If you're in the US, things are looking a bit different over at Sling Media's website this week.  Not only has the domain name changed from slingmedia.com to Slingbox.com, but they've given the site a  look-and-feel refresh and added several new convenient customer features. 

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First, gone is the dark and mysterious "black on dark-gray on black" motif in favor of a lighter, cheerier "red and gray" look similar to the style of their website a few years back (which coincidentally was the inspiration for SlingCommunity's current look). The new look extends from the homepage to the product and support pages, which are now easier to navigate and more informative than ever.

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On the new features front, Sling's taken the wraps off their online setup utility and placed a gigantic button to it off the homepage. This feature has actually been around a while in beta form, but wasn't prominently displayed. In effect, this utility allows customers (new and existing) to fully set up a Slingbox without having to download and install the SlingPlayer software. Our impression of this utilities final form is positive, though we're reserving judgement until we giving a thorough run through. 

Finally, Sling's added the Watch Live feature from Sling.com, so you can watch your Slingbox from any compatible computer. For new customers, finding that feature here instead of Sling.com would make much more sense.

Interestingly, with the addition of the online setup utility and the Watch Live feature, one can actually setup and use a Slingbox without having to install SlingPlayer on their computer... ever. We're trying not to look into it too deeply, but it's hard not to wonder if this online strategy marks the beginning of the end for SlingPlayer for Macs or PCs. Surely they're not going away until the web player meets or exceeds the features and performance of the existing standalone players, but it's possible someday our full Slingbox experience will be driven through a web browser instead of a desktop app. 

Or not. Who knows?

The new Slingbox.com website is currently for the US (the UK sites and Canada remain unchanged thus far), but it's probably just a matter of time. 

Check out the new Slingbox.com website, and post your comments below.

(We had a few troubles switching back to the US from the other sites in the country selector. If you're currently looking at the Sling site for an alternate country, you may need to drop your existing cookies to see the new Slingbox.com site. )

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