The Slingbox, great idea, mediocre product

One of the most talked about gadgets this year has to be the Slingbox which is produced by Sling Media. I read about it about a month ago and found the product very intriguing. Slingbox claims that it transforms Windows XP based PCs and laptops into personal on the go digital TVs. It then allows individuals anywhere at any time to access their own television experience with no additional monthly service fee. This enables consumers to watch their cable, satellite or DVR programming from wherever they are. When I first heard about the product I was very skeptic about the picture quality as it is streamed from over the internet. According to Wired News:

“In this media-drenched world, we’re all desperately yearning to keep our eyeballs glued to the set every minute of the day. And while streaming media may show promise for audio, it has yet to demonstrate real usability for video. To that end, the Sling Media Slingbox promised a streaming TV revolution by letting you transmit your favorite shows from your home computer to any other broadband-connected PC. But not everyone keeps their promises, and the Slingbox’s performance barely exceeds that of the average internet video stream. In the age of 50-inch plasmas, the Slingbox’s 320-by-240-pixel playback would be laughable if it weren’t so sad. Still, we like the idea and hope to see a major upgrade in the product’s future.”

I love the idea of the Slingbox but I am not surprised by the verdict on this new technology. Usually I am skeptic about new technology because they have not worked out all the kinks yet. Cars are usually infamous for this as first year models are always advised against purchasing because you dont know what you are getting yourself into.  I find it useful to let new technology pan out for a while to make sure you are not making a mistake in a new purchase.  In addition, there are usually numerous problems and kinks they did not catch the first time around. I believe the slingbox can work on there idea and product and turn it into something really useful and cool, but until then I do not believe it is worth purchasing unless you do not mind watching TV with the typical “shitty” (excuse my French) quality that you are used to viewing on the internet.