www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Have a friend with TV cable in the states?

Does friend have a router($40)

Does friend have a computer?

Do you have $120?

By adding a SLINGBOX Tuner(the model called Tuner) to your friends setup..their cable can be sent to any computer over the net. What you see will NOT impact what they see. And you will have complete remote control over what you watch. You can change channals as easy as a mouse click. And, you don't have to be in the States to link your computer with your friend's network......the company told me they can do it for you....from here in C.R.
Every big electronics store in the states carries these units. I can't wait to hook one up. I know the picture quality will not be first class...but all in all....not bad! No Racsa!!

SlingBox is a good idea in theory.

In practice, it's not as easy. If you want to avoid freeze-ups and constant interuptions, you need to have a fast internet connection, high-speed DSL or better (at least 1.5MBps), and a top of the line system. I have a connection and a pretty good machine (but only a 256MB video card) and the picture sucked. I'm sure it would improve if I paid $750 for a 512 or 1 gig video card, but the idea here is not to spend thousands to get "free" video.

I’ve had a Slingbox for almost 2 years now… and use it a lot. But it does have its drawbacks.

The basic Slingbox that you mention is for the basic cable package with no “box”. If you have digital, HD, use a VCR or TIVO you have to use the higher end Slingboxs AND they WILL change the channel on your home box and TV at the same time. The basic if run through a splitter will not affect the TV channel, BUT will affect the strength of the cable signal, IE your low end channels will become slightly distorted. The cable company (at least Comcast) will not do anything for you to fix this, they will just un hook your Slingbox and tell you that’s the problem…they do not like Slingbox for obvious reasons, but can not do anything about them legally, but they do not have to adjust your cable for them. You can (as I had to) buy and install a signal booster to put on the line before you split it off for the Sling box and in my case the other TV’s… The other major problem occurs if there is a power outage or the IP goes down. Then the box has to be manually reset and the ID codes re-entered into the software…and sometimes new codes added. This can be a hassle when you are remote. But on the flip side, Slingbox tech support is the BEST I have ever dealt with !

You do have to have a good streaming connection (forget Thailand…) and you get the local channels of wherever the box is hooked up… picture quality is fair, but you can read the scrolling scores with no problems.

But all that said, I use mine in airports during layovers, at work when there is a day game (you can program the software into several laptops, but only can use one at a time), and I have been known to walk around the house with it on my laptop so I don’t miss anything in a basketball or football game … It is a neat product…and I do enjoy it!

Mendo

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"It takes a lot of good beer to make a great wine"