Great to hear you're thinking of joining the legion of Slingers out there.

Your question is great, but everyone's experience is little different since everyone has different equipment, internet connections, and routers.

I've written a lot of articles about the Slingbox, reviews, etc. I'd definitely go check them out. Browse the articles section for more: http://www.slingcommunity.com/category/browse

To directly answer your questions:

1. It's hard to tell you what the image quality will be like, particularly when it comes to remote viewing. Streaming remotely, it's not like looking out a window, but I've found my remote experience is typically watchable in almost all cases (and very good most of the time). If you're at a busy hotspot, or have a low-speed internet connection, it's not always great.

2. Personally, I've always found the setup experience to be quite simple, but everyone has different skill levels, routers, and gadget experience. My router is easy to configure, and Slingbox has always had remote codes for the devices I'd like to Sling. Some people have troubles, but most of the headache is contributed to non-standard networking in the home (2 routers, etc), difficult to configure routers, firewall troubles at remote locations, a poor ISP, and missing remote codes for off brand or brand new gear.

ryandh is correct by saying that people who have great experiences come to forums less than folks who have problems. Nature of the beast I suppose.

Either way, I honestly love my Slingbox and would never want to go back to not having one. If you take the plunge and have questions, SlingCommunity is here to help you. And if you don't, definitely come back here and share that with everyone who may also be on the fence.

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

The SlingStream quality will be determined by the LESSER of your home uplink speed and the viewing location downlink speed. Weakest link in the chain and all.

As for the splitter. You have basic cable with no cable box at all? If so, then you could use a Slingbox with a built-in tuner connected directly to cable. The, now discontinued but still available, Slingbox Tuner has just an analog tuner. The Slingbox PRO, which is a current model, has a built-in analog tuner which will handle basic cable AND A/V inputs for other devices. I'd recommend the PRO because you have some safety - if your cable company drops analog channels and moves them to the digital tier (as many are doing), or you just decide to get digital service for more content, you can connect a cable box to the PRO - but not the Tuner model.

A box like the Slingbox AV or Slingbox SOLO accepts AV input but does NOT have a tuner, so you could go that route but you'd need to split the cable and get a cable box (or something else with a tuner the SB can control) to feed the signal into the SB.

-MegaZone, Sling Media Beta Manager
Slingbox Pro, HD Connect, TiVo Series3, TiVo Pioneer DVR-810H, SPM Treo 680, SP WinXP
(I also run GizmoLovers.com)

slipkid said:

Thanks-  So if the uplink speed is better than the DL speed you get a better picture?

Actually, that is not quite right - the quality will be determined by the slower of the two locations.  Normally, the upload speed is less than the download speed - and it will be the determining factor, but that is not always the case. 

I think someone suggested buying your SlingBox from a store that allows returns and then give it a try.  Then if does not work as you want or need, you can return the SlingBox.

Floyd

slipkid said: Thanks-  So if the uplink speed is better than the DL speed you get a better picture? Also I was going direct from the incoming cable split to the SB and the cable box because I want the people at the house to be able to watch something different.  In your opinion...Do you think that I can hook this up by myself without much of a problem. The only thing that seems to throw me off is the router UpUp or whatever the heck that is for the port you use?? Hey thanks again for taking the time! mark

As was said, no on the speeds.  It is the slower of the two that is the maximum for the connection.  If the uplink is slower than the downlink, then the uplink is the limiting factor.  If the downlink is slower than the uplink, then the downlink is the limiting factor.

You can to the split, but the tuner in the SB will only tune analog channels.  You could also get a second cable box and dedicate it to the SB.  Basically if you want to be able to watch one thing via Slingbox and something else locally you need two tuners, however that may be configured.  One for the local folks, and one of the Slingbox.

I think most people can handle the setup.  The SlingPlayer software does try to configure things for you during the Slingbox initial setup, which works for some routers.  And it has instructions for many others on how to do it manually.  And if it comes to it our support people can assist with setup.

-MegaZone, Sling Media Beta Manager
Slingbox Pro, HD Connect, TiVo Series3, TiVo Pioneer DVR-810H, SPM Treo 680, SP WinXP
(I also run GizmoLovers.com)

Personally, I'd stay away from cable connection like the slingbox tuner.

Having the slingbox attached a set top box will yield better quality (I have 2 sling boxes attached through a cable box and my cousin in law has it attached through coaxil).

It'll also make your life a hell of alot easier to have the 'guide' menu with set top boxes. Makes changing channels and channel surfing much much easier.