Woot! is selling a refurbished Slingbox SOLO (why do companies insist on capitalizing words for no reason?) for $99.99 plus $5 for shipping. This same unit, new, sells for well over $150 elsewhere — the lowest I could find was $155 on Amazon.

If you’re not familiar with Slingbox, it’s an apparatus that you connect to your cable box and your internet connection that allows you to watch whatever’s coming out of your cable box over the internet from anywhere in the world. Basically it’s for sports fans and local news junkies, along with people who travel overseas and can’t stand foreign television.

Slingbox SOLO [Woot.com]

Don’t you think it’s rather nice of Sling to offer this discount on new hardware rather than simply putting out a firmware upgrade for the older crop? I do. You have to have something to spend your unemployment check on. Why not a gadget?

Man alive! Dish Network will have a DVR with built-in Slingbox tech. It’s the Vip 922 HD DuoDVR; we don’t know when it’ll be available, nor do we have any pics. Later today, I suppose.

It’s the first time that a non-Sligbox box will have Slingbox tech built in. The San Francisco Chronicle says the new DVR is “definitely a high-end product.” Good idea to release such a device in this environment.

I’ll have the boys on the show floor—again, I’m still in New York this week—find out more for y’all.

Amazon has the Slingbox-like HAVA Platinum HD extender for $86.99, down from its $149.99 list price. The box takes in an HD video signal and streams it back out over your home network via the built-in Ethernet port.

Video on your local network gets compressed as DVD-quality MPEG-2, while you’re also able to watch everything over the internet, too, compressed as MP4 files. The HAVA can also record shows to your home computer for later viewing.

HAVA Platinum HD TV Device [Amazon.com]

Sling Media, the company behind the popular Slingbox TV-streaming hardware devices, has opened the gates to its video portal Sling.com. The site pits Sling directly against Joost and Hulu (though Hulu is a Sling partner), allowing users to stream a variety of television shows and movies for free through an intuitive Flash player.

Sling’s selection of media is pretty comprehensive, offering content from most of the major networks and studios including Warner, Sony, and MGM (Sling is licensing some of its content from Hulu). The site also offers movies from a number of smaller sources, like College Humor’s shorts. But there are a few notable exceptions: Comedy Central is nowhere to be found, which means The Daily Show and Colbert Report aren’t available (Hulu began offering both shows in June).

Read more…

The details are slim at this point, but sometime in the near future, Blackberry owners will be able to control their TiVos while on the go. 

Initially, BlackBerry smartphone users will gain the convenience of being able to discover what shows are on and schedule television recordings while away from the living room and on the go. Future collaboration between the companies will focus on software applications that further simplify mobile access to video content.

As a Blackberry and TiVo owner, I for one, welcome my new TiVoberry overload. Give me full TiVo access via a 3g network similar to Slingbox, and I will be yours forever my lord.

Attention Sling fans-

The Pro-HD is finally shipping and it’s cheaper than what we reported from CES at $300.

The SlingCatcher is a bit more than Sling was hoping for, but it, too, is $300.

via Zatznotfunny

A man named MegaZone (his real name, which, thinking about it, is really cool, like Cher in a Gundam suit) emailed us explaining that he now represents Sling and wanted to share with us the news that Sling has created a version of its software for the iPhone. You, too, can even take a look. He writes:

We have a proof of concept version of SlingPlayer Mobile already running on ‘jail broken’ iPhones.  We’ll be holding live demonstrations of this client on the iPhone and iPod Touch for those attending the WWDC.  Product Manager Vicky Shum will be at the Starbucks at 120 4th Street, San Francisco (across from the Metreon) between 10:00 and 16:00 (10am and 4pm) on Monday, June 9th.  So if you’ll be in town attending WWDC, please stop by for an SPM demo.  The demos are open to all comers, so please feel free to invite your readers to drop in as well.  We do ask that you hold this news under embargo until midnight Eastern/9pm Pacific tonight.

We do not intend to make this available to customers, it is a proof of concept.  We are looking forward to the iPhone SDK becoming publicly available this week and fully intend to develop SlingPlayer Mobile using the SDK and are looking forward to selling it through the iTunes store.  We started the development process before the SDK was available to characterize the performance of the platform and ensure that we could deliver a high quality customer experience on the iPhone & iPod Touch platforms. The results have been very promising and we are eagerly awaiting the SDK’s release so we can hopefully leverage what we have done already to deliver SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone
 

Thanks, MegaZone. good luck at Sling.

This is basically a Slingbox on steroids. By using a video camera and Mac Mini, David Glover created a DIY Slingbox that can transmit just about anything on you’re watching.

He basically used his camera as a DV input for a Mac Mini and then transmitted that signal using QuickTime Broadcaster. It’s a bit of a kludge but it seems to work just fine.

Your friendly cable company may soon be carrying the SlingModem, a combination SlingBox and DOCSIS 2.0-certified cable modem. Basically, you’d only have to connect one coax cable to the box and you’d get your internet access, plus you’d be able to sling the cable signal right out of the gate. Sounds cool, I guess.

