2006 News Archive

Ever since their invention, the television set and the home computer have remained separate devices, often in separate rooms. But next year could be the year they come together -- or at least become less distinguishable.

I'm sitting at a gate at Chicago O'Hare waiting for my flight back home. But instead of the usual boredom, I'm watching my home TV on my notebook computer.

Sling Media -- The company's ingenious Slingbox enables consumers to watch live TV and DVR programming on their PCs and Windows Mobile-enabled wireless devices. Its recent hiring of two former MTV executives signals that CEO Blake Krikorian is open to making deals with TV networks, movie studios and other owners and creators of content. Expect a busy year for Krikorian and Sling.

One of the things consumers will get out of this computer-consumer-communications mish mash is choice. Thanks to devices such as Sling Media's Slingbox, an Internet-connected video translation machine, you can watch recorded shows like ``Lost'' on your laptop or your cell phone, for example. And NPD Group tracked more than 190 different flat-panel TVs advertised on Black Friday.

Anyone who has been online for some years, as I have been, should have felt very smug this year as the internet and all its associated technologies, services, protocols and applications went mainstream.

I first met Blake Krikorian, the CEO of Sling Media, in February and as he showed off his tiny silver invention and what it was capable of, I literally laughed. The mini box, about the size of a six-inch sub, with perforated words such as, "My DVR, My Satellite, My Music, Anywhere" on the top, was nice but it couldn't possibly change the way I watched television. At best, I thought, it might make a cool little doorstop.

Shoppers have three days to finish buying Christmas gifts and some haven't even started. The idea of last-minute shopping has taken on a different meaning this year since giftgivers have a full weekend left and some online vendors are offering Saturday delivery.

Great for anyone who travels: You can hook it up to your TV (warning: it's complicated), then access your TV through your laptop from anywhere in the world. For instance, let's say I have to go to New York for business, and I'm staying in a hotel that night, but I want to watch the Celtics-Clippers game. If I TiVo'ed the game, I can watch the game on my laptop with the Slingbox. Not only is this incredible, I have no idea how it's legal. But I hope you get one while it still is.

I consider few products to be innovative. Most are step changes that bring improvements, but rarely have the wow factor that stops you in your tracks. A product this year that was, in my eyes, truly innovative, was Sling Media’s Slingbox.

The set-top market will undergo a transition this year at CES, as boxes begin to truly rival the traditional media players as the primary source of televised entertainment.

As if the Slingbox wasn't cool enough, the Pro model adds high definition and the ability to hook up to four AV sources. The basic premise of place- and time-shifted TV watching remains unchanged, with the ability to watch via a computer or Windows-enabled mobile device anytime, anywhere. One bummer: A necessary HD cord is not included, and costs an extra $50.

The San Francisco Giants were in the thick of the pennant race in August 2002. And Blake Krikorian and his brother, Jason, were stuck at their office with no way to watch.

The latest gadgets for Christmas

So why would you upgrade from the Silver package (£5/month extra) to the Gold (£10/month?). The key offering here is the Slingbox, which you can buy at a discounted price of £99 (it's usually about £150). This connects to your TV or set-top box and fires video over your domestic broadband service to the X-Series handset (or a laptop) running the SlingPlayer software. Unlike other mobile TV services, this is actually streaming your very own telly signals, so if you've got a Sky box, for instance, you'll be able to watch exactly what's showing on your TV at home, be it BBC One, Premiership footie or a 'specialist' subscription channel.

What impressed me most was not the Carl Zeiss camera (excellent though it is), nor the free phone calls through the internet via Skype, nor the one-click access to Yahoo and eBay; it was the link with a set-top device called Slingbox. It is difficult to get the measure of this device without seeing it in action. Slingbox, amazingly, enables you to watch surprisingly high-resolution television on your mobile phone anywhere on 3's network. (Article Requires Free Registration)

Sling Media has done for place-shifting what TiVo has already done for time-shifting: given the category a brand identity and a mainstream coolness factor.

Watch TV from anywhere, anytime.

In the world of technology there are a few companies whose names are held in high regard by early adopters for their creativity of products. One is Apple with its iPod, another is Tivo and its digital video recorder. And still another working its way into this ranking is Sling Media with their Slingbox.

