Sling Media Slingbox PRO-HD SB300-100 | 
| Brand: Sling Media
Category: CE
Buy New: See price in cart
New (13) Used (3) from $224.99
Rating:  165 reviews
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 5
Dimensions (in): 14.4 x 3.9 x 9.7
MPN: SB300-100
Model: SB300-100
UPC: 852619001585
EAN: 0852619001585
ASIN: B001EZRJZE
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Watch and control your live and recorded TV on your laptop or desktop - supports Windows XP/Vista and Mac | | • | Watch and control on your mobile phone - supports Android, iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Symbian or Palm OS-based mobile devices | | • | Supports high-definition video in the home or over the Internet - requires at least 1.5 Mbps upload speed | | • | Multiple inputs for connections to up to 3 devices, such as a DVR, cable set top box, satellite receiver or DVD player | | • | Built-in ATSC/NTSC/QAM tuner and no monthly fees |
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| Accessories:
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 165
 Great product, with 2 HD caveats October 21, 2008
Stephen Lerch (Elkton, MD United States)
245 out of 256 found this review helpful
Having been a prior user of the SlingBox Pro, I was already familiar with the SlingBox software and hardware setup. Receiving the ProHD it was quite easy to perform the setup and installation required to be "slinging" my TV all over the world (and around my home).
Despite having setup one of the the original devices before, I attempted to walk through the installation as a completely new user. The booklet gives clear, easy to understand directions for the multitude of ways in which this device can be setup. It isn't relegated to "just" HD; the SlingBox Pro HD can also sling your standard definition content over the world or over your own network as well. This does not mean, however, that a person couldn't be easily confused just due to the sheer amount of devices one could potentially control with the SlingBox Pro HD (or the original Pro for that matter).
Remember when setting up the hardware, the location of the IR sensors is crucial in your ability to control your devices over the Internet or the network.
Once you are finished setting up your SlingBox Pro HD, you are prompted to download and install the Sling Player software. Of the entire process, I have to say this is the most frustrating part. It would have been easy enough to deliver a CD with the software inside the box, however Sling Media chose to force you to download the software. The only time I can see this as being an issue is if you purchased the SlingBox Pro HD with the express intention of "slinging" your media around your house and not over the Internet (and even then really only if you have no Internet connection). Deduct a point for the 5-15 minutes you must spend downloading the software; as if the anticipation of getting the device working wasn't bad enough already!
Next up was actually installing the software and finding the device on the network. The software walks you through every step of the process. The most difficult part, and calling it difficult may be stretching the definition, is in figuring out what remote to use. Some devices you may have in your home have several hardware versions and also have remotes with different nuances which could potentially throw a monkey wrench in the works. You are presented with the layout and a picture of the remote, so as long as your remote is handy you should be able to compare it easily to what is on the install screen.
You must install the Sling Player software on every PC (laptop or desktop; or cell phone if you purchase the software for it) you wish to view your media from.
Now for the fun part, actually watching your media!
From home, you can sling HD media around your network with reckless abandon. Even with a "slow" network speed of 10 mbps, you can achieve the ability to sling content in HD. At lower speeds you may notice some minor artefacting and other compression issues, but this is really only due to the slower network speed. If you are using a 100 mbps or faster connection, this should shoot high quality HD content all over your house with no problems. The only down side in this is that if you are using wireless, you must remember THERE IS NO WIRELESS CAPABILITY built into the SlingBox Pro HD (or other SlingBoxes for that matter). I wish they had included the Sling Link Turbo, which allows you to connect the Sling Link Turbo to your network, another cable into your power line and network the SlingBox Pro HD via your electrical outlets, negating the need to run network cabling all over your house. Including wireless connectivity would also be a bonus, however there is no guarantee on wireless connection speeds, which is why it is not included as a feature. Given variances in wireless speeds and quality of connection, there would be no good way, yet, for the SlingBox to offer a consistent level of quality in the video it slings.
