Slingbox vs. Sports Subscriptions

Adamski47 · 03-30-2006, 04:17 PM

Here is my ordeal:

I moved to Chicago from the Detroit area in July. I spent the entire football season sitting at a BW3 watching the Lions (of all things) and I swore that I would not do it again for a team I love. Now that baseball season is upon us it is time for a decision: Slingbox or Direct TV sports subrscriptions.

Slingbox seems like the logical choice as it costs about $250 and will end up being much cheaper down the road having to spend $240 for football and $140 for baseball each year.
But what kind of quality does Slingbox provide? I do not know a single person who has this and I'm worried that it may lag or be choppy or have huge delays (where my friends are texting me "can you believe that catch?" 10 mins before I actually see it lol).
The slingbox will actually be at my parents house in Michigan and I plan on connecting my laptop in IL to my TV. My TV is NOT HD and is just a standard 32" with a s-video in (and RCA etc). I'm worried that the quality will be bad. Eventually I'd like to get a better TV but right now I just cannot afford it.

Anyway, what should I do? I must watch my Tigers and will DEFINITELY not be watching the Lions the way I did this past season.

I really need to make a decision before Direct TV's early bird special runs out on Sunday.

Adamski47 · 03-30-2006, 04:19 PM

Dola,

And another thing...With Slingbox I can watch the occasional Pistons/Red Wings games as I'm not a diehard fan of theirs but will watch a game once in a while.

st.cronin · 03-30-2006, 04:35 PM

Slingbox has always sounded shady to me. It just doesn't seem like a sound business model.

stevew · 03-30-2006, 08:51 PM

Looks like it is only $199 at Amazon right now. I also think it would be great for sports, but I don't really have a need to get one. But if I were to ever move out of the area, it would be something I would be interested in. Seems to me like a modified version of this with a ton of bandwith and a lot of devoted fans would be NFL/Direct TV's worst nightmare.

Adamski47 · 03-30-2006, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevew

Looks like it is only $199 at Amazon right now. I also think it would be great for sports, but I don't really have a need to get one. But if I were to ever move out of the area, it would be something I would be interested in. Seems to me like a modified version of this with a ton of bandwith and a lot of devoted fans would be NFL/Direct TV's worst nightmare.

IMO, the most intelligent thing Direct TV could do would be to charge for teams individually. Have the MLB full package available as it is, for $139 or whatever but then have individual teams available for $30 a pop.

I only want to see the Tigers (I know I know) and have no real need to see the other teams day in and day out.

stevew · 03-30-2006, 09:03 PM

The amazon reviews look favorable.

Vinatieri for Prez · 03-30-2006, 10:59 PM

I don't have it, but I've read good things about the slingbox (I think it was a CES review), for what it's worth.

Draft Dodger · 03-31-2006, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adamski47

IMO, the most intelligent thing Direct TV could do would be to charge for teams individually. Have the MLB full package available as it is, for $139 or whatever but then have individual teams available for $30 a pop.

I only want to see the Tigers (I know I know) and have no real need to see the other teams day in and day out.

I'd be willing to bet that a significant portion of the DirecTV sports packages are purchased by people mostly interested in just watching one specific team. There's no reason for DTV to do this.

Honolulu_Blue · 03-31-2006, 07:56 AM

A friend of mine has a slingbox. He lives in Belgium and the "box" is with his parents in Vancouver. He said the picture wasn't great, but it worked pretty well. The concept elludes me slightly, but I don't think it'd be a bad investment if you want to watch Detroit sports in Chicago.

I ended up shelling out how many hundreds of dollars for the NFL Sunday Ticket and Center Ice package when I was in DC. Now that I am back in Michigan, I will not be getting the NFL Sunday Ticket (not only because it's not available on Comcast, but I don't see the need), but I will be picking up the Center Ice Package. It's cheaper and there are a ton more games on.

03-30-2006, 04:35 PM	#3
st.cronin General Manager Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: New Mexico	Slingbox has always sounded shady to me. It just doesn't seem like a sound business model. __________________ co-commish: bb-bbcf.net knives out

03-31-2006, 07:56 AM	#9
Honolulu_Blue Hockey Boy Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Royal Oak, MI	A friend of mine has a slingbox. He lives in Belgium and the "box" is with his parents in Vancouver. He said the picture wasn't great, but it worked pretty well. The concept elludes me slightly, but I don't think it'd be a bad investment if you want to watch Detroit sports in Chicago. I ended up shelling out how many hundreds of dollars for the NFL Sunday Ticket and Center Ice package when I was in DC. Now that I am back in Michigan, I will not be getting the NFL Sunday Ticket (not only because it's not available on Comcast, but I don't see the need), but I will be picking up the Center Ice Package. It's cheaper and there are a ton more games on. __________________ *Steve Yzerman*: 1,755 points in 1,514 regular season games. 185 points in 196 postseason games. A First-Team All-Star, Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Selke Trophy winner, Masterton Trophy winner, member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Olympic gold medallist, and a three-time Stanley Cup Champion. Longest serving captain of one team in the history of the NHL (19 seasons).

03-30-2006, 04:19 PM	#2
Adamski47 High School JV Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Chicago, IL	Dola, And another thing...With Slingbox I can watch the occasional Pistons/Red Wings games as I'm not a diehard fan of theirs but will watch a game once in a while.

03-30-2006, 08:51 PM	#4
stevew Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: the yo'	Looks like it is only $199 at Amazon right now. I also think it would be great for sports, but I don't really have a need to get one. But if I were to ever move out of the area, it would be something I would be interested in. Seems to me like a modified version of this with a ton of bandwith and a lot of devoted fans would be NFL/Direct TV's worst nightmare.

03-30-2006, 09:03 PM	#6
stevew Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: the yo'	The amazon reviews look favorable.

03-30-2006, 10:59 PM	#7
Vinatieri for Prez College Starter Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Seattle	I don't have it, but I've read good things about the slingbox (I think it was a CES review), for what it's worth.

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