I have more gotta-watch TV shows than usual this fall. Along with my regular diet of "Smallville" and "Battlestar Galactica," I've become addicted to "Heroes," "Jericho" and "Doctor Who." I'm even tuning into such nongeeky fare as "Ugly Betty." Keeping up with it all is a challenge, lemme tell you. But I've stumbled on a technology that makes it a lot easier. It's called a Slingbox, and it has a sole purpose: Hijacking your home's live-TV feeds and TV recordings (with your blessing, of course) and retransmitting them over the Internet so you can tap into them from afar.

Embracing a technology that has unnerved media and telecommunications companies, a major European wireless provider will let customers watch their home cable TV on a cell phone if they also have a device called the Slingbox back at the house.

Hutchinson Whampoa, which operates British mobile provider 3, has teamed up with Sling Media to delivery streaming television to mobile devices. The service includes broadcast, cable and satelite content.

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If there's one thing that can make a day at the office more bearable, it's being able to watch The Office, or any other TV show on your phone or PC.

Slingbox lets you watch T.O. stations around the world All you need is a laptop and an Internet hookup

Some video programming is on TV screens and some is on PC or mobile phone screens. Some is free, some isn't. Some is available on-demand and some isn't. The whole system is begging for simplicity, according to many of the speakers who took part Wednesday in Forbes' two-day Media, Electronic Entertainment, Technology conference at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

The Tuner, AV and high-definition-ready Pro deliver as promised

Technology commentator Bill Thompson says the move of TV series Lost from Channel 4 to Sky is a growing irrelevance in the online age...There are also innovative ways to get access to broadcast TV or shows you have recorded yourself. One of the highlights of the Symbian Smartphone show this week was the mobile version of the Slingbox player.

What possessed the organisers of the uber-posh Monaco Media Forum to invite a scruffy blogger like me in? It was pitched to me as the media does Davos in Monaco. It's an interesting mash-up of global and regional media companies trying to figure out how to catch the GooTube, MySpace, Web 2.0 wave.

News article on the SlingPlayer Mobile for Symbian OS software. Including quotes from Blake Krikorian.

The place-shifting Slingbox Pro is a great way—especially for DVR users—to watch a virtual version of your home television on PCs or Windows Mobile devices.

News article on the SlingPlayer Mobile for Symbian OS software. Including quotes from Blake Krikorian.

Digital video recorders such as TiVo have allowed us to record shows while we're away and watch them later (the technological name for this capability is "time-shifting"). Slingbox, on the other hand, does "place-shifting," allowing you to control and watch your television, DVR, DVD player and virtually any other AV component while on the road. Slingbox sends the audio and video inputs out over the Internet, compressing the signal so you can tune in on your laptop or even a Windows Mobile cellphone.

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that sling. That's what Cal fans were saying last Saturday at Memorial Stadium as the university, hamstrung by the Pac-10's awful TV deal and its maddening restrictions, found a way to provide video coverage of the Bears' 21-3 victory at Washington State.

News article on the SlingPlayer Mobile for Symbian OS software. Including quotes from Blake Krikorian.

Place shifting in the age of high-definition television

News article on the SlingPlayer Mobile for Symbian OS software. Including a quote from Blake Krikorian.

News article on the SlingPlayer Mobile for Symbian OS software. Including quotes from Blake Krikorian.

Slingbox lets 6,000 watch game live in stadium by aligning technology

News article on the SlingPlayer Mobile for Symbian OS software. Including quotes from Blake Krikorian.

News article on the SlingPlayer Mobile for Symbian OS software.

News article on the SlingPlayer Mobile for Symbian OS software.

News article on the SlingPlayer Mobile for Symbian OS software.

Video: Slingcast of the Washington State University vs. UC Berkeley football game made possible by a Slingbox.

News article on the SlingPlayer Mobile for Symbian OS software. Including a quote from Blake Krikorian.

News article on the SlingPlayer Mobile for Symbian OS software.

News article on the SlingPlayer Mobile for Symbian OS software. Including a quote from Blake Krikorian.

Digital lifestyle consumer electronics products company Sling Media has teamed up with smartphone open operating systems Symbian to enable users to redirect or ‘placeshift’ TV from their home to their mobile phones.

