Please don't waste apostrophes - "it's" is simply a contraction of "it is"; the possessive "its" (which you should have used twice, but didn't) has no apostrophe. There's very few of them left in the world; let's just use them when it's necessary.
Slingbox PRO HD Coming in 2008
Categories: News, Rumors and Gossip PRO
With the largest consumer electronics expo coming up in only a matter of days, it looks like Sling Media decided to kick off some news early with two big, big announcements. Everyone waiting on any tidbit of info about the BlackBerry SlingPlayer that was talked about last year can breathe a little easier; head on over to this page for some additional details. Those who get their jollies on hardware news will want to pay attention, because this year the Slingbox family gets it's most advanced addition in history - Slingbox PRO HD.
We've seen those two little letters before, and have learned that when it comes to Slingbox, HD is defined as "compatible" not "high-res video." Thankfully, HD is going back to it's old definition. Slingbox PRO HD does in fact stream video at high definition resolution (up to 1080i) AND 5.1 digital surround sound to a computer or to another TV by means of the upcoming SlingCatcher. In network performance on fast networks will easily be high definition, but good news for you lucky mega-fast broadband subscribers... PRO HD "will get similar HD quality streaming to remote locations," according to Sling Media's Dave Zatz.
Slingbox PRO HD will include multiple inputs and outputs, including those for digital audio, and will be the first Slingbox in history to include an ATSC/QAM digital TV tuner built-in (though no CableCARD by the looks of the photos over at Engadget).
All this goodness is expected to hit retail sometime in Q3 for the higher (but not unreasonable given the built-in HD tuner) price of $399. Tune in next week for in-depth coverage of Slingbox PRO HD and other Sling news as SlingCommunity hits the CES show floor.
For those dying for a better look, the guys over at Engadget managed to get a little hands on time with PRO HD, so head on over and check out some of their additional photos and thoughts.
Read More In: News, Rumors and Gossip PRO
January 5, 2008 7:55 PM
Just wanting to make sure I'm getting this, this is the first unit since the original that will improve remote viewing quality, is that right? Thanks!
January 31, 2008 9:37 AM
I'm confused. I purchased the Slinbox Pro HD last summer, you know the red colored box, and purchased the additional HD cable so I could sling HD from my DTV HD Satellite Receiver. Needless to say, the picutre I get on my laptop, is less than HD quality, despite being on a 1GB Ethernet LAN. Now I read this announcement and I'm confused.
Is SlingMedia now saying I have to purchase the next generation Slingbox Pro HD unit to get "REAL HD" streaming on the SlingCatcher. You see, I was planning to buy a SlingCatcher to stream to my pool side big-screen projector and was hoping it would get me REAL HD streaming using my original SlinboxPro HD unit. Please don't tell me I need to throw away my $250.00 Sling Box Pro to purchase the next generation box to get "REAL HD", and shell out another $399.00!!! That's deceptive advertising if you ask me. I bought the original Slingbox PRO HD fully expecting to get HD quality streaming, and now I'm starting to feel a little duped?
Can anyone at SlingMedia clear up my confusion?
Thanks,
Phil
January 31, 2008 10:31 AM
Ah hah. A little more research shows that I was mislead by SlingMedia when I purchased my first Slingbox Pro under the premise that it could Sling HD content using HD Connect Cable. I've since learned that the Slingbox PRO I bought is only ""HD Compatible". What this really means is that it can take an HD source but only streams it in Standard Definition!!! Buyers BEWARE!! Slingbox PRO's HD Connect does NOTHING but preserve the 16:9 aspect ratio. It doesn't give you HD like the name IMPLIES! What a rip!!!
Now they want me to spend another $399.00 to get something I thought I already bought? What up SlingMedia?
Interestingly, the fine print now appearing on SlingMedia's web-site in regards to the original Slingbox PRO and HD connect cable contains the "exculpatory language" that proects SlingMedia from legal liability, (see the asterisk on the following page that was not there last summer when I bought the SlingBox Pro and the HD Connect cable: http://www.slingmedia.com/go/hd-connect ), but the fact that they advertised the original SlingBox PRO as HD Compatible, was at best mis-leading, and at worst, an ourtight deception.
Consequently, I really hope SlingMedia plans to do something for us dummies that bought into their lies about the original Slingbox Pro and allow us to upgrade our units at a much reduced cost. I already paid $250.00 for my Slingbox Pro, fully expecting to get TRUE HD streaming.
I was planning on buying a SlingCatcher in hopes that the HD streaming problem was with the Sofware players and that SlingCatcher would fix the problem providing me full HD steaming out to my big-screen projector by the pool. Now I see I'll need to buy a whole new SlingBox PRO HD unit for $399.00. Wow. I'm very, very disappointed...
February 12, 2008 7:39 AM
I'm very excited about this. The newborn obviously packs what most people have been waiting for :
HD streaming, H.264 (with Cabac ! Apple only use CAVLC, so expect very good results).
A few concerns though.
-I heard about support for AAC audio. Won't the pro HD support He-AAC as well ? H.264 and HE-AAC usually work hand in hand. I don't see plain AAC outperforming WMA without the v2 HE extension.
-Will H.264 be used for SD / low bitrates as well ?
-Will WMV be still supported by the Pro HD (not that i really care, just curiosity)
-Will 5.1 be sent as a "pass-thru" stream in raw AC-3 or will there be any recompression involved ? (AC-3 reception would only be available from the built-in tuner obviously, not from the analog stereo input)
-Will the analog capture components of the SB PRO be upgraded as well ? I always found the slingbox to be bad at capturing / scalling down the picture compared to other products (aliasing is very visible). Even at 640x480 and max bitrate, the picture lacks sharpness. (the only thing that the Hava was ever good at, in fact, all other considerations exluded. Better A/D conversion circuits i guess...)
-Will there be a Euro version with HD (h.264) DVB-T support (pretty pleeeeease) ?
slinnnging in the rain...
Check my french review of the SB classic, as published in the Tele Satellite magazine
http://iptv.free.fr/cv/slingbox.pdf
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