January 15, 2008 9:31 AM

Dave Zatz (Sling Media) said: "Is it possible that SlingPlayer Mobile is the cause of the slow throughput speeds when attempting to sling?  Is there any updated date information on when a more Q9 compatible version of the mobile player will be made available?" Your speeds will never be as great as that reported 3800Kbps. However, 100Kbps and 5fps does seem low. We're still engineering and testing a Q 9h-compatible (and other handsets too) SlingPlayer Mobile client update, so it's possible your speeds are related to the display issue. I don't have anything specific on timing to share at this point, but I can tell you it's in the hopper. FYI The current SlingPlayer Mobile should work fine on the Q 9m.

Not to resurrect an old thread, but I'm seeing exactly the same results with a Q9h in very strong 3G coverage areas.  I'm getting the same 5fps and 100kbps or less.  My home internet connection is 10Mbps down and 1 Mbps up.

Hoping for an updated mobile client soon.  I love the Slingbox and the mobile functionality, but it's frustrating seeing older handsets on slower data networks with better results.

January 26, 2008 10:06 AM

theevaluator said:

sling has botched this terribly- if you look at the forums, clearly the largest mobile user group of sling mobile are the windows mobile users here, and obvioulsy most of us use carrier supported devices like the Q9, which is a very popular device.  as i pointed out in several earlier posts, sling could have contacted motorola and gotten a pre-release device 10 months ago, i know because i had one.  at the very least, they could get serious about the QA, testing, and platform support, which is a joke right now.  they could easily pay a third party or use several services to facilitate testing and device support.  hell, i would even put them in touch with industry contacts i have at microsoft or motorola. no ETA on an update is pretty unacceptable, and the lack of official comment from sling shows their complete lack of care and disrespect for this community, who payed for the mobile client, and were misinformed regarding its support.   i might float this one by my attorney and look into a class-action suit, or see if we can begin to gauge some interest with an on-line poll.

I agree that Sling's response is a joke.  They stopped responding to my emails trying to clarify the information posted on their website.  The keep hiding behind the  "unsupported device" claim, while nowhere on their site does it tell you what devices are supported, only "recommended".  Plus the Q9h meets every required specification that they list.  It's obvious that they are expending their resources on the Blackberry player, which is comical since none of the Blackberrys (AFAIK) have 3G data yet.  Not providing even a general idea about the ETA for an update is ridiculous.  This device has been on the market for 3+ months - when are they going to "bake in" official support?  A year from now?  This company seems ill-suited to cope with how rapidly the mobile market evolves if it needs such long lead times to support released devices.  They still only "officially support" 6 WM smartphones, and 2 of those are only supported via WiFi.  They haven't added a new WM smartphone to the list in 7 months!

 I bought the Slingbox and mobile client through a deal offered by my company's corporate discount plan.  The mobile client was free in the deal.  I'm willing to give them a little more time (i.e. a month or 2) before throwing in the towel and dumping the Slingbox on eBay.  The ability to watch postage stamp sized video isn't really cutting it for me.

January 27, 2008 7:46 PM

monkeyboy said: I'm not not sympathizing with all y'alls difficulties with the Q9h... really I do. But I've tried SPM for Smartphones with 4 different Smartphones, and they all work great. So clearly there is something especially funky with the Q9h. Sling's SPM development group is probably small in numbers and it does seem to take longer than it should to address SPM problems... but Sling is a small company...

Sling was purchased by Echostar (parent of DISH Network) which has a market cap of $5.9 billion, and which paid $380 million for Sling.  Sling can afford a programmer or 2 to make sure its products work with WM6 like it claims on its site.

January 28, 2008 8:54 AM

theevaluator said:

dwboston said:

monkeyboy said: I'm not not sympathizing with all y'alls difficulties with the Q9h... really I do. But I've tried SPM for Smartphones with 4 different Smartphones, and they all work great. So clearly there is something especially funky with the Q9h. Sling's SPM development group is probably small in numbers and it does seem to take longer than it should to address SPM problems... but Sling is a small company...

Sling was purchased by Echostar (parent of DISH Network) which has a market cap of $5.9 billion, and which paid $380 million for Sling.  Sling can afford a programmer or 2 to make sure its products work with WM6 like it claims on its site.

