Which Slingbox do I want?

[Speedy]

I am thinking about getting a Slingbox. My son and daughter will only use it for two weeks in the summer while we are on vacation (in Mexico City visiting grandma) to follow his favorite baseball team when my daughter isn't watching her favorite Disney channel show. I don’t need HD, we get mainly SD channels. Also, I won’t be watching any recorded shows nor do I have a set top box; basically I just screw my cable provider’s coax into our TVs.

Should I get a more expensive Slingbox with a tuner (seems there is only one model) or should I save quite a few dollars and buy an older model Slingbox (which model?) on eBay and use an unused RCA VCR we have as the tuner? According to reviews, the tuner model seems to be less reliable.

My Charter upload speed is choked at 768 kbs. The Slingbox will be parked right next to my wired router. I only know about Slingboxes from what I have read on this forum and now more recently on the web and the manufacturer's site. Also, any Slingboxes to avoid?

Money is an object.

Thanks

[Panopticon]

Have you considered the SiliconDust HDHomeRun Dual Tuner?
Currently $100 @ RadioShack, but alas it's on back order :cursin:

$120 on Amazon

[space-time]

as more and more cable providers change from NTSC channels to QAM, the VCR will become less and less useful, and so will be the Slingshot without tuner. Then you have to use some gizmo to convince the VCR to change channels. I don't have a slingshot, but if I were to get one, I would probably get one future-proof

[mattkime]

i'm curious how well the software works on that silicondust

[Speedy]

Unfortunately the SiliconDust doesn't have the capability to 'sling' across the internet.

> Then you have to use some gizmo to convince the VCR to change channels.

Don't the Slingboxes have the ability to tune a VCR? I thought that was part of the package.

[mattkime]

http://www.slingbox.com/go/slingbox-solo-help-me-choose

looks like you'd need to get the HD version for the tuner. you could definitely pick up older models that include a tuner for _much_ less on ebay. i think i got mine for about $100.

[Fritz]

let me just rant a moment. I hate the SlingBox. Everytime I'm traveling on a job, the hotel interweb is clogged with sboxers. Even the tech support guys are frustrated.

On location other members of the crew are sboxing and sucking the bandwidth.
It isn't bad enough that whatever interwebs the production has hired is getting slammed with dos attacks, then we add stinkbox to the equation.
Feh!
What the heck is on TV that's so important to see?

I now return you to the thread already in progress.

[guitarist]

the hotel interweb is clogged with sboxers.

Try using the internet, instead of the interweb. The internet is larger, and has the benefit of being real.

[Speedy]

Thanks for the tips. I think...