[ NNSquad ] Re: Dish unveils it's own "TV Everywhere" - not to be confused with the other "TV Everywhere"

[Bob Poortinga <nnsquad@k9sql.us>]

> Dish unveils it's own "TV Everywhere" - not to be
> confused with the other "TV Everywhere"

This is just basically a SlingBox.  Dish bought SlingMedia in 2007 and
is just now starting to market it under their own name.  I own a
SlingBox and, for the most part, I really like it.  When I travel or
go on vacation, I can access my Dish receiver at home from my laptop.
Picture quality is, of course, a function of available bandwidth.
Last time I checked, their client software is Windows only.

   [ SlingBox is another example of a closed system slapping consumers
     in the face.  When the SlingBox first arrived, its protocol was
     essentially open, but then they pushed through an encrypted
     version -- not so much as a pro-privacy move, but as a "block
     third-party apps that use Slingbox streams" move.

     When they developed an iPhone app to play SlingBox streams, it
     was limited (without hacking, anyway) to WiFi -- mobile (e.g. 3G)
     streams not permitted.  Whether or not that restriction was a
     demand from AT&T, the result for consumers was the same.  Also,
     iPhone streaming wasn't even permitted with legacy SlingBox units.

     There are software-based alternatives to Sling (e.g. Orb), but
     these (and most hardware alternatives) are pretty much hit or
     miss in terms of usefulness (I've burned more time than I want to
     admit fighting with Orb -- it's a well-meaning but confused mess
     in my opinion).

     Since there is a now a Web-site based mechanism to view SlingBox
     streams, one hope is that the eventual "Real Soon Now" arrival of
     a true Flash player for Android (at least 2.0+) will provide a
     way to finally view Sling streams via mobile 3G without a
     serious hack-a-thon being necessary.

     -- Lauren Weinstein
        NNSquad Moderator ]

-- 
Bob Poortinga  K9SQL
Bloomington, IN  US