SatelliteGuys First Look Review - DISH Sling Adapter

[Scott Greczkowski]

It's Here!

It's time for another in the SatelliteGuys FIRST LOOK series! This time at the new DISH Network Sling Adapter by Sling Media.

The DISH Network Sling Adapter is for the ViP 722 / 722k Series receivers. How does it rank? Find out in our FIRST LOOK Review below!
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[Rangers484]

I have not been following sling too much but am getting ready to install a TV in my kids room. I was going to also look in to Roku since we already have a Netflix account.

Any way to use this to sling to another TV in the house using this adapter?

$99 seems to be a good price for it, are there going to be fees to use it or to access the DISH Online site?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

No fees to use it.

You can't currently use it at the DISH Online site, but should be able to shortly (they just need to update the plugin to work there.)

No way currently to watch on another TV in your house.

 

[MikeD-C05]

The only reason I wanted the 922 was to be able to sling in HD to another hd tv in my house.

 

[hemway]

So it is only good to watch TV remotely? You can't watch it in a PC in your house?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

So it is only good to watch TV remotely? You can't watch it in a PC in your house?

No... you can watch it fine on a pc in your house. in really decent hd quality no less!

 

[dmendenjr]

If you can watch it in decent quality HD in your house via computer.... why not hook a media center PC up to a second HD TV? Would that solve the problem?

 

[DustoMan]

The only reason I wanted the 922 was to be able to sling in HD to another hd tv in my house.

Thanks for staying on topic.

Anyway, here's Engadget's review:
Dish Network Sling Adapter review -- Engadget

My dad really wants this to watch TV on his PC. He hasn't been able to stream from a DVR since the ReplayTV days and really misses it.

 

[jcrandall]

Nice job Scott. A big change needed - they need a login for just this box, so you can use it in the slingplayer, or slingplayer mobile. Not everyone has an iphone, and not everyone only uses their device for themselves.

You called it, gotta have separate logins.

 

[Character Zero]

So I am wondering about the streaming inside and outside the house.
My cable internet is probably around 300K upstream so I should be good getting SD quality on a laptop away from home. I also should be OK getting the mobile quality on my Droid whenever that app is released. My question is inside the home.
So I have an N network so I should be able to get 3mbs point to point. So would I be able to stream HD quality within the house?

Also, the Engadget review seemed to imply that a Sling Player app not tied to the Dish website would work on Windows machines.

Edit : I was able to place an order early this morning. Nothing about it being out of stock. Went through my account to place the order. Hopefully they have enough to send out.

 

[dapriett]

922 vs 722k w/ Sling Adapter

Hello Scott,

I currently have the 622, with 2 TVs, and I'm looking to upgrade. Now I heard the rumor that the upcoming software update for 922 will enable TV2, which is I need (well really I want the Sling Catcher). With that said, would you recommend getting the 922, or a 722k w/ Sling Adapter (maybe with Google TV as well)?

Thanks!

 

[dapriett]

Oh, I just noticed today Dish Network removed the Sling HD Extender (Catcher) from their page. Does this mean it's officially canceled? Bummer... Guess I'll be sticking with SD on my TV2...

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Hello Scott,

I currently have the 622, with 2 TVs, and I'm looking to upgrade. Now I heard the rumor that the upcoming software update for 922 will enable TV2, which is I need (well really I want the Sling Catcher). With that said, would you recommend getting the 922, or a 722k w/ Sling Adapter (maybe with Google TV as well)?

Thanks!

To be honest at 722/722k with Sling Adapter is probably going to give you a better experience overall.

 

[Character Zero]

Oh, I just noticed today Dish Network removed the Sling HD Extender (Catcher) from their page. Does this mean it's officially canceled? Bummer... Guess I'll be sticking with SD on my TV2...

I am hoping that I can sling HD within the house. Then I can get a cheap Nettop and use it as a sling catcher. HD on TV2!

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Also, the Engadget review seemed to imply that a Sling Player app not tied to the Dish website would work on Windows machines.

I don't see how that could work since this Sling adapter does not have a Sling Finder ID or password. It is also using different streaming technology then a regular Slingbox.

 

[Character Zero]

I don't see how that could work since this Sling adapter does not have a Sling Finder ID or password. It is also using different streaming technology then a regular Slingbox.

Its possbile I misinterpreted what they said :

Dish users are probably already familiar with the Dish Remote Access web site, iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch apps (BlackBerry and Android coming soon) and we have good news: the Dish Sling feature is built right in to all of them. This is good because unlike the Sling mobile Apps, it's free. (You can also use the Sling apps on every platform except OS X, if you like, and an update to the iPad app that adds streaming is coming soon.)

Maybe they mean you can use the Dish Remote Access on every platform instead of OSX?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

No what Ben is saying is that the new DISH Remote Access Program for the iPhone, Ipad, and Android have the Slingplayer built in for FREE for DISH customers. That means DISH customers do not need to pay $29.99 for a slingplayer app on their smartphones.

The DISH Remote Access website works fine with OS X, infact it is what I used for all the screen shots for this review.

 

[DustoMan]

If you can watch it in decent quality HD in your house via computer.... why not hook a media center PC up to a second HD TV? Would that solve the problem?

There are some nice net top PCs with HDMI out that would be perfect for such a task.

So I am wondering about the streaming inside and outside the house.
My cable internet is probably around 300K upstream so I should be good getting SD quality on a laptop away from home. I also should be OK getting the mobile quality on my Droid whenever that app is released. My question is inside the home.
So I have an N network so I should be able to get 3mbs point to point. So would I be able to stream HD quality within the house?

Also, the Engadget review seemed to imply that a Sling Player app not tied to the Dish website would work on Windows machines.

That'll work just fine. When I stream inside my home, my laptop pulls down anywhere from 5-8Mbps. And I think Engadget is mistaken. The standalone PC SlingPlayer app for Windows doesn't work with any of the DISH Network stuff like Scott's review stated.

 

[Character Zero]

Oh ok, well that makes sense.
Now I just want to go home and test my connection on the router that the 722 is on to see what my up/down is.

 

[DustoMan]

Oh, I just noticed today Dish Network removed the Sling HD Extender (Catcher) from their page. Does this mean it's officially canceled? Bummer... Guess I'll be sticking with SD on my TV2...

It's been gone from the page for a few months now. Since they last re-designed the page. Scott has been still asking about it. He feels it's not going to happen.