App Description:

Watch and control your home TV and DVR on your iPad!

When connected over 3G or Wi-Fi to a Slingbox SOLO or PRO-HD (Slingboxes* sold separately), you can play anything you can see on your home TV on your iPad. View and control video sources such as:

-Cable set-top box and DVR
-Satellite set-top box and DVR
-Telco / IPTV set-top box and DVR
-Basic Cable
-Digital Over-the-Air broadcasts (Slingbox Pro-HD only)
-Tivo
-Apple TV
-Home security cameras

You already pay for great content at home. Why settle for other iPad TV applications that only offer a limited selection of content when you can enjoy everything that’s on real TV?

For more information on SlingPlayer Mobile for iPad, please visit www.slingbox.com/go/ipad.

*A Slingbox SOLO or Slingbox PRO-HD is required. The Slingbox PRO, AV, Tuner and Classic will not work at all with SlingPlayer Mobile for iPad.

ScreenShots:

Available In: App Store

Price: $29.99

SlingPlayer Mobile, an application that allows you to “watch and control your home TV and DVR on your iPhone or iPod touch,” was updated today to version 1.2. The update does one thing, it adds the long awaited feature of streaming over 3G! YAY! Some of you probably already have this feature using a hack however, those unjailbroken folks are now able to stream over 3G as well!

ScreenShots

App Store Description:

When connected over 3G or Wi-Fi to a Slingbox SOLO, PRO, or PRO-HD (Slingboxes sold separately), the award winning SlingPlayer Mobile software will play anything you can see on your TV at home on your iPhone or iPod touch. Now you can change channels, control your DVR and watch your favorite shows right on your phone. View and control video sources such as:

-Cable set-top box and DVR
-Satellite set-top box and DVR
-Telco / IPTV set-top box and DVR
-Basic cable
-Digital Over-the-Air broadcasts (Slingbox PRO-HD only)
-Tivo
-Apple TV
-Home security cameras

You already pay for great content at home. Why settle for other iPhone TV applications that only offer a limited selection of content when you can enjoy everything that’s on real TV? Once you see the quality of the viewing experience, you’ll know why SlingPlayer Mobile won Best of Show at Macworld 2009. Get SlingPlayer Mobile and a Slingbox* and turn your iPhone or iPod touch into your home TV. To learn more about Slingbox visit www.slingmedia.com.

*The Slingbox Classic, AV, and TUNER are not supported for use with SlingPlayer Mobile on the iPhone and iPod touch, although they may stream with some configurations. To take advantage of our special upgrade offer, please visit www.slingmedia.com/upgrade.

What’s new

3G streaming enabled

AT&T will now allow SlingPlayer to stream video to the iPhone over their 3G network. It’s not just a quick decision either. AT&T and Sling Media have worked together to make the app conserve bandwith when connected to 3G:

Collaboration with developers like Sling Media ensures that all apps are optimized for our 3G network to conserve wireless spectrum and reduce the risk that an app will cause such extreme levels of congestion that they disrupt the experience of other wireless customers.

Even more good news is AT&T will begin to work with developers starting by the end of the first quarter to optimize their videos and applications for the wireless network on their developer website: http://developer.att.com/

This is all great news for the iPad. Sling Media could create an awesome interface with the larger screen of the iPad and AT&T will allow the app to run on their network.

Full press release from AT&T

Version 1.1 of SlingPlayer Mobile was just approved by Apple and is now available in the App Store. the update does contain some new features (see list below) but still does not allow the app to work on 3G. The developers have submitted a version of the app that does allow it to work on 3G however, they have not heard back from Apple on that version of the app yet. See THIS post for a full review of the SlingPlayer Mobile application.

New Features:
- Full 16×9 widescreen support (Slingbox SOLO, PRO and PRO-HD only)
- DISH Remote Access integration (DISH Network users only)
- Faster start and channel change
- Improved remote control interface

As a former SlingPlayer user on my Windows Mobile Samsung i730 and i760, I was anxiously awaiting the release of the live television streaming application for the iPhone. For nearly a year now, I have been without the live feed of my Slingbox (recently upgraded to a SB Solo due to a change in cable service) on my mobile phone. There have been a few wedding receptions, baby showers, and dull meetings where I could have benefited from catching some live sports coverage on my iPhone. After months of rumors leading up to the eventual release in the App Store this past Wednesday, the moment has finally arrived. Thanks to Brooke and the folks at Sling Media, I got a chance to play with the pricey app on my iPhone. Now, let’s get this out there right away: SlingPlayer only works on WiFi. No 3G, no EDGE, only WiFi. You can read about why and why people are mad about this, but I’m going to hold SlingMedia free from blame for this, and instead, I’m only going to judge the application on its performance under these conditions.

