Whats the best way to stream live tv (wifi) to my ipad?

[jeff16years]

I want to watch live tv (especially MLB games) on my patio.

there are probably a lot of ways to do it but what would give me the best picture quality on my ipad?
thanks!
-Jeff

[Peace]

Depending on how you get your TV I'd look at Elgato.

[Alith]

In the UK you can stream tvcatchup.com over 3G and Wifi and it's a fantastic. (apparently you need to go to the iphone.tvcatchup.com site on the iPad for the 3G streaming to work though) This likely won't help you but I thought UK people should be aware of it.

Is there an equivalent in the US?

[robin1989]

either the tv catchup thing as above of get a slingbox and the slingplayer app

[jeff16years]

thank you, I'm going to look into these. How is the picture quality?

thanks again!
-Jeff

[jeff16years]

I can't seem to find a US version of catchup...

Anyone know how good the picture quality is with the slingbox?

thanks

[g8orballboy]

I would definitely recomend the slingbox. Its a bit pricy but its a one time investment with no other fee's after purchasing the hardware and then the app. Right now they only have an iphone version of the app, but its one of the better apps when 2x'ing it. I know they're working on an ipad version that will take better advantage of the resolution, but i'm currently very happy with how it looks on the ipad. I travel A LOT and this really makes my monthly comcast bill easier to swallow since i'm actually getting use out of their service. Whats GREAT about slingbox is that you're actually remotely accessing your set top box. So if you have a DVR, you can set and watch all your recordings remotely and can even get all the on demand features your provider offers. Its a GREAT product that I recomend to anyone who is on the road a lot. Most people I show are simply blown away at the streaming quality (even over 3G). Hope this helps...

[kaelell]

Originally Posted by g8orballboy

I would definitely recomend the slingbox. Its a bit pricy but its a one time investment with no other fee's after purchasing the hardware and then the app. Right now they only have an iphone version of the app, but its one of the better apps when 2x'ing it. I know they're working on an ipad version that will take better advantage of the resolution, but i'm currently very happy with how it looks on the ipad. I travel A LOT and this really makes my monthly comcast bill easier to swallow since i'm actually getting use out of their service. Whats GREAT about slingbox is that you're actually remotely accessing your set top box. So if you have a DVR, you can set and watch all your recordings remotely and can even get all the on demand features your provider offers. Its a GREAT product that I recomend to anyone who is on the road a lot. Most people I show are simply blown away at the streaming quality (even over 3G). Hope this helps...

quick question, do you need a pc/mac always running to stream the slingbox signal or does the device have a built in wifi connection and can take care of this without having your machine stream it to the web? on their web it says you need one to set it up so was not sure if you would require it to be on all the time.
and secondly, if I understand correctly you can control your box wireless, i.e change channels etc?

thanks

[g8orballboy]

Originally Posted by kaelell

quick question, do you need a pc/mac running to stream the slingbox signal or does the device have a built in wifi connection and can take care of this without having your machine stream it to the web?
and secondly, if I understand correctly you can control your box wireless, i.e change channels etc?

thanks

No, you do not need a PC running, you just need to hook up the slingbox to both your TV set top box and your router. (i have mine hooked up through an ethernet cord, but i believe you can buy a wifi extension... don't know for sure). Basically you run your set top box component cables to the slingbox, and then from the slingbox to the TV. You also hook up the box to your router. There's a one time setup from any pc on the same network and then your set. Its VERY easy to set up as it self discovers itself, you just need to log onto slingbox.com and it discovers the device on your wireless network... then create a login/password and your set to log into your TV from anywhere (pc, phone, or ipad). It basically intercepts your TV's signal and broadcasts it, so if your using the slingbox it does take over that TV and you have to watch what anyone else is watching on that TV, or they have to watch what you watch. As far as controlling the DVR, the slingbox has two little "IR blasters" they call them that run from the slingbox to the front of your box and send out remote signals to change the channels and operate your box remotely. Its a brilliant solution to anyone who wants TV on their mobile devices!

[RHatton]

It shouldn't be long until they release FLO TV for the iPad. That seems to be the best option I have seen so far.

[jeff16years]

Originally Posted by g8orballboy

No, you do not need a PC running, you just need to hook up the slingbox to both your TV set top box and your router. (i have mine hooked up through an ethernet cord, but i believe you can buy a wifi extension... don't know for sure). Basically you run your set top box component cables to the slingbox, and then from the slingbox to the TV. You also hook up the box to your router. There's a one time setup from any pc on the same network and then your set. Its VERY easy to set up as it self discovers itself, you just need to log onto slingbox.com and it discovers the device on your wireless network... then create a login/password and your set to log into your TV from anywhere (pc, phone, or ipad). It basically intercepts your TV's signal and broadcasts it, so if your using the slingbox it does take over that TV and you have to watch what anyone else is watching on that TV, or they have to watch what you watch. As far as controlling the DVR, the slingbox has two little "IR blasters" they call them that run from the slingbox to the front of your box and send out remote signals to change the channels and operate your box remotely. Its a brilliant solution to anyone who wants TV on their mobile devices!

probably a really dumb question...

should I get the HD slingbox to take advantage on the high res ipad screen?
I realize that the ipad screen isn't HD but I think it's higher res than an SD screen right?

[g8orballboy]

Originally Posted by jeff16years

probably a really dumb question...

should I get the HD slingbox to take advantage on the high res ipad screen?
I realize that the ipad screen isn't HD but I think it's higher res than an SD screen right?

As of now, there's only the iphone version of the app, so you wouldn't notice a difference, but that may change. I'd be willing to bet you wouldn't notice a huge difference either way. The slingbox isn't the BEST quality in the world, but its very stable and good enough for my needs. You'd probably really notice the HD if you were streaming to a computer though. I have the slingbox solo, which has Component cables. The slingbox HD lacks HDMI cables as well, i think the only true advantage is that you can have multiple sources into the slingbox. I may be wrong though. I'm happy with the slingbox solo price/value.

