Nice bunch of tips. Can you do a Windows one too. 
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Ten SlingPlayer for Mac Help Tips
In the nearly 4 weeks or so that the first beta for SlingPlayer for Mac has been out, there have been many questions and observations by forum members. The purpose of this article is to briefly point out a few of the current issues/limitations with the software and possible steps to rememdy this. This list is by no means complete and I would encourage anyone to post further tips/observations below.
1.) For older processors (ie: G4 below 1.5 GHz or so), you may observe stuttering video or blank screens while attempting to stream on your LAN. This is simply due to the fact that the processor is not powerful enough to handle the data stream in High Quality from the Slingbox. To solve this, the easiest way is to first STOP streaming. Then go into the SlingPlayer menu and under video uncheck, "Enable High-Quality mode for at home (LAN) viewing."
You could also mess with setting up manual encoding parameters, but this is much easier and will solve the problem. However, please be aware that your video may still freeze if you attempt to open other applications or do other tasks. On my 1 GHz G4, SlingPlayer takes up about 80% of the CPU time. SlingMedia says you should be able to run a 600 MHz G3, but in my opinion, this is doubtful.
Again, you must STOP streaming to change these preferences.
2.) If you are attempting to configure your inputs on a Slingbox Classic and are not able to do so, you are running an old version of firmware on the Slingbox and MUST update your firmware. With the first public beta release, firmware updates are hit or miss. If you are unable to update your firmware, contact SlingMedia tech support and ask them to upgrade your box for you.
3.) Favorites do not always save properly and it is sometimes hit or miss if they remain loaded when restarting SlingPlayer. It is a safe bet to export your favorites to a file and then if necessary re-import them.
4.) There is a green line around the edges of the video in full screen mode. There are also other window related issues - for more detail see the SlingPlayer Mac Beta review.
5.) OS 10.3 is not currently supported. SlingMedia has committed to support OS 10.3, but only 10.4 is presently supported in the first beta.
6.) If you cannot set up remote viewing successfully, you may have an extra router in your netwok you did not know about and are double firewalled. Check to make sure your ISP's modem is really a modem. Remote viewing works fine in the beta and problems related to remote viewing are not a problem with the software.
7.) You must be running a DHCP server on your network in order to first set up the SlingPlayer. You can manually set an IP address later with no need for DHCP but initial setup requires DHCP to be available.
8.) When a new beta is available, the program should notify you. Alternatively, announcements will be made on SlingCommunity and at SlingMedia.
9.) Skins from Windows and favorites from Windows are presently not importable into SlingPlayer Mac.
10.) If you have more than 1 Slingbox and a fast enough CPU, you can duplicate the SlingPlayer package and run more than one copy at a time.
Read more in: Mac
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November 27, 2006 10:15 PM
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November 29, 2006 7:04 AM
When you have created your favorites, there's a little icon on the left side of the favorites bar that looks like an = sign with a check mark underneath it. Click on that and you get a pop-up menu that gives you the ability to import or export favorites.
Slinging with a Slingbox Pro, a Slingbox Solo and a Slingbox Classic. 3 Replay TV units, a Roku HD1000 Photobridge and a Roku M2000 Soundbridge, an AppleTV, a Vudu, and digital cable. www.na9d.net
November 29, 2006 2:33 PM
Thanks for the write-up. Can any of you that have remote viewing working with the Mac client describe how Sharing/Firewall (under System Preferences not router) preferences are configured? My windows client is able to perform remote viewing, but my G4 (10.4.6) sitting on same corporate LAN cannot. Also, I have f/w ver 1.0.1. Any assistance here would be greatly appreciated.
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November 29, 2006 4:48 PM
Firmware for which model? My Pro is running 1.0.1 which is the latest.
OK, the firewall on your Mac doesn't have anything to do with remote viewing. That restricts INBOUND access to your Mac. I am in the process of writing a mini-turorial on networking and setting up firewalls that can explain some of this so stay tuned.
But the firewall has nothing to do with remote Slinging as the initiation of the traffic (ie: the Slingbox data stream) was started by you on your Mac. The firewall on the Mac will see that the incoming stream is a response to your request and allow it through.
The only time the firewall would be involved would be if you were using your Mac as the router via internet sharing (ie: sharing the airport connection to the ethernet connection).
There's no reason why the G4 shouldn't work. What happens? Is it not able to look up the finder ID or what?
Slinging with a Slingbox Pro, a Slingbox Solo and a Slingbox Classic. 3 Replay TV units, a Roku HD1000 Photobridge and a Roku M2000 Soundbridge, an AppleTV, a Vudu, and digital cable. www.na9d.net
November 30, 2006 3:27 PM
NA9D, I am running the Pro as well. My home network is as follows: service provider (FIOS) <-> D-link <-> Apple Extreme <-> Apple Express <-> Pro. I am able view remotely from my Windows machine, which tells my network is setup properly. However, my G4 on the same LAN can locate the Finder ID but gets the "Make sure...not blocked by firewall/NAT settings response". I have no ACLs setup to block MAC addresses.
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November 30, 2006 3:35 PM
Odd. What's the speed of your G4 processor?
The G4 isn't using a different router or gateway to the internet than the PC that might be blocking your access is it?
What happens if you attempt a direct connectiom via IP? And what firmware are you running on the Pro? 1.0.1?
Slinging with a Slingbox Pro, a Slingbox Solo and a Slingbox Classic. 3 Replay TV units, a Roku HD1000 Photobridge and a Roku M2000 Soundbridge, an AppleTV, a Vudu, and digital cable. www.na9d.net
November 30, 2006 4:48 PM
1.5Ghz. The G4 and Windows laptop take the same path through the network (I even did the cat-5 swap). The direct connection gives me the same error response. The f/w on the Pro is 1.0.1. It seems like the only variables are the Mac client and network settings on the G4.
December 4, 2006 9:00 PM
I have had mine installed for a couple weeks. It works great, but the processor makes a big difference. The video on my office MacPro 2.66 with 4gb of ram is far superior to my Powerbook G-4 1.66 with 1gb of ram.
HD Tivo
MacPro 2.66
PowerBook G4-1.66
MacBook
December 22, 2007 12:19 PM
I have the lastest iMAC as well as MacPro. However, I have found the quality of the picture is not as good as the Windows version. Any suggestions?
Andrew
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December 22, 2007 12:35 PM
The picture quality has been a subject of debate among many people. I don't have any suggestions. I'm pleased on my end with the Mac quality but others have said it is not as good as well. I guess wait for the next version is the best we can do...
Slinging with a Slingbox Pro, a Slingbox Solo and a Slingbox Classic. 3 Replay TV units, a Roku HD1000 Photobridge and a Roku M2000 Soundbridge, an AppleTV, a Vudu, and digital cable. www.na9d.net
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