Demo Video of SlingPlayer for iPhone and iPod Touch

[MacRumors]

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http://images.macrumors.com/article/2008/06/08/211326-slingbox_400.png

Engadget (http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/08/sling-announces-proof-of-concept-slingplayer-mobile-for-iphone/) and Gizmodo (http://gizmodo.com/395415/sling-on-iphone-hands-on) have posted videos and screenshots of a "Proof of concept" version of the SlingPlayer for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The included video demonstrates how to stream video from your SlingBox, though not all options are presently enabled.
Once you connect to your Slingbox, you control channels with an on-screen remote whose buttons scroll horizontally at the bottom of the screen. There's also a scrollbar full of channel icons that provide shortcuts to specific stations. Video ran pretty smooth and looked good over a wi-fi connection. And it goes without saying, but Sling also has their fingers crossed for a 3G iPhone.
Sling Media sells the SlingBox (http://www.slingmedia.com/go/slingbox) which allows you to stream video from your home television over the internet to any supported device (Mac, PC, Mobile Phone). This native SlingPlayer port would bring that functionality to the iPhone. Unfortunately, SlingMedia has not yet been accepted into the iPhone developer program, but are targeting a "fall or winter" release.

Apple is expected to detail more about the iPhone Developer Program and the iTunes App Store on Monday, June 9th. We are providing keynote coverage at MacRumorsLive.com (http://www.macrumorslive.com).

Article Link (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/06/08/demo-video-of-slingplayer-for-iphone-and-ipod-touch/)

[Donz0r]

That is awesome! Screw ATT's Tv service and whatever it costs, this is way better! Hope this makes it native soon!
With this you can watch ANY channel, Any DVR/Tivoed show, even DVDs on your iPhone, anywhere with wifi or 3g

[JonHimself]

How would streaming work over 3G? I have to assume that over WiFi it'd be pretty good. I've never used a Sling device so I don't know how good it is.

[HailToTheVictor]

I have been waiting for this for so long. How are video connections over 3g?

[bobbleheadbob]

This would make me want to get a Slingbox, fer sure. Especially with 3G coming soon (we all hope). :)

[rvk27]

ive been waiting so long to hear news about the iphone and here it is:)

[Mykbibby]

This is so amazing... even if the iPhone already has Live TV!

[icy-macpro]

thats preety slick! i would so get that

[antoneoh]

If the BlackBerry can do it, so can the iphone.

[seattle]

Great news! I have four slingboxs and I would love to use them with my iPhone.

[ChristoRogers]

Oh, it's a picture of the new iPhone!

Oh, wait...

[solipsism]

That is awesome! Screw ATT's Tv service and whatever it costs, this is way better! Hope this makes it native soon!
With this you can watch ANY channel, Any DVR/Tivoed show, even DVDs on your iPhone, anywhere with wifi or 3g

As I recall, the rules of the SDK do not allow streaming media over the carrier for 3rd-party apps, only via WiFi.

Although, we'll probably have a hack or settings workaround to allow this feature.

[SirOmega]

I assume that you would need new Sling hardware on the TV side. It would be great if the Slingbox could encode to H.264 and then the built-in decoders in the iPhone could decode them so you could get good battery life (though I would expect it would only last 3-4 hours).

I'd love to see a HDMI pass through, so I could use it with my TiVo HD.

[flopticalcube]

Great! That puts a SlingBox on my list of things to buy.

[PoitNarf]

How would streaming work over 3G? I have to assume that over WiFi it'd be pretty good. I've never used a Sling device so I don't know how good it is.

SlingPlayer mobile requires a minimum of 120Kbps, this is possible over EDGE but not consistent. 3G would have no problem maintaining at least a constant 120Kbps.

[inkswamp]

Unfortunately, SlingMedia has not yet been accepted into the iPhone developer program

Sigh.

Was there ever any official word on why the iPhone SDK was handed out so selectively? This whole thing about being accepted into the dev program is so elitist and snotty sounding that it annoys me every time I see a reminder of it. I don't get why Apple would do that but I sure hope they open the SDK up to everyone at some point. Sometimes the greatest ideas come from hobbyists tinkering around--no, scratch that, most of the great ideas come from hobbyists and non-pros. Apple shouldn't cut the iPhone off from that.

