Which Slingbox?

[DJ Rob]

I'm in the market for a Slingbox. I'm going to be traveling more starting at the end of April and wanted to use it with my laptop and Windows Mobile 6 smartphone (Tmobile SDA). I have a Bell Expressvu 9200 HD dvr and Comcast cable service I want to run into it.

I'm leaning towards either the Pro or the Solo models. Looking at them briefly, it looks like the Solo is the latest greatest one with a newer chipset, has an HD component input built-in and a USB port (for future use). I can get one for around $145. I found the Pro for $179 not including the HD dongle.

Is there any reason why I shouldn't go with the Solo?
Is there a newer model coming out by the end of April when I would need one?
Do all of the models stream at the same resolution?

Thanks for any input!

 

[Atelier]

I've had the Pro for a couple years now (with the HD dongle) and love using it when traveling. Worked great in London and Honolulu, even at a less than speedy bitrate. It really makes the trip more comfortable being able to not only view recorded programs, but stay in touch with local news.

Unless I'm mistaken, the Solo looks like a solid unit but you can only control one input. I'd check out slingcommunity forums if you haven't already for more reviews.

 

[DJ Rob]

It looks like I'll have to get the Pro since I want to switch between 2 inputs. Thanks for the info!

 

[charlesrshell]

It looks like I'll have to get the Pro since I want to switch between 2 inputs. Thanks for the info!

How are you liking your Slingbox? My Pro works pretty good. Had it a long time now. I have it hooked up with component and s-video. Sometimes the s-video looks better. I think the Solo would work good too, but haven't heard much about it. It would work for me because I only have a VIP722 hooked up to it.

 

[DJ Rob]

After doing some reading and finding out that none of the models stream higher than 640x480, I ended up getting the Slingbox AV for $100. I just bought a new house over the holidays so I wanted to save some money. I also wanted to keep the wife happy that I'm not spending too much for my "toys". The women just don't understand

I have the Slingbox AV hooked up to a SVHS VCR. I can switch between tuning cable tv with the VCR tuner and one of the VCR inputs for my satellite receiver. It works pretty good so far with my laptop and also my cellphone via my wireless router but I have yet to try it out of the house yet.

I do wish you could have multiple remotes for each input but it doesn't take long to reconfigure it for what box I'm going to watch. My VCR tuner as well as my Expressvu 9200 seem to work fine with it.

I will be going to Mexico in about a month so I'll try it then and see how well it's going to work remotely.

I also have messed around with an app out there called "Slinger" which lets you record what your Slingbox is streaming. It's pretty cool.

 

[lakebum431]

DJ Rob - I love your avatar, it freaked me out for a minute!

 

[charlesrshell]

DJ Rob, I like that avatar too. I felt silly when I reached up to get that bug off my monitor the first time I seen it. LOL Where did you get it?

 

[thecristman]

I have had the pro model for about 5 months now and I love that I can travel and watch local news. The only part I don't like is that the video is not as clear and crisp as I think it should be, but that is porbably due to my broadband service having a fairly slow upload speed.

 

[charlesrshell]

I have had the pro model for about 5 months now and I love that I can travel and watch local news. The only part I don't like is that the video is not as clear and crisp as I think it should be, but that is porbably due to my broadband service having a fairly slow upload speed.

Do you have the s-video connected too? I have both component and s-video connected to my pro. You can switch between the two in your SlingPlayer. Sometimes s-video looks better.

 

[thecristman]

Do you have the s-video connected too? I have both component and s-video connected to my pro. You can switch between the two in your SlingPlayer. Sometimes s-video looks better.

I have both hooked up and they both appear about the same. I am frustrated that even though I have 10m download on my broadband, it is only about 220k up and that affects it. But the ability to watch my satellite form any location is nice and being able to log on and set the DVR from my office is great.

 

[charlesrshell]

I have both hooked up and they both appear about the same. I am frustrated that even though I have 10m download on my broadband, it is only about 220k up and that affects it. But the ability to watch my satellite form any location is nice and being able to log on and set the DVR from my office is great.

Yep, I think the SlingBox is outstanding. We are only on the road twice a year, but we use the hell out of it while gone. I use the one in my bedroom every morning. I get up early in the mornings so I call it up from my laptop in the living room and make sure the timers are correct, etc. I do this while the wife is still asleep. I think it is the up speed that is giving you a little trouble. We only have 10 down and one up service and it works pretty good. My ISP is going to 16 down and two up soon. That will make it better too. I wish we could get Verizon Fios in our area.

 

[DJ Rob]

I just bought a barely used Slingbox Pro for $100. Even though I already had the Slingbox AV, I figured I couldn't turn down such a good deal. And I thought I could find a family member that would want it.

I don't know if the new Slingbox AV I bought was bad, but the picture from the Pro is 100% better. The image from Slingbox AV was very blurry even after maxing out the settings and doing the video tuning wizard. I used the same s-video input. The Slingplayer said that both boxes were sending about the same bitrate so I don't get why the picture quality is so different. And with the Pro, my cellphone gets more frames per second and a better picture as well.

So I'm going to keep the Pro for myself and the AV is going back to Circuit City where I bought it a couple of weeks ago.