SlingBox and EVDO: Watch Your TV or DVR from Anywhere
What is a Slingbox?
A SlingBox is a device that connects your
television, cable box, or DVR to your computer network, allowing you to watch TV on your computer or even from a remote
location such as a work computer, laptop or mobile phone! These devices
run about $200 and can be picked up at stores like Best Buy or CompUSA or directly from the manufacturer, SlingMedia.
In addition to allowing you to watch television from anywhere you have
an internet connection a SlingBox allows you to do anything else you
would be able to do if you were sitting directly in front of your set
at home - remotely monitor what the kids are watching when you are away,
record a program, keep up with local news while across the world, you
get the idea.
Current SlingBoxes provide connections for multiple devices
simultaneously such as a DVR, television, Tivo, and cable allowing you
to control all connected devices from one interface. It is like having
a universal remote that you can take anywhere. Once your SlingBox is
installed you simply need to install SlingPlayer software on any device
you would like to use the Slingbox with and you'll have remote access.
The SlingBox is currently available for use with Windows PCs running
Vista or Windows XP SP2 , Apple Macintosh computers running Mac OS X
v.10.3.9 or higher, and many portable phones using Windows Mobile,
Symbian, and Palm OS. It does NOT currently work with the iPhone or
Blackberry. SlingMedia currently offers two flavors of SlingBox, the
SOLO which has all of the functionality of previous SlingBoxes and
an HD Pro version that allows streaming of HD programming. (the SOLO
will convert HD content before streaming).
Why is this information on EVDOinfo.com?
SlingBoxes work over a wide
variety of high speed internet connections and EVDO is no exception. With a SlingBox and EVDO connection you can watch your TV anywhere you have EVDO service! Just remember to take your carrier's Terms of Service and bandwidth limits into consideration.
This sounds great. Are there any disadvantages to using a SlingBox with my EVDO service?
Unfortunately, some EVDO service providers expressly forbid the use of
SlingBoxes in their Terms of Service agreements as EVDO is a shared
bandwidth technology. What this means is that because multiple
customers share a resource such as a cellular tower, if one person uses
a large amount of bandwidth it can affect other users on the same
cellular network reducing speed and even disrupting service. The
problem with SlingBoxes are that they use a lot of bandwidth. In order
to maintain an optimum level of service for all of their users, service
providers in most cases have banned their use outright.
Internet service providers try to prevent high
bandwidth usage from other unforseen technologies such as filesharing,
media streaming, or online gaming through the use of bandwidth caps.
How this works is the provider measures the amount of data used by each
customer, usually on a monthly basis, and then sets a policy based on
that information for service contracts. Usually this cap is set at
around 5 gigabytes per month from most providers, including Verizon and Sprint. To help clarify what
5 gigabytes amounts to you can look at this article to aid you in
determining how much this amounts to in computing terms: What does 5
Gigabytes get me?
An EVDO connection that gets anywhere
from 400mb to 600mb download speeds using a SlingBox will burn about a
quarter gigabyte an hour of their allocated data transfer, meaning that in as little
as 24 hours a user can use up their entire 5GB!
The bottom line:
SlingBoxes are fun and an EVDO connection can allow you to use yours anywhere you have EVDO service, but we wouldn't advise breaking your provider's terms of service to use one. Even if your provider does not prohibit the use of SlingBoxes, you should keep a close eye on your usage so that you don't wind up with hefty overage charges at the end of the month!
Important links:
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Mac EVDO