News article on the SlingPlayer Mobile for Symbian OS software. Including a quote from Blake Krikorian.

Sling Media is now shipping several new models of their products that enable you to watch and control your TV or DVR anywhere you have web access and a PC or smartphone. We’re particularly interested in the Slingbox Pro, pictured here, which looks to be much more sophisticated than the original product that we reviewed in December, 2005.

San Mateo, Calif. Not to be outdone by Sony's recent next-generation LocationFree TV introductions, Sling Media is now shipping three next-generation Slingbox tuner models, at more affordable price points.

Several options exist today. Services, like Verizon's VCAST ($15 a month), stream CNN clips, "Sesame Street" segments and other video. Slingbox, the gadget that lets you watch what's on your home TV when you're nowhere near, has a version for smart phones ($30 at www.slingmedia.com). And then there's real TV. Roundbox Inc. in New Jersey is creating a way for phones to include TV tuners and take advantage of broadcast channels. Mobile companies are interested because video wouldn't hog up valued cell-phone bandwidth.

Sling Media today three new Slingboxes that increase streaming performance by up to 300 percent over the home LAN. Slingbox PRO includes an optional HD component input for customers who have next generation HD receivers.

Slingbox is a much-loved time shifting device for your TV. It allows you to watch your TV from anywhere that has an Internet connection, including portable devices such as the Motorola Q, at 640 x 480, the same resolution as the new iTunes movie store downloads. It doesn't just stream a few channels — it lets you control your own TV, including your TiVo, on demand, and pay per view, just like if you were at home. Sling Media is releasing three updated Slingboxes today for various types of users, replacing its original single model.

Sling Media’s Slingbox is one of those products that you might not grasp the necessity of until you use it–like a tablet PC, TiVo or condoms. For the uninitiated, the short of it is the Slingbox lets you watch and control your home TV on a laptop, desktop or select mobile devices. The first version had some very minor drawbacks but all-in-all it was a great product.

Sling Media this week lifted the lid on three new versions of its Slingbox remote TV appliances. The latest models allow users not only to time-shift content, but also to view it from any location through laptops, desktop PCs, PDAs and smartphones using an Internet connection.

Sling Media is expanding its product lineup of portable TV products with a trio of new devices aimed at analog-TV viewers, as well as those with HDTV sets.

The Slingbox Tuner lets you watch your home TV anywhere, but it's useful only for those who have a good basic cable lineup.

When I met with the Sling Media executives last month (see my interview) I was shown some mock-ups of three new Slingbox products. Yesterday at Mobius Boston, Brian Jaquet revealed the three new units: the Tuner, AV, and PRO. They should be officially announced sometime today on the Sling Media site, and I understand that Best Buy stores started selling them before they were announced.

The original Slingbox (model SB100-100) may not have been the first place-shifting device to hit the market, but it quickly became a favorite way for gadget fans to watch their favorite TV shows regardless of their location. Now, about 18 months after the release of the original Slingbox, the second generation has arrived, made up of not one but three new models: the Slingbox Tuner ($180), the Slingbox A/V ($180), and the Slingbox Pro ($250). See how they compare.

Sling Media introduced three models of its Slingbox remote TV viewing devices Thursday, featuring speed increases of up to 400 percent, a new look, and support for high-definition TV and various TV setups

The company that gave us the coolest innovation in TV since TiVo is at it again, today launching three new Slingbox devices that promise a 300 percent video quality improvement along with a much easier setup. If you like the idea of watching your favorite shows on your laptop or smart phone, and don't want to pay a monthly fee to do it, check out our impressions of this slick gadget.

Sling Media has slung its Slingbox into the HD generation, announcing three products that address the high-end consumer as well as a traveler who simply wants to view the local news while on the road.

Today, Sling Media announced three new additions to the Slingbox family: the Slingbox Tuner, the Slingbox AV, and the Slingbox Pro. These new items follow up the successful Slingbox , a device that connects to a cable box, satellite receiver, or digital video recorder to redirect television programming to the computer of your choice.

Sling Media, maker of the Slingbox, has broadened its line of "place shifting" gadgets that allow television lovers to watch their own home programming from remote PCs and mobile devices. The San Mateo company released three new components Thursday that help television watchers connect to their television from outside their home.

