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I know what you're thinking - another Slingbox App? And I have to pay another $30? Thankfully, this author received the iPhone version for free for review purposes, but I could not wait once I heard that the iPad version was released to the App Store. The timing proved to be perfect, not because it's Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and the holiday shopping season, but rather because we just had a new baby, our basement took in some water damage recently, and this daddy needs to watch his sports.
Promises delivered
Although all Slingbox apps claim high picture quality, the reality of Slingbox's performance ultimately depends on your setup and connectivity. For example, on the iPhone and Android, picture quality is quite good though the device is small, yet through my computer, I can stream a very high quality picture on a 20" LCD monitor, no problem. When on my home WiFi, connectivity is strong, and Slingbox hardly skips a beat. The same cannot be said regarding the Android app's performance on 3G, though I am pleasantly surprised at how well it does hold up.
What happens in the middle with the 9.7-inch diagonal screen on the iPad? On its website, Slingplayer Mobile for iPad boasts "stunning high-quality video...using Apple's HTTP Live Streaming." I have to say that upon launch, the app provided just that. A beautiful picture that used every inch of the iPad's screen, or utilizing a quick double tap on the screen will keep the aspect ratio intact, giving you the top and bottom black bars. I also appreciated the swipe gestures to access my favorite channels, and being able to pause, fast-forward, and rewind live TV made me feel as if I had my DVR in my hands. With regards to connectivity, few problems are experienced when on my home network which is to be expected. However, when we visited my parents yesterday for Turkey Day, I had a slightly less than optimal signal, and performance on the highest quality picture lagged, thus forcing me to resort back to the standard quality picture setting.
Read the fine print.
Before I purchased the $30 app, I did peruse the customer reviews and was intrigued by the giant divide showing a large mass of 1-star and 5-star reviews. The most common complaint was from users who did not have a Slingbox SOLO or Slingbox PRO-HD. Since the app only works on these two devices, users are understandably angry that they are now out of $30. However, to Sling's defense, the app description does make it clear (twice as of this post date) that only the SOLO and the PRO-HD version will be supported. Perhaps, this brings up an opportunity to re-examine the not-so-customer friendly refund policy maintained by Apple. Although several users have successfully received a refund for a variety of reasons, Apple certainly does not make it easy, and it's a far cry from the more understanding (though less developer friendly) Android Marketplace policy of 24 hours.
Why this one makes sense.
Article Author: David Chan
David Chan is the Science/Technology and Gaming editor at Blogcritics. He enjoys gadgets, sports, and caring for his newborn son. During the day, he is the Technology Integration Specialist at Evanston Township High School. …
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