TVSquad

Looking for a good deal on a Slingbox? Woot has the Slingbox AV for $70 today only. Shipping will set you back another $5, but that's still about $35 cheaper than the $110 you'd usually pay for a Slingbox AV.

Like its siblings in the Slingbox family, the Slingbox AV lets you stream media over the internet. That means you can plug the Slingbox AV into your home cable box, TiVo, or other audio/video equipment and then watch live or pre-recorded video on an internet-connected computer or mobile device.

The Slingbox AV is one of the cheapest models available. You can only plug in one audio/video device at a time using the S-Video or composite inputs. This box also does not support HD video. If you're looking for HD, you either need an adaptor or the Slingbox Solo. If you want multiple inputs and/or HD video, you should check out the Slingbox Pro. But if you're just looking to save money and stream content from your TiVo to your mobile phone, today's a good day to buy.

DISH Network is working on a new set top box that will work as a satellite receiver, personal video recorder, Slingbox, and SlingCatcher. The move isn't particularly surprising. Why would EchoStar have purchased Sling Media if the satellite network didn't plan to release an all-in-one set top box. But this is the first time we've heard the company talk about an actual product.

The announcement came during a recent DISH Network team summit, and Satellite Guys has a writeup with some of the highlights from the event. Here's what we know about the upcoming 722s so far:

• Support for Clip + Sling, which lets you send short video clips over the internet to friends
• Redesigned user interface including a program guide with channel logos
• New UHF remote control with a touchpad
• Front of the unit has a touchscreen and no buttons
• 1 TB hard drive, half of which will be preloaded with HD movies
• Integrated web browser for accessing a handful of web sites
• Also works as a SlingCatcher, letting you watch internet video on your TV

No word on pricing or availability yet. If you don't feel like signing up for DISH Network, you can get all of these features by buying handful of boxes from Sling Media. But the idea of getting a single multi-function box is pretty compelling. If DISH can keep the price down on the 722s or even offer it for free with a subscription, the new box could be a major selling point for the company in its battle against DirecTV and the cable networks.

[via Gizmo Lovers]

Sling Media first announced the SlingModem in January, and we haven't heard much about the product since. Now it looks like Sling will be showing off the device at The Cable Show next week.

The box will basically have most of the features you'd expect from a Slingbox (ie: you connect it to your TiVo, cable box, or other device to stream live or recorded TV over the internet) plus a built in cable modem. The SlingModem is targeted at cable service providers who might want to offer the box to customers. Odds are you won't be able to pick up a SlingModem at your local Best Buy anytime soon.

The continued development of the cable-only SlingModem shows that Sling's parent company EchoStar was serious when it spun off the DISH Network satellite network as a separate division.

[via Gizmo Lovers]

Sling Media has launched an update to its SlingPlayer Mobile software for Windows Mobile and Symbain S60 phones and PDAs. The software lets Slingbox owners use their mobile devices to tune into live or recorded television streaming from a slingbox connected to their TV, TiVo, cable box, or other video device at home.

Today's update featured improved video streaming quality and support for additional telephone handsets including the Nokia N95 8GB, the Samsung i760, and the Palm Treo 500v. There's also support for additional set top boxes, which means that the software is more likely to bring up a virtual remote control that will work properly with your cable box or PVR.

The update is free for existing users, while new customers will have to pay $30 for the software. There is a 30 day free trial available.

Current SlingPlayer Mobile customers are entitled to a free upgrade. New customers are offered a free 30 day trial, then SlingPlayer Mobile is a one-time $30 (USD) fee. In addition to these mobile OSes, we also offer SlingPlayer Mobile for Palm OS - plus Symbian UIQ and Blackberry support will be available later this year.

If you've been waiting patiently to get your hands on a SlingCatcher, the new set top box from the makers of the Slingbox, you might have to wait a little longer. Sling Media had planned to launch the box this quarter. Now Engadget reports that the release date has been pushed back until... well, it's not really clear when it'll be out now. But it should be available sometime in 2008.

