Sling Streams iTunes Content To TV 134
Vitamin_Boy writes "Sling has a new product out, the 'SlingCatcher.' It sends video from the PC to the TV and does it for $200. Oh, and it works with iTunes. Will this undercut Apple's iTV? The Ars Technica article thinks it might: 'The SlingCatcher... is media-agnostic. It doesn't care what codec videos are encoded with, nor whether or not they have been purchased from an approved online store. It is designed to take video output and stream it, which means that you could use the SlingCatcher with video purchased from other online services, such as the iTunes Store or CinemaNow. In this way, the SlingCatcher may turn out to be a one-size-fits-all solution in a field populated with specialty products.'"
Or you could.. you know.. (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Or you could.. you know.. (Score:5, Insightful)
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http://www.vantecusa.com/products/avox/p_avx100tx. html [vantecusa.com] (flash warning)
It takes any laptop harddrive and plays several popular video and audio formats. It's weak as an mp3 player, but it's great for movies and tv-shows.
I got mine for about $100 and it comes with a decent remote.
It has HD out as well as "regular" TV out. You hook it up via USB to your computer to put content on it.
I think they also make a bigger one takes 3.5" harddrives and has a network port.
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And this is a big problem how?
I mean, in this day in age...a computer really doesn't cost much...is a commodity. And most people I know have at least one or two older ones sitting around collecting dust. Throw a tv-out card in them, and hook it to the tv.
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I don't want a PC in the entertainment center, for the simple reason that it won't fit.
I'm not going to buy another $1000+ entertainment center and a $500 computer when I can buy a $200 box that will accomplish the same thing, even though it wouldn't even dent the savings to do so.
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Re:Or you could.. you know.. (Score:4, Informative)
Actually, this looks like it might be the perfect solution to the problem that TV-out, S-video, et. al. were inadequately addressing.
I have a 2.5 year-old notebook that is pretty much my entire media center. If I want to watch something with decent resolution, I pretty much have to watch it on my notebook's 15.4" screen. Fine for me watching something on my own, but it's a little frustrating if I want to show a video at someone's house and they've got a brand new gigantic HDTV sitting next to my little LCD. If there happens to be an S-video cable sitting around (probably not), I still need to hunt down an 1/8" to stereo RCA to route the sound out, and the picture quality is still terrible. I looked into alternatives, but there's pretty much no reasonable way to get good video from my laptop onto a nicer screen--VGA to HDMI? VGA to component? I've been told I'd be pretty lucky to get it to work at all (maybe I fell for Dell kiosk fud, but that's part of the same frustration).
But 802.11g should be easy enough. Let this box worry about video processing and video compatibility. And sound. All my computer has to do is send data, and it's great at doing that. The device's concept seems so obvious, but apparently no one has bothered to try making it until now.
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That may be the case, but not all VGA inputs take all the different resolutions you would expect. I got the cabling behind my parents' big-screen sorted out this past Christmas so they can actually watch HD on it for the first time in the four years they've had that TV. While reading the manual to figure out how to set up the inputs, I noticed that the
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NVIDIA has options in the Windows software to specifically output to HDTV, which I haven't tinkered with since about 8 months ago, but which was mediocre at best (on my particular TV at that time, which was a pretty new format, so likely not well supported) and which started with the "By enabling this feature you're completely voiding all warranties on this video card" message.
And
there are reasonable and affordable solutions (Score:2)
I bought one of these
http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/avcards/6e4f/ [thinkgeek.com]
which do 5.1 (optical) and regular headphone output both
and that was a coupla 3-5 years ago...
Re:Or you could.. you know.. (Score:5, Insightful)
I do wish that I could find the engineer who thought that Y-Pr-Pb was a fair alternative to some sort of actual RGB-based interconnect (like, I don't know, everything else in existence that uses high-quality analog video, e.g. SCART and 5-pin RGBHV), and throttle them.
