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January 16, 2006 01:29 PM

Categories: SlingCatcher

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Sindyr

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Joined: 01/16/2006

The one weakness of the Slingbox is that you need to view its stream on a computer. 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.

For example, I set up a Slingbox in my main AV setup in the living room. Upstairs in the den, I hook up the SlingCatcher into my computer network. Now I can use the remote that came with the SlingCatcher to control the Slingbox downstairs and watch my downstairs Tivo on my upstairs TV without involving a computer.

Or, I could be at a friend's house, hook up my SlingCatcher to their TV and to their broadband internet, and control and watch my Tivo from their house - again without using a computer.

I imagine the SlingCatcher would come with a remote, and using the SlingCatcher would be just like using the SlingBox software on a computer - except that you are using the remote that comes with the SlingCatcher, not a computer keyboard, and that you are watching the video and audio on an actual TV, not a computer. No computer would actually be involved.

If the Slingmedia company created this SlingCatcher device, I think they would sell 2 or 3 of them for every Slingbox they sold - and they would sell a TON more Slingboxes.

Please tell me what you think of this - would you consider buying a device that does what I have described, a SlingCatcher?

-Sindyr

Discussion:    Add a Comment | Comments 21-40 of 50 | Latest Comment | « Previous 1 2 3 Next »

January 7, 2007 9:34 AM

Apparently there will be a statement made today from Slingmedia in Las Vegas,lets hope this will clear up the ambiguity ! If it is as it reads at the moment,then I cannot see any extra benefit over a good media player.

January 7, 2007 9:36 AM

Are there other media players that will receive a SlingBox stream?? 

Yes, I'm sure the details wll be clear soon..

Slinging Tivo HD, Tivo S2, and OTA from a Pro HD, Tivo HD from a Pro, Tivo HD from a Solo, and Humax DRT800 from a Classic to iPhone, Dell Inspiron 1520 with Sprint EVDO, and a SlingCatcher over Mi-Connection cable with 2Mbps upload.

January 7, 2007 10:27 AM

I just hope the SlingCatcher allow us to receive the content from a SlingPlayer attached to my Tivo, and neither the SlingPlayer nor the SlingCatcher needs to involve a computer at all.

January 7, 2007 11:45 AM

Try this scenario.  The basic concept I am picking up is that you go to any computer, log on to SlingMedia.com, and tell Sling Media you want to send some content to your registered SlingCatcher.  Then you turn off your computer and go watch the TV your SlingCatcher is attached to.

The content might be something stored on your computer.  In that case, you will upload the content from your computer to SlingMedia.com and it will be stored there until your SlingCatcher plays it.

The content might be something available for no charge on the Internet.  In that case, SlingMedia.com connects to the free source and routes it to your SlingCatcher just as though you had requested the content from the SlingCatcher.

The content might be something you have to buy.  Same game.  You make payment arrangement at the site selling the content but tell SlingMedia.com to send the stream to your registered SlingCatcher instead of sending it to your TV.

And the content might be output from your SlingBox.  You go to SlingMedia.com and tell it to send the output from your registered Slingbox to your registered SlingCatcher.  Then the remote on the SlingCatcher takes over.  You can control your Slingbox from your SlingCatcher just as though you were watching on a PC.

Want to time shift?  Get the optional hard drive for your SlingCatcher, tell SlingMedia.com to send a live program from your Slingbox to it, and watch it later.

There are lots of holes and questions with these thoughts.  Does your SlingCatcher only work at home where you have properly configured your router for it?  Can you have a Slingbox sending to your SlingCatcher 24/7 and just watch it when you want to?  If both your Slingbox and your SlingCatcher are on the same Internet connection, do you need double the bandwidth?

This is all speculation.  But isn't that a lot more fun than having all the facts anyway?

The older I get, the better I was.

January 7, 2007 11:47 AM

more soon guys.

i want to thank all of your for sharing your thoughts and the suggestions during the past year...keep it up...

hopefully, you guys will find the SlingCatcher (and some other things we will be announcing this week) delivers on several of the requests in this thread.

One last thing: the SlingCatcher will have a few different "apps/services", not just one. We will likely announce only a couple of these apps at the show this week...you can expect us to announce more services and partnerships closer to launch.

Sling on,

Blake

p.s. i have been in vegas since sat morning. have lost every football bet so far. any picks for today? thinking about taking the Pats (giving the points) and taking Giants with the points.