Now we delve into watching from anywhere around the world. The first HD caveat I mention in my title for this review, is one of HD media slinging. Unfortunately you must have a decent upload speed from your Internet connection to be able to receive a decent HD picture. The recommended upload speed for a consistently good HD picture while traveling and watching over the Internet is 1.5 mbps. My DSL connection is capped at 768 kbps, which means I cannot watch HD content while traveling as I am given choppy images and broken audio. You can, however, still watch the content, only you will need to set the SlingBox Pro HD to "down convert" the video you receive to standard definition quality. So if all you want is to be able to watch local sports or TV while traveling and don't mind it not being in standard definition, this is a great device. The other side of this caveat is that if you will only be watching while traveling and don't have a fast upload speed, you may be better served saving some money and going for the regular SlingBox Pro instead of the HD.
The other HD caveat is that the SlingBox Pro HD can only accept and output sources UP TO 1080i. This means that if you have a Blu Ray or other HD capable device that can output and is setup to output at 1080p, you will have to dial it down to 1080i output. 720p content is not affected.
Which brings us to connections. There is NO HDMI connection on this device. Not a single HDMI connection. Your options are:
Inputs:
composite (red, white, yellow)
svideo (still needs red and white for audio)
component (red, blue, green, uses either red and white for anlog audio or orange connection for digital audio)
coax (your cable connection)
Outputs:
composite (red, white, yellow)
svideo (still needs red and white for audio)
component (red, blue, green, uses either red and white or orange connection for audio)
coax
The SlingBox Pro HD also has a USB connection for viewing media off of a USB thumb drive (may even work for a USB hard drive; I haven't tried it as of this writing)
You can control all sorts of devices with the SlingBox Pro HD, and especially important is the inclusion of an ATSC tuner within the Pro HD. What this means is that this SlingBox is prepared for the digital conversion we all keep hearing about on TV. The regular SlingBox Pro has only a regular NTSC tuner so is not future proof on its own (if you have a digital converter box, like the ones the government offers coupons for, the regular SlingBox Pro may still be an option).
One other "problem" is not being able to control the PS3. As the PS3 is one of the best selling Blu Ray players, I would have liked to have seen a way to manipulate it using Bluetooth connectivity from the SlingBox Pro HD. They missed the mark on this one, but only by a little. Hopefully they will allow for Bluetooth remote control connections in the next version of the SlingBox?
In the end, this device is amazingly nice. Very rarely does a device impress me as much as this. If you desire to watch HD sources all over your house, this is a great device to purchase. If you want to do the same with SD content, this will still work for you. If you want to watch HD media while traveling, this is the device to purchase (assuming you have a fast enough upload speed to the Internet); you can also use it for watching standard definition content while traveling, though again, if this is what you desire you may be better served with the regular SlingBox Pro and save a few dollars.
As long as you can look past the inability to input/output at 1080p and the Internet upload requirements, this is a great buy!
How does it look? January 12, 2010
J. Stoner (Seattle, WA)
25 out of 25 found this review helpful
So, I purchased the Slingbox PRO HD before going to Japan for the military. I wanted to watch my local sports teams and was willing to pay for it.
My setup- I have a 54" plasma TV I'm watching it on. Other ancillary devices: Tivo HD, SlingCatcher. The upload speed at the Slingbox is 20MB/s (thank you FiOS!) and download speed at the SlingCatcher is 10MB.
I'd love to say I was getting transfer rates above 3MBPS, but I am not. I've had a huge range of transfer speeds and I wanted to give an idea of how it looks at different ranges. This will help those deciding if they should upgrade their internet service, or switch services altogether.
3+ MBPS-- Looks great! Low quality HD (not blue ray by any means, but very very good). The only time it is out of synch is on fast moving scenes in football games. Fantastic and I'd be thrilled if I were always able to keep it this fast!
2.5MBPS-- Still looks great. Football gets choppy and but is still great.
1.8MBPS-- Normal TV is still HD quality. The choppiness of football is annoying enough that I don't try HD. I do 480P. Not bad. Still happy when it's here
1.5MBPS-- Normal TV starts getting choppy. I usually set it to 480P
1.2 MBPS. Always in 480P. HD is way too choppy
1.0 MBPS- 480P gets choppy. I use 480i instead. Football is very choppy.
0.8 MBPS- 480i still looks good.
0.6 MPPS- Go to lowest quality and looks decent on my huge TV. I'm annoyed when my internet sucks this bad
0.4 MBPS-- Even lowest quality is grainy and choppy. Sucky!
The quality depends totally, or almost totally on your internet speed. I get my speed clamped down by my ISP and so I get ranges all the time. Overall it's fantatic and I can't wait to watch the Super Bowl, but there are times its very frusterating.
