4. In Use

Now that I had the Slingbox configured, it was time to check it out on my local network. Using the client software was fairly simple and just a matter of starting the program and using the simulated remote to control my satellite receiver. In general, the video quality was OK, with some visible compression artifacts. Not bad, but certainly not great.

I generally didn't have any problems with "jitter" or stalling that would indicate the Slingbox couldn't get the bandwidth it needed. Controlling my satellite receiver worked fairly well, with all functions available, but it had an obvious lag of a couple of seconds, which is to be expected considering the path the command was taking.

There is an option for "Control Mode," where the commands sent to your device take precedence over video, at the expense of video quality. You might want to use this mode if you are doing a lot of menu interaction, but I found myself just putting up with the lag. The video window could be used in various sizes, including full-screen, but the compression artifacts became more and more noticeable the larger the window became. To further check it out, I took my laptop out to my back yard and successfully watched a baseball game. Who would have thought of it? Wireless TV!

Figure 4: Slingbox in use
(click image to enlarge)

Of course, using the Slingbox on my local LAN was all well and good, but the real appeal of this device is being able to watch and control your home video system while you are away from home. To this end, I tried the client software from a distant location, behind a firewall and through a web proxy.

In my case, it was no sweat connecting and using my Slingbox. I typed in the ID that was generated when I set the box up, entered my proxy information, and a few seconds later I was connected (Figure 5). Even though setup for remote viewing was easy for me, I'm sure that some others might have more difficulty with multiple levels of routers, stricter firewalls, proxies that restrict content, etc. It's not an easy environment to work with.

Figure 5: Entering the ID for remote viewing

When I started my test, I realized I'd forgotten to turn my satellite receiver on as I left home, so I thought I'd have to postpone the test. But then I realized that I had complete control, including turning my system on and off. Once I remotely turned my satellite receiver on, I was able to bring up its menus, navigate and make my selections.

I subjectively judged the video quality to be a bit lower than on the local LAN, but still acceptable. I also found that commands seemed to lag a bit more, which was also expected. Overall, the experience was fun as I controlled my home system from far away. Of course, if someone else were at home using the system, I'd be changing their channel and popping up menus while they were watching. But they also could do the same to me. Note also that only a single Slingbox client can be connected at any one time.