Found a great place to buy Slingcatcher $240.00 and they have them in stock
SlingCatcher Hands on Review
Categories: SlingCatcher
Since Sindyr made this forum post stating: "What the SlingMedia company should do is create a Receiver device - a SlingCatcher - that can plug into a AV system, that can locate a Slingbox on the network, and play the Slingbox stream into the TV that the SlingCatcher is attached to, without the use of a computer." back in January of 2006, we have all been clamoring for a Sling Catcher device that would do just that.
That was over 2 1/2 years ago but now it has become a reality, the box is shipping now. But not only can it stream from Slingbox directly to your TV but it can do so much more! Using the free Sling Projector program you can watch video from the Internet and Stream video and audio content from your PC to SlingCatcher, and then watch it on your TV.
Fortunately, as Beta testers, we got our hands on a couple of boxes... join us as we take a full, detailed look at Sling's latest.
Specifications:
- Supported media formats:
- Video: WMV, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, Xvid
- Audio: MP2, MP3, WMA, AAC, AC3
- File formats: .avi, .vob, .ifo, .ps, .ts, .mpg, .wmv, .asf, .mov, .mp4,.m4v, .mp3, .wma, .mp4a, .m4a, .wav
Requirements:
- A television that supports any of the following: 480i (NTSC), 576i (PAL/SECAM), 480p*, 576p*, 720p*, or 1080i* (Note: SlingCatcher supports streaming from any Slingbox regardless of input video format)
- A broadband Internet connection (DSL/Cable modem)
- A home network
Box Contents:
- 1 SlingCatcher set-top box
- 1 AC adapter (100-240V, 50-60 Hz)
- 1 Ethernet cable
- 1 Composite AV cable
- 1 Remote control with 2 AAA batteries
- 1 User guide
Styling and Aesthetics:
Touching on looks, Sling has brought the Sling Catcher aesthetics into line with the rest of the current Slingboxes. There has been a lot of talk about the design Sling Media uses but I find the design pleasing and the black color doesn't stick out like a sore thumb in a rack of gear like the old Red Slingbox Pro.
The remote is also very easy to handle and use. Buttons are where you would expect and the wide to narrow styling makes it easy to know which end to point at the TV in the dark.
Features and Usability
OK! By now you are saying fine, but what can this baby really do? Well... then check this out.
Basically there are three major things the SlingCatcher can do:
- Connect to your Slingbox from anywhere in the world using a TV and Internet connection, through SlingPlayer for TV.
- Watch your digital media. Put any supported video, Music file, or photo on a USB drive or FAT32 Hard Drive, connect it to your Sling Catcher and enjoy it all on your TV, using the MyMedia interface.
- Watch Video From Your PC. With the Sling Projector you can project to your TV. This is great for viewing Internet video from your web browser, downloaded movies from your hard drive, or even photo slideshows on your TV.
SlingCatcher Features Detailed
SlingCatcher Hands on Review - SlingPlayer for TV
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mymediaslingcatcherslingplayerslingprojector
October 11, 2008 6:30 PM
October 24, 2008 3:07 PM
updated: October 24, 2008 3:17 PM
I understand where you're coming from. Until I bought mine, I didn't know either. They don't explain it well enough here. They need to demonstrate all the applications. They also make too much of some of the applications.
Anyway, here's my take after having one for two weeks. Here are a few scenarios:
1) With the extended family at home during Thanksgiving, someone asks about the funniest Saturday Night Live skit. I say "I can find that on my laptop". With Slingbox, I can simply project that same video I found online and everyone can see it on my 42" LCD on the wall. It doesn't take long at all. The screen size fits my 42" LCD automatically. All I had to do was click a couple of buttons. Two weeks earlier, everyone would have gathered around my laptop to get a partial view of the clip. I'd have to repeat the same scene three or four times so that everyone could see it. Eventually, I would relinquish full control of my laptop to one of the kids and I wouldn't be able to use it for at least 15 minutes.
2) While at work, I can make a presentation directly from my laptop using the LCD Projector. I can either show "all" of my laptop, or a partial view by clicking and dragging the borders on my laptop myself. This works out great because when you use the "click and drag" feature, it resizes the view and makes everything larger so others can see (Like a zoom feature).
3) You can store movies and clips and videos and photos on a USB Thumbdrive. Then you can place that Thumbdrive into the Slingcatcher and you have all your personal videos and other media at your fingertips (or in this case, thumbtips).