...it's only the complete incompetence of sony, microsoft, hava, cisco, and others that have let sling succeed- hopefully they'll realize that the mobile component is a very important part of the overall solution and customer satisfaction.  this is an early adopter product, not for the unwashed masses, and those gadget lovers who purchase the product want a robust, supported, mobile solution. if i see an announcement that they're supporting the iphone, before they improve their overall support and QA, im taking a sledgehammer to my pro...

Absolutely - and probably the reason that Sling sold out to DISH.  The VC's wanted their $100 million back and realized it was only a matter of time before a competing product comes along that sets up and runs as easily as any other standard piece of consumer electronics.  IMO, the combination of Cisco/Linksys/Scientific Atlanta should be able to come up with a streaming product that works in a web browser (mobile or standard) and blows Sling out of the water.   History is littered with consumer products and tech companies that squandered their first mover advantage by being slow to change and unresponsive to customers.

And you just know that they're building an iPhone mobile client, even though the damn thing only gets EDGE data, and they'll "support" the 3G iPhone the day it hits the street.  We'll probably still be waiting for the "baked in" official support for the Q9h at that point.

January 28, 2008 12:50 PM

Matt Whitlock said:

its laughable when sling goes to all the trouble of creating a so called community, and then apparently doens't bother listening to what they're saying. i remember speaking to jeremy directly on the phone the first week the original slingbox launched, as i was reviewing it for a magazine, and he was telling me excitedly about the the new community site they were going to roll out. wow its great, except sling doesn't participate.

I've been looking forward to a SPM WM6 update to make my phone more Sling friendly (it works now, but not perfectly), and it's been a long, long wait. I wish it was faster, I really do, but I understand that it takes time to thoroughly investigate, develop, QA, and release an update to a product. 

By the time they get around to releasing an update, the next device will be out.  Lucky for us, 6 months after that Sling will have a Q9h update.  All thoughts about Sling's participation here aside, what's laughable is the company's idea of "support", and its inability to get updates out in a timely fashion.  As I said before, they haven't added a "supported" smartphone to their "official" list since 6/30/07.  In this industry, that's a glacial pace.  And people need to stop crying about poor little Sling and its lack of resources and time to investigate, QA, whatever.  Give me a break.  If you advertise specs required for something to work, it should work, period.  There are plenty of opportunities to get this stuff right before devices are released - or did the thought of proactively working with device manufacturers or carriers never occur to Sling?

January 28, 2008 7:28 PM

Matt Whitlock said:

its laughable when sling goes to all the trouble of creating a so called community, and then apparently doens't bother listening to what they're saying. i remember speaking to jeremy directly on the phone the first week the original slingbox launched, as i was reviewing it for a magazine, and he was telling me excitedly about the the new community site they were going to roll out. wow its great, except sling doesn't participate.

I find it unfair to complain that Sling Media doesn't listen to its users or participate in the community, especially given there's so much evidence to the contrary. Dave, a Sling Media employee, took the time to read forum posts here on the site, and personally respond with the information he had. Criticize him all you want that he didn't provide an exact ETA for a Q9H update, but consider (at least for a moment), that they may still be investigating, researching, and developing a fix for this particular phone. And what if they really don't have an idea when that fix will be ready for prime-time and prefer not to give an estimate based on nothing. Would you prefer the information you receive to at least be truthful and honest, or would you prefer sunshine being blown up your a**? I don't know about you, but I'll take honesty over BS anyday, even if the truth isn't exactly what I want to hear. Need more proof they listen? Look at the new upcoming SlingPlayer 2.0, which is chock full of new features people in this community have been asking for. Based on my conversations with several of the people I've gotten to know there, they look to this community when making these kinds of decisions and take the things said here seriously. Is every suggestion made by a user going to make it into the final product? Of course not, it's just not possible. Do I think Sling is perfect? No... no company is. I've made several of my feelings publicly known, made suggestions to improve their products, and have been quite critical of some of the decisions and mistakes they've made. In fact, the whole SlingPlayer for Mac debacle is probably THE reason they're hesitant to dole out dates beased on estimates or feelings. I've been looking forward to a SPM WM6 update to make my phone more Sling friendly (it works now, but not perfectly), and it's been a long, long wait. I wish it was faster, I really do, but I understand that it takes time to thoroughly investigate, develop, QA, and release an update to a product. I'm sure the EchoStar buyout will help Sling grow and add more resources, but that takes time too. The buyout wasn't all that long ago. Let me also remind you that this community is NOT owned and operated by Sling Media, so they have no obligation to participate here or tell you anything. The fact they don't own this site and have no say in moderation or content means you don't have to worry about the site being unbiased or advertorial. I'm not here to make sure no one says bad things about Slingbox or the company; everyone is entitled to an opinion... even you. I just think yours is wrong, unfair, and based in a fantasy land where every feature idea or problem a person mutters ends up in the product or fixed withing five minutes, and every suggestion or comment someone makes gets a personalized response from the company. Since I don't work for Sling, I get to say that to you. At every turn where things take longer than we hope or a product gets delayed, I see insults about the Sling staff and threats to form class action lawsuits. Given the harsh beating these Sling folks seem to get, I'm often surprised they still participate in this community at all. My opinion: Sling has shown a tremendous amount of support for the SlingCommunity. I just hope the small subset of users that go off the deep end don't ruin it for everyone else.