There's really no good reason why consumer video should be this complicated. It's mostly a result of a lack of widely-accepted standards and mutual incompatibility that doing something as seemingly trivial as getting a computer to display on a HDTV (which is nothing but a computer monitor with delusions of grandeur) becomes so complicated. Unfortunately, because consumers have become accustomed to such things being a PITA, they don't go running to the manufacturers with pitchforks in hand, every time one of them produces shoddy gear, as they should.
Re:Or you could.. you know.. (Score:4, Informative)
I just don't understand why it's the only option. As far as I can tell the only things you have to do to make your input accept RGB and YPrPb is add a menu option and about 25 lines of DSP setup code. Most (if not all) video output devices process to pixel data with matched luminance and hue resolution and do color separations, be that RGB or some higher number of colors. Accepting RGB as input for that conversion seems almost trivial.
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Because it would be so hard to just carry these in your laptop bag...
Sometimes not that easy... (Score:4, Insightful)
Sometimes the obvious solutions have unanticipated complications; there's a whole lot of consumer hardware out there that won't "play nice" with anything. For non-technical people, buying a new box may be simpler than upgrading anything they have.
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Jonah HEX
TV-out anyone? (Score:2)
Re:TV-out anyone? (Score:4, Informative)
why not use TV-out and http://www.shoptronics.com/2wiauvisesyw.html [shoptronics.com] if one wants to use tv-out but don't want a loooong cable (or put the pc next to the tv)?
$120 cheaper than Sling Streams
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The product page is http://www.svat.com/gx3000.shtml [svat.com] and it looks like the gx 3100 is just coming out so they don't have the product brochure up yet.
the 3100 comes with a remote relay abaility so will have to check the brochure to see how that works.
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It's simple, easy, slick, and no one needs to touch a keyboard or mouse to change the song.
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50 bucks. Uses 2.4ghz or 5.8ghz.
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Upstream capacity of WAN connection is the killer. (Score:4, Insightful)
Well, that's not hard to figure out. If you want to watch DVDs via your internet connection, you better be able to put through around 5-6Mb/s, and that's assuming that you have some sort of transcoder that can filter out the unnecessary stuff and pass along only the video and audio stream that you want. The DVD spec allows bitrates up to 10.08Mb/s, if memory serves, including all subs and various audio streams, but a typical commercial one is much lower for the parts you'd actually need to transmit.
Now, if you have a computer on the transmitting/media-server end that's cable of transcoding the video into some more modern format than MPEG-2, then you can probably start talking about live streaming on a 1Mb pipe. You wouldn't get HDTV, but you could easily push passable 720x480 MPEG-4, at say 800Kb/s for the video and 128Kb/s audio, for a total of around 930Kb/s before adding in your protocol's overhead. So basically, a 1MB/s symmetric connection would probably work.
It's certainly possible with today's technology, unfortunately, most U.S. broadband connections aren't up to snuff. A lot of folks are on connections that only give them 128, 256, or 512 Kb/s upstream speeds (e.g. even Comcast's premium cable service only offers a paltry 384 kb/s upstream speed with 6Mb/s down, or 768kb/s up with 8Mb/s down). With buffering you could probably make some of those connections work, but I doubt it would be a hit with consumers -- you wouldn't get the same 'instant start' that you do with locally-stored videos (because of all the buffering).
For the next few years at least, media sharing of the kind you're talking about (where you keep all your content on one system, and dole it out to front-end systems for display), is going to be pretty much a LAN phenomenon.
Re:Upstream capacity of WAN connection is the kill (Score:2)
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Questions (Score:1, Insightful)
1a. If so: I assume it streams unencrypted/unencoded video signals rather than the data stream itself. What is to prevent me from plugging the receiver into my DV recorder?
2. Assuming the alternative, that it streams the original signals: How could an iPod magically gain the software to decode any stream?
Please enlighten me about how either alternative 1 or al
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1) Takes your video card's TV-out (if present) and transmits it wirelessly. Plenty of devices do that at far lower prices.
