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Chupa Chupa

macrumors G5
Original poster
Jul 16, 2002
14,835
7,396
I want to sling HDTV from my parent's house to my house, but to display on a TV, not computer. From what I've read the Slingcatcher isn't a great solution b/c it doesn't do HD and also creates choppy video. So I'm wondering if I hooked up a mini to my HT via a mini displayport to HDMI cable if that would get me a smooth 720p picture on my TV.

Or maybe there is some easier/less expensive way to get an HD sling stream on a TV?
 

DavieBoy

macrumors 6502
Jan 8, 2009
421
1
New Jersey
Just set up my slingbox sunday night. The pop up said that slingbox does not support high def on the mac yet. I swear that is what i read but I was wrong once in the past so I could be wrong again.

I have my mac mini at my apartment and my slingbox at my house so I will try it and let you know how it looks. Hopefully tonight but no promises.

Also, has anyone tried the opposite of this, Hooking their mini into their slingbox to watch videos thru it. I am not sure if that is a stupid idea. I guess I would have to use a remote desktop app to play the video then switch to slingbox to watch.
 

thedoor1

macrumors member
Jun 10, 2009
46
0
I doubt it looks good. I sling hd from my cable box to a Macbook Pro on the same network and even then it is choppy and not smooth. I'm not sure why sling calls it 'hd' as it is not even SD. I think the sling HD has component cables vs composite.. might be the only diff. Definitely not smooth HD video.

So from that I'd guess that hooking up a MiniDisplay port/HDMI cable to a TV isn't going to enhance anything.

That said I like the Slingplayer as it is a great way to catch dvr'd shows when traveling, etc. Makes it easy to watch on a laptop in another room of the house. Quality is always crap though.
 

Chupa Chupa

macrumors G5
Original poster
Jul 16, 2002
14,835
7,396
Disappointing to hear the video quality isn't at least as smooth as say Hulu. Is that a sling issue or a bandwidth one?
 

apatel87

macrumors regular
Mar 30, 2009
133
0
So I have a Mac Mini HTPC and was too broke as a student to pay the $60 a month that Comcast was charging for cable so I bought a new Slingbox off of Craigslist for $50. It is not the HD model that sells for $230 but the base model that goes on Amazon for $150. To be honest, the Slingbox works great. While you are not going to get HD unless you are within the network I can honestly say that the quality is pretty good. I would say on the order of 360p from Hulu. Now, I think that this really depends on your network at both the source and where you are going to stream to but I do not get any stuttering or pixelation. My slingplayer is regularly streaming at about 2000 kbps. I have noticed it go down to as low as 1000 kbps without me having any problems.
I have to admit that the windows app for slingplayer is much more refined than the mac app. The Windows app automatically loads the guide based on your DVR and lets you change the channels and see what is going on without having to actually press "Guide" on your DVR remote. It makes it a more streamline process when changing channels. I have 4 computers feeding off the slingbox (not at the same time of course) but so far it has worked great. Just my 2 cents.
 

BrianUDLaw

macrumors newbie
Jun 21, 2006
8
0
I have a Slingbox Pro-HD and sling in HD to my MBP. The quality of the stream is entirely dependent on both the internet connection at the source and where you are viewing. I'm only able to view HD content when I'm streaming at home, where the Slingbox is located. When I'm streaming remotely, the quality is still good, but nowhere near HD.

To stream HD content with the Mac, you have to have the Slingbox Pro-HD, and you have to use the web-based Slingplayer (http://watch.slingbox.com/sling_player). Unfortunately, the standalone software version of the player for Mac does not support HD (although the standalone PC player does support HD). The web player works well in Firefox and Safari (32-bit only) and is very smooth, provided you have good bandwidth.
 

tbayrgs

macrumors 604
Jul 5, 2009
7,343
4,867
Also, has anyone tried the opposite of this, Hooking their mini into their slingbox to watch videos thru it. I am not sure if that is a stupid idea. I guess I would have to use a remote desktop app to play the video then switch to slingbox to watch.

If you're already using a remote desktop app, why not just watch it through that? Also, if you're using either an iPod Touch or iPhone, try the Air Video app--works over wifi or 3G and will even convert on the fly while streaming if needed.
 

DavieBoy

macrumors 6502
Jan 8, 2009
421
1
New Jersey
If you're already using a remote desktop app, why not just watch it through that? Also, if you're using either an iPod Touch or iPhone, try the Air Video app--works over wifi or 3G and will even convert on the fly while streaming if needed.

As far as I know none of the remote desktop apps do audio or have fast enough frame rate for watching video. I should try the air video app since I get mad that my server is really never doing anything. I hate when I buy things and don't use them to their full potential. That's why I wanted to hook a mini or another computer into my slingbox, I am just mad that I have nothing plugged into the video or s-video port.
 

thedoor1

macrumors member
Jun 10, 2009
46
0
I doubt it looks good. I sling hd from my cable box to a Macbook Pro on the same network and even then it is choppy and not smooth. I'm not sure why sling calls it 'hd' as it is not even SD. I think the sling HD has component cables vs composite.. might be the only diff. Definitely not smooth HD video.

So from that I'd guess that hooking up a MiniDisplay port/HDMI cable to a TV isn't going to enhance anything.

That said I like the Slingplayer as it is a great way to catch dvr'd shows when traveling, etc. Makes it easy to watch on a laptop in another room of the house. Quality is always crap though.

I take back my neg post. I looked at it again today after reading the hardware/software post above - I then tried the website. Looks great that way.
 
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