Slingbox + Phone/iPad?

October 9, 2010 10:33 AM

slingbox-filter: considering getting a slingbox to throw TV to my ipad/droidx/remote computers

have done a little research into it, and realize there are some issues with throwing your shows to droid x and ipad (mainly that there seem to be issues w/ getting the slingplayer app on your DX and that there is no native ipad app, only the iphone app which you have to double to use on ipad)

mainly would be using this to watch sports, would eventually have it attached w/ a DVR (and DirectTV) but for the time being would only be used via Comcast cable (no set-top box currently)

so i guess the main question can be boiled down to:
a) if you have it, what have your experiences been with it at all (slingbox - any flavor)
b) have you used slingbox w/ an ipad and/or any android phone
c) which flavor of slingbox (pro, solo, etc) is going to be the best one to get?
d) is there a better alternative than slingbox I do not yet know about?

if it helps i am currently on Verizon, and the iPad is wifi only

posted by knockoutking to technology (5 answers total)

I was just messing with this last night. Basically iphone-app-based slingplayer viewing on the ipad is pretty not great and I wouldn't do it for something where detail matters like sports. You can't view your slingbox via the Safari browser on the ipad. Sling says they're working to get an ipad app out Real Soon Now but they've been saying that for several months.
posted by jessamyn at 10:53 AM on October 9, 2010

the good news is that most of the time i would have my laptop (or netbook?) with me when it really mattered...

i wish there was a good way to stream to iPad...

btw, mlb.tv looks pretty awesome on iPad (over wifi) so i know it is theoretically possible to make something stream well

posted by knockoutking at 11:01 AM on October 9, 2010

I've used the slingbox with an android phone. Not bad, but will stutter under heavy network load on the cell network. There is some lag when controlling the box, but besides that, it works well when network conditions are right. This is on t-mobile, so you might have better luck with Verizon.

I have an previous generation slingbox pro, so I wouldn't be able to tell you which of the newer generation items would be best for you.
posted by zabuni at 1:37 PM on October 9, 2010

I have a regular slingbox, which I use just on a regular computer, and just want to say that I wish I'd gotten the HD slingbox. The picture is pretty standard-def and I watch a lot of sports. So, if you're going to do it, swing for the best picture you can get. Also, even though the picture isn't great, I still LOVE having it.
posted by buzzkillington at 4:44 PM on October 13, 2010

@buzzkillington -- can you tell me how/where you usually use your slingbox? i would be buying the HD anyway but really interested in how you use it w/ sports!
posted by knockoutking at 3:48 PM on October 14, 2010