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Monday, 18 November 2013

Slingbox users are getting improved mobile apps, Roku compatibility, and -- soon -- even a dedicated Windows 8 app. November 18, 2013 9:00 AM PST (Credit: John P. Falcone/CNET) The Xbox One isn't the only gadget that's got a bullseye on your television viewing. Slingbox owners are about to get quite a few additional options when streaming live TV. The new SlingPlayer 3.0 apps for Android and iOS, available today, offer an overhauled user interface with a variety of improvements on both platforms. Among the upgrades delivered are improved guide data for better program discoverability and filtering; accompanying statistical data during live sporting events; and in-app Twitter and Facebook integration. (See the video embedded below for a sneak peek of the new app in action.) The app remains priced at $14.99 both platforms (the iOS version is not universal, so it requires separate purchases on iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad). Slingbox unveils Roku app, updates app for iPad SlingPlayer comes to Roku Sling is also adding a Roku channel for the first time. The Roku app turns any recent Roku box into a SlingPlayer client, allowing Slingbox users to watch their video streams on a big-screen TV. The Roku app is free, but it can't work without the help of a mobile device. The Roku channel can only be manipulated from the iPhone or Android apps (the Roku control functionality will be added to the iPad app in the near future) using on-screen touch controls. However, because the user login and authentication happens on the phone, that means Slingbox owners can stream to a friend's Roku without inputting any username or password info into the Roku itself; the phone and the Roku just need to be on the same network. The addition of Roku streaming comes less than a month after Sling enabled AirPlay support for Apple TV, which allowed iPad and iPhone owners to display live TV streams on that media box as well. (SlingPlayer apps were already available on the WD TV Live, the Sony Internet Player with Google TV, and Netgear NeoTV family of products, but those have far smaller install bases than Apple and Roku.) The SlingPlayer app should be available on most 2011 and later Roku models soon. Sling says the Roku 3, Roku 2 XD, Roku 2 XS, Roku HD 2012, Roku LT 2012, and the Roku Streaming Stick could see it hit as early as today, with the Roku 1, Roku 2, and Roku LT 2013 following next week. (Credit: EchoStar) Windows 8.1 dedicated app coming soon Slingbox owners have long been able to access their TV streams on the Web via Sling's free browser-based client, but the company now has the latest version of Windows set in its sights for a dedicated app. Expect a touch-enabled Windows app to be available by the end of December on Windows 8.1 and RT 8.1 devices, including Surface tablets.

Posted on 09:33 by Unknown

Slingbox users are getting improved mobile apps, Roku compatibility, and -- soon -- even a dedicated Windows 8 app.


John P. Falcone
November 18, 2013 9:00 AM PST



SlingPlayer 3.0(Credit: John P. Falcone/CNET)


The Xbox One isn't the only gadget that's got a bullseye on your television viewing. Slingbox owners are about to get quite a few additional options when streaming live TV.

The new SlingPlayer 3.0 apps for Android and iOS, available today, offer an overhauled user interface with a variety of improvements on both platforms. Among the upgrades delivered are improved guide data for better program discoverability and filtering; accompanying statistical data during live sporting events; and in-app Twitter and Facebook integration. (See the video embedded below for a sneak peek of the new app in action.)


The app remains priced at $14.99 both platforms (the iOS version is not universal, so it requires separate purchases on iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad).



Slingbox unveils Roku app, updates app for iPad



SlingPlayer comes to Roku

Sling is also adding a Roku channel for the first time. The Roku app turns any recent Roku box into a SlingPlayer client, allowing Slingbox users to watch their video streams on a big-screen TV. The Roku app is free, but it can't work without the help of a mobile device. The Roku channel can only be manipulated from the iPhone or Android apps (the Roku control functionality will be added to the iPad app in the near future) using on-screen touch controls. However, because the user login and authentication happens on the phone, that means Slingbox owners can stream to a friend's Roku without inputting any username or password info into the Roku itself; the phone and the Roku just need to be on the same network.


The addition of Roku streaming comes less than a month after Sling enabled AirPlay support for Apple TV, which allowed iPad and iPhone owners to display live TV streams on that media box as well. (SlingPlayer apps were already available on the WD TV Live, the Sony Internet Player with Google TV, and Netgear NeoTV family of products, but those have far smaller install bases than Apple and Roku.)


The SlingPlayer app should be available on most 2011 and later Roku models soon. Sling says the Roku 3, Roku 2 XD, Roku 2 XS, Roku HD 2012, Roku LT 2012, and the Roku Streaming Stick could see it hit as early as today, with the Roku 1, Roku 2, and Roku LT 2013 following next week.


SlingPlayer Roku app(Credit: EchoStar)


Windows 8.1 dedicated app coming soon

Slingbox owners have long been able to access their TV streams on the Web via Sling's free browser-based client, but the company now has the latest version of Windows set in its sights for a dedicated app. Expect a touch-enabled Windows app to be available by the end of December on Windows 8.1 and RT 8.1 devices, including Surface tablets.



