TORONTO – Sling Media will officially launch its place-shifting TV viewing device, the Slingbox, into the Canadian market on March 30.
The Slingbox allows consumers to access their home town TV at any time, from any location, using a variety of different displays including laptops and desktop PCs, PDAs and smart phones. Widely available in the States, Canadians who wished one have, until now, had to travel there to get one.
By plugging in the box to their cable and their broadband connection, consumers can watch remotely by turning virtually any Internet-connected Windows-based laptop or desktop and any Windows Mobile-based PDA or smart phone into a personal TV. Picture a travelling businesswoman logging on in her hotel and watching her local TV news on her laptop, for example.
The Slingbox redirects, or “place-shifts,” a live TV stream from a basic cable connection, cable box, satellite receiver or digital video recorder (DVR) to the viewer’s PC – located anywhere in the home or anywhere in the world, via the Internet.
The box lets users change channels remotely and will work with PVRs, too, allowing customers to not only view recorded programming but also remotely program their in-home PVR to record a program or programs.
Watch for www.cartt.ca’s report on the March 30 launch event.