4) Now just be creative and think outside the box, so to speak. There are hundreds of ways to use the Slingcatcher, even more than they have thought of, which is probably why they don't know how to describe it themselves.
Having said that, I still am peeved they don't allow HD to be transmitted through Slingcatcher. They haven't given us any ETA for that feature, even though their ads say it has this capability.
October 24, 2008 10:10 PM
updated: October 24, 2008 10:11 PM
I find the lack of HD transmission to be its biggest problem. I'm not interested in hooking this up to any HDTV if it cannot transmit HD.
After a 2 year delay?
October 24, 2008 11:33 PM
If the $240 price tag is correct from the first poster, then I have no interest whatsoever in SlingCatcher if it cannot stream HD. I have a 50 inch HD plasma, and I have no interest in displaying non-HD content on it.
--
Michael
October 25, 2008 4:40 AM
Can I hook a SlingCatcher to a SlingBox via composite cables, and stream content from a home PC on a LAN to the Internet for me to view remotely?
October 25, 2008 8:40 AM
After having my SlingCatcher for a few days, here is what I've found. Output quality is extremely good over a hard wired network. It works great catching output from my Sling Box. The SlingProjector work well, though my 3ghz Pentium has difficulty projecting smooth video. I bought a SimpleTech Cayenne portable hard drive which works great. I converted my TiVo to Go recordings to MPG2 using a freeware utility called DirectDump and they play fine from the portable hard drive on my SlingCatcher. What the SlingCatcher doesn't do that I was expecting was recognize shared drives on the network and connect to those like it was a portable hard drive. Why was it not designed to do this?
October 28, 2008 4:19 PM
I would think that having a USB port that supports a thubmb drive it should recognise a hard disk that is USB. But if it can find directories, but can find mpg's then seems I would use a root directory for all mpgs and see if the box finds them.
October 28, 2008 5:06 PM
It recognizes hard drives plugged into it. It doesn't recognize shared drives on your computer. So the only way to play content on your computer is either us SlingProjector which captures video playing on your computer screen and slings it. Or, you have to disconnect the drive from the SlingCatcher, plug it into the computer, transfer files from the computer to the drive, unplug it from the computer, plug it into the SlingCatcher, have the SlingCatcher search the drive for the files, then play them. The lack of ability to transfer files off a computer over the network to either play directly or be saved on the attached harddrive is a major issue for me. I've also have and issue that it will only play 38 min 10 sec of MPG2 files, I contacted tech support and was told I would be called back. Never got a call back. Between the price bloat from of the SlingCatcher, bad tech of support and lack of ability to retrieve files on a computer, I have decided to return my SlingCatcher. This is very depressing as this is my Christmas present that I waited 10 months to get. I'm going to replace it with a Lifetime TiVo which can upload files from my computer.
November 1, 2008 2:33 PM
I found a few things that I don't like about my SlingCatcher.
1: Slingprojector won't work with my mac.
2: SlingCatcher doesn't recognize portable hard drives that were formated for my mac.
3: I can't get proper full screen resolution while watching HD channels on my Samsung 32" TV model #LN32A450C. I've been through this with tech support without any solution. My ROKU netflix box works perfect with my TV, why doesn't the SlingCatcher??
Final thought: Support for mac should have been worked out. We waited two years for this product and you left mac owners out iin the cold once again!
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November 1, 2008 7:47 PM
When asking for setup help please include whether you are using a PC or Mac and if you are using the Standalone Slingplayer or the web based setup program.
On #2 - the SlingCatcher will only recognize FAT32 formatted portable drives. I don't own a Mac so don't know what format they use, but you could check that.
Sorry about the non mac capability. I know a lot of people are wanting it. I don't have any answer on what is going on there.
November 4, 2008 1:55 PM
Regarding the HD. I was under the impression that the slingcatcher redistributed the stream from another source (PC, Slingbox) . If this is true then when you put in an HD signal into say the SlingBox, the HD is converted to some media format. Now I may not be understanding this completely but if the mpeg2 or mpeg4 is from an HD signal then you use the slingcatcher to display it on an HD TV. I am fairly certain that almost any IP Media format is higher resolution than HD is to begin with. but it wouldn't really matter as the image information in most video formats is higher than the HD will display. HD is about the Pixels, 1080i is the highest so far and your laptop screen or Monitor is around 1280 or higher, with a much smaller Dot Pitch, just a thought.
