Considreing a Sling Box...

ive been contemplating a sling box too, this thread has been most helpful

[SvilleKid]

Let's revive this thread.

I'm looking now, more than ever, for my wife to have access to the home system while she's traveling. I've got questions:

Situation 1: I notice there are several different Sling Boxes available. Mainly, the one I get will be for my wife to use while traveling (she's a travel nurse). She will most likely be accessing it thru hotel wifis in the present and future on her laptop, though she might soon be in an apartment, with her own dedicated wifi. My home set-up is a HD DVR/reciever thru DirectV. My current wireless is a G-B band, not an N-band. Most reviews I read are at least a year old, some are 2 years old.

Questions 1: Are there any major changes to the Sling Boxes in the last several years that would be beneficial, or would I be just as good paying significantly less for an older, used model. Is the Sling Box Pro HD a better choice (price aside) than say, a Sling Box Solo. Are there other brands out there besides Sling Box that I should be considering? I notice several reviews about warranty and longivity issues with Sling Box products. Anyone here have any negative issues from this standpoint?

Situation 2: My wireless router (dsl provider standard unit) is on the second floor, some distances from my DVR/directv box. From reviews (mostly 1-2 years old), it appears there is a "Slinglink Turbo" that I can use as a bridge/wireless extender to avoid running Ethernet cables thru floors and walls and such to hardwire the Sling Box.

Questions 2: Would I be better served buying a non-Sling Box" related brand of wireless extender, locating it close to my tv setup. It appears the SlingLink Turbo may only have a single ethernet connection. A generic extender may have more connections, which would allow me to also connect my DVR to my net, and thus access the "play on demand" features I currently do not have access to (due to the lack of connections). Would I be better served by drilling holes and stretching cables (probably over 40 feet, maybe 50 feet) from my existing router (it has 4 ethernet ports, with only 1 in use), or can I get comparable quality (and less work) by purchasing a wireless extender.

Situation 3: It's highly probably (near 100%) that my wife will be "remotely" viewing programing from the DVR, maybe even the DirectV live stream at the same time I'm watching TV through the same DVR reciever.

Questions 3: Does the Sling Box (any of them) allow her to watch one show recorded on the DVR, while I watch a different show on the DVR. If she wants to watch a live stream show on DirecTV while I'm watching a different show, is that possible, or do we both have to view the same "live stream" show at the same time? Would a "whole-house" DVR/reciever from DirecTV allow more options? (I'm sure I can get a system upgrade from DirecTV with little trouble or costs).

Any insights on these questions from those currently using a sling box would be greatly appreciated!

[Silound]

I don't own a SlingBox, so I can't comment on those.

I DO own a Vulcano (same concept, different company) that I really like. I opted for the Vulcano specifically for the fact that the PC software is free and the Android app is only like $16. Plus, I didn't have to buy it more than once, since the app purchase was saved to my Gmail account, and all three of my Android devices were linked to that account

The only complaint I have is that the Vulcano steams the signal out to their media server, and then back to your device via the internet, only PC's can connect directly over the local network. That means you need an internet connection with a beefy (read 3+ MBps) upload speed, or you're going to have really choppy low quality. That didn't bother me as bad considering I have a 10/10 fiber connection, but trying to use it from a Cox connection with a 2.5 MBps upload rate was terrible.