[kaelell]

thanks for the advice, this sounds great. Ive seen it mentioned before but never really looked into or wanted to pay that much to be able to stream to my iphone, but the Ipad is a new ballgame. Is the 3G performance watchable ? It would mainly be for football games, especially with the worldcup coming !

[g8orballboy]

Originally Posted by kaelell

thanks for the advice, this sounds great. Ive seen it mentioned before but never really looked into or wanted to pay that much to be able to stream to my iphone, but the Ipad is a new ballgame. Is the 3G performance watchable ? It would mainly be for football games, especially with the worldcup coming !

Totally watchable. I actually notice ZERO difference between Wifi and 3G when using the iphone app... unlike youtube and other such video streaming apps. If there is a difference, you could always jailbreak and use 3G enabler to make the ipad THINK its on wifi

[kaelell]

thanks youve sold me !

Looks like I will need to grab a slinglink turbo to get an ethernet connect next to my TV. Just 1 more question, im having a look at some for sale 2nd hand on ebay, is there anything to consider with regards to user accounts or anywhere I would need to sign up and log in to be able to use it, or am I good to go with buying used?

cheers.

[g8orballboy]

Originally Posted by kaelell

thanks youve sold me !

Looks like I will need to grab a slinglink turbo to get an ethernet connect next to my TV. Just 1 more question, im having a look at some for sale 2nd hand on ebay, is there anything to consider with regards to user accounts or anywhere I would need to sign up and log in to be able to use it, or am I good to go with buying used?

cheers.

Unfortunately I've never bought a single item on ebay... so this is not my area of expertise :-P

[kaelell]

Originally Posted by g8orballboy

Unfortunately I've never bought a single item on ebay... so this is not my area of expertise :-P

sorry what I meant by my question was, in order to use your slingbox, do you have an account with slingbox that you need to sign into and if so, what was the requirement to create such an account. E.g did you have to enter your box ID and therefore your account forever tied to your box, in which case buying it second hand would mean needing access to that account.


( hope that makes sense )

[g8orballboy]

Originally Posted by kaelell

sorry what I meant by my question was, in order to use your slingbox, do you have an account with slingbox that you need to sign into and if so, what was the requirement to create such an account. E.g did you have to enter your box ID and therefore your account forever tied to your box, in which case buying it second hand would mean needing access to that account.


( hope that makes sense )

Nope, you could have multiple accounts per slingbox without an issue. You should be 100% fine buying a used slingbox!

[jeff16years]

it looks like eyetv just announced a new product. it's on the mac rumors frontpage

[poloponies]

Originally Posted by RHatton

It shouldn't be long until they release FLO TV for the iPad. That seems to be the best option I have seen so far.

I have a FLO TV and, aside from the added expense of a monthly subscription, it's an awful option. The money would be better spent with an ElGato solution, like the one announced today.

http://www.elgato.com/elgato/na/main...oduct1.en.html

[Kibbe17]

Funny I had just finished reading this thread and then went over to engadget to catch up on their tech and this was on the main page.. http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/24/e...-live-to-your/

[jeff16years]

after looking at the new Elgato, I'm thinking that the Slingbox might still be a better option.

I think you have to have a running computer in order to use it....

[Cartaphilus]

Just to add another endorsement of Slingbox/Slingplayer. I'll also add that the upload speed of your internet connection makes a significant difference in the picture quality, especially when using ASDL. Mostly for the Slingbox quality, I upgraded upload speed from around 450 kbps to 3000 with Uverse at the house, and the picture quality with the iPhone even over 3G is really excellent now. I'd also recommend that you hardwire Cat5 cable from the Slingbox to your router. There are wireless solutions, but they have drawbacks that you can do without.

On the iPhone, the 3G capability allows me to watch in the car on long trips (when it's my wife's turn to drive, of course), and it really helps make the time go by. Depending on the program, I connect the sound through the car radio, and my wife can at least follow the audio.

The iPad suffers just a bit on 2X, as you might expect, but it is still quite acceptable, and as previously posted, Sling has committed to issuing an appropriately high-res version of Slingplayer for the iPad. Actually, the iPad has become my preferred non-televison device for watching live TV now, since its form, weight, and screen size are often the best-suited for the situation.

I have also had Elgato, and while I had no complaints, the interface and overall design of the Sling solution struck me as much more elegant. There is a new device/software just released that you may want to look into, although it looked a little klugey to me.

By the way, I think I use Slingbox more within my home network than anywhere else, especially since I got the iPad. Watching on the screen porch, or in my library--places where I wouldn't want to have a TV--is just such a pleasure since the bandwidth available intra-network maximizes the picture quality.

Also, if you watch on your Mac, you can use the Slingbox plugin with Safari and get true HD quality. I'm spending six weeks in Europe this summer, and as I did last year, I'll be able to watch home TV there (over wifi), including being able to follow the Tour de France without having to learn a lot of French cycling commentator jargon.

It takes a little practice to time fast-forwarding through commercials, but it's a skill worth developing. At low bandwidth, Slingplayer allows you to create a preference for the control function over picture quality, which you can take advantage of to zip through commercials more adroitly.

Once you have Slingbox you'll find yourself using it in all sorts places you haven't thought of--it's an easy product to recommend.

[jeff16years]

so just wondering, any new developments? I heard Comcast/xfinity is coming out with something. has anyone tried it? (not sure if its available yet)

[Dmunjal]

Sling just released a higher-resolution version of the their iPad player. It also supports video out now. This is the best solution on the market for live TV on the iPhone or iPad.