The original Slingbox — the set-top device from Sling Media that pipes programs from your home television across the Internet to your computer screen — is getting some siblings. The company announced three new versions this week, each intended for a different technological need of the television-obsessed public.

Sling Media, maker of the placeshifting Slingbox device, on Wednesday released three new gadgets for watching TV remotely: the Slingbox Pro, Slingbox AV and Slingbox Tuner. Each product targets a different segment of the TV-watching market--home-theater enthusiasts; DVR or cable set-top box owners; and basic-cable subscribers.

Details about all three of these already leaked out over the past couple of weeks, but Sling Media is formally introducing three new Slingboxes, the Slingbox PRO, the Slingbox AV, and the Slingbox Tuner. All three perform the same basic function -- they let you stream TV from your cable box (digital or analog), satellite receiver, or DVR to a computer or mobile device -- it's just that each is aimed at different segments of the market.

Viasat will use the Sling Media Slingbox to deliver Viasat Everywhere as an extension to its satellite service in Scandanavia. This will allow users to watch and control their home television programming on any internet-connected computer.

Sling Media Inc. CEO Blake Krikorian testified before the House Commerce Committee that his video "place shifting" device will help, not hurt, broadcasters and cable providers.

Sling Media has kicked off a special promotion that will give customers who purchase a Slingbox Internet-based TV sender a free registration key for either a SlingPlayer Mobile for Pocket PC or the just released version of SlingPlayer Mobile for Windows Smartphone."

Sling Media made a big splash last year with the debut of Slingbox, a funny-looking device resembling a large, chunky candy bar still in its silver wrapping. Despite its toy-like appearance, Slingbox is a serious piece of hardware that can remotely connect a personal computer to a home television set via the Internet. This enables customers to watch live broadcast, cable or satellite TV, as well as programming stored on a digital video recorder, anywhere they can find a broadband connection.

With some gadgets, there’s a “wow” factor that you can milk with each person you encounter. But when the “wow”s wear off, you’re sitting there with a device that doesn’t always have an everyday purpose. That’s my feeling with the Slingbox , a cool device that lets you watch your home TV — including your TiVo or digital video recorder — from any Windows computer or mobile device with a broadband Internet connection.

It might look like an oversized Yorkie bar, but this little gem packs more punch then a 50g slab of cocoa and milk solids any day.

TiVo sparked a media revolution by popularizing "time shifting" -- allowing TV viewers to watch on their own schedules. Krikorian is doing the same with "place shifting" -- enabling people to remotely watch programming streamed from their home TVs

The Motorola Q lives up to much of the hype by offering good call quality, an excellent multimedia experience and the essential productivity tools, all wrapped up in a sexy package. You can use the TV-streaming Sling Media Slingbox with the Motorola Q (or any Windows Mobile device, for that matter) to watch live sports right on your device.

Sling Media CEO Blake Kirkorian argued that his product represented "place shifting," a new phase in TV viewing that met the needs of an increasingly mobile populace for TV on other than their home reciever.

Since its launch in the US many moons ago, you will have noticed a string of national disasters caused by people taking their eye off the ball because they've been watching TV on their laptops, via Slingbox.

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The rush to deliver streaming video via cell phones or the web is forcing television networks to deliver more than just archived content on these rapidly emerging entertainment platforms.

Slingbox and TiVo are small entrepreneurial companies that represent the best of American innovation. They empower Americans to watch their lawfully acquired content where and when they want. These ingenious products are good for consumers and good for the content industry, and will help America remain the world leader in innovation.

In a matter of mere months, Sling Media Inc. and its Slingbox device have become the hot topic of the sports and media worlds and the subject of a caustic debate few...

Slingbox steals show as NBA talks technology

The TV still may be the main source of entertainment for most consumers, but now it has some company—and competition.

Before your nose gets any bigger, Pinocchio, get Slingbox, a technological miracle that brings television to your laptop, desktop, or PDA — anywhere with an Internet connection.

Mark Ozawa, managing director at Accuvia Consulting, said there are technologies that ride on the available Internet bandwidth such as Slingbox, which allows guests to watch their home television programming over the Internet, Movielink, which allows guests to download and watch movies on demand, and Skype, which allows guest to make phone calls via their computers, that are starting to siphon some of the hotels' revenue.