This is based on my Dell XPS 2010 to Sony 57" HD TV. Using a DVI to HDMI connector. When I stream Hulu Television to the TV it is as good or better than the HD from the cable company. I don't have a slingcatcher yet, sold out here.
November 4, 2008 9:52 PM
updated: November 4, 2008 9:53 PM
Okay, I was able to format my portable drive to FAT using the Mac - Disk Utility which is great. Now I can play my avi files but what about some of the codecs we all use. XVID files don't work? Pretty weak. MKV files? Nope, and that is super lame. What's the deal? Slingmedia, you know what your users want, why are you holding back. You really have got to get a bad ass update together and make these codecs and file formats available. Don't let this product fall short! Also - No wireless? The ROKU Netflix box has this and is awesome. Running a ethernet cable to the box is so out dated. We payed $300 for SlingCatcher - make the update worth the price.
November 17, 2008 12:42 PM
I love the Slingbox Pro, ( List $299) which you can get at retail outlets for about $240. But I don't see the justification in the price of the SlingCatcher for the SAME price. Slingmedia justifies this price by adding in the slingprojector capabilities, but i think in THIS economy, they are missing the market. I would like a barebones Slingcatcher that simply lets me hook up to a TV in a separate room and view/receive my slingboxpro content. I can't justify a $299 pricepoint. A $150 price point yes.
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November 20, 2008 11:45 AM
Got my Slingcather to watch tv from my Slingbox,when away from home,was up and running in about 5 mins. Have not tried any of its other functions,but for what i want it for i give it full marks
SlingBox Classic ( Sky+UK )+ SlingCatcher
December 4, 2008 6:34 PM
Can't use shared network drives & only works with FAT32?
This makes it effectively useless to me.
This is a downgrade from my DVD player with USB port (which will recognise FAT32, EXT2 or EXT3) - cost £30.
Sure, I can stream video from the computer, but for the price of the slingbox I buy a 24inch LCD monitor and a switch box that accepts DVI & cablebox input.
The price is too high and the functions too limited.
In my opinion you should be aiming to produce a device one USB input that will take a USB drive, ethernet dongle or wireless card & reads network drives in all formats.
Outputs should be SCART and HDMI.
Price tag should be around the £50 mark.
December 4, 2008 6:39 PM
Can't use shared network drives & only works with FAT32?
This makes it effectively useless to me.
This is a downgrade from my DVD player with USB port (which will recognise FAT32, EXT2 or EXT3) - cost £30.
Sure, I can stream video from the computer, but for the price of the slingbox I buy a 24inch LCD monitor and a switch box that accepts DVI & cablebox input.
The price is too high and the functions too limited.
In my opinion you should be aiming to produce a device one USB input that will take a USB drive, ethernet dongle or wireless card & reads network drives in all formats.
Outputs should be SCART and HDMI.
Price tag should be around the £50 mark.
December 18, 2008 7:05 AM
Not sure how to ask this hypothetically, so I'll give specifics:
If we attach a Slingcatcher to our living room TV, can we see programs on the bedroom TV's Tivo? We have a beautiful TV in the living room and it's unfortunate that we can't use Tivo because it costs more for HD formatted TVs.
December 22, 2008 5:24 PM
JillianElizabeth said: Not sure how to ask this hypothetically, so I'll give specifics: If we attach a Slingcatcher to our living room TV, can we see programs on the bedroom TV's Tivo? We have a beautiful TV in the living room and it's unfortunate that we can't use Tivo because it costs more for HD formatted TVs.Slingcatcher can't give you more quality than your origional source provides. You CAN hook a regular TiVo to your HDTV, and it shouldn't look any worse then Slinging a regular TiVo through a Slingbox and Slingcatcher.
January 26, 2009 9:27 PM
I was a fan until recently. Two weeks ago I had connectivity issues. Chat support helped resolve and I connected. Then, tonight, I encounter the same issue (I could not connect). Their response was that I needed to cough up $30 to get help. Simple logic defied them. They could not grasp that this was a recurring issue and not a new case.
So, if you want a product with half a**ed support, then go ahead and throw your money away. Otherwise, save the coin and DO NOT PURCHASE FROM THIS LOUSY ECHOSTAR CORPORATION.
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