The Gadget of the Week: The Slingbox

Posted on September 30, 2005 at 12:15 AM

Most of us are probably familiar with the concept of Time-shifting television, which first arose back in the 70s with the advent of the VCR (remember betamax?). Some twenty odd years later, the VCR has become almost obsolete by it's predecessor, the ever popular Digital Video Recorder (DVR). Now we have the Slingbox, which takes television watching to an entirely different level. Place-shifting!

What the Slingbox does is it allows you to control your home TV or DVR and watch them from any location in which you have access to a broadband Internet connection. A definite must have for those TV addicted, DVR loving, travelers amongst us.

Though not being a road weary traveler myself, I do know what it's like to sit in a hotel room many miles from home, forced to watch whatever crappy local programming the hotel provides. With the Slingbox and a Windows XP based computer (mac software coming soon), the only thing missing from your home television viewing experience is the crappy lazy boy you sit in. You know what I'm talking about, the one with the spring that pokes you in the ass every time you shift your weight. Yeah, that one.

Walt Mossberg, the Wall Street Journal tech guru, gives a more in-depth look at the Slingbox when he demo'd one last June. He gives a rave review of the device noting some of it's only drawbacks being:

  • Only one person at a time can remotely connect to it.

  • If you're using it out on the road, and someone at home is using the TV connected to the Slingbox, a long distance battle over what to watch may ensue.

Click here to review the Slingbox on Amazon.com.

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