SlingModem is one of Sling Media’s newest place-shifting devices, combining a DOCSIS 2.0-certified cable modem with the award-winning and innovative features of the Slingbox™. Cable subscribers can use the device as a traditional DOCSIS cable modem that includes the added benefit of built-in Slingbox functionality.  By connecting SlingModem directly to a coax cable input or set-top box, subscribers can receive live or recorded television on any Internet-connected device. SlingModem is easily installed through a single coaxial cable, eliminating the need for additional home networking connections.

The box will be branded and sold directly to cable providers by Echostar, who bought Sling Media last year. Pricing and availability are unknown, but more details should emerge at the Cable Show in New Orleans May 18-20.

Full press release after the jump.

From SlingMedia.com,

EchoStar Develops Products and Services for Cable Industry

EchoStar Announces DOCSIS® 2.0-Certified SlingModem

Englewood, Colo., May 14, 2008 — EchoStar Technologies L.L.C, a subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS), today announced its entry into the cable industry with the introduction of CableLabs Certified^® DOCSIS® 2.0 SlingModem at CableNET® in New Orleans, La. Earlier this year, EchoStar Corporation™ spun-off from DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH), retaining its set-top box business and certain infrastructure assets. EchoStar purchased Sling Media last fall and is now pursuing OEM relationships with cable operators worldwide.

“The introduction of the SlingModem demonstrates our operator-agnostic philosophy, as well as our dedication to the cable industry,” said Sling Media CEO Blake Krikorian. 

“We are firmly committed to becoming the vendor of choice in the cable industry, leveraging decades of systems and manufacturing excellence,” said Mark Jackson, president of EchoStar Technologies. “We are excited to announce our first cable-ready product at the annual Cable Show, where we can meet face-to-face with industry veterans looking for innovative solutions that will reduce churn and increase average revenue per user.”

SlingModem is one of Sling Media’s newest place-shifting devices, combining a DOCSIS 2.0-certified cable modem with the award-winning and innovative features of the Slingbox™. Cable subscribers can use the device as a traditional DOCSIS cable modem that includes the added benefit of built-in Slingbox functionality.  By connecting SlingModem directly to a coax cable input or set-top box, subscribers can receive live or recorded television on any Internet-connected device. SlingModem is easily installed through a single coaxial cable, eliminating the need for additional home networking connections.

EchoStar enters the cable industry with a strong consumer electronics background in innovative and intuitive products, including state-of-the-art, award-winning DVR set-top boxes and value-added features such as Sling Media’s placeshifting technology. EchoStar’s set-top box veterans have more than 35 years of experience in engineering, manufacturing, product development, and end-to-end systems.

SlingModem is the first product from EchoStar and will be sold to cable operators. EchoStar is working on a variety of other products and services for cable operators to be introduced later this year.

The Cable Show is an annual convention for members of the cable and telecommunications industry to gather for networking, training, and discovery of new products. The Cable Show, sponsored by the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA), takes place May 18-20, 2008 in New Orleans.

via Crave

The rumor that Sling Media is working on an iPhone-compatible version of its Sling software refuses to die. In speaking with iLounge, Dave Zatz (of Zatz Not Funny fame, now at Sling Media) confirmed that Sling Media has an iPhone SDK and that’s it’s currently planning what move to make next. “We know it’s [iPhone] a hot platform and we’ll see what our options are,” said Zatz. Smart man, that Zatz.

Sling on the iPhone would be huge for us techies. I don’t know how many times I’ve been in class and have wanted to be watching Champions League on ESPN2 or car chases on Fox News. Of course, I’d need an iPhone first, but, as I’ve said in the past, my next phone will be either iPhone v2 or an Android-based phone, just waiting to see how it pans out.

A blog I’ve never heard of, Electric pig, claims that an “extremely senior source” (they’ve fans of All the Presidents Men) at SlingMedia has promised an iPhone and iPod Touch version of the SlingBox software. If true, that would mean you’d be able to watch your at-home TV channels, DVR’d content and the like on your iPhone and iPod Touch. The rumor is slightly more credible because Apple supposedly gave SlingMedia an iPhone/iPod Touch SDK a few months ago.

This is probably Sling’s best chance to break through to the masses. What better device to promote your service than the iPhone/iPod Touch? You can almost picture Steve Jobs demonstrating it during an overhyped media event, sprinkled with a few “booms” for good measure.

CES 2008: Slingplayer coming to iPhone [Electric pig via Mac Rumors]

Amazon’s head of consumer electronics cautions: Don’t let the marketing speak convince you that the Xbox 360 or latest Motorola set-top box is truly “excellent.”

Paul Ryder, who’s in charge of CE at Amazon, thinks so-called convergence devices fall into one of two categories: the “capable”, like the 360—good enough, but often too hard to fully exploit for the average person—and the excellent, those that work perfectly without any headaches. What makes the excellent list?

• The EyeFi. A 2GB SD card with a built-in Wi-Fi antenna. Instantly, and easily, upload digital photos and video straight from your camera.

