HOW TO WATCH PROGRAMS AT HOTEL??? HELP!

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August 24, 2007 10:48 PM

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slysteve777

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Joined: 08/24/2007

I have had my Slingbox for a few months now and haven't been able to watch TV away from home. I have tried at several hotels so I am not so sure it is a firewall issue at each one. I have set up remote settings correctly and my router is uPnP so that isn't an issue.

Now when I am in the hotel when I go to connect, the option available is the only slingbox I have, when I click "Watch" I get a message something to the effect of it not being found. So nowhere in the FAQ or anywhere after hours of searching this forum can I find an answer to my question. I think this is pretty basic and am surprised there is no step by step guide in the FAQ. From what I have read you have to know your Finder ID/IP address, which I do have. BUT WHERE IS THE STEP THAT YOU USE TO USE THAT INFORMATION TO ACTUALLY CONNECT when you are away from home???? Please help. Thank you.

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skiswm

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August 24, 2007 11:10 PM

Are you sure you have it set up correct. Try connecting from a friends house or something. You can't be sure it's not your slingbox if you haven't connected anywhere else. Are all the settings correct and did you check "apply" and "ok" on your router? There have been some posts on here about problems at hotels (bandwith) but make sure you can remote connect from a friend.

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dougf

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August 25, 2007 7:49 AM

I'm new to SlingBox. It works great at home. I have not used it on the road yet. I have also searched for instructions on the exact steps for using the Slingbox from a remote location.

Can someone who has done this please submit a step by step description? My assumption is that the software automatically goes out to a SlingMedia website whenever you try to connect. Furthermore, I assume that the act of registering the product with SlingMedia registered the IP address of my router. If the IP address of the router stays the same, then this senario could work. But, for those who have routers that use dynamic addresses, the senario would only be workable until the internet provider issues a new IP.

Again, can someone simply document the process for us newbies?

Today, I plan on taking my notebook to a hot spot and see if I can connect. Perhaps this will help me to understand the process better.

slysteve777

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August 25, 2007 8:55 AM

dougf, Please follow up with your findings. Perhaps someone else can chime in.

skiswm, good idea but the people I am closest to do not have wifi (they have direct internet). FWIW I have gone through the process several times and checked apply and ok before trying this. Unfortunately I don't live in a metro area so there are no public hot spots near by.

I am leaving on family vacation this Tuesday and am dreading that the kids wont have anything to watch again other than adult swim on Cartoon Network come 10pm when they are trying to relax and go to sleep.

ryandh

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August 25, 2007 9:11 AM

For both of you, When you run the remote viewing setup does it say it succeeded??

If it does, it's pretty much an issue where you're trying to connect at. If you have a computer at home, load logmein.com or another remote control software so you can rerun setup and troubleshoot from wherever you're at.

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slysteve777

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August 25, 2007 12:57 PM

ryandh,

So what you are saying is that I don't need to do anything special when I connect away from home if it isn't a firewall or bandwidth issue-

That is, all I need to do is

(1) Launch Slingplayer

(2) Click Watch on the slingplayer

And it automatically connects?? (This is all I do at home. I am expecting I need to do something extra). So why do I need my slingbox finder ID and/or IP away from home if this is all supposed to be automatic? How can I manually connect to my slingbox away from home?

One other thing I think I remember when trying to connect at the hotel is that when clicking "Watch", below My Slingbox , it says LAN. But I am not connecting through my LAN.

Floyd

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August 25, 2007 1:52 PM

slysteve777 said:
skiswm, good idea but the people I am closest to do not have wifi (they have direct internet). FWIW I have gone through the process several times and checked apply and ok before trying this. Unfortunately I don't live in a metro area so there are no public hot spots near by.

You do not need WiFi to test the WAN connection. Either install SlingPlayer on their home system or copy the SlingPlayer (copy the entire directory) installed on your laptop onto a USB drive - either can be used to connect to your SlingBox to test your connection. In fact, I keep copies of both the most recent version of SlingPlayer and an unencrypted version (for recording) on a USB drive.

Other places that could be used test the connection are local Starbucks, Panara Bread, or the public library. Many of these locations now have WiFi available.

Floyd

slysteve777

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August 25, 2007 2:51 PM

Floyd said:
slysteve777 said:
skiswm, good idea but the people I am closest to do not have wifi (they have direct internet). FWIW I have gone through the process several times and checked apply and ok before trying this. Unfortunately I don't live in a metro area so there are no public hot spots near by.

You do not need WiFi to test the WAN connection. Either install SlingPlayer on their home system or copy the SlingPlayer (copy the entire directory) installed on your laptop onto a USB drive - either can be used to connect to your SlingBox to test your connection. In fact, I keep copies of both the most recent version of SlingPlayer and an unencrypted version (for recording) on a USB drive.

Other places that could be used test the connection are local Starbucks, Panara Bread, or the public library. Many of these locations now have WiFi available.

