Hi stormbell,

Welcome to SlingCommunity. We're glad to have you here!

I wanted to take a second to let you know that there's no need to post the same question in two different forum topics. This is called cross-posting, a practice that's not allowed on SlingCommunity and most other forums. Don't worry too much though, you're not the first person to post the same thing multiple times. Since you're new to the site, you may want to brush up on the posting guidelines to get a feel for what is and is not okay on SlingCommunity.

As far as your question goes, the Slingbox doesn't actually hook up and control your television. It connects to your television source, like a cable box, satellite receiver, terrestrial antenna, etc. and controls that. You don't have to worry about the TV turning on an off when you use your Slingbox. 

Mind Over Matt'er - Technology musings, opinion, and more straight from TechLore's head geek.

I've been successfully running my Slingbox on an 802.11b Wireless to Ethernet bridge for over a year, and overall with very few problems. Of course, there are others that have had nothing but problems, so it's really hit or miss. The type of bridge you buy and the kind of router you own will ultimately impact how successful a wireless connection will be. Now that the Slingbox is hitting streaming rates over 2000 kbps, my particular wireless adapter is starting to show its bandwidth limitation. 802.11g products probably won't have that issue, so make sure that's what you get if you decide to go for one.

Of course, if your router is in another room you can also choose to go with a Powerline product, which is much easier to setup, and probably more stable over the long haul. I reviewed Sling Media's SlingLink a while back, and would probably choose this route if I had to do it all over again, mostly because I wouldn't have to worry about any setting it up for Wi-Fi security and all the other wireless headaches. I may understand how to do all these networking things, but I prefer plug and play functionality. I found Sling Media's SlingLink product to be reliable, good quality, and cosmetically appealing, but there are similar products from NETGEAR and other companies that would also work fine.

Both a bridge and powerline products can work with other devices like gaming systems and computers, so compatibility is good either way. In terms of cost, they're both similar at retail, but the wireless bridges will be a little bit cheaper. 

I hope that helps.  Let us know what you decide to do!

Mind Over Matt'er - Technology musings, opinion, and more straight from TechLore's head geek.