Sling Media today unveiled SlingPlayer for Windows 2.0 Public Beta, a preview of the next generation SlingPlayer software for desktop PCs. 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.

The latest version of SlingPlayer software for PC brings a whole new level of functionality to Slingbox owners. The new software allows you to watch and control your living room TV on your PC with more flexibility, fun, and even greater control than ever before.

SlingPlayer for Windows 2.0 marks the introduction of two new major features: A 60 Minute Live Buffer that adds DVR-like abilities to pause and rewind live television, as well as an integrated program guide that makes browsing current listings a breeze compared to virtually controlling a set-top box or DVR.

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.

The current beta is limited to Windows users, though Sling Media is working on bringing these features to OS X sometime in the future.

Read SlingCommunity's review | Download SlingPlayer for Windows 2.0 Public Beta

It's been a long wait since the "TR-40" Digital to analog converter first appeared at Sling Media's booth at CES. But, the light at the end of the tunnel is that after a physical design overhaul and a complete identity change, our new "DTVPal" (as in friend, not Europe's PAL TV system) should be available in about a week.

As always, those who've gotten their mittens on them early are already posting reviews and pictures around the web. For a thorough look at DTV Pal and tons of pics hit up the full scoop from the boys over at SatelliteGuys.US.

On the video front, our long time friend (and former go-to guy at Sling) Dave Zatz has hands-on videos galore of the DTVPal. Check out the unboxing now...

... then head over to ZatzNotFunny for parts 1 through 4 of this full look at DTVPal.

[Thanks to Malouff for the tip!]

With a mobile screen so large and pretty, it was only a matter of time. Over the weekend our good friends at Sling Media showed off SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone and iPod Touch in the form of a pre-alpha proof-of-concept software demonstration. According to our friends at Engadget, Sling hasn't yet been accepted into Apple's developer program, making what's been seen so far as an under-the-radar app for jailbroken devices. Don't get your hopes up though... it won't get released until Sling can do so legitimately.

Could we see SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone and iPod Touch before the end of 2008?