Floyd

Floyd,
Perhaps I will try the USB drive way of doing it. No Starbucks here, unsure if the library here has it or not- not a frequent patron there.

I don't understand how your slingbox at home can be found when you are away from home without you instructing your laptop through the wifi connection you are on, non-LAN, to find your slingbox. I succeeded the remote viewing setup just fine so I am guessing somehow it takes your slingbox finder ID and hits it up against a slingbox server?? Not sure how the process works. I read in several places you need your home IP and/or your slingbox finder ID to do this, but where do you input this information when you are away from home? Or don't you need to??

Brandon C.

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August 25, 2007 3:47 PM

slysteve777 said: I don't understand how your slingbox at home can be found when you are away from home without you instructing your laptop through the wifi connection you are on, non-LAN, to find your slingbox.

Ah, the beauty of the Slingbox. You don't need to understand or worry about how it knows you are not on your LAN. Just fire up your Slingplayer and it will determine, all by itself how to connect to your SlingBox, WAN, LAN IP address etc.

But, if interested in how it does it. Basically it checks to see if you are on your LAN, if not it uses the Slingfinder service, without any of your input to find your box. It will also try your last good WAN connectiion address, if finder is down.
This is of course if you setup remote viewing at home in the fist place. :)

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dougf

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August 25, 2007 4:35 PM

slysteve777

I connected successfully at McDonalds using ATT WiFi. I just launched SlingBox and clicked on Watch My Slingbox. I was watching my home TV in a matter of seconds.

So, the process must work like I described in my previous post.

To address the point made by ryandh... When I first got the SlingBox, I chose not to install the remote capability. During this past week, I uninstalled the viewer and reinstalled it. I went to the Support area and read the info on routers. My router was not listed, but I generally followed the steps outlined for a different router. Then, I went through a process where the Sling software tested the remote connection. As ryandh pointed out, the software pointed out that the test was successful. From this, I assume the Sling software registered the home router address and associated it with the finder key on some website. Now at the remote site it simply finds the router.

So, if you still cannot connect even though Sling said you suceeded, then maybe your router no longer has the same IP address. Maybe ryandh will have some additional insight for you.

Anyway, I can now watch my own TV while traveling. Now when in a hotel, I can watch whatever I want instead of HGTV & FitTV which are my wife's favorites.

Good Luck

PenPal

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August 27, 2007 12:24 PM

My son is away in college. I am considering buying a Slingbox this weekend and set up everything in his bedroom here. I know I'll be able to do my part here easily. What does he have to do over there with his laptop to connect to the slingbox. Remember the laptop is with him over there in college. Please give me a step by step direction. Thank you.

slysteve777

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August 27, 2007 12:31 PM

I will keep you guys posted on how it turns out tommorrow at the hotel.

Hopefully everything auto connects. Maybe I will take it to some hot spots in the area if I have problems to see if it is a hotel firewall or bandwidth issue.

Thanks for the replies.

skiswm

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August 27, 2007 12:49 PM

PenPal said: My son is away in college. I am considering buying a Slingbox this weekend and set up everything in his bedroom here. I know I'll be able to do my part here easily. What does he have to do over there with his laptop to connect to the slingbox. Remember the laptop is with him over there in college. Please give me a step by step direction. Thank you.

PenPal, he'll just need to download the slingplayer from the slingmdeia website. Give him the slingfinder ID and he should be set on his side. Their are directions in the box and numerous posts on here if you have problems.

slysteve777

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August 27, 2007 4:27 PM

My IP address on the Information tab under My Slingbox Properties in the LAN section is NOT the same as my current IP address (which is in the Connection tab). I can't figure out how to change this other than maybe uninstalling and reinstalling the slingbox. Is this my problem?? (Not sure if that IP address under the LAN is the one that I had at the time I installed slingbox several months ago) Or doesn't it matter if they match?

ramrod

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August 27, 2007 4:55 PM

I have the AV myself, connected to my fta sat receiver. slingbox player is installed on my lappy. i can watch my sat programming on the road perfectly AFTER i have established internet connection, be it wireless or hardwire.

PenPal

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September 4, 2007 10:24 AM

ryandh said:
For both of you, When you run the remote viewing setup does it say it succeeded??

If it does, it's pretty much an issue where you're trying to connect at. If you have a computer at home, load logmein.com or another remote control software so you can rerun setup and troubleshoot from wherever you're at.

ryandh,

This weekend my son logged in remotely from College to watch TV via slingbox. He could not hear the sound but I could, since I was by the host computer. Does LogMein support sound? What is the solution to that. We are also trying to figure out how he can do it without logMein. Thanks.

Ernest

jumpfroggy

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September 4, 2007 10:38 AM

I had to figure out the finder ID, put that into the slingplayer program, then went through setup and enabled remote viewing. After that, it worked. You may also have to open up port 5001 on your router, don't remember if I needed that.

Any luck still?

slysteve777

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