As I was looking to buy I never saw this kind of review so I hope it's helpful...
High-quality streaming, but with some network issues and limitations (4+ stars) December 17, 2008
Debbie Lee Wesselmann (the Lehigh Valley, PA)
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
The Slingbox HD promises to take your HD and standard video content and "sling" it to computers throughout your house on your home network or anywhere else via the internet. You control your device using a remote skin that looks exactly like, or close to, the real thing. The idea and the technology are awesome, but it has some limitations that may dissuade some buyers.
First, the Slingbox does not have wireless capability. If you have your router and your media devices, including a cable connection, in the same room, and if you have an ethernet port available on your router, you're golden. Set up is a breeze, although you will have to download software from the SlingMedia site. If, however, you have a wireless home network and must set up the SlingBox in a different room, you are going to need additional equipment. Forget the company's SlingLink (Slinglink Turbo 1PORT Enet Connection Bridge (SL 150-100)) which supposedly makes the SlingBox wireless; it works well ONLY on the same circuit. For most people, this means that the router and television must be located in close proximity. Instead, I set mine up with a network bridge (Linksys Dual-Band Wireless-N Gaming Adapter) that makes the Slingbox work flawlessly. I get high quality streamed video on both Macs and PCs, both at home and away. However, this took me hours on the phone with SlingMedia to figure out.
The device has several connectors: coaxial (for cable), standard, USB, and HD. Some people may find the HD claim misleading, since it can stream HD 1080i, not 1080p, and the 1080p devices must be changed to a 1080i output. The dimensions are roughly 13" L x 4.5" D x 3.5 " H. The box is surprisingly lightweight and can sit easily on top of a DVD player or other piece of electronic equipment.
Before you buy, you should consider how you are going to use the Slingbox and where you are going to install it. Because the skin remote overrides what is currently being viewed, a remote user can change the channel on those watching at home. You cannot use it to watch different video content. (When testing this, I changed the channel on my sister during a crucial football play; you can imagine the cursing.) If you are buying this to allow someone in a different country to view US television, attach it to a rarely or never used cable outlet. Also, because the Slingbox allows only one computer at a time to view video, you may need to buy more than one Slingbox for multiple users, with each assigned his own.
As long as buyers don't expect a complex media center that slings different media to different parts of the house or the world at the same time, they should be thrilled with the quality of the device.
-- Debbie Lee Wesselmann
Just like at Home August 16, 2009
Thomas G. Rippon (Canton, MI)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
We live in Korea and have been using Slingbox for almost two years now. A great invention that allows us to see all of our favorite channels through our daughters US cable system. Coupled with SlingCatcher, this can't be beat!!!
Love the Slingbox PRO-HD June 17, 2009
Darrall P. (New Hampshire)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I bought this device as a way to help a friend get American TV while stationed overseas, but turns out he doesn't have enough download speed to make it possible. Won't be able to help friends and family in places such as Iraq or Afghanistan, but that has nothing to do with the Slingbox itself. That has to due with wireless and networking infrastructure in those places.
On my wireless network at home, this device provides a beautiful picture on all of my computers. My new ASUS netbook struggles with the amount of data being thrown at it, so I had to dial its Sling Player settings back in order to have a real good netbook viewing quality. For those of you who don't know, you need Slingplayer ( a free download that you use on your computers to watch your Sling box ) to be able to hook up to your Slingbox via the internet or your own network. Don't be a hero! Let the auto configuration stuff do what its suppose to do. Trust in the technology!
My upload speed out of my network is a pawltry 384 kB/s, and when I am viewing from a remote computer such as work, the max speed inbound is 266 kB/s. This is sufficient for a decent, non-HD viewing. I have found that the absolute minimum (go/no go) needed is 180 kB/s.
Love the fact that there is a tuner built in, so you don't have to disturb anyone else's television viewing.
And I love the potential of this box, as in "what else can I hook up to it?"
Bottom line is: works as expected, really looks good on the INTERNAL network where there is more speed available for enhanced viewing. Program Guide works. This is a good device. Recommended buy!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 165
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