The SlingCatcher works as sort of a reverse Slingbox. While the Slingbox lets you stream live and recorded video over the internet from any video source in your home, the SlingCatcher is a set top box that collects web video (including streams from your Slingbox) and shows it on your TV. In other words, it competes with the Apple TV and completes the circle of Slingdom. Plus it looks pretty cool and has a catchy name.

Sling Media first launched a Symbian version of its SlingPlayer software which lets you stream live TV from your home to your cellphone last fall. But now the company is improving its Symbian software, with support for UIQ on Symbian devices. Support is also coming soon for the Nokia N95 phone, which has 8GB of internal memory and a nice big screen, making it an ideal device for multimedia.

Support for UIQ handsets should roll out this summer, with support for the following models initially:

• Sony Ericsson P1i, P990i, W960i, W950i, M600i
• Motorola MOTORIZR Z8

In order to watch live or recorded TV on your mobile device using the SlingPlayer software you'll need to purchase a Slingbox, which is a set top box that you plug into your home TV or other video source and connect to your home network. SlingPlayer Mobile clients are also available for Windows Mobile and PalmOS devices, and Sling Media plans to roll out a BlackBerry client later this year.

Monsoon Multimedia, makers of the Hava line of place-shifting set top boxes are taking a break from trying to one-up the Slingbox and trying to take on another big name in the placeshifting world: Orb. The difference is Orb gives away its product for free, which could make tough for Monsoon to grab any market share.

This week Monsoon announced HAVASoft, a video streaming, place and time shifting application for PCs with TV tuner cards. Users will be able to install a client on their PC and stream video to internet connected computers or Windows Mobile phones and PDAs. One thing HAVASoft users will be able to do that Orb users can't is broadcast their live or recorded TV streams to more than one user at a time.

Users will be able to pause, fast forward, rewind, and record live TV over a remote connection. And if you've got a wireless home network the software will let you use a TV tuner in one PC as a networked tuner for use by other Windows Media Center PCs in the house. Here are a few of the highlights:

• Support for Windows XP, Vista, and Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6
• Stream MPEG-2 video over a home network
• Stream MPEG-4 video over the internet

No word on pricing yet, but Monsoon Multimedia says the software will be available "in early 2008."

[via TiVo Lovers]

Echostar, the company behind the Dish Network and the Slingbox, is offering digital TV converters for $39.99. With the $40 coupon the government is offering for those with older sets that still use rabbit ears, the converters would end up being free.

Originally, the converter boxes were going to be offered between $50 and $70. Echostar is offering the converters at a discount in the interest of obtaining new customers and spreading their brand name.

Obviously, it's a good idea. I can't think of a single person who would pay $50 for something they could get for $40. It is a free-market situation that would warm the heart of most libertarians.

One thing that sets HAVA's place-shifting boxes apart from the better known Slingbox is that every Hava unit has a built in TV tuner. That means you can stream live TV across the internet just by plugging in a cable or antenna, no cable box, TiVo, or other device needed. It's also meant that you could use Hava boxes as networked TV tuners for Windows Media Center PCs.

But now Monsoon Multimedia, the makers of the Hava line, are announcing that you can plug a USB hard drive into a Hava Titanium box to turn it into a fully functional personal video recorder. You can schedule recordings remotely using the Hava interface, or remotely using Hava's PC or Windows Mobile software.

Monsoon Multimedia will be selling Hava branded USB peripherals for the Hava Titanium soon, but I'm guessing if the company issues a firmware upgrade for the box, you should be able to plug any old hard drive into the USB port.

The other day Sling Media announced the Slingbox Pro-HD, which is capable of streaming HDTV content over the web from your TV, TiVo, or high-def components. Now Sling arch-nemesis Monsoon Multimedia is striking back by announcing the Hava Wireless HD.

As you can probably guess from the name, the Hava Wireless HD not only streams HD video over the internet, but it can connect to your home network over 802.11n WiFi, while the Slingbox Pro-HD requires either an Ethernet cable or a wireless adapter.

