I have read with interest how the Slingbox product will enable me to watch TV remotely. Can I really operate my TV/DVD recorder from my laptop when abroad? Bob Evans
Slingbox has just launched its Toblerone-style Personal Broadcaster in the UK at around £180. This plugs into your TV system -- aerial, DVR, Freeview or satellite set-top box or whatever. You must also connect it to your broadband router, preferably via a standard Ethernet cable. The Slingbox includes an infrared emitter to emulate a remote control. You can then operate your system remotely from a Windows PC using SlingPlayer software, or a Windows Mobile PDA or some smartphones.
There's a "product tour" at www.slingmedia.com/uk.
An alternative is Orb (www.orb.com/what_is_orb/orb_tv/). This free software lets you "place shift" any media files running on your PC (Windows XP SP2), and view or listen to them remotely using almost any device with a streaming media capability (Windows Media Player 9, WinAmp, RealPlayer 10, QuickTime), including Nokia Series 60 and Sony-Ericsson P900, w800/900i, etc phones. You can also view a webcam.
Orb makes sense if you already have a PC with a supported TV tuner, but offers less support than Slingbox for set-top boxes and IR controllers.
Note: I have not tried either myself.
I expect Orb (or something similar) to be widely adopted by phone companies. Vodafone uses it in Germany for its MeinPC service.
