Slingbox question

Free Republic ^ | 16 Aug 2015 | Oshkalaboomboom

[Oshkalaboomboom]

There is a refurbished Slingbox for sale at a good price. Can I use that as a cable box for a tv in my house that presently doesn't have one?

[Oshkalaboomboom]

I read different articles on the Internet. Some say yes, others say you need another media player like Chromecast. I have a streaming media player there now and a DLNA server on my PC but neither of those can mimic the channels on my main tv. Can I do that with a Slingbox?

I have cable tv now in one room, mainly because it was cheaper to have our cable and Internet service bundled than it was to have Internet service alone. We don't watch much tv but it would be nice to occasionally watch it upstairs instead of downstairs. Not nice enough to pay a monthly charge for an extra box though.

[Paladin2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slingbox

[Kozak]

If you have digital cable thats scrambled it won’t work.
I’ve used one for years and you generally need to input from either a cable box or direct tv into the Slingbox.

[TomGuy]

I am not that familiar with Slingbox, but my local cable is finally going all digital and encrypted. Thus, a mini or regular box will be mandatory by the end of the year.

I have a PCTV card and a USB TV unit. Both will likely be obsolete, because the mini-box will feed only 1 channel at a time — like the big box.

I also have 2 DVRs. I can connect one from the big box to record. I am hoping I can configure a mini-box to the other DVR.

The cable company is offering 1 or 2 (depending on which ad they accept) mini-boxes free for 1 year and then $1.99/mo each.

My cable co also has apps for Windows and Android that receive many of the main TV channels.

[Oshkalaboomboom]

Well I do have a WDTV box and Isedora on my PC so I can download and watch all sorts of content so it won’t be the end of the world. Sounds like the Slingbox won’t do what we want.

[Lx]

Does it only show this?

[Kid Shelleen]

My understanding is the SlingBox does not have a tuner so basically you can only "Sling" (digitize) the output of your detuned video (cable box or TV), to your home network. You then watch video with your favorite app (Desktop or mobile).

I was in the same boat as you and I decided that an antenna was the best solution.
An antenna will give you backup in case your cable fails AND you may give you clearer video. Cable companies compress signals before they transmit so off air video can look better. It depends where your live.

This device may interest you. It has THREE tuners so it can support multiple users. You rent a CableCard from your cable provider for only a couple of bucks.

SiliconDust HDHomeRun PRIME 3-Tuner DLNA/UPnP Compatible Streaming Media Player, HDHR3-CC

[Moleman]

mmmmmhhhhhmmmm