For the traveling executives, the Slingbox enables you to watch your TV programming from wherever you are by turning virtually any Internet-connected PC into your personal TV.

Slingbox, by Sling Media allows Girlawhirl to watch her home TV via her laptop, anywhere, anytime. Here’s how it works: a small candy bar looking device (how delicious?) rests peacefully on top of her television, and can even be connected through her TiVo®.

The growing sophistication of consumer electronics continues at a spell binding pace. Consumer devices are becoming more integrated with the capabilities of the home computer and the widespread adaptation of broadband. The growing important of Bluetooth has brought about a level of interoperability who's potential is only starting to be realized.

Slingbox’s Mobile software is available as a free download — for now

Whoa! A Slingbox has place-shifted my TV.

Internet-Based Gadget Lets You Stream Your Home TV To Your PC, Pocket PC, Or Smartphone

Now that TV is being launched on mobile phones, consumers are clamoring for the ability to both time-shift content and “place-shift”—access home satellite and cable television connections while on the move. So it comes as no surprise that Sling Media, whose Slingbox redirects a TV stream from a cable box, satellite receiver, or digital video recorder in a consumer’s home to an Internet-connected PC anywhere in the world, is going mobile.

Wireless carriers are becoming increasingly concerned about companies that treat them as pipelines.

"Red Herring narrows competition for “Red Herring 100 North America” to 200 companies."

Entertainment PCs are becoming more popular—and cheaper—every day. So what will become of the media center PC?

Yesterday, the Slingbox launched in Sweden, but in an extremely interesting development it's being sold by leading satellite TV operator Viasat under the name Viasat Everywhere. So, rather than Sling threatening the pay TV market, Viasat is looking to add additional value for their pay TV customers by offering Slingboxes alongside their NDS-powered DVR."

Aspen Summit to mull joys, trials of tech convergence

"Technology allows traveling customers to keep up with favorite television programs"

Sling Media, which makes a set-top box that allows users to access their television programs, music, and pictures from their laptops and other mobile devices, said Monday it has secured $46.6 million in a second round of financing.

Not that we were worried about those guys, but for those interested in the higher level goings on of Sling Media, makers of the Slingbox, they just got a $46.6 cash infusion from a number of notable investors, including Mobius, The Hearst Corporation, and EchoStar.

Sling Media, one of Silicon Valley's hottest start-ups, announced Tuesday that it has raised another $46.6 million in funding.

Slingbox maker adds mobile devices to the growing reach of the home TV.

Sling Media's “Slingbox” grabs the TV signal at the home and slings it out over a broadband connection to a laptop, cell phone or any other connected device. Where the Tivo allows viewers to “time shift” their programming, Sling allows them to “place shift” it.

SlingPlayer does a good job of bringing TV shows to mobile phones and PDA.

Soon enough, we'll be in another world as we watch ballgames, episodes of Seinfeld, or the end of a movie we didn't finish watching that was recorded on our TiVo. And, we'll have the option of accessing those shows on our cell phones, thanks to Sling Media.

There are some technologies and products that simply speak for themselves. It's a terrific idea, it's well-executed, and it hasn't been done already a million times.

Sling Media adds the Mac to its rapidly growing list of extensions to the home TV.

I am riding a New York City bus watching a live baseball game on a Palm Treo "smartphone." Given the device's small screen, I am not exactly in couch-potato heaven — it is difficult to make out balls and strikes. Still, there is something novel and thrilling about taking in TV on a cellphone.

Blake Krikorian, the CEO of Sling Media, is an old-time Mac user and told me he’s excited about finally getting their technology up and running on the Mac.

Sling Media, Inc. celebrated the Canadian debut of its Slingbox device at an event today at the Gibsone Jessop Gallery in Toronto’s Historic Distillery District. Slingbox allows users to access their home video sources using a Windows PC or handheld device anywhere in the world where there’s a high-speed Internet connection.

I watched television while I walked to the Metro on Tuesday morning -- and during my trip through the subway, then at my desk at the office. My TV set was a Treo 700w "smart phone," my antenna was the phone's wireless data connection, and the broadcast came from a small silver rectangle parked next to the TV in my living room.