2) Takes your video card's VGA-out and digitizes it, then either streams the raw digitized video or performs some sort of compression. The question is, what resolution can it handle? I wouldn't be surprised if it was limited to 480p
3) Presents itself as a virtual video card and/or screeenscrapes your PC a la Windows VNC
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I wonder how much that thing costs... Depending on its actual capabilities, it may be a new way to record cable/satellite HDTV.
why all the hoopla? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:why all the hoopla? (Score:5, Insightful)
For the same reason people got excited about the iPod when there was already the creative mp3 player line (and many others).
Advertising & Bling. Surely someone with your nick would understand
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or, in non-mac-hating reality, interface and form factor.
the creative was as big and round as a portable CD player and frequently froze.
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the creative was as big and round as a portable CD player....
Incorrect. Creative had mp3 players smaller than the original ipod on its release.
they won't beat Apple to anything at this pace (Score:2)
the Sling is not due to show up till mid 2007. Apple's iTV is due anytime from 1.5 hours from now till March (iirc). it seems that iTV will show up before this product. though this sound
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The shelves are full of it at Fry's.
the Sling is not due to show up till mid 2007
Sling has been around for more than a year; they are on their third generation now and do HDTV.
all that being said, i'm a Mac person
Well, iTV looks like a good product, and it's pretty much the only option for Mac users. But that doesn't make it innovative.
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I know that it *says* Intel Processor, but the iTV has a slightly iPod feel about it, especially the limited looking range of supported formats.
I'll probably dedicate a Mini and an AA960 to drive my HD (Component only - stupid WalMart), unless someone can tell me if I can get a52 audio to work on aTV.
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Yep, I've been using a Kiss DP1500 [kiss-technology.com]for the past year - it's a DVD player that'll stream video or audio from a shared folder over WiFi. It'll also play web radio and most audio/video formats out there.
It cost me A$240.00 about a year ago, and yes, it does run Linux...
KISS is stealing software (Score:2)
KISS is a company of filthy bastards who use Free software and then call the original developers pirates for demanding that KISS obeys the license.
Google for the details, bottom line is that KISS do not deserve your money.
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One problem with boxes like Slingbox and iTV are their form factor, they look out of place with normal audio/video components. They look more like toys then serious AV components, which IMO is a mistake because AV geeks are the early adopters of technology like this and if the component doesn't fi
Agreed... (Score:1)
Sure, it doesn't play DRM-locked music downloaded from iTunes, but BFD. The only such files I have are the ones my wife insists on purchasing from Apple.
Best of all, it has multiple video output options, including composite RCA, S-video, component, and native HDMI.
Th
While we're at it... (Score:2)
Let's not forget the Neuros OSD [neurosaudio.com] which does the same thing, and more, and has open source firmware!
I'm a bit more excited about the OSD because of its hackability factor. It runs Linux - I've got the source and am working on building my own software for it.
Strange Title on that Slashvertisement (Score:4, Insightful)
No, seriously, we get it -- its an output device. It can output whatever the heck you want to the TV, be it iTunes or World of Warcraft or your Open Office spreadsheet (which probably makes for better television than half of the lineup). If it couldn't output whatever the heck you wanted, THAT would be news to the Slashdot "Egads DRM is choking us to death!" faction. And they'd be mostly right to be upset about that.
Uh, remember Vista? (Score:2)
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Nice idea, but - (Score:3, Interesting)
B) My understanding of the iTunes store sharing is that when you want to view a video/play a song you purchased, it checks to see if the client you're using is authorized. If Slingbox hasn't broken that DRM system, then how can it be used for iTunes purchased shows?
client in iTunes (Score:1)
How is this better than.... (Score:5, Informative)
How is this better than the Hauppage MVP [hauppauge.com]?
Not to blow my own trumpet, but I did a fair bit of work on the mvpmc [mvpmc.org] project to get VLC streaming integration working on this device.
