SlingPlayer for Mac OS X (beta) lands 10/31

I recently installed a SlingBox system for a client with a MacBook and used Parallels and the Windows Sling software as a temporary solution. It works great. He can be anywhere in his house or at another site and have televion and access to recorded TiVo. Pull up Thomas the Tank for your kid to watch, and not have permanent tv screens all over the house. Put a live news feed next to your web browser. If the technology exists, the client is always right.

I think this is another piece of media defying technology, increasing consumer choice for what, how and when to watch. It is still -consumer- technology; it's a linkage to existing media. Sling/TiVo/Cable or Satellite == variety of content thats endless and frankly superior, with better interface than anything I've seen on videostreaming sites. The Sling model doesn't apply to independent media in the form of blogs, video streams. There's already access to those on computer screens. It sounds like Apple's upcoming product for computer video to television is the reverse stream to the SlingBox.

It also works on handhelds, but not the Palm OS Treos, only the PcketPC OS version. Who's the project manager on that one? Will we have to wait as for this as long as the Mac OS version, or ever? Looking forward to Tuesday's release, but damn you Sling for taking this long. We're all hoping this beta of yours is delivers and is stable.

"Y'know that just the typical attitude of an american who never wanders beyond their work and neighbourhood McDonalds."

Oh my, that's helpful, and I guess I feel put in my place by your superior intellect and experience. What a moron.

David (#3), yes there are uses for people for almost anything. But in fact, the vast majority of products fail, even if some have found them useful. Please don't assume that I take a solipsistic view of product viability.

My comments are intended in the broader sense, meaning is this likely to be an important new category of digital media product. I can probably come up with a dozen reasonable use-cases for SlingBox, as can you and others. Some may even be applicable to your own needs. But that doesn't mean this product is meaningful beyond a subset of potential users, and the marketplace is littered with such interesting but insufficiently useful products. Bet you can name a few yourself.

On a side note, my comment was pretty clearly my opinion, and from my perspective. I wonder about the purpose and intent of this comment board, if ad hominem comments ("typical attitude of an American," "please consider stepping out of your own shoes when thinking about stuff like this") greet reasonable opinions that may be of value to this community, or at least be a basis for discussion.

David, as a key blogger here, I'm curious as to your view on this. Are our opinions welcome here, even if they are negative about products you're interested in?

Sweet. I just picked up a Slingbox pro from CC today for $202.

I think there's a sea change away from hierarchically programmed, streamed content from centralized distribution points. Video programming is more interesting as an encapsulated object. Put another way, "Appointment TV" is dead or dying, and while some on this message board don't know it, those in the television business do. Witness, for example, ABC programming delivered via the Web. No SlingBox required.

Delivering a router for a dying media form is just a hack, though it might make a few sports-oriented viewers happy.

By the way, I travel extensively here and abroad for both business and pleasure. I don't eat McDonalds. And I'm guessing a SlingBox would be useless on the plane where someone might want it. My advice to Eyad #2 is if you're in another country and the only thing you can think of doing is streaming American tv to your laptop, you might just want to stay home. But then again, you don't travel yourself; you just know people who do. ; )

I can say that I liked being able to watch the Cardinals games on my phone while at the Blues game with friends. Also being able to watch/listen from work on those late nights is a plus when I'm in a building where I cannot even get am/fm frequency. I use it when traveling in a car going state to state.
I'm sure it's not for everyone, but there is definitely a demand for it, even more so since they came out with 3 new versions of it.
It's definitely not on its way to dead by any means.
-my 2 cents.

I am aperson that travels a lot and loves college football. You can not watch live events through the iTunes store. I have a question though? Does one have to wait until the 31st to get the slingbox for a mac or can you buy it now and wait until the software download is available and then set eveything up to work on my mac?

Ron—what about live TV?

#1: In addition to what #2 said: I'm an iTS customer myself, but these SlingBoxes come in handy in a wide number of ways. For example: what if the iTS doesn't have the shows I watch and record? Aside from the Daily Show, they don't have roughly 85% of the TV I watch (Family Guy, Futurama, [adult swim] on cartoon network, etc.). Plus, we live in an older townhome and we *can't* get a cable outlet installed in an upstairs room where we just moved our office. While it might seem like overkill, a SlingBox is one of the few solutions we have left for getting any TV up here. Further: I love the iTS for music, but not video. I'm already paying for cable television, and I sit on the side of the fence that believes I should be able to record that programming and use it in more ways than one. I'm not paying $2/show that I'm already paying $50/month to watch. A $150 box that allows me to stream this programming anywhere in my house, or across the rest of the planet, is a lot more appealing to me (and many others) than paying an extra fee for programming I've already paid access to.

Products are created for a lot of uses and interests outside your own. Please consider stepping out of your own shoes when thinking about stuff like this in the future.

Y'know that just the typical attitude of an american who never wanders beyond their work and neighbourhood McDonalds.

I know many ppl who travel, often for extended periods, and who appreciate the fact that now they can stream some familiar shows from their TVs and feel more in-touch with home.