Categories: News, Rumors and Gossip Sling Media Hardware SlingPlayer Mobile iPhone / iPod Touch Mobile Phones / Portable Devices
Looks like nation's largest wireless provider is running scared that SlingPlayer for iPhone will be approved in the near future. As a result, some changes have recently made their way into the Empire's Wireless Data Terms and Conditions to outlaw all placeshifting devices from their network.
From the AT&T Wireless Data Terms and Conditions:
"This means, by way of example only, that checking email, surfing the Internet, downloading legally acquired songs, and/or visiting corporate intranets is permitted, but downloading movies using P2P file sharing services, customer initiated redirection of television or other video or audio signals via any technology from a fixed location to a mobile device, web broadcasting, and/or for the operation of servers, telemetry devices and/or Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition devices is prohibited."
The fact that verbage has been added just before SlingPlayer landed on the data hungry iPhone implies that it's targeted directly at the Slingbox.
How they're going to enforce it is a different matter, given the number of Slingers on their network already. Anyone know if AT&T is rolling out a clone army along with other network enhancements?
[Thanks drs]
UPDATE: According to this post on Engadget, AT&T has retracted their new terms of service, issuing the following statement:
"The language added on March 30 to AT&T's wireless data service Terms and Conditions was done in error. It was brought to our attention and we have since removed it. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused."
Except I just looked now, and the language (at least the part that says "customer initiated redirection of television or other video or audio signals via any technology from a fixed location to a mobile device") has not since been removed. Maybe this statement was a bit ahead of the correction, but until the language is off their site, SlingCommunity isn't calling it "retracted." We'll check again in a little while...
Okay, it looks like AT&T finally got their act together and updated their TOS to it's less strict form. We're happy now.
Read More In: News, Rumors and Gossip Sling Media Hardware SlingPlayer Mobile iPhone / iPod Touch Mobile Phones / Portable Devices
douglas_goodall said:
Sling promised to have the app in the App Store by the end of Q1 and they have failed. I am not surprised. I have taken a lot of guff from people who believed them. In the end I was correct.
Lead Moderator
Arizona, United Statesmunir said: at&t retracted the new ToS!!
Check out this news it confirms it.
http://www.slingcommunity.com/blog/entry/34734/AT-T-Reverses-Course-Retracts-...
I just emailed the situation to my local news station, and I suggest all those who are just as pissed off as me should do the same. If AT&T is slingling us out I'll go to another company and get a BlackBerry Storm. I didn't buy my SlingBox so that if can collect dust.
Same stuff, different company. Tmobile is not allowing Google to have tethering apps in the G1 Market for Tmobile customers.
I long since gave up on sling porting the mobile to the G1, but it looks like it would have been a waste of their time.
I think it would be smarter at this point to just get a cheap piece of crap phone and a 3g datacard/dongle for a netbook. There is so much BS surrounding Flash,Sling, Tethering with these companies that I'm tired of even checking the status of the BS.
Something to remember with at&t (or Verizon, and now Sprint) is that beyond various ToS that may restrict certain activities (Verizon's ToS does prohibit streaming video, other than from their own content for example) - the data plans have 5Gb caps...which once you start Slinging, can easily be consumed in a month.
Also, at&t does nothing to prevent Slinging over 3G on other 3G phones - I do regularly on my Blackjack II (which works great with my Slingbox Classic btw!!). Also, at&t officially supports tethering on different phones as well, such at the Blackjack. I often will stream Netflix or Sling to my netbook when out and about, tethered via bluetooth to my Blackjack on 3G, which works brilliantly.
I can tell you from experience, that streaming video will use lots of your 5Gb allotment...which is fortunately a "soft cap" with at&t, not that I've pushed the issue.
ChrisFix said: the data plans have 5Gb caps...which once you start Slinging, can easily be consumed in a month.Easily? Not so sure about that on a mobile. On a desktop with higher res video and an aircard, yes.
Slingbox SOLO w/ ASUS Wireless Bridge streaming TiVo Series3
Zatz Not Funny!
It's called Karma! You try to screw us old slingbox owners by not supporting them for the iphone, AT$T screws you back by saying fine, no one gets it, ha. All the while A$$le sits backs back and shuts their guilty mouths.
Entertain my theory-- say A$$le thwarts sling from using a particular codec commonly used as say a M$ codec and coincidentally used in early model slingboxes, binds their mouths shut w/ an NDA and later comforts them with "you'll sell more slings". Might be a stretch, but would like to hear some opinion on this... mainly from sling.
