Operation:
With everything installed and configured, my first move was to watch some cable television over the local network. I was quite impressed when CBS' Survivor popped up on my screen, and clear audio was right there with it. It programmed in all of my cable channels automatically, and I began to browse around, including a stop on Fox's That 70's Show. The picture was good, although not as good as a typical PC TV tuner or standard television, but considering the interface, I was quite impressed.
 
The layout and appearance of the software is also quite nice. A simple GUI allows you to operate the Slingbox just like any PC TV tuner, and the video window can be scaled to as big or small as you want.
One thing to note, is that you should not consider this a replacement for a television or TV tuner, if you only want to watch it locally. The larger you make the image, the worse it looks. The image below is a screen capture taken in full screen mode with a monitor resolution of 1024x768... not terrible, but not great. That resolution is far beyond what NTSC television can provide anyway, but the image quality is also less than what is possible with an internal TV tuner at the same resolution. One other issue that stands out is the time it takes to change channels. Don't expect the channel to change the instant you click, as there is a delay of perhaps a second or two before the change occurs.
The images above were all created on a desktop PC hardwired to a router that was also connected to the Slingbox. The next set of images were created on a laptop computer connected to the same network, but via Wireless G.
In the below left image we see that the laptop could not connect to the Slingbox initially, because the other computer was still connected. The Slingbox only allows for one user at a time, but the error message does help you track down who is already connected if you want to go fight for it! Once the original user disconnects, you then need to log on to the Slingbox, using a password originally established during the installation process.
 
The images below show that even over Wireless G, the Slingbox is still able to send out adequate audio/video signals to keep the action moving and looking fluid. In the below left corner of the TV screen, you can see the data transfer rate of around 1500 kbps, which is fairly easy to maintain.
 
In the above right image, we also get a look at a nice personalization feature of the Slingbox, shown in more detail below. You can program a series of shortcut buttons to your favorite channels, and using a preset number of icons you can have them match the logo of the specific channels. There are dozens to chose from, and as you can see I have set up CBS, MTV2, and ESPN for quick access.
It was impossible for me to test remote viewing from my location, since the software knew better than to go out to the Internet when it didn't have to. I attempted to access the Slingbox from another location, but the restrictive firewall settings at that facility prevented a connection. So, I shared the Slingbox login credentials with other Bigbruin members and was quite pleased to learn that they could login and use it successfully.
I am located in New Jersey, and the Slingbox worked quite well when accessed from California. It provided a stream at roughly 1400 kbps, and was able to keep up with the audio and video quite nicely, even in full screen mode. I wonder what Cablevision might think of me sharing their cable TV over their cable Internet connection.
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