Believe it or not, it's been almost two years since Sling Media released SlingPlayer for PC 1.4 - their last 'significant' upgrade to the software that Slingers rely on to watch their home television on a computer screen anywhere in the world. Interestingly enough, the last major upgrade happened even before a Mac compatible SlingPlayer was available.

Sure, we've seen a few updates to SlingPlayer here and there since then, but these were mainly maintenance updates, remote control upgrades, and firmware fixes. Don't get me wrong, these are always welcome. However, as an avid Slinger, I've been waiting to sink my teeth into the meaty new features of SlingPlayer 2.0 ever since I got a sneak peak at it back at CES. Suffice it to say, it's been a long, grueling wait.

The wait is finally over... SlingPlayer 2.0 is here... at least in Public Beta form. Will it exceed your wildest expectations? Does it live up to the months and months of hype? Will it blend?

The Core of SlingPlayer

SlingPlayer for Windows 2.0 Public Beta is, on the surface, not entirely different than the SlingPlayer of yore. Yet, when you first start using it, it will feel strangely foreign. Nearly everything in SlingPlayer has been given the royal treatment. Sling Media's "slickness" department (I made that up, by the way) has gone a little crazy; this software is tight... like OS X tight. It sports fading effects, sliding windows, videos and demos... the whole she-bang.

Absent in SlingPlayer 2.0, however, is the ability to change skins. If you're feeling retro, there's no longer a way to bring back the plain white design. The new style is similar to the "Red Line" design that was launched back when 1.4 was released, only minus the red. You better like gray, because that's all you get. It's disappointing to see the personalization of the player's look get axed, but since creating custom skins was nearly impossible, it doesn't look like anyone will miss it.

Particluarly interesting to the techno-geeks out there is the "Sling SDK" that is installed along with the player. Little is known about it, but an SDK could be a good stepping stone to third-party development. Of course, it could just as likely mean nothing. Stay tuned on this front.

The Cutting Room Floor

The ability to change skins isn't the only thing that got whacked for this release. Noticeably absent in SlingPlayer 2.0 is Clip+Sling, Sling's YouTube-like feature for cutting out clips of whatever you're watching and uploading it to a portal site to share with others. Sling Media showed a working demo of Clip+Sling back at CES in January, and expected to release it and the portal site with the SlingPlayer 2.0 launch.

Sling Media hasn't said exactly why Clip+Sling was pulled from the 2.0 launch, other than the reasons they've stated in the past - more development time is necessary to fully bake it, and business relationships with content providers are in progress. Either way, it looks like we'll have to suppress our clipping desires for just a bit longer.

New Features

Even with Clip+Sling's absence, there are enough major improvements and new features to make SlingPlayer 2.0 well worth the wait. The majority of these improvements all serve to enhance the user experience, eliminating many of the annoyances that made setting up and using Slingbox less enjoyable.

From Merlin to Secretary

Setting up the Slingbox and configuring remote viewing is typically the hardest step on the newbie's path to Slinging bliss; something that hasn't changed since the Slingbox debuted years ago. SlingPlayer 1.x offered a Setup Wizard to aid in the setup process. Apparently, the Wizard wasn't magical enough, so 2.0 has moved to a newly revamped "Setup Assistant" to take over the configuration duties.

For the most part, the new Setup Assistant should be easier to follow for the non-technical computer user. The advanced Slingbox user may be a touch annoyed by the Assistant, as many of the manual configuration options are difficult to locate or buried behind several ‘auto-magic' solutions. Typically I wouldn't complain about Sling trying to guide newbs down the easiest path first, but the Assistant seems to take much longer between mouse clicks to show you the next screen.

Sling Accounts

With the release of SlingPlayer 2.0, setting up a Sling Account actually becomes useful... not to mention required to add a Slingbox to the directory, which is a major change from the last version.

Creating a Sling Account requires an e-mail address and a password. While it may (at first) seem strange, this does actually provide two great benefits:

First, you no longer need your Finder ID to connect to your Slingbox from a remote computer, or any computer for that matter. The Slingbox directory is no longer built in the player, but instead to your Sling Account. When you sit down at any computer, just log in and your Slingbox directory will show up.

