Quick Slingbox question
 

Ok. I going on the road again...alot.

So is this all I need?

zero) already have DirecTv Tivo
less than zero) IBM X41 running winbloze 2k

1) get a Slingbox (there is only one model right?) Comp-u-plus has them for $180 plus shipping
2) Wireless bridge ~80USD - linksys WET54G (running linksys at home)
3) upgrade SBC dsl from 128k upstream to 384-512k upstream ~5USD more a month...

thanks

should do it
 

that should do it,
you might consider getting some powerline type ethernet connectors, instead of the wireless bridge. I have had much better sucess getting constant throughput with the slinglink connectors, or even the older ones I have.

Might be 30$ more total, but worth it.

I get up to 1800kps in the house, instead of quite a bit less.

Yep, only one model of Slingbox so you can't go wrong there. The laptop you have should suffice nicely. Keep in mind that if anyone else uses that TV you'll be fighting with them over what you're watching. In my case, I set up a second box just for the Sling.

While your router should prevent someone from hacking in, don't forget to set purchase limits on you satellite box. Better safe than sorry.

As nice as powerline and bridges are, nothing beats a direct length of ethernet cable to the box.

well
 

all I gots to say bout that is

duh

Well, duh indeed. But I've ran into too many people that spent too much time tinkering with a complicated solution of expensive parts, when it could be resolved by a quick dive into the basement or crawlspace.

Hey, they are just trying to be helpful ;)

I have a similar dilemma, but my travel won't resume until June, so I am considering other options, especially while on the plane

I got a sling box 2 weeks ago and love it - so now that I am going to keep it I want to configure it properly and unfortunately that means I need a Wireless Bridge, because the 50' Ethernet cable doesn't work well with the room decor.

I purchased a Motorola Wireless Bridge (WE800G) and it is on my network (Linksys Router), but I can figure out how to get the port forwarding to work. :confused:


The Router IP is 192.168.1.1

The Wireless Bridge's IP is 192.168.30.1

How do you set up Port forwarding? Argh?

Therein lies your problem. You have the Wireless Bridge on a different "network". If your subnet mask is set to 255.255.255.0, 192.168.30.1 is effectively a separate network from 192.168.1.1. The fix is to make sure you have nothing on 192.168.1.30 and set THAT as the IP for the wireless bridge.

Now that you've done that, you're only part of the way there. You need to set the IP on the Slingbox (DO NOT use DHCP). The bridge is 'transparent'... you'll set up port forwarding to the Slingbox IP whatever that may be. The easiest thing to do (although not the most secure) is to make sure uPnP (Universal Plug'n'Play) is turned on on your Linksys box and then set the Slingbox to negotiate uPnP. It'll then set up port forwarding on it's own. Failing that, we need the model number of your linksys router to tell you how to set it up. It's NOT that hard and better to do it manually than to use uPNP.

kanebear - thanks - I now have my wireless bridge on the same network, and my Sling Box is "seen", but I still can't communicate to it.

My Wireless bridge has an IP of 192.168.1.200 and I can ping it, so that means I am on the same network :)

The Sling Box has an IP of 192.168.1.237

For the Port Forwarding I did what the Sling Instructions said, "Port 5001 - 5001 and IP Address of 192.168.1.237 - still no luck

I did try to port forward the Wireless Bridge, but I don't have a port, so I can't do that.

Any other help - please :)

2.5 hours laters. .. .


I can ping my wireless bridge (192.168.1.200), so I know we can communicate with it, BUT I can't ping the Sling Box (192.168.1.237).

Should I be able to ping the sling box even though it is plugged into a another device (wireless bridge) with a different IP address?

I am considering a slingbox but am dubious that it actually works. Is the quality just like watching regular tv? I guess I don't understand. Everytime I watch videos over the internet the quality sucks, there are delays, etc. How is slingbox different?

It works.. but..not like watching a TV (well depends on the size). You will need about 300K upload speed at home, and of course that download on the road.

I watch TV on it from Brazil and it works great. Configuring the setup was not trivial, I am farily good at routers and it took me a while..dont recall what was wrong..

I also am fortunate to live single here, I dont think the 75' ethernet cable running across the floor would be appreciated by a spouse/girlfriend.

The sling is different because of several things:

1) It can determine the uplink/downlink speed and adapts the video stream to match that connection; so almost no breakups and lag

2) It can stream as fast as 1500kb/s which is faster than 99% of all streams offered...

3) It uses pretty efficient compression which makes for a pretty decent picture, it isn't as good as at home, but is miles better than watching streams off stuff like CNN.