[rolex54]

of all the people to be accepted they should definitely of been one. I have wanted slingplayer on my iphone ever since I got it

[Lepton]

Sigh.
Was there ever any official word on why the iPhone SDK was handed out so selectively? This whole thing about being accepted into the dev program is so elitist and snotty sounding that it annoys me every time I see a reminder of it. This sure bothers me a lot, since I'm working on two iPhone apps that need to be tested on the hardware itself, and I can't get in the program, though I've been a Mac developer for decades.

But I have hope! I believe they will open up the program perhaps Monday, surely by month's end. But that may be too late to have my apps ready for day one of the App Store, where I could have gotten, perhaps, lots of extra downloads from those looking for apps under their brand new App Store icon.

[admanimal]

Sigh.

Was there ever any official word on why the iPhone SDK was handed out so selectively? This whole thing about being accepted into the dev program is so elitist and snotty sounding that it annoys me every time I see a reminder of it. I don't get why Apple would do that but I sure hope they open the SDK up to everyone at some point. Sometimes the greatest ideas come from hobbyists tinkering around--no, scratch that, most of the great ideas come from hobbyists and non-pros. Apple shouldn't cut the iPhone off from that.

The SDK -is- available to everyone. The limited enrollment is for the iPhone Dev Program, which allows you to test your apps on actual devices and distribute them via the App store.

There is nothing elitist or snobby about the way Apple is accepting people into the beta iPhone Dev program. In fact it appears to be the complete opposite, i.e. totally random*. I am a nobody hobbyist developer and I was accepted, presumably by chance. It will be open to everyone willing to pay the fee once the 2.0 firmware is no longer in beta- so very soon.

*I'm sure there are some big names that were hand selected (EA, AIM, etc.)

[Zubin]

I'm not entirely sure how this works. Do you need a slingbox?

[solipsism]

I'm not entirely sure how this works. Do you need a slingbox?

Yes. Here is an exmaple of how it be setup...CableBox » (coax) » Slingbox » (Ethernet) » Router » (Internet) » iPhone

The way the software works is that Slingbox tells an internet server your IP address and keeps it on file so when your mobile device's SlingBox app connects, it connects to the server with your username and password and gets the IP address, which it then connects directly too. This is great if your IP address changes; Back To My Mac works like this too.

The SlingBox has a cable with an infrared light on it so it can send commands to your cablebox to change the channel from your device, which it then changes the channel and streams it to your device.

Check out their website or a YouTube video on it.

PS: With the Windows and Mac apps, it also stream video and audio from your home computers.

[bytethese]

I'm not entirely sure how this works. Do you need a slingbox?

If you travel or just like to be able to watch your TV from where ever you are. :) I'm going to love the next time I forget to set my DVR to record something....WAIT, I'll fire up my iPhone and use the SlingPlayer to do it!

[jersey]

This could be so awesome...... too bad Apple seems to be stonewalling developers, even well known ones.

[bytethese]

Ok, now that looks pretty slick. I'd LOVE to be able to DVR a bunch of stuff and "take it with me" on my iPhone. :)

I hope we see this soon!

[Rocketman]

They are very clearly a player. Apple/ATT wants to reduce the bandwidth hit they would deliver.

Sooo, a "beta" app slinging from your Mac/PC to your iPhone or any other IP enabled device would do the trick initially. :)

Rocketman

[bigjohn]

I sort of predicted all this (http://www.johnmartinetto.com/blog/?p=63) last July when I listed my reasons for not buying the 1st gen iPhone.

Nice to see 3G, Slingplayer and more storage.

I also wanted to be able to manually manage the library and that has also since been added to iTunes.

Ok, Steve, just let me know the time and the place and we can get this going...