obviously i don't feel like i've gone off the "deep end" or that we're wildly out of line, in fact i would resent your characterization that we're a bunch of fringe users making unreasonable requests. 

i think its great that you spend your time managing this forum, but i actually work for one of the largest software companies in the world, and i also have experience with mobile development.  so if i make a statement asserting that sling could easily address the issues they have with device support and QA, i actually know what i'm talking about.

class action suits rarely accomplish anything, other than force a response from a company that neglects a group of disgruntled users.  you bring up the mac support, but once again, i'll bring up for the 3rd time, that SLING IS CHARGING MONEY for the mobile client, and not clearly setting expectations regarding functionality.

maybe all people are looking for is an official statement from sling regarding a mobile update.  frankly i think rather than your comments demeaning our request everyone would prefer some kind of update from an actual sling employee to their so called "community".  yes, dave zatz made some vague, unsupported statement several months ago...we know...he's a saint.  

has it occurred to you that maybe people would like refunds?  or that sling could publish a list of supported devices on their download page so that people would know what they're buying?  how hard would it be to update the web site?  dave zatz still blogs, maybe he could take the time from his next post to update the download page so that people don't get ripped off.  if i'm not mistaken, the download page just says "windows mobile 6", which is wrong- its not windows mobile 6, its completely dependent on a device by device basis....and its wrong to mislead people and charge them money for it, which is the point of a class action lawsuit.

January 29, 2008 10:04 AM

Alrighty. I hate nitpicking, but here we go:

obviously i don't feel like i've gone off the "deep end" or that we're wildly out of line, in fact i would resent your characterization that we're a bunch of fringe users making unreasonable requests.  

Threatening to smash your Slingbox with a sledgehammer and sue a company because the cell phone you chose to buy doesn't work with one of their products is totally normal and sane. I retract my statement.

i think its great that you spend your time managing this forum, but i actually work for one of the largest software companies in the world, and i also have experience with mobile development.  so if i make a statement asserting that sling could easily address the issues they have with device support and QA, i actually know what i'm talking about.

Okay, you're the expert. You tell Sling Media what they can and can't do in a certain amount of time. Go on... tell them.

You'd think one of the world's largest software companies would have working shift keys on their keyboards...   

class action suits rarely accomplish anything, other than force a response from a company that neglects a group of disgruntled users. 

You've been told an update is in progress. How are you being neglected?

you bring up the mac support, but once again, i'll bring up for the 3rd time, that SLING IS CHARGING MONEY for the mobile client, and not clearly setting expectations regarding functionality. maybe all people are looking for is an official statement from sling regarding a mobile update. 

I bring up Mac support because it was a major fiasco where people in the community got pissed that Sling told them a date and they didn't deliver. Regardless if Sling charges for SlingPlayer Mac, it's still relevant because people do pay for Slingboxes. Now with Catcher months behind and people mad about that, I don't think Sling will give a date for anything unless they're absolutely confident they can deliver.

And you got an official statement from Dave, "We're still engineering and testing a Q 9h-compatible (and other handsets too) SlingPlayer Mobile client update, so it's possible your speeds are related to the display issue. I don't have anything specific on timing to share at this point, but I can tell you it's in the hopper." 

frankly i think rather than your comments demeaning our request everyone would prefer some kind of update from an actual sling employee to their so called "community".  yes, dave zatz made some vague, unsupported statement several months ago...we know...he's a saint.  

I'm not demeaning the group's collective request, only those that beat up Sling employees who contribute here... particularly when they answer questions honestly and to the best of their abilities. Dave is an actual Sling Employee and just made a comment at the top of this thread with specific information about an upcoming update to the Q9h.

has it occurred to you that maybe people would like refunds?  or that sling could publish a list of supported devices on their download page so that people would know what they're buying?  how hard would it be to update the web site? 