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(Credit: Scott Stein/CNET) Another small problem happens when the Xbox One occasionally pings messages in the middle of a show someone else is watching, or someone's voice accidentally brings up a video-control menu or even changes the channel. Those moments are rare, but any additional annoyances add additional straw to the camel back of "why am I subjecting my family to this, again?" If everyone isn't quiet while watching on the Xbox, something odd is bound to happen sooner or later via an unexpected voice command. Hey you, get off my Xbox There's another problem with TV pass-through: suddenly, my wife's using my Xbox One all the time just to watch TV. Does that sound selfish? Well, it is, in a sense: I think of game consoles as personal devices. (Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET) I haven't made a user ID for my wife to log in as, and maybe that would help things. But she's getting inconvenienced by having to root around for the controller, and clicking on the "TV" icon, or not having the Kinect understand her voice. And sometimes she forgets to turn the Xbox One off, which is understandable -- it's one more box. And no, saying, "Xbox, turn off" isn't exactly intuitive yet to the average person, even if it's easy to do. I do love how the Xbox One seamlessly and impressively auto-identifies you and logs you into a particular profile, which could mean a "family-friendly" mode in the future for when my kid or wife uses the machine, but right now user accounts are useless to me. This isn't an Android tablet or an iCloud account. My family doesn't have different Xbox profiles, nor do they seem to care to. If I was visiting a friend, I could log in as myself, and that's great, but that doesn't do much for my home. Xbox and the man-cave: good if you're Ray Lewis Look at one of the latest Xbox One commercials, featuring smack-talking NFL legends. Ray Lewis looks like he's strapped into a heads-up display in a personal virtual bubble: TV, friends, gaming, all at his command. He's in his own media cave. How does someone else share that cave? The answer right now is you're not really meant to. The Xbox One seems best for one controller, one user, one online experience, one voice to command all its elements into place. It's personal technology spread across a big screen. (Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET) After the first day: tired acceptance Eventually, I wasn't asked to disconnect the Xbox One. Inertia had won the day. But I can't keep expecting my wife to keep hunting for the Xbox controller. This experiment, for now, is just an experiment. I'll switch back, because this current set-up just doesn't make any sense. HDMI-in on the Xbox One is like that extra port on a laptop you don't need now but you could in the future. Microsoft hopes the Xbox One will add more robust DVR control, and deeper cable access, down the road. How soon, or how easy that is to enable, I have no idea. But I'm tempted to just yank the cable box out of the Xbox One until that day arrives. I still think the Xbox One is the most advanced gaming console of this new generation, but to someone trying to sneak one into a living room, ironically, its "living room-friendly" elements make it the hardest to accept. And apologies to my wife, who's the unwitting subject of this article. Believe me, she likes new ideas and new technologies...when they make life better. And I don't think she's alone.
    Xbox One is the loneliest number if you're trying to shoehorn its do-it-all TV proposition into a family room...unless you're willin...
  • The ability to broadcast live footage to the ever-growing social gaming platform won't be making its way to Xbox One for launch. November 19, 2013 11:43 AM PST (Credit: James Martin/CNET) The ability to stream your gameplay footage through the popular Twitch service will not make its way to the Xbox One until 2014, Microsoft announced Tuesday. Related stories: Forget Xbox One and PS4, nothing beats Game Boy (video) Try this, Apple: Xbox greets PlayStation 4 with a nice tweet For Battlefield 4 players, a move to Xbox One, PS4 means leaving friends behind Microsoft's Major Nelson shows off Xbox One's rapid boot-up Microsoft touts 'epic' Xbox One launch on November 22 In a blog post that shed more light on Twitch integration for the console, which hits store shelves this Friday, November 22, Microsoft noted that the Xbox team is "working to ensure the initial Twitch on Xbox One broadcasting experience meets the expectations of the Twitch community." "While this feature won't be available right away, we'll let you know as soon as it is ready. Our goal is to deliver it during the first part of 2014," it reads. While clearly not a deal breaker, gameplay streaming will surely be missed on the Xbox One. It's an increasingly more popular activity that will begin to move beyond the hardcore gaming community that has rallied behind the its two most robust platforms, Twitch and Ustream, especially as Sony and Microsoft both embrace live streaming as a core social feature of game playing moving forward. Sony offers streaming to both Ustream and Twitch on its PlayStation 4, which has generating hundreds of videos in the less than one week's time since its launch. The Xbox One's Twitch.tv app will however let users view others' streams in the meantime. The console will also allow players to record up to five minutes of gameplay and share it via Xbox Live or to one's SkyDrive account.
    The ability to broadcast live footage to the ever-growing social gaming platform won't be making its way to Xbox One for launch. Novemb...

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Blog Archive

  • ▼  2013 (548)
    • ▼  November (500)
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