The Hauppage MVP can be picked up for around 50 USD, it sits next to your TV and has an ethernet (or wireless if you want to pay a bit more) connection and a remote. It can integrate with slimserver for music playback, MythTV, can play MPEG1/2 video directly from shares (and any kind of video via VLC, which it does by requesting a vod transcoded MPEG2 stream and allowing you to control it transparently via the MVP remote), and is far more flexible than this - AND cheaper!
Re:How is this better than.... (Score:4, Insightful)
And if I read the article, I'd have noticed the big deal was DRMed crapola from iTunes.... that'll teach me.
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The big new thing here is the playing of iTunes videos: I still remember how pissed off I was when I discovered that there was no way of streaming the Battle
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The MediaMVP is a wonderful little device (we've got one in our bedroom), but mvpmc is not exactly a solution for everyone (I'm fairly technical, and I still haven't screwed up my courage enough to use any of the various replacement MVP solutions yet), and the native MVP software languished for almost a year before being updated a few times recently.
Frankly, the MVP is probably one of the safest devices to fiddle around with: it boots its software over the net and - so you can try out whatever you want and if you don't like it or it doesn't work, pulling the plug will solve all problems.
The big new thing here is the playing of iTunes videos: I still remember how pissed off I was when I discovered that there was no way of streaming the Battlestar Galactica episode I bought from iTunes down to the TV in the living room. I was not about to make my wife and her mother crowd around a computer monitor to watch it. Since, last I checked, VLC won't play iTunes protected videos, using it as a bridge to stream content wouldn't work (if there's a way around that, I'm all ears!).
Well, that'll teach you, then.
Go and pay iTunes for its stuff if it gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling, and then download it via bittorrent, so you have a clean copy that you can actually use.
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In fact, it did.
There are some people who might allege that I did exactly that. I, of course, have no comment as to the veracity of such hypothetical allegations.
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All releases of mvpmc have one of these binary dongles and a nightly process builds upto date ones if you need new improvements (I and most of the other devs also put up new ones on our project pages if we're working on something we want folks to test, but don't want t
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That's good to know... what about the server-side software? I assume that there is some software running the equivalent of Haupage's MVPStart service to do the back-end stuff; is that pre-packaged?
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If you have a Windows machine and the Hauppage software, I *think* (don't quote me on that - I don't use Windows some I'm not 100% on this) that you can rename the Hauppage dongle.bin file to something else and replace it with the mvpmc one (the Hauppage software has a stripped down DHCP a
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Yes, that works. Its what I did when I first tried mvpmc, although I use a Linux TFTP server now (although its with the DHCP provided by my router).
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I am completely gobsmacked by the sheer whydidntithinkofthat-edness of that solution.
Our setup here is that we have the MVP in our bedroom, and a Pinnacle ShowCenter downstairs in the living room; in
HDMI (Score:2, Informative)
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Not to criticize your work - since it looks like y'all have really improved the inter
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I'd love to find it cheaper, because this sounds like the perfect thing to replace the MediaPortal machine in my living room. Don't get me wrong, I love MP, but having a whole PC there is just overkill for what I'd like to do...
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Hauppage are selling an improved model now which is a little more expensive (hence the wired only model is harder to get hold of), but it has both ethernet and 802.11g interfaces - haven't looked at what the price is in the US, but here you can
This? Nah. (Score:4, Interesting)
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1. Xbox 360s sold or shipped to retailers: 10.4 million.
2. iTV: 0. None. Nada.
Undercut? (Score:3, Insightful)
It's a bit difficult to tell since it's not even released yet, nor have many details been made public.
Will find out more at today's keynote I expect.
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iTV hasn't been released. XBox 360 may be a specialty product, but I'd say the field is primarily populated with products like MediaMVP [hauppauge.com].
The line should read:
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XBMC anyone? (Score:1)
Really these stories are very mundane now I've been watching content from my PC on my TV for over a year now, even streaming content directly from the net onto my TV for just as long. It's not wireless, but you already had cat5 running to the tv area right?
