Accessories:
In addition to the Slingbox unit, Sling Media has included just about any accessory you might need to enjoy their product.
The below left image shows off the two cables to be used on the "A/V in" and "A/V out" connections. Basically, they have used an 1/8" jack to to save space on the device, and the cable then converts these connections to RCA jacks for video, left audio, and right audio.
 
The above right image shows off perhaps the coolest accessory included. The IR connection on the Slingbox receives the 1/8" plug from this cable and the two "L" shaped brackets can then be used to control other A/V equipment. The sensors in these brackets should be aimed at the front panel of your DVD player, VCR, cable box, etc, and the adhesive strip can be used to hold them in place. The Slingbox software can then serve as the remote control for these components, allowing you to control them from anywhere in the world.
The below left image shows off the balance of cables provided. You receive an AC power adaptor, an s-video cable, a coaxial cable/antenna cable, and a flat wired network cable. All in all, the cables are all good quality, and really add value and convenience to the bundle. The below right image shows the Slingbox manual, driver/application disc, and a promotional voucher of sorts from Rhapsody.
 
Checking out all of the cables and connections has me wishing for more features at this point. Your only A/V sources (other than coaxial cable) must be either composite or s-video. It would be nice to see a connection for component video, although I am guessing that composite or s-video may be good enough for the quality of signal to be had over the network / Internet.
Installation:
The physical installation is no more difficult than connecting a cable box, and the bundle of cables provided makes it so that you do not have to buy anything else to get up and running. Simply plug it in, connect to your various A/V sources, and connect to your network. The physical part is now done, and you are ready to install the software.
The driver disc leads you through the installation and a minute or so in, it guides you to the website to check for the latest software available. There was newer software available online, so for the sake of saving a few minutes, you may want to start the install from a downloaded file instead of the extra step of starting with the CD. One issue with downloading the file from the Internet is the size. At over 70MB, users with slower connections or connections that restrict downloads may have issues. To download the file on the test machine wasn't an issue, but later when I went to install the application on a machine elsewhere in order to test the remote viewing capabilities, I was stuck.
The below left image shows the attractive "InstallShield" interface for the install. The below right image shows that towards the end of the installation, the software automatically goes online in order to update the firmware on the device. Just about every function of the installation and configuration is automated, and clear prompts are provided to help you understand what is going on.
 
The one potentially tricky area of the configuration is enabling remote viewing. Depending on your network settings, router configuration, and remote network permissions, you might not be able to blast through this portion in one try. I initially let the software try to handle this automatically, but it failed. I then went in manually and configured the software and my router to allow Internet traffic to reach the Slingbox, and it worked, as confirmed in the image below.
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