Yes, indeed, the Mobile version of the software works well using either a Wi-Fi or a 3G network, and honestly, it--along with the Slingbox itself--is one of the coolest and most useful products I've seen in a long time."

The Slingbox rules. The space-age-looking silver set-top box will stream live or prerecorded TV that you would normally watch on your own TV to virtually any modern Windows computer.

"TiVo? That's so last year. There's a new cool device for the TV: the Slingbox, which lets you watch your home television when you're halfway around the world. Don't worry if that business trip to Australia has inconveniently come just when Man U is playing Arsenal in London. With a Slingbox in the living room and an Internet-connected laptop or 3G mobile phone on the road, you can follow every live strike by Thierry Henry and Wayne Rooney just as if you were slumped into your favorite comfy chair in Highbury. "

There was nothing remarkable about the movie I was watching -- I, Robot -- it amounted to a lot of computer graphics. The special appeal for me was watching it on my cell phone during my Muni ride home.

Sling Media is offering a device that lets you stream just about any kind of video or audio directly to your Windows Mobile device. All you have to do is buy a simple gadget that can convert your audio or video into a digital format in real time and broadcast it over the Internet to your handheld or smartphone.

Consumer electronics: Will “placeshifting”, which lets you watch your TV from anywhere, be as disruptive as timeshifting?

Love to travel but hate missing your team's matches? Whine no more. New "place shifting" technology lets you take local programming on the road. Slingmedia's Slingbox redirects your home TV signal from an antenna, cable box or satellite to your Net-accessible PC or laptop. The Slingbox connects to the TV and the Net, while SlingPlayer software is uploaded to your PC

Leading the American placeshifting craze is Sling Media, an electronics company born out of Silicon Valley.

Sling Media, Inc. announced Tuesday its Slingbox -- a set-top box that allows users to watch recorded programs or live TV from an Internet-connected computer anywhere in the world -- will be available to Mac users beginning in the second quarter.

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This is one piece of gear that can stay at home. The $200 Slingbox streams live TV--and your TiVo'd shows--from your home to any Web-connected Windows PC or Windows Mobile device in the world. And that means you can watch live baseball when you're in Belgium, your hometown news in Hawaii, and American Idol in Azerbaijan. All you need is a Wi-Fi hot spot, a Slingbox, and a laptop or a Windows Mobile phone. And an excuse for vacationing in Azerbaijan.

"In March, Sling Media Inc. jumped out in front of the mobile video craze by enabling owners of its Slingbox device to send the TV services they pay for so dearly at home to their cell phones and PDAs. (See Sling Media: We're Good for Cable.) The SlingPlayer Mobile software is available for free today, and Sling says the uptake has been substantial so far. Why buy specialized mobile content when you can just plain watch your own TV?"

Starting today, Slingbox owners can install new player software on Windows Mobile palmtops and cellphones, thereby eliminating even the laptop requirement.

FOLLOW THE MONEY, the old detective adage says, to find clues to what is happening.

"The panelists included Rob Bennett, general manager, MSN Entertainment and Video Services at Microsoft, Jennifer Feikin, director of Google Video at Google, Blake Krikorian, founder & CEO of Sling Media, John Papanek, senior vice president and editorial director of ESPN New Media, and Ben White, vice president of Digital Media at MTV. Frank Rose, a contributed editor to Wired Magazine was the moderator."

A prime example is Sling Media's Slingbox, a $200 cigarette-carton-size box that connects to your home TV or TiVo and redirects that content through the Internet to certain phones (and more commonly) laptops.

The outfit's technology lets users watch homegrown programming from anywhere -- and it could end up in the crosshairs of a buyer.

Watch British television programmes anywhere in the world

Sling Media, a digital lifestyle consumer electronics products company, today announced that its award-winning Slingbox is now available for purchase across the United Kingdom.

Workload giving you World Cup woes? Set yourself up with a Slingbox and let the action follow you.

An electronic gadget that promises to unshackle consumers from their TV sets became available in Europe for the first time on Tuesday, opening up new ways for users to watch television wherever they go.

Sling Media has launched its Slingbox location-free TV system in the UK, pitching the product at consumer who want to watch British digital television broadcasts anywhere they can get hold of a broadband internet connection.