Second, Sling Accounts also houses your favorites, making them handy regardless of where you watch.

Program Guide

Out of all the improvements to SlingPlayer 2.0, the program guide ranks in my top two. When you set up your television source (cable, satellite, etc.) you'll be prompted for you zip code, then shown a list of television providers in your area. If program information from your provider is available, pressing the TV button in the right hand corner will slide out a channel guide that allows you to browse listings and show information for your channels. Clicking on a program will tune your device to the appropriate channel.

I know what you're thinking, "I already have a program guide in my TiVo/satellite box/cable box, etc. This doesn't really get me anything I don't already have."

True...and false. I agree the largest benefit comes to those who don't already have a guide with their video source, but the program guide built into SlingPlayer 2.0 is a much better alternative to navigating the guide in your device. For starters, it doesn't interrupt your viewing like most device guides do, so you can look for something else to watch without while still viewing your current program. It's also significantly faster to browse, allowing you to scroll up and down using your mouse than by pressing the buttons on your virtual remote and waiting for each press to be reflected on-screen.

My only gripe here is the inability to schedule SlingPlayer to tune to future shows. For now, you're given a "this program hasn't started yet" message if you double click on a future program.

Favorites work a little different in 2.0 since they're now built into the program guide. They're much easier to set up than before, and you can have multiple favorites lists instead of just one per source. Very cool.

60 Minute Live Buffer

Also new to SlingPlayer 2.0 is a 60 minute live buffer that gives you the DVR-like ability to pause and rewind live television, regardless of your source. DVR owners can already do this, but like the program guide, using the live buffer built into SlingPlayer 2.0 doesn't require button presses on your virtual remote, which can be difficult to time when you're fast forwarding and rewinding through live TV.

Using the live buffer is easy. In the bottom left hand corner of the player, you'll see the pause button. Give a click and the video will pause; click it again and the video resumes. You can navigate to any point in the buffer by moving the video position slider back and forth. If it only had seven second instant replay and thirty second skip keys...

As a nice touch, you can disable the live buffer in the SlingPlayer Options menu. Handy if you're on a computer low on disk space.

Before you try it

Below is an overview of the known issues with the SlingPlayer for Windows 2.0 PUBLIC BETA. Please read carefully before you decide on upgrading.

• SlingPlayer for Windows 2.0 PUBLIC BETA may not work with some proxy servers

  If you need to enter proxy server settings manually, SlingPlayer may not be able to connect to a Slingbox outside of your local network.

• Back up your Favorites before installing

  SlingPlayer for Windows 2.0 PUBLIC BETA has a completely new Favorites feature within the SlingPlayer Guide. If you need to go back to SlingPlayer for Windows 1.5 for any reason, your upgraded favorites list will be lost. We strongly recommend backing up your Favorites by exporting a copy prior to upgrading to SlingPlayer for Windows 2.0 PUBLIC BETA. Here's how.

• Slingbox directory no longer syncs with SlingPlayer Mobile via ActiveSync

  If you installed SlingPlayer Mobile on a Windows Mobile Pocket PC or Windows Mobile Smartphone using the desktop installer, your Slingbox directory contents will no longer sync to your phone once you have install SlingPlayer for Windows 2.0 PUBLIC BETA.

Wrap Up

While that wraps up the major changes in SlingPlayer 2.0, there are tons of minor tweaks and enhancements around every corner. When you add it all up, there's a lot to love, and it's hard to complain when the product you bought years ago gets better for free.

Honestly, I can't say I'm that disappointed to see Clip+Sling absent. I'm excited about it and want to use it, but at the end of the day Clip+Sling doesn't fix anything that was fundamentally wrong with the Slingbox experience. The Live Buffer, Program Guide, Sling Accounts, etc. all make what was already a great experience even better. You may not be able to share clips from your favorite shows just yet, but you can sure watch and control your home TV with less hassle and more flexibility.

Sorry Mac fans, all the beta love is exclusive to Windows at the moment, but according to Sling they are "working on software for the Mac which will bring these features to the platform in a future update."

Give SlingPlayer for Windows 2.0 Public Beta a spin and share your thoughts.

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