[HailToTheVictor]

Yes. Here is an exmaple of how it be setup...CableBox » (coax) » Slingbox » (Ethernet) » Router » (Internet) » iPhone

The way the software works is that Slingbox tells an internet server your IP address and keeps it on file so when your mobile device's SlingBox app connects, it connects to the server with your username and password and gets the IP address, which it then connects directly too. This is great if your IP address changes; Back To My Mac works like this too.

The SlingBox has a cable with an infrared light on it so it can send commands to your cablebox to change the channel from your device, which it then changes the channel and streams it to your device.

Check out their website or a YouTube video on it.

PS: With the Windows and Mac apps, it also stream video and audio from your home computers.

You can also use component cables if you have a HD set (I am not sure if they support HDMI yet as I was an early adopter). The quality is fairly decent, depends on the connections on both ends of course, but if you are on the receiving end of the signal not using wifi (haven't tried it with n) the HD video is good not great, and the standard signal is exceptional.

[Rocketman]

Sigh.

Was there ever any official word on why the iPhone SDK was handed out so selectively? This whole thing about being accepted into the dev program is so elitist and snotty sounding that it annoys me every time I see a reminder of it.

1. Making iPhone "look good on release".
2. Not hog bandwidth on release.
3. Not take the spotlight away from the 2nd and 3rd tier developers on release.

After that, all bets are off, and if your app bypasses 3G/EDGE and is 100% internet, there are NO LIMITS. Do that.

Rocketman

[cWeems]

3G w/ slingbox works flawless... used it on the blackjackI, blackjackII and the at&t Tilt. it buffers the first initial time the streams perfect and clear the whole time... we were always watching the bball and football games at work during playoff seasons...

[kubiac]

I have a slingbox solo hooked up to my HD DVR with component cables and it works great via remote. Although it does stream at 450 kb/sec its very good.

I also have the mobile software for the samsung blackjack which also shows great on the 3G network.

I'd figure the new iphone will perform alot better with wider visual display :)

[Digitalclips]

Yes. Here is an exmaple of how it be setup...CableBox » (coax) » Slingbox » (Ethernet) » Router » (Internet) » iPhone

Is it limited to a one to one scenario or could one use this technology to allow multiple clients? I run OS X Server and QT Streaming Server to generate the RTSP but it is pretty poor at feeding several users even with 5Mbs upload and source correctly encoded with Compressor. How Apple feed 720p still amazed me!

[joemama]

Guys and girls - Think for a minute. The reason Apple won't allow this to come to the iPhone is the same reason they won't put a DVR into the Apple TV.

Apple wants you to buy from iTunes and iTunes only.

If you can access your shows off your existing DVR for free, why would you buy shows off of iTunes?

I hope the slingbox iPhone program works, but I don't see Apple allowing it. I hope after Monday I am wrong.

[twoodcc]

seems pretty cool, and with 3G, maybe you could stream it over AT&T's network

[cfitz7111]

I have a Sling, and LOVE IT!!!!

I have the desktop player for my Mac at home as well as my Windoze machine at work. I also run it on my Palm treo 755p on Sprint, and for the most part works very well, with the occasional rebuffer, and sports because of the movement of the game itself, can become choppy.

I had heard that Sling was one of the first companies to get the SDK, perhaps Apple buys Sling and incorporates its technology into the iPhone, iPod Touch and Apple TV.

[kubiac]

Is it limited to a one to one scenario or could one use this technology to allow multiple clients? I run OS X Server and QT Streaming Server to generate the RTSP but it is pretty poor at feeding several users even with 5Mbs upload and source correctly encoded with Compressor. How Apple feed 720p still amazed me!

One to one scenario. If you are watching sling via laptop, you cannot use your mobile phone sling. Slingbox pro you can hook up multiple stuff ( cable box and DVD player ect ect ) well worth the money to get one.

[steve31]

Love my Sling!!! Would be great to have it on my iPhone!!!!

[WoFat]

I feel like such a dinosaur. I have a phone that merely rings.

[Eric Cartmac]

How does the Pro version work with viewing basic cable? I'm using a black macbook. Does it really work well for Mac?

A bit off topic now...