The latest Hava box can stream 1080i, 720p, or 480p signals to more than one PC at a time. It also includes an integrated ATSC/NTSC tuner for receiving broadcast signals without a TV set. As with all previous Hava boxes, you can even use the Wireless HD as a networked TV tuner for your Windows Media Center PCs.

But while you can use SlingPlayer software to watch streaming video on devices including Mac and Windows computers, Palm, Symbian, and Windows Mobile phones, you'll need a Windows PC or Windows Mobile device to watch your streaming Hava content.

The Hava Wireless HD is set for a Spring release. No word on the pricing yet.

There's two major announcements out of the Sling Media camp today (can't you just imagine them sitting around the campfire shouting out news about new products?) Sling Media offers two types of products: A slingbox which you can plug into your TV, TiVo, cable box, or other video source to stream video across the internet. And the SlingPlayer client for watching that streaming video.

The first announcement was kind of predictable: SlingPlayer Mobile for BlackBerry. Sling already has mobile clients for Windows Mobile, Palm, and Symbian phones, so I would have been surprised if we didn't see a BlackBerry client soon. SlingPlayer Mobile for BlackBerry will be available later this year and will set you back the usual $29.99.

The bigger news is that Sling Media is launching a hi-def version of the Slingbox. The Slingbox PRO-HD sports a digital ATSC/QAM tuner, and multiple HD inputs and outputs. It can also stream 1080i video and 5.1 audio over the internet. You're going to need a high speed internet connection in order to get the most out of the PRO-HD. And if you plan to do most of your TV viewing on the go using SlingPlayer Mobile on a device with a low resolution screen, the PRO-HD is probably useless. But if you want the clearest picture on your computer, or if you plan on picking up a SlingCatcher which will let you stream video from one TV to another, the Slingbox PRO-HD's $400 price tag might seem reasonable.

Last Friday we held the first ever TV Squad meet-up in Boston (well, technically Allston). We just wanted to finally take time to thank everyone who came out to meet up with us, have some free beer, food and pool (yes, free, thanks to SlingBox makers, Sling Media) and walk away with bags (bags, I tell you!) of TV shows on DVD, all courtesy of Paramount Home Video and HBO Home Video. One lucky woman even walked away with our grand prize (well, only "prize," really) of a SlingBox Solo and SlingLink Turbo.

I didn't have a whole lot of time to myself to take pics of the event, but there are some in the gallery below. We're hoping for another one in the near future, most probably New York. Hope you can make it then!

I'm pretty sure that this TV Squad assignment -- make a list of all the things you're thankful for in television -- is going to get me in trouble with my family. See, I've only got so much introspection to spare and I've pretty much used up November's allotment making this list. When my wife asks me to give her one thing I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving, she'll probably be expecting me to say "all the love I receive from my family" or something else suitably goopy. When I say, "I'm really thankful for how good House has been this season," I'm going to get a carving knife plunged into my eye-socket.

But I knew the risks when I signed up to be a television blogger. As my blogging mentor Hyman Roth once told me, "This is the business we have chosen, Jay." My list after the jump...

Thanksgiving is more than a time when families force members to tolerate each other for a few hours to get through a meal with minimal bloodshed. Oh, no. It's so much more: Thanksgiving is when TV Squad does these nifty lists of what we bloggers are thankful for in the TV world. My list will never be complete, because far into the new year, I will continue to think of the thousands of tiny things that should belong here. Of course, I don't have the time, space, or energy to make a thousand-item list, so an 8-point piece will have to do.

Have a lovely Thanksgiving Day, you wonderful people, and don't forget your stretchy pants.

Several of my colleagues here at TV Squad have listed personal video recorders as one of the things they're most thankful for this holiday season.

I wholeheartedly agree with them and think the list could even be extended a little bit further.

We live in an age where our televisions, computers, cellphones, PDAs, PMPs, video game consoles, and a myriad of other products can all communicate with other devices wirelessly and at broadband speeds - all in the pursuit of making the TV watching experience as convenient as possible.

From a technology perspective, it's never been a better time to be a fan of watching TV. Here is a list of the TV related items I'm most thankful for this holiday season.