After downloading the app, I quickly (and excitedly) went through the setup process. To my delight, the application allowed me to login using my email and password, and within less than a minute, my home television was on my iPhone’s screen. I did not have to enter any long Slingbox ID numbers, names, or passwords. All that was needed was my account info, and I was up and running. There is the usual 4-7 second delay in the signal between my television and the Slingbox, but I wouldn’t notice this if I hadn’t been watching both simultaneously. On the options screen, I can set my favorite channels. This will come in handy, as there is a significant (3-5 second) lag on the SlingPlayer when changing channels. There is an extra few seconds on top of this for me, because I link my TiVo to my SlingBox, but I’m hoping that Sling will pare down the former a bit in updates. With favorite channels, I can cut down on the lag time, since there would be no need for entering the channel number. The iPhone app also allows me to swipe up and down for channel up/down as well as swipe left and right for my favorite channels. On a side note, the SlingPlayer can thus be used as a second remote control should you find yourself missing your regular one.

Other options include an on screen remote that gave me standard TiVo functionality, a guide button that pulled up my TiVo guide, and a button that pointed me directly to my TiVo menu screen. An options menu includes delivering audio only, a Standard/High Quality toggle, a help menu (had some trouble accessing some topics here), a letterbox toggle, and the ability to change device should you have multiple ones connected to your Slingbox. Using a test account provided my Sling Media, I pulled up similar options for the guide and menu screen for the Dish Network service. Both picture and audio quality were tolerable and borderline impressive in my point of view. I don’t have HD at home, so I may not have the keenest eye for sharpness, but I appreciated the reasonably sharp screen, and more importantly, the non-choppy signal (to be expected since I’m on WiFi). Outside of my home network, I tested the app at a nearby WiFi hotspot, and the smooth video continued to flow as quickly as the coffee.

My cousin used to travel a lot for his job. He would often pull up his Slingbox to watch the Angels game no matter where he was. As a teacher, I’m not frequenting airport terminals quite as much, so there is not as much of a need for live television streaming on my phone. For me, the Slingbox always has been and continues to be a gadget of excess. As with many gadgets, the Slingbox is something that symbolizes “cool” in that it shows the possibility of what can be achieved. For the consumer, I would be hard pressed to recommend this app for $29.99. The price does fit Sling’s pricing model as compared to their other mobile platforms, but given the WiFi limitation, I’d argue for a discount. However, given how the application seems to be climbing the Top 25 paid application chart, I doubt that this will come anytime soon. Thus, you’re left with a WiFi only version, and if you’re considering this app, my bet is that you probably have a laptop that’s just as capable of delivering a Slingbox signal with a larger picture and better sound for free. So, I’ll end on giving you a few reasons for and against purchasing SlingPlayer for the iPhone.

For:
You’ll get to show off TV on your iPhone (sans Orb/TV tuner), provided you have WiFi access.
Sling will most likely provide updates to tighten up and improve functionality.
Setup is easy, picture quality is solid, and video is smooth (again, all on WiFi)

Against:
It’s not a $0.99 application. (Wait for a sale or check out Orb if you have a TV tuner)
Unless you will always be near a WiFi connection, you’ll be watching nothing.
We all know the iPhone battery’s not the best. Don’t plan on watching an entire game in one sitting.

ScreenShots

Tricker ThreeG is a mod that allows the SlingPlayer Mobile application (available via the App Store for $29.99) to work on not only WiFi but also on 3G. It is not very often that I write about an application/mod/hack that I cannot test but, I know that allowing SlingPlayer Mobile to work on 3G is something a lot of people want. If you you own a SB, have purchased the SlingPlay Mobile application and have installed this hack…let us know how it is working for you! It would be pretty sweet if it actually works. The Tricker ThreeG apps also says that it works with Skype and Fring. You can get it via the modmyi source.

Chris Pirillo recently got a sneak peak of the Slingbox player for the iPhone. It looks pretty sweet. If you have a slingbox you can then watch live T.V. on your iPhone over the internet or cellular for $30. Ouch! Here’s the a video demo: