Filed under: CES, HDTV, Home Entertainment

We’ll be honest, there’s really not a ton to say about the Slingbox PRO HD unit we played with — it was just an empty device shell, absolutely no guts inside. So we kind of have to take it on Sling’s word that the 1080i video it’s capable of streaming over your network (or internet connection, if you’re so lucky) is, in fact, as efficiently hardware-compressed as they claim — not that we’ve any reason to believe it won’t be. Of course, for many a BlackBerry toting suit and an increasing number of casual RIM users, the new SlingPlayer client is a godsend. While the build we played with wasn’t entirely bug-free (scrolling with the Pearl’s pearl seemed a bit wonky), the streaming worked pretty well over EDGE on that low res screen, and that’s the important part. Check out the hands-on shots below.

Gallery: Slingbox [...]

Original post by Ryan Block

Filed under: Cellphones, CES, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Sling Media’s starting up this year’s CES blitz early (like just about everybody else this year) with the announcement of the Slingbox PRO HD box and SlingPlayer client for BlackBerry cellphones. The PRO HD has the full complement of built-in HD inputs, but will actually pass through and stream out video in HD (1080i, to be specific) in real time, unlike the Solo and PRO (which lack the PRO HD’s more advanced hardware-accelerated encoding, and stream closer to VGA res). And, of course, the BlackBerry client does as it says — you can finally use your strictly-business handheld to watch mobile video on the go. The PRO HD will run you $400 when launched in Q3; BlackBerry will be $30 when it comes out “this year,” if that’s not vague enough for you. Get in line, Sling fans.

Gallery: Sling Media’s Slingbox PRO HD, SlingPlayer [...]

Original post by Ryan Block