And I can't wait for all the amazing stuff like Sling for iPhone that will come out! Watching Apple's intro to the dev store, seeing the tools they provide for the developers, I'm telling you NOWHERE is it so slick and smart to program for a device. I've done 5 years of code cutting (java/swing, gui work mostly) in the past and this is what I think... I believe we are going to be IN GLORIOUS SHOCK and what comes out over the next year or two. Apps for the iPhone are going to have even our beloved OS X playing catch up. This (the open API ,+ App Store + GPS+3G) is going to change computers as much as the introduction of Laptops did decades ago when it was a desktop world. Sweetness.

I. Can't. Wait!

See you all tomorrow. THE DAY IS UPON US!

[akira2501]

When this happens, its a done deal. Imagine being able to watch tv in our pocket anytime any country. If somehow you could access on demand with this ; I'd buy it yesterday.:D

[jersey]

I've been wanting a slingbox, and this would push me into getting one. But I wonder when the ISPs are going to begin having a fit about it clogging there upward bound pipes... My connection was capped a while ago for uploading for an hour at 456kb/s, and no it wasnt any type of file sharing. I was uploading files to my work.

Imagine the impact of 1/4 of iPhone owners using a slingbox via 3g on the ATT network.

[Eric Cartmac]

I feel like such a dinosaur. I have a phone that merely rings.

I highly recommend upgrading to a phone with at least two more features, such as sending and receiving audio. It changes everything.

/ jk
// :)
/// Slashies? In MY MacRumors?

[mrrydogg]

Guys and girls - Think for a minute. The reason Apple won't allow this to come to the iPhone is the same reason they won't put a DVR into the Apple TV.

Apple wants you to buy from iTunes and iTunes only.

If you can access your shows off your existing DVR for free, why would you buy shows off of iTunes?

I hope the slingbox iPhone program works, but I don't see Apple allowing it. I hope after Monday I am wrong.

That may very well be true.....Apple hasn't officially not allowed it....yet. Just because they are not in the Dev Program doesn't mean a thing. It will soon be open to any and all companies. When that happens, we will see where Apple stands.

Oh could Apple be working on their own solution? Streaming iTunes content? Cable/DVR option to Apple TV?

:)

[SirOmega]

This sure bothers me a lot, since I'm working on two iPhone apps that need to be tested on the hardware itself, and I can't get in the program, though I've been a Mac developer for decades.

Minus the being a long-time Mac developer (I've been writing windows software for 10+ yrs though), I'm in the same situation, I've got apps that I wanted to have ready on day one. Its almost not worth it to develop the apps if you cant be there day one because so many people will be looking for apps that day.

[Tensai]

How does the Pro version work with viewing basic cable? I'm using a black macbook. Does it really work well for Mac?

It works great on either the Mac or PC, I run it on both. The only thing you really need is a decent Internet connection. I use mine primarily to watch TV in the computer room, but I've used it on the road as well. As others have mentioned, it's really all about your bandwidth.

Best money I've ever spent ^^v

-Ten

[winterspan]

As I recall, the rules of the SDK do not allow streaming media over the carrier for 3rd-party apps, only via WiFi.
Although, we'll probably have a hack or settings workaround to allow this feature.

I don't think that it correct. Didn't it just say that they reserve the right to deny apps (paraphrasing here) that are heavy bandwidth users? I know that that generally goes hand-in-hand with media streaming, but it doesn't mean they will necessarily block it. AT&T doesn't try to block or limit people using SlingPlayer on any other phones... Though I understand the impact is a little different with 10+ millions iPhones soon to be out there...

The SDK -is- available to everyone. The limited enrollment is for the iPhone Dev Program, which allows you to test your apps on actual devices and distribute them via the App store.

There is nothing elitist or snobby about the way Apple is accepting people into the beta iPhone Dev program. In fact it appears to be the complete opposite, i.e. totally random*. I am a nobody hobbyist developer and I was accepted, presumably by chance. It will be open to everyone willing to pay the fee once the 2.0 firmware is no longer in beta- so very soon.


