As we all know, the UK population’s been a little behind in the Slingtech stakes. That is until now. With the all new Slingbox SOLO sharing a virtually simultaneous launch in the US and UK, we now see how important the UK market’s becoming to Sling Media. For coverage on the US version of SOLO, including all details and specs, check out Matt Whitlock's Slingbox SOLO Review.

For those who haven’t seen it yet, the Slingbox SOLO’s taken a huge step in the right direction toward becoming a cool looking gadget, and it’s lost the toyish looks of previous models. The main difference? It now has a sophisticated, black glossy metal–looking finish, rather than the usual plastic, and looks less like a large piece of Lego. One major bonus is how compact it is; it’s now much smaller than the previous offerings.

My only criticism is the LEDs. They’re weedy compared to the original Slingbox Classic, and are hard to see unless you look very closely. Also, it’s disappointing that whilst slinging you only get a solitary LED forming part of the “n;” on the Classic this was performed by an array of LED’s forming the whole “n.” I always hoped these would be made to pulse—Knight Rider style—but alas, no.

So what does the Slingbox SOLO bring to the table?

A lot! Sling Media’s new bundle of joy now has HD inputs in addition to the usual suspects of S–Video and composite. And much to everyone's excitement, it now has pass–through on all inputs, which allows an easy connection to various devices without stealing vital outputs.

It also allows you to have three different input devices connected at once, using each of the input types (component, S-Video and composite). As with the Classic, it only has one set of audio inputs (RCA), so even if you have three devices connected you’re limited to one audio source for all inputs. (Although I’ve seen other articles on the SIingCommunity that have found ways round this with the previous boxes).

The most intriguing aspect of this new box is that the component inputs were built into the device without the need for the much–maligned Sling Media HD connect cable of the Slingbox PRO. So out of the box your unit’s HD Ready, which is fantastic.

Why no HDMI?

I guess the main reasons for this are the additional costs in royalties when adding an HDMI type connector, and the fact that it would also need to comply with HDCP standards (which would obviously cause problems in the pass through outputs.) Component still gives the quality and bypasses these additional complications.

The UK market’s still not—as yet—flooded with HD devices; HD take-up’s still slow, but this Christmas will definitely be a turning point in the UK, and I think Sling Media’s made the right decision to future proof this product. Although I am yet to own an HD–capable device, I’ve heard early reports saying that using HD sources really does give a boost in quality.

So how does it perform?

Very well is the short answer; if you’re familiar with Sling Media’s other products you’ll find the setup process exactly the same. The SlingPlayer is the same solid piece of feature-rich software that it’s been for a while now, and the great news for existing Slingbox owners is that using unchanged software means you only need one installation for all of your Slingboxes.

On the LAN, the quality’s much superior to the forerunning Slingbox Classic. The colours do seem much richer and are pin sharp. Watching remotely, the differences are less obvious but it worked just as well as previous models and I’m sure the availability of HD will certainly help with getting the most out of any available bandwidth.

So where does the Slingbox SOLO sit in the Sling Media range?

Well, it would seem that the Slingbox SOLO has more of a defined place in the Sling Media UK product range. Until now the UK/European market has only had access to the original Slingbox (the Slingbox Classic.) The US market’s had the nextgen boxes of Slingbox PRO, Slingbox Tuner, and Slingbox AV for a while now.

Although yet to be confirmed, it would seem that the Slingbox SOLO’s destined to replace the Slingbox AV in the range. It also appears that Sling Media isn’t going to do a PAL version of the AV for the UK market, and that the Classic is being discontinued after seeing it heavily discounted in the UK for a while now.

The original AV in the US was introduced as an entry level model at a very competitive price point. This low price introduced a couple of compromises: there was no tuner and only offered the option to input one device at a time. To most people the compromise was very much worth the low price point.

This could be further complicated with the rumoured arrival of the Slingbox PRO PAL version which was not HD ready out of the box when released in the US. We will have to wait and see.

Read more about Slingbox SOLO | Post a comment