very fast. Look on eBay to purchase a spare wall charger if you think you might need one. I use my phone a lot and I think my battery may be fried otherwise, but watching Sling means my battery will only last about an hour. A seller from Hong Kong has the USB chargers for about $3 and they are good quality, I bought a couple.

Also, if you use Sling over 3G, your data use will skyrocket. I went from 1GB of usage in a month to over 4GB last month. If you are wary of raising red flags from AT&T, just keep an eye on that.

I haven't even explored the options of watching Slingbox in your web browser, etc. But yes, if you have the means, get a Slingbox. It's very neat.
 
I love my sling + JB iPhone. With the 3G unrestrictor I can watch live TV (or DVR stuff) anywhere.

To go a step further I had a Vaistech module installed in my car so I could run the iPod function, Pandora, and Slingbox through my speakers and view stuff on my navigation screen. After installing a GPS antenna on/off switch my passenger ";)" can even watch live TV while moving down the road:p.
 
pacmantech said:
Cons? It eats through your battery very fast. Look on eBay to purchase a spare wall charger if you think you might need one. I use my phone a lot and I think my battery may be fried otherwise, but watching Sling means my battery will only last about an hour. A seller from Hong Kong has the USB chargers for about $3 and they are good quality, I bought a couple.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I was pleasantly surprised to see how long my battery lasts. I really expected this app to be so intense in terms of network and cpu i/o that it would kill my battery fast. I haven't done a full to depleted battery test or anything but I've watched several hour long show and still had plenty of battery left (50-60%+).

I stream HD content from a Dish Sat box via the HD Pro over WiFi only... on a 3gs 16g.

I can't wait for 3g streaming + background processing to be enabled.
 
EyeTV allows 3G streaming without app. But the only problem is getting through the Comcast blockade, which requires additional help using external IR equipment.
 
Thanks for the feedback, all.

Can someone post a screenshot of the Slingbox app in use? Perhaps a normal sitcom-type show and sporting event, if possible?
 
NDimichino said:
Thanks for the feedback, all.

Can someone post a screenshot of the Slingbox app in use? Perhaps a normal sitcom-type show and sporting event, if possible?
Click to expand...

Why not jsut go to youtube.com and search there, theres plenty a video of what you need there...
 
I have a sling box pro, and get pretty good quality video over the slingbox app, but was just wondering how the image looks for those of you with the slingbox pro HD? is there a big difference from the pro to the pro HD?

thanks adn just waiting for AT&T to allow 3G streaming.:confused:
 
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