I understand Apple can't possibly organize, communicate, and support 50,000 developers with a work-in-progress SDK program, that's reasonable. But not giving out the beta firmware to all developer to debug their applications on an actual iPhone is complete ********. I cannot think of ONE reason why this would make sense. It's not like they would have to support or regularly communicate with these "tier 2" developers outside their program. Just give them an early firmware to play around with until it's finished!

[winterspan]

Minus the being a long-time Mac developer (I've been writing windows software for 10+ yrs though), I'm in the same situation, I've got apps that I wanted to have ready on day one. Its almost not worth it to develop the apps if you cant be there day one because so many people will be looking for apps that day.

I certainly wouldn't go anywhere near that far.. There will be enormous opportunity in this market continuing to grow for years, and it sure as hell won't be over the first day. Well, I guess it would if you are planning on selling crapware to unsuspecting buyers. If you have a high-quality, useful product, it will do just fine.
Remember, It will take people weeks and even months to actually separate the wheat from the chaffe. Just like other ISV small software projects, I'm sure sales will be somewhat slow for awhile until a bunch of large websites start reviewing and recommending software, whether Mac-oriented or sites like LifeHacker.com.

[nostaws]

This is going to be the iPhone's killer app (apart from the beautiful OS). I personally know literally 10+ who will buy an iPhone the minute slingbox is available for it.

[stagi]

That would be pretty cool

[iceman1234]

That is awesome! Screw ATT's Tv service and whatever it costs, this is way better! Hope this makes it native soon!
With this you can watch ANY channel, Any DVR/Tivoed show, even DVDs on your iPhone, anywhere with wifi or 3g

Why should we have to feed a monster like ATT:cool:

[Hackcomic.com]

Wow I really thought Slingplayer was going to be one of the first apps for iphone- and thus I was going to buy a new one How disappointing.

And it will only be wifi? Even more disappointing.

Looks like I'm still going to wait

[Dagless]

Isn't this possible already?

On my EyeTV I can set up a server of sorts, where after a show has recorded I can access stored TV content from within my network. With a fixed IP I could access this from outside my network. Say, from an iPhone.

Although if Elgato brought out an app to make this even simpler then I'd be extremely happy.

[stomer]

The Slingbox looks like a nice idea. I even considered getting one. BUT, the problem that I have with it is that I can't record what's being streamed. Not only does Slingbox use its own proprietary protocol but it also encrypts the stream.

[FightTheFuture]

forget 3G or GPS - a SlingPlayer app would be the iPhone battery killer! i've got a love/hate relationship with my slingbox, either i love it cause it can provide background entertainment for me at my desk at work, or i hate it cause i should really be working instead of watching my TiVo...

[enigmatic2]

I can't believe Sling is out in the cold with this app - I kinda expected them to be one of the first big show-off apps for iPhone2 but now it could be as late as Christmas or never at all w/out a jailbreak...

I held back on getting an iphone for months precisely because I had a N95 with 3G *and* Slingplayer on it - it worked fantastically well and I do miss it a lot. Was looking forward to using it again on the iphone in the next few weeks but nooooooo. Disappointing to say the least :(

[kornyboy]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)

This is awesome. How much do Slingboxes usually run? Do you think they will keep that price point for the new one?

[28monkeys]

LIVE TV ON iphone? :apple:

[marksman]

I had heard that Sling was one of the first companies to get the SDK, perhaps Apple buys Sling and incorporates its technology into the iPhone, iPod Touch and Apple TV.

DishNetwork bought Slingbox if my memory is correct a bit ago, so they could incorportate the technology into their DVRs. So i don't think they will be selling to Apple or anyone else any time soon.

[Bassassin]

What happens if you are away from home and your roomate is watching Laguna Beach and you would like to watch anything, anything else. It sounds like you would only be able to watch what is currently on your tv at that time because it changes the channel for you as you change it.

[FightTheFuture]

What happens if you are away from home and your roomate is watching Laguna Beach.it sounds your roommate is in for some really interesting pranks as punishment for watching that show. make sure you push the slingplayer to the back of the entertainment center lest arouse his suspicion.