Sling Media Announces Slingbox 350 and 500 Media Streaming Boxes

[MacRumors]

Sling Media, maker of the Slingbox set-top media streaming boxes, today announced its first new hardware products in four years, introducing the new Slingbox 350 and 500 boxes. The company has long been one of the leading vendors offering software and hardware solutions to allow users to stream live and recorded television programming from a user's television to their computers and smartphones.

Slingbox 500

The new Slingbox 500, which carries a retail price of $299.99, includes built-in Wi-Fi connectivity as well as integrated IR blasters for controlling a set-top box. The box also includes the new SlingProjector feature, which allows users to wirelessly transmit photos and other content from their phones onto their television sets.

The Slingbox 500 is the foundation of a growing set of features for Slingbox customers. The hardware platform not only has the ability to placeshift content, making a live content stream available anywhere, but can also receive content and display it on the TV. The first example of this is SlingProjector. SlingProjector makes it easy for anyone to wirelessly display their personal media, such as photos, from their smartphone onto the big screen.

Slingbox 350

The Slingbox 350, priced at $179.99, is a lower-cost option that forgoes the integrated Wi-Fi and SlingProjector functionalities but still offers 1080p streaming for improved video quality.

Sling Media has also released updated version of its apps for iPhone and iPad, with each app currently priced at $14.99, 50% of the standard prices.

The new Slingbox 350 and 500 boxes will go on sale in the United States beginning this Sunday, October 14, with Canadian availability scheduled for next month.

Article Link: Sling Media Announces Slingbox 350 and 500 Media Streaming Boxes

[besweeet2]

Awesome updates! Can't wait to get my hands on the 500. Despite what a lot of people are saying, I think it looks excellent, and is a welcomed design change.

I just hope that the video and audio quality in their mobile apps doesn't suck... The low bitrates were unbearable sometimes.

[thelonelylimo]

they certainly thought "out of the box".

[auero]

They had me at HDMI.

[besweeet2]

Originally Posted by auero

They had me at HDMI.

Keep in mind that HDCP will most likely be a problem for most people.

[auero]

Originally Posted by besweeet2

Keep in mind that HDCP will most likely be a problem for most people.

Yep, I heard conflicting reports. The review of the two already killed it for me.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/09/s...0--500-review/

[avanpelt]

Their apps for iPhone and iPad aren't showing as updated in the App Store yet. Hope they show up soon. The apps lost the ability to stream in high quality after you update to iOS 6.

Sling Media has been, in my experience, an awful company in terms of customer service. They nickel and dime their customers to death. In addition to releasing new hardware, I think they need to clean house at the company and get some people working there who appreciate their customers who spend hundreds on the hardware and $29 each for both the iPhone and iPad apps.

[besweeet2]

Originally Posted by avanpelt

Their apps for iPhone and iPad aren't showing as updated in the App Store yet. Hope they show up soon. The apps lost the ability to stream in high quality after you update to iOS 6.

Sling Media has been, in my experience, an awful company in terms of customer service. They nickel and dime their customers to death. In addition to releasing new hardware, I think they need to clean house at the company and get some people working there who appreciate their customers who spend hundreds on the hardware and $29 each for both the iPhone and iPad apps.

The changelogs have been updated, but nothing else has.

I do agree that they should be working on their CS side of things. And perhaps their marketing...

[benhollberg]

Originally Posted by avanpelt

Their apps for iPhone and iPad aren't showing as updated in the App Store yet. Hope they show up soon. The apps lost the ability to stream in high quality after you update to iOS 6.

Oh my, is that why I haven't been able to do high quality? Been noticing that lately and never knew why. Can't wait for an update then.

[mikeyrko]

I just recently sold my old slingbox and purchased a vulkano lava I'm much happier with it, I can now record shows and watch them on my iPhone offline.

[WhoDaKat]

Who in the hell designed these ugly things? Good lord, I'm almost scared of them.

[SteveLV702]

please tell me these ones have HDMI connectivity.

[ProwlingTiger]

These look like ****. I'd be embarrassed to have one sitting in my living room.
Keelhaul the designers.

[hamkor04]

Originally Posted by WhoDaKat

Who in the hell designed these ugly things? Good lord, I'm almost scared of them.

should be named like Dust-collector 350 and Strewed-box 500

----------

Originally Posted by CausticPuppy

Image



What the.... was this designed by M.C. Escher? This doesn't even look like a shape that can possibly exist.

i won;t be surprise, if they claim that lifted back as a future. maybe Remote control hider?

[an-other]

For those following the thread, you may note my purchase of the Pro HD. I purchased it on October right before the new two models.

A lot of bad feedback on the HD Pro. Turns out I was too hopeful, and they were right. My HD Pro is bricked. The Extended Warranty will be utilised!

It's interesting on Amazon the HD Pro has 164 five star reviews and 128 one stars.

Whilst others may have differing experiences, the Pro HD is a one star for me. It will be replaced with a 500.

It's curious the 500 has 18 five star reviews and 10 one star ones on Amazon. The one star reviews range from no slingcatcher or WD support, protecting content and challenging set-up. I don't take the feedback lightly, but at least there are no equipment failures detailed. I'll actually defend sling with the protected content and sling catcher (ok, a good company would go the mile here. No one is saying Sling is a good company!)

My Solo is still rocking. Never had an issue with it.

[ian.]

Originally Posted by mikeyrko

I just recently sold my old slingbox and purchased a vulkano lava I'm much happier with it, I can now record shows and watch them on my iPhone offline.

I too have had a Vulkano (Can't remember which one) for about 2 years now and it works great! It's than the Lava I think, so my player on my iPhone was FREE! I think for the newer models the iPhone player is like $12.99.

