Maybe you could shed some light on exactly what function Dish plays in providing net access to 722k receivers via Sling. For months I've been able use my Mac to go to dish6.sling.com to read movie synopsis, watch trailers, and set timers. Last week my ability to watch trailers went away, the other two functions remained. Today I talked with a CSR who told me I was actually using the wrong site to program timers, I should be using dishnetwork.com, however, she indicated that site never had the ability to watch trailers. She recommended I either change my cookies to use the Dish site or get in touch with Sling. I called the number she gave me for Sling and couldn't break through the phone selections to talk with a real person. Ended up going to the Slingbox web site but it had no info on this Dish/Sling web site. Is there an answer here or am I just spinning wheels?
First ... saying you're going to dish6.sling.com ... many people either don't notice what's in front of them, or have never been through the steps to see an end result. When you log into Dish Remote Access at dishnetwork.com, it will redirect you to one of the dish XX.sling.com servers.
So you happened to notice you're connected with dish6.sling.com ... some day in the future you may notice it changes ... so far there's been dish1 thru dish15 ...
As to movie trailers and the like .. you might have to come in through dishonline.com to get to the trailer version of the Dish/Sling "experience"
There is also the access you get through "watch.sling.com" though some people get it, some don't ... it seems to depend on whether you've install one of the Sling Player stand alones. Older versions of the Sling Player stand-alone software would run Sling Adapters just as if they were Sling Boxes.
Next the externals of dish / sling
You've probably heard that Dish bought Sling ... before that, dish used Sling to make available the SlingAdapter. To get access to the Adapter ... you authenticate (at least once) to Dish Network, they then link your web player software, and the ID for your slingadapter together. This gives you the ability to start playing (authentication keys passed around, some other "administrivia" too) and then the Sling Servers (sling.com) put your computer and the slingadapter together handing off port and IP information as needed.
Where you are operating the Sling Adapter inside the same network (wifi, wired, etc) the data connection (stream data) goes between you and the slingadapter / dish receiver. The only information that comes into or leaves your home network, is the persmission to use the adapter, administrivia, statistics, quality control information etc..
As soon as you connect from outside your "home" internet connection.. which, unfortunately, I haven't logged and tracked as much information (have only done that three times in 4 months) ... I would presume ... the same conditions exist ..
exist .. except that now the stream data does leave your home network ... and if done the same as when inside your network, Sling's involvement would be to get the "authorization" information from Dish ... and still getting the administrivia from your current location.. and from the sling adapter at home ... and then the last piece would be to make the connection pathway between where you are (ip on the internet) to and from your home IP address.
In that situation .. I would hope the stream data is only going between you and your home ... but no garentee on that..
beyond the functionality .... dish's involvment in sling ... at this point ... seems to still be one of a forced partnership .... that is.. dish needed sling's infrastructure and rather than encorporating it ... they are currently leaving it external and this mixed mash of domains is one of the fronts we see..
ie. why duplicate Sling just to add the sling adapter's ability .. sling.com has been doing this for a few years.. they're equiped.. but we stll want people to see the DISH NETWORK front end.. hence the login at dish, but redirection to dish6 (your case) for the content.
The real problem here ... what I allude to as the mixture of sites ... is that its disjointed, there's no good communication available to all of dish, where most dish customers would normally think to direct their questions... and as you found from Sling's side.. they aren't currently taking responsibility for the Sling Adapter..
so you have a technology out there that one (dish) can't support 100% properly, and you have the other one (Sling) that refuses to acknowledge and support when they know what's going on .... leaves a very bad taste in the mouth...