The only thing that XBMC is lacking is support for HD. The Xbox's poor little cpu just can't handle decoding it. As soon as the 1st "next gen" console is capable o
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I can just see Joe Public managing that. Not. These devices are meant for average people to use , not technophiles with plenty of knowledge and time on their hands.
"Really these stories are very mundane now I've been watching content from my PC on my TV for over a year now, even streaming content directly from the net onto my TV for just as long. It's not wireless, but you already had cat5 running to the tv area right?"
You definately
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I can just see Joe Public managing that. Not. These devices are meant for average people to use , not technophiles with plenty of knowledge and time on their hands.
Good job I don't read news sites intended for Joe Public then, else I might have offended someone. This is Slashdot, where people use velocity sensors on laptops to remote control robotic cleaners. I fail to see where Joe Public comes into play.
This technology is a year behind where we should be right now. It's not new at all, it's been done before several times. It's probably the cheapest out of the box implementation but that hardly makes it news. Where's the headline for £10 mp3 players?
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Really, it requires very little technical knowledge to setup and use. Plays anything and everything I've thrown at it so far.
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So loafing around watching TV is getting down & dirty with technology? Thats certainly a new spin on it.
iTV not tied to iTunes... (Score:2)
Anyway, more will be revealed in about 4 hours...
Meme Alert: (Score:3, Insightful)
adj.
Without devotion to specific codecs, nor specific (approved) stores. Designed as a one-size-fits-all solution.
Current Google Index: [google.com] 13,900.
I like this phrase. I love this concept. Here's hoping we hear it a lot more often in the wake of the recent BlueRay/HDDVD debacle.
Sling will fail. (Score:1)
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granted, I do want to see the iPhone in action. It looks interesting(though personally, I think touch screen are crap simple because after 1 week of use, they are covered in fingerprints that are hard to clean o
Huh? (Score:2)
So they are saying the SlingCatcher isn't sure if media exists? I am all for media "hipspeak" if it makes them feel better/cooler, but at least have it make sense....
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"1. a person who holds that the existence of the ultimate cause, as God, and the essential nature of things are unknown and unknowable, or that human knowledge is limited to experience."
How we developed AI and are only worried if it cares whether media exists or not, I have no idea.
Perhaps it's a deist? (Score:3, Funny)
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No remote, then (Score:2)
For me, having a remote is important stuff when watching TV, I guess the average Joe would agree with me, specially if he has to climb some stairs to rew
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Yeah, because that's exactly as silly as claiming you can pause live video broadcasts from Television!
Just slap a DVR into what you think this thing is, and you will have exactly what you say it can't be.
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Apple's trademark is ease-of-use (Score:2)
Unless the SlingCatcher can match that kind of instantaneous ease-of-use, it won't undercut anything.
my worthless prediction ..... (Score:2)
That means, I'm waiting for the $1000 42" LCD TV with built-in ethernet/wifi that connects to my household MythTV backend with a DAAP plugin.
The pieces are almost there. Probably less than a year.
They missed the perfect device. (Score:2)
It should, WITHOUT A PC, be able to connect to and control a slingbox.
If I could drag that box to my vacation home, plug in and watch the CATV from home on the TV in my villa I would be all over it.
Hell college kids could snake one to school and watch their TV lineup from home.
No, they make this crappy box that is a glorified VNC display device just like the Hauppanage Media MVP.... No thanks.
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Neuros OSD (Score:2)
The only limitation I see with the OSD is the fact that it only does composite out.
Mvix Wireless HD Media Center (Score:2)
This is ALMOST what I need... (Score:2)
Currently, I have two media rooms - one casual family room and one home theatre room. The casual family room has a re-purposed iMac RevA running EyeTV and a TV Tuner/Encoder box [plextor.com], using a 1TB RAID1 array for storage of recorded analog cable programming, pira-ahem downloaded content, and ripped DVDs [mactheripper.org]. EyeTV can be coaxed into encoding programming for our iPod wit