Had a little trouble setting it up at first, cause with the one I have you had to do some research and become a bit of an IT guy to set ports and stuff like that, but with help from their tech support I was able to get it to work without any problems. The newer models may be easier to set up.

The streaming works great on computers and on my iPhone (as long as I can get a signal from AT&T!), so I've had no problems there. That's mainly what I wanted it for. It also works over WiFi, which the lower version slingbox doesn't do. I added a class 10 memory card so I can use it as a DVR too. That to me, was an added bonus. It works well for the most part, but there are rare times that is records choppy, or it doesn't record at all. Again it doesn't happen often and it could be that I'm using a memory card and not a eSata drive.

Best part of it all... It's cheaper than any of the slingboxes.

[slu]

Originally Posted by avanpelt

Their apps for iPhone and iPad aren't showing as updated in the App Store yet. Hope they show up soon. The apps lost the ability to stream in high quality after you update to iOS 6.

Sling Media has been, in my experience, an awful company in terms of customer service. They nickel and dime their customers to death. In addition to releasing new hardware, I think they need to clean house at the company and get some people working there who appreciate their customers who spend hundreds on the hardware and $29 each for both the iPhone and iPad apps.

Yeah - with what we paid for the apps, losing this ability is frankly unacceptable. And it has been weeks.

I like my Pro-HD, but if you have to have a cable box to use the new one, it is worthless to me. They need to have a product with a bulit in tuner. I don't care about using the Slingbox to view content on my TV because my Slingbox is not even hooked up to a TV. It is just hooked up to the network. I certainly won't be updating and it looks like when my Pro-HD finally dies or they stop supporting it with the mobile software, I'll just find another alternative.

EDIT: Just downloaded the new app to my iPhone running iOS 5 and I have HQ streaming back with the Pro-HD. The release notes say it should be fixed for iOS 6 as well, except for with the SOLO. I will try out my iPad running iOS 6 when I get home.

[iphoneblack24]

3.0 pushed this morning for iOS...HD still disabled for Solo users...SD quality is smoother, less stutter

[SteveLV702]

Originally Posted by avanpelt

Their apps for iPhone and iPad aren't showing as updated in the App Store yet. Hope they show up soon. The apps lost the ability to stream in high quality after you update to iOS 6.

Sling Media has been, in my experience, an awful company in terms of customer service. They nickel and dime their customers to death. In addition to releasing new hardware, I think they need to clean house at the company and get some people working there who appreciate their customers who spend hundreds on the hardware and $29 each for both the iPhone and iPad apps.

Ya still no app update on my end :'(

[urbanslaughter]

I'm going to post the comment I wish I had read before buying my slingbox and the slingbox app.

These things suck! In my experience they simply didn't work. I was rarely able to get the application to work on my computer. Anytime you change your network (this includes any updates) you have to go in and change things dramatically in your sling box - not a simple task). They charge you for help anytime after 90 days, so forget getting help. The iPad app and the iPhone app (yeah, that's right, it's not universal, you have to buy each one) were $29.99. Apparently they're now half price, but you're still paying a total of $30 bucks to get it to work on both devices. Plus, I never got it to work on my iPad. It was so bad, that I contacted iTunes and thankfully got my money back. Support is a NIGHTMARE. I literally spent hours every week trying to get this product to work - to no avail. I wish I had known all this before buying into this experiment in frustration.

Here's the other thing. The 500 costs about $130 more and only appears to offer you wi-fi and the ability to show your photographs on your tv. An apple TV will show your photographs and do a lot of other things for $99. Do not waste your money.

[eekcat]

I was about to post a positive comment about how much I liked my Slingbox PRO-HD, but am now irked that:

1) I just had to replace mine under warranty after about 2 months because of some sort of power issue (that they're well aware of).

2) How in the heck do you release an update to an app weeks after the iPhone5 launch without support for the iPhone5's larger screen?! At the snails' space that they release updates, we'll never see an iPhone5 compatible update.

[avanpelt]

Originally Posted by eekcat

2) How in the heck do you release an update to an app weeks after the iPhone5 launch without support for the iPhone5's larger screen?! At the snails' space that they release updates, we'll never see an iPhone5 compatible update.

I don't doubt that they'll release an update for the iPhone 5 screen at some point; but it wouldn't surprise me if it's a new app that will cost another $29. They'll probably call it SlingPlayer HD for iPhone. That's the type of company we're dealing with here.

[bushido]

aw this box will look neat next to my lava lamp and my pot plantation. oh wait its not the 60s anymore

jeeze and that price, yep ill stick to my ecosystem integrated apple tv

[topmike]

OK - I have read the reviews, and looked at the photos and Sling Media clearly wanted their box to sit on top of all other products. While that is a neat idea, clearly they never consulted their user base.

From the Engadget review: "In contrast, the Slingbox 500 is not a box, but rather, some amorphous shape we're pretty sure we never covered in high school geometry. Other than the fact you can't stack anything on top of it, we sort of like the way it looks, even though the plastic is very prone to gathering fingerprints." -http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/09/slingbox-350--500-review/

They should have tested this in the real world!

[renai-spirit]

Originally Posted by bushido

aw this box will look neat next to my lava lamp and my pot plantation. oh wait its not the 60s anymore

jeeze and that price, yep ill stick to my ecosystem integrated apple tv

Hey, I have a lava lamp in my lounge room :P

I purchased the now-superseded Slingbox HD only 2 weeks ago. But now that I can watch Japanese television programming from several thousand miles away, I'm not overly fussed about the update, especially if they've taken away the tuner.

I'd rather that the Apple TV had Slingbox functionality, but the WD Live Streaming box at this end is actually not too bad to use.

edit: On the downside, the app policy of purchasing separately for iPhone and iPad is very sucky, not to mention the price of the app.