Has it occured to you that Sling offers a free 30 day trial of all versions of SlingPlayer Mobile? You know, so people can try it out on their device for a month to see if they want to buy it. It's really touch to convince me people have been mislead since they can evaluate SlingPlayer Mobile's functionality and performance on their device before they fork over any money at all. And don't play the "I've already bought SPM but upgraded my phone and now it doesn't work" angle; you'll never win with that one.

I think your list is a good idea, though. I'll work on adding a list of known working phones to community as a resource for those who'd rather be told what works well rather than decide for themselves.

dave zatz still blogs, maybe he could take the time from his next post to update the download page so that people don't get ripped off. 

Because Dave blogs he has the ability to manage Sling Media's website? I think that's a bit of a stretch.

if i'm not mistaken, the download page just says "windows mobile 6", which is wrong- its not windows mobile 6, its completely dependent on a device by device basis....and its wrong to mislead people and charge them money for it, which is the point of a class action lawsuit.

Read the bold text above and you'll see why there's no basis for a class action lawsuit. If you're too lazy to evaluate the product yourself before buying, then that's your problem.

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

January 29, 2008 12:31 PM

dwboston said: And I read Dave's post above, and while I appreciate him posting something, it just reads like more of the same.

Yep, it is more of the same which is why I hadn't bothered providing a non-update. However, I got the sense some input is better than continued radio silence until I have a concrete date or pre-release build to share.

dwboston said: And they wonder why there's frustration among some people at the lack of information.

Nope, I don't wonder at all. In fact, I wrote above that I understand it.

dwboston said: The whole "evaluation period before payment" argument is BS as well. The information is presented in such a way to get people to evaluate and pay for it in the hope of future "updates". "Just be patient" while we "bake in official support!"

We may not be as timely as I'd like, but we have absolutely no desire for you buy something that isn't currently compatible with your handset. We can't account for every Windows Mobile device worldwide and network conditions in every location, so we provide that free trial to allow folks to evaluate the situation for themselves. $30 in exchange for a dissatisfied customer is NOT worth it. (Also, our hardware has a 30-day no questions asked return policy wether you buy it from a retailer or via our web store.)

And as I said above, I'm bringing the site issue to the attention of our Web and Support teams. We've already removed the 6/07 'date updated' line as it wasn't accurate. For example, since that date we've QA-ed and validated the Samsung Blackjack II, HTC AT&T Tilt, HTC T-Mobile Shadow, etc. Additionally, I've had the Sling Community editor Matt Whitlock on the phone today and will do what I can on my end to support his presentation of a comprehensive area/list of handsets proven to work based on our QA and reports here in the forum.

Slingbox SOLO w/ ASUS Wireless Bridge streaming TiVo Series3
Zatz Not Funny!

January 29, 2008 12:54 PM

Dave Zatz (Sling Media) said: Additionally, I've had the Sling Community editor Matt Whitlock on the phone today and will do what I can on my end to support his presentation of a comprehensive area/list of handsets proven to work based on our QA and reports here in the forum.

To confirm, I did speak to Dave about this today. I'll be working on how to best offer a resource like this here on SlingCommunity and have something up in the coming weeks. I'm thinking of posting information about a particular model of phone somewhere and using the comments section for users to report their experiences or review SlingPlayer Mobile on that phone. I'm open to alternative ideas, so if you have thoughts on how this resource could be offered, please send me a PM with your thoughts.

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

January 29, 2008 1:00 PM

Matt Whitlock said:

Dave Zatz (Sling Media) said: Additionally, I've had the Sling Community editor Matt Whitlock on the phone today and will do what I can on my end to support his presentation of a comprehensive area/list of handsets proven to work based on our QA and reports here in the forum.

To confirm, I did speak to Dave about this today. I'll be working on how to best offer a resource like this here on SlingCommunity and have something up in the coming weeks. I'm thinking of posting information about a particular model of phone somewhere and using the comments section for users to report their experiences or review SlingPlayer Mobile on that phone. I'm open to alternative ideas, so if you have thoughts on how this resource could be offered, please send me a PM with your thoughts.

Thanks.  That sounds like a great idea.

 A lot of my frustration stemmed from trying to clarify this information with Sling customer support, and pointing out to them that the information wasn't presented clearly on their site, then being summarily cut off and my last couple of emails not responded to.