Due to having Amazon Prime and Amazon's great return policy, I took a chance and bought this Sling Box 500 to see if I could maybe use it to watch TV on my 27" iMac. If successful, it would save me having to buy a 32" television for my office; if not, I could always return it and keep searching.
Well, I'm happy to report that it worked great. Setup is not too bad. Basically, you buy the sling box and it plugs in via HDMI cables between your Dish (or other) receiver and your TV. When not in use, it basically works in a pass through sort of setup; you don't even know it's there. You can watch TV like normal and simply continue your receiver as normal.
If you want to watch TV via the Sling box (for example, in my case, on my iMac in the next room), then you just use your web browser (i.e. safari) to visit the Sling box website where you can log in and watch TV via their website). I have it configured to pop open a little browser window, which has the TV inside it. This can be re-sized on your desk top and/or made full screen. There is also a little icon which, when clicked, displays a life like remote control on your desktop. You can then operate the virtual remote control almost like normal pretty much. There is also (at least for Dish) a pretty cool link which takes you to a program guide that is very easy to search and navigate. Once you find the program you are looking for, you just click it and it flips the TV over to that channel for you.
There is a slight lag as compared to a normal TV experience, but not overly so. In my particular case, I'm usually switching from watching a program in the living room to on my computer, so I already know which channel I wanna watch. That cuts down on the amount of channel surfing I have to do, which tends to limit the amount of lag I have to deal with. Also, using the program guide (as opposed to just flipping through the guide on Dish itself) helps avoid any situations that might involve the perhaps 1 or 2 second lag you do experience. But for running the whole thing via wifi, I'm pretty impressed with how it all comes together. It provides a very nice viewing experience on the Mac, without having to load a lot of software, etc.
My understanding is there is also an app for the iPad, but I have not purchased it, nor tested it. It's also possible to access your TV from pretty much any place you have an internet connection, but that is also something I have yet to test out.
But to simply allow you to watch TV in the house on a computer, it's plenty good. Having a resizable window on the Mac is nice and being able to watch TV via our Dish Satellite box is fun.
Keep in mind, however, when you watch via the Sling box, it does cut out the ability to watch the receiver where the sling box is connected up. In other words, if you have the sling box in the bedroom and you suddenly start watching TV on your computer, nobody can watch TV in the bedroom via that receiver where the sling box is attached - it's an either or situation.
All in all, if you are seeking a means to watch TV on your computer, this is one options - especially for Apple, which may not support some of the other USB type tuners out there on the market.
| Brand Name | Sling Media |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 1.22 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 16.38 x 3.13 x 10 inches |
| Item model number | SB500-100 |
| Batteries | 2 AAA batteries required. |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Color Name | Black |