January 7, 2007 12:10 PM

The Pats bet should be safe if they don't tire or give up early. Put your Giants money on the craps table.

The older I get, the better I was.

January 8, 2007 3:01 PM

So did you have time to get your bets placed, Blake? Or were you too busy with interviews? Even if you lost all of your football bets, it sounds like you have a couple of winners in your booth! Congratulations on all the good press.

The older I get, the better I was.

January 8, 2007 4:37 PM

Thanks for the heads up blake great to see you still lurking on the forums - can we make sure all these new developments hit the UK soon!!!  any chance of an idea of the roadmap for the UK?  

Please don't PM me technical questions.

January 9, 2007 2:08 AM

bancado said: So did you have time to get your bets placed, Blake? Or were you too busy with interviews? Even if you lost all of your football bets, it sounds like you have a couple of winners in your booth! Congratulations on all the good press.

 

Sunday was a good day at the sports book. we made up some of the lost ground from the previous day (we sucked horribly...lost every football bet possible...parlays, points, over/unders, number of turnovers, etc)...took Giants with the points (think it was 7) and took NE who was giving up a whopping +9.

Thanks bancado...wish you could see the booth and the excitement there...pretty fun stuff...unfortunately, i have had to spend most of my team in meetings so only got to spend limited time there today.

Stay tuned for an announcement of a killer new FREE feature / service for existing slingbox customers tomorrow...cant wait till you guys can see some of it person.

January 9, 2007 2:11 AM

bounderboy said: Thanks for the heads up blake great to see you still lurking on the forums - can we make sure all these new developments hit the UK soon!!!  any chance of an idea of the roadmap for the UK?  

 

hey bounderboy, my expectation is that we will make the SlingCatcher available in the UK quite shortly after launching here. basically the defualt unit is bot PAL and NTSC, so we should be rockin just as soon as we can fulfill our intial orders first.b

January 9, 2007 2:16 AM

Blake,

When the Palm client is released will there be any charges to users?
FWIW, I have a classic and a Pro [typical early adopter type] and bought them expecting to eventually control and use the Sling via my Palm based Treo.

January 9, 2007 2:35 AM

The question that everyone would like the answer to is, does the Slingcatcher need a Computer connected or not ?

January 9, 2007 4:01 AM

Just noticed from Zatz's pics, it's got SPDIF but no optical...

Slinging Tivo HD, Tivo S2, and OTA from a Pro HD, Tivo HD from a Pro, Tivo HD from a Solo, and Humax DRT800 from a Classic to iPhone, Dell Inspiron 1520 with Sprint EVDO, and a SlingCatcher over Mi-Connection cable with 2Mbps upload.

January 9, 2007 9:29 AM

This was said to the press:

." The Slingcatcher won't be limited at all, he says, and will let you take "anything you have on your laptop, any type of media, any Web site, or Web-based video and project it wirelessly at the push of a button onto your television set. I can go to any site, any video content, any formatted content and get it to play on my big screen TV. That's a huge difference between what we're doing and what others are doing."

It does still appear that the Catcher will be used in conjuction with a Computer,anyone care to say otherwise ?

If this really is the case,apart from the Wifi esthetics I cannot see any advantage over a S-vid cable and a wireless mouse,this is very dissapointing !

January 9, 2007 10:08 AM

LarryInAz said: Blake,

When the Palm client is released will there be any charges to users?
FWIW, I have a classic and a Pro [typical early adopter type] and bought them expecting to eventually control and use the Sling via my Palm based Treo.

 

hey LarryInAz, we will likely follow a similar model to how we handle the Smartphone and PocketPC SlingPlayers for other mobile devices...30 day trial...one time fee.

-bk

January 9, 2007 10:12 AM

Tominspain said: The question that everyone would like the answer to is, does the Slingcatcher need a Computer connected or not ?

for some applications, no, for some applications, yes.

we announced two applications for the SlingCatcher (more to come).

SlingPlayer for TV: does NOT required PC

SlingProjector: DOES require PC

Other applications to be announced later: many do NOT require PC

 

Here's the press release for ref:

 

Sling Media Announces SlingCatcher

”Reverse Slingbox” takes revolutionary approach to delivering the full-blown web and PC digital media experience to the TV.


Las Vegas – Consumer Electronics Show (CES) –- January 8, 2007 — Sling Media, Inc., a digital lifestyle products company, today announced a new product called SlingCatcher™, designed to deliver rich video experiences to a television located in the home as well as in remote locations. Sling Media also announced the first key applications that will be a built-in part of the SlingCatcher platform at launch: SlingProjector™ and SlingPlayer for TV. Additional services and partnerships will be announced at a later date.

 

SlingProjector application: Full-blown digital media experiences for the TV

 

The SlingProjector application – bundled with every SlingCatcher – takes a radically new approach to bringing web and PC-based content to the television by enabling the consumer to wirelessly project any web site or digital audio/video format onto their TV. “Current ‘digital media adapter’ products only provide subsets of the digital media experience we have come to love on our PCs and Macs,” said Blake Krikorian, co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Sling Media. “The beauty of the Internet is its totality and diversity. Hence, the notion of providing subsets of it on the TV screen just doesn’t cut it. In keeping with our reputation of providing uncompromised and empowering solutions to consumers, the SlingProjector application enables you to enjoy a full-blown web and digital media experience on the TV. Essentially, anything that can be viewed or played on my PC can now be slung to my TV via the SlingCatcher’s SlingProjector feature.”

 

The core use cases for the SlingProjector feature revolve around consumers wirelessly projecting web or PC-based content from their laptop to the TV. Net-based, long form content such as movies and shows mesh wonderfully with the “lean back” nature of the home TV experience. Additionally, short form content such as funny videos, music services and home movies/pictures lend themselves very nicely to social gatherings around the big-screen TV.

 

SlingPlayer for TV application: Your TV on another TV

 

While the current Slingbox enables consumers to placeshift their favorite TV programming to a PC, Mac or mobile phone, one of the most requested features from the Sling Community has been to provide the ability to sling that same programming to another TV located in the home or to a TV in a remote location.

 

The SlingPlayer for TV application built into the SlingCatcher delivers an easy, familiar way for customers to move TV content around the home or access content from the home remotely via a TV, without the need for a PC or Mac in the process.

 

 “From the very beginning our customers have asked why we didn’t offer a product that allows them to watch their home TV via the Slingbox on another TV,” continued Krikorian. “For instance, Slingbox customers have shown a desire to access their living room DVR on every TV in the home. The SlingCatcher enables them to do just that.”

 

Additional Applications, Services and Partnerships Forthcoming

 

The SlingCatcher also has the ability to download or stream content directly from the Internet and display it on a TV without the need for a PC to serve that content. Sling is currently discussing partnership opportunities with both large and small content owners to create and deliver their offerings directly to the TV via the SlingCatcher. The add-on storage capability (via hard disk drive attachment) could be utilized for direct delivery of such content. More details will be announced closer to the launch of the SlingCatcher.

 

For media companies and content holders, who are interested in talking to Sling Media, please send an email to: slingtotv@slingmedia.com.

 

Brief Summary of Specifications, Availability and Pricing

 

The SlingCatcher includes both standard definition and high definition AV outputs to connect to a TV including HDMI, Component, S-Video and Composite video, as well as analog and digital audio. In regards to network connectivity, the SlingCatcher features both integrated wireless and a standard Ethernet jack to connect to the home. SlingCatcher will be available for purchase by the middle of this year and the company is targeting a price point under $200.

January 9, 2007 10:34 AM

Blake K

 

Absolutely fantastic news ! Expect your sales to at least tenfold when the Slingplayer for TV is launched !

I appreciate the speed in which you have delivered this news,if you need a few hundred beta testers who will pay you 200 bucks each tomorrow let me know !

January 9, 2007 10:49 AM

Blake K (Sling Media) said: 

  Stay tuned for an announcement of a killer new FREE feature / service for existing slingbox customers tomorrow...cant wait till you guys can see some of it person.

What is the new service?? Please tell us...I can't wait to know!!! Wink 

BTW, GREAT announcements!!! I think you're gonna make lots of customers very happy (me included).

January 10, 2007 6:42 AM

Agree this sounds like an exciting new product - especially with the possibility of new added services!

I'd also agree with bounderboy's plea though - please don't leave the UK out! It'd be great to have some sort of roadmap for UK releases (e.g. Slingbox Pro, Slingplayer Mobile, etc.) and also it'd be lovely to have an exchange rate that was close to $1.8 to £1 than the $1 to £1 that the UK normally ends up getting stuck with!

Cheers

Alan

January 10, 2007 7:08 AM

Any kind of roadmap for UK releases would indeed be hugely appreciated.

Discussion:    Add a Comment | Back to Top | Comments 21-40 of 50 | Latest Comment | « Previous 1 2 3 Next »

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