Sling grow a spine, Steve grow up (ur 11's are up buddy) and AT$T, I'd like to backhand you w/ a thank you and a "don't pull that crap again!"
douglas_goodall said: Sling promised to have the app in the App Store by the end of Q1 and they have failed. I am not surprised. I have taken a lot of guff from people who believed them. In the end I was correct.Don't forget, Sling is owned by the same guy who promised on his live show that dish network subscribers would have the Viacom channels in HD by April 1. It remains to be seen which of the two things that were promised "by Q1 2009" and "by April 1" will ever happen first.
"Okay, it looks like AT&T finally got their act together and updated their TOS to it's less strict form. We're happy now." Got THEIR act togehter, REALLY??? The audacity of some!
Now that YOU are happy, get YOUR ACT TOGETHER and support all your hardware for iPhone and make YOUR customers happy! Stop half assin' your work.
Newer sling hardware owners, be wary, you'll likely be in this boat in a mere couple years too.
Dave Zatz said:ChrisFix said: the data plans have 5Gb caps...which once you start Slinging, can easily be consumed in a month.Easily? Not so sure about that on a mobile. On a desktop with higher res video and an aircard, yes.
One hour a day at 300kbps (I usually see around 400kbps) will get you to 5GB or more...so yes, pretty easily for avid users, as this is in addition to everything else you use, including tethering (which I pay additional to do, but is still in the 5GB cap).
ChrisFix said:I'd say 30hrs/mo of video on a mobile is hard core and atypical. Most folks use mobiles as a TV supplement, not a TV replacement. Maybe if we had the option of higher than 320x240 resolution (current mobile max), larger screens, and massive battery improvements.Dave Zatz said:One hour a day at 300kbps (I usually see around 400kbps) will get you to 5GB or more...so yes, pretty easily for avid users, as this is in addition to everything else you use, including tethering (which I pay additional to do, but is still in the 5GB cap).ChrisFix said: the data plans have 5Gb caps...which once you start Slinging, can easily be consumed in a month.Easily? Not so sure about that on a mobile. On a desktop with higher res video and an aircard, yes.
Slingbox SOLO w/ ASUS Wireless Bridge streaming TiVo Series3
Zatz Not Funny!
I would say, when working at a client, I probably do 1-1.5hrs a day on my mogul, hooked up to the stereo in the car during commutes, 4-5 days a week. That would be about 20-25 hours a month, not counting other times.
tivoboy said: Except, that it is hard to control the app to do WIFI only, when the iphone is hacked.eh, we call it "jail breaking" the iPhone-- http://quickpwn.com
Member
United States"Changes to the terms and conditions: These terms and conditions may be changed from time-to-time. AT&T will post the most current version of these terms and conditions at att.com/MediaTerms or other appropriate location. Please check these regularly to inform yourself about changes to the terms and conditions."
This paragraph is in the current TOS from AT&T. I have been executing contracts for about thirty years and this idea that one party can change the terms of service at will, without notification, and that the the other party must read a web site "regularly" to locate changes embedded in a large body of text is fairly new. Does anyone happen to have a copy of their original TOS? I would be interested to know if AT&T added this clause without notification to existing contracts that did not previously contain it.
AT&T is not the only company doing this now, (Network Solutions does this also), but the idea that a party to a contract does not need to notify the other party of contract changes is kind of weird, and having to check a web site daily for changes to a long contract is a huge burden to anyone trying to assure compliance.
Does anyone else agree that this form of contract is new and undesirable?
douglas_goodall said: Sling promised to have the app in the App Store by the end of Q1 and they have failed. I am not surprised. I have taken a lot of guff from people who believed them. In the end I was correct.Sling could never promise that this would be in the App Store. They promised to submit it to Apple for approval. They kept their promise on delivery, although their latest PR screwup still has me fuming.
Editor
United Statesjbogdany said: "Okay, it looks like AT&T finally got their act together and updated their TOS to it's less strict form. We're happy now." Got THEIR act togehter, REALLY??? The audacity of some! Now that YOU are happy, get YOUR ACT TOGETHER and support all your hardware for iPhone and make YOUR customers happy! Stop half assin' your work.
???
Had you bothered to think before you posted, you'd realize this is a news blog in an independent enthusiast community website. We report the news, and not develop, market, or decide the fate of your Sling Media products. In other words, you're quoting me here (I wrote the news entry), not Sling Media.
Matt Whitlock's Mind Over Matt'er - Technology musings, opinion, and more.
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Moderator
Algonquin, United Statesdouglas_goodall said:
Sling promised to have the app in the App Store by the end of Q1 and they have failed. I am not surprised. I have taken a lot of guff from people who believed them. In the end I was correct.
Slinging w/ Catcher, ProHD, Pro, Solo, AV, and a Classic. Two TivoHDs, Roku Photobridge and a Roku Soundbridge, AppleTV, and Vudu.www.na9d.net Follow me on Twitter
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