• Slingbox. Your TV shows wherever you go. I take it you’ve heard of it before.

• Flip Video. A VGA-quality video camera with a built-in USB port. No headaches there.

• Unbox and Kindle. I think the Amazon guy was just shilling, but I do like the Kindle, you may remember.

Converging On Greatness [Forbes.com]

Need 1080i content every-freaking-where in the world? Get ye a $399.99 SlingBox PRO-HD. This monster can send digital TV and HD content almost anywhere, provided your pipe is fast enough to support the upload speeds — Sling suggests FiOS.

Blackberry fans will be happy to note that they will now be able to watch Slinged (Slung?) content on their wee handhelds. The software will be available for $29.99 later this year.

If you’ve been pondering the purchase of a Slingbox then this may be your chance to get on the wagon. Woot has some refurbs for only $75 shipped. It’s a refurb and that may deter a few of you, but Woot is covering you for 90 days in case it kicks the bucket. Why not try it out?

Woot

You also might be seeing even more ads if Sling Media puts into play the technology described in a recent patent.

The patent basically entails using various methods of delivering ads including video overlays, pre- and post-roll ads, pop-up windows, and even serving ads to you via “a phone call, a fax, or the postal service.” The ads would be targeted to you based on what you’re watching at the time, so you’d get ads for golfing websites while you’re watching a golf tournament, for instance.

It should be noted that Sling Media hasn’t announced any plans to use the service yet. I’d hope that the company would be smart enough to realize that people who are paying for a SlingBox and then, in some instances, paying again for the SlingPlayer  software (SlingPlayer Mobile costs $29.99) might be a little miffed to see ads showing up.

It would make more sense for Sling Media to use this technology to supplement the cost of the hardware player and/or software packages or at least offer it as an opt-in “service” to Slingbox owners. And it might not affect Slingbox owners at all. It may be something that Sling Media uses for the new partnership with EchoStar/DISH Network to offset the costs of building the technology into DISH receivers.

Slingbox to Slip Ads Into TV Viewing? [Sling Community]

The Times’ David Pogue, who always comes across as an incredible nerd, is old. How old? Why, he’s so old, small things like the Slingbox Solo knock his socks off. What, it can transmit video from my home TV to my laptop halfway around the world? That’s insanity!

It can, and it’s not.

Pogue’s overview of the just-released Solo had to have been written with luddites in mind. Once you parse through all the hand-holding—high def signal use component cables, my Linksys router is giving me trouble—you’re left with very little.

If there’s a quick way to sum up his many, many words, it’s this: the Solo works splendidly for less money than previous models, though our very own Blake had some problems.

Once Upon a Time, There Was a Slingbox [New York Times]

I’ve had the opportunity to check out a pre-production unit for the past few days and I’m ready to report my first impressions.

The style of the SOLO is largely the same of its predecessors, which is to say that it looks great — even in this pre-production state. It maintains a sort of loose industrial appearance that looks as if it could be rack mounted along with some futuristic home theater system. Very sexy stuff, made all the sexier when combined with other slick looking gear.

As you can see from the image below, the SOLO features component in and out for ultra-high quality video. I’m a little disappointed by the lack of fiber optic sound, but not disappointed enough to hold it against anyone.

Like previous Sling devices, the SOLO is capable of shifting channels through the use of a universal IR adapter that you position in front of your cable receiver. This method works fine, but I envision a day where all devices utilize RF remotes. At that time it’d be really excellent to see a Slingbox with a built-in RF remote that could communicate with all of your devices straight from the box. Again though, that’s nothing I hold against Sling.

Due to some ridiculous problems with TimeWarner Cable, I was unable to test the device as much as I had hoped. When the problems were finally resolved (last night, after about two weeks of disaster), I was able to get the SOLO running quickly. The never SlingPlayer is snappier than ever and the quality of the transferred content has been superb.

In terms of being a mid-level device, the SOLO performs resoundingly well. It offers a definite advantage over the AV, while withholding just enough cool stuff from the PRO to possibly tantalize you into buying the more expensive model.

The Slingbox SOLO will be available soon for $179.99. Also of note, is that the SOLO will be the first model to launch in other concurrently parts of the world. It will be available in Canada for $179.99 and in the UK for £129.99.

Sling Media

Of course, EchoStar is no stranger to partnering with smaller companies that make great products. About a year and a half ago they teamed up with Archos for some mobile Dish products. Nobody really noticed, but it was a good partnership.

Sling Media is one of those amazing smaller companies that managed to gain a footheld in the marketplace by making a useful and innovative product, and making it well. Sony may have come out with place-shifting media products first, but Sling’s were simpler, cheaper, and could be used on screens that weren’t proprietary LCDs (a move Sony has since been forced to follow.) Of course, the one thing Sling was missing was money and marketing muscle. Now they’ll have it. So unless things get really watered-down and corporate over in Sling headquarters, I’m hoping this will give more people an opportunity to watch their shows on the road.

via NY Times