Watching TV With SlingPlayer Mobile

SlingPlayer Mobile offers two different view modes to watch TV. The first mode has a picture window above two rows of customizable buttons (one row on 240x240 devices) or the Sling Remote (more on these later) and the menu bar at the bottom of the screen. Pressing the full-view icon at the bottom of the screen will rotate the image 90 degrees clockwise and expand to fill the screen, using every inch of real estate for the picture. The transition between modes is not instantaneous, but the delay is a bearable 2 to 3 seconds.







Like on SlingPlayer PC, the ability to switch the video input is also present. A quick press of the "Player" button in the lower right, then "Video Input", and you'll be watching your second or third source in no time.

The SlingRemote

Sling Media has managed to pack your entire remote control into SlingPlayer Mobile. Any function that is currently available to you with the SlingPlayer PC software will be present on your mobile device as well. To access the SlingRemote, you'll need to press on the remote icon in the lower right hand corner of the display.



They've also managed to creatively cram as many of the common buttons as possible into a unique (and rather small) layout on the screen. It takes a while to getting used to hunting and pecking for the right button; I found myself pressing the wrong button on accident from time to time. Any function not shown in button form on the screen will be available via the player menu, or assignable to one of the customizable buttons on the display.

The fun doesn't end there either. On the iPaq I was using to test the mobile client, the hard buttons also served up remote commands in both small and full view. While viewing in small mode, it acted like a directional pad with the enter key in the center for my DVR. These might be different depending on the device you're watching. Even more slick was how the button assignments changed orientation with the full view. Left and right became up and down, and vice versa. On my DVR, the select key brings up a mini version of the channel guide, which meant I only needed to move back to small mode if I needed to do something more than just change the channel.



If you're using a Treo700w, or any other Windows Mobile device with a keyboard, you'll also be able to control various functions using your device's keyboard, giving you maximum flexibility when viewing on a smaller screen. The shortcuts are mapped to the on-screen keyboard as well, but why you'd use that over the SlingRemote is anyone's guess.

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