Boater Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 saw this link http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-watch-sky-tv-sky-sports-abroad-expats-guide-to-tv if i buy a sling box , i have to have a sky box in the uk, which i can do from my brothers house, but the question is, has anyone tried and tested what is mentioned in this link????? cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolf5370 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 (edited) Not tried it, but heard about it. Basically a DVR that you can access online and stream video from (near real time or recorded). Two issues I can think of - one is that you brother would have to have a separate system from you (can just be an extension box - 10 pounds a month) otherwise he may turn over or off while you are recording. Secondly, as it is streaming from the UK (even by VPN) it will still be subject to the crap international bandwidth speeds. Seems quite an expensive option to me. May be better just using UseNet service (where people have already uploaded it for you) or even free ones like TV Duck and others of the same ilk (and better). //Edit: There are services you can subscribe to that already slingbox Sky and terrestial channel - you pay a not-so-small subscription and suck from their teet instead of buying your own set up // Edited January 25, 2011 by wolf5370 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 It works well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Langsuan Man Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 If you use the Search function you will find numerous posts regarding this subject, some positive, some not so positive All basically reporting that the speed and reliability of your Internet connection here in Thailand is the main consideration in using a foreign based Slingbox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 (edited) You need a high speed connection like DSL but you definitely don't need massive speed. The sling software has improved a lot over the years. Edited January 25, 2011 by Jingthing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musiclover Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 You need a high speed connection like DSL but you definitely don't need massive speed. The sling software has improved a lot over the years. It works great here in Pattaya using 3BB .10quid pm for a multiroom box in UK. I have it on constantly for the news (Sky) and the cricket. An amazing piece of gear!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lor Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 The only problem I find with my Slingbox & SlingCatcher is the time differance betweeen UK and Thailand. At prime time Thai you end up watching the afternoon programmes from the UK. To watch the good programmes you have to watch TV between 3am and 6am in Thailand! Instead of my slingbox I got myself a good VPN service (Overplay) and get all my TV at a time I want to watch it from BBC iPlayer and Sky Player. Can also watch ITV Catchup and Hulu from America if I want. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Get a DVR to attach to the slingbox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roban Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 (edited) I tried a friend's slingbox in Germany to stream TV from him to my house in Pattaya, 2 (?) years ago. But I wasn't satiesfied with the Quality of the stream. ~400K/bit, lots of artefacts, and when looking football, it was hard to recognize the ball.. So I decided to setup my own "TV-Server" 1. Old PC (Athlon 2x3000 Mhz + 4GB Ram) all together ~200€ 2. 2 Satellite Cards each ~35€ Ubuntu Linux with the "Video Disc Recorder Project" VDR which has an integrated "Streaming-Server" which is able to transcode the Satellite Stream via mencoder/VLC to my needs. Nice Webinterface called "Live" . This Interface provides an EPG and the option switch and/or record TV channels. (see attached picture) Quality is much much better with latest H264/mp3 Codecs, compared to Slingbox. I can adjust the bitrates to fit my Thai Adsl. Benefits: You can run a VPN/Proxy Server on the same machine to bypass some Website blockings here in TH I can use TVBROWSER to switch the channels from Pattaya. Yes, it's not HD, but a Stream with 300 Videobitrate and 32 Audio Bitrate, produces a better picture, than my Banglamung Cable TV Edited January 26, 2011 by roban Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericthai Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 i have been using a slingbox for about 5 years. My is obviously the older analog one, but works fine. I updated the software so the compression is up to date. This is not great picture but it's ok. The issue is my internet connection here in Thailand. If we had real internet here in Thailand the picture quality is capable of HD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roban Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 ....The issue is my internet connection here in Thailand. If we had real internet here in Thailand the picture quality is capable of HD. 100% agree, but what I found out, sometimes I watch TV streams, from a server located in US with a Bitrate around 1Mbit/s. I can receive this "HD" stream many hours without anys buffering. Where as Streams from Europe with only half Bitrate cause many bufferings. It seems that connections to US are much more stable/better then to Europe... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukrules Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 100% agree, but what I found out, sometimes I watch TV streams, from a server located in US with a Bitrate around 1Mbit/s. I can receive this "HD" stream many hours without anys buffering. Where as Streams from Europe with only half Bitrate cause many bufferings. It seems that connections to US are much more stable/better then to Europe... I have found that traffic to Europe will often route via the USA which adds a considerable amount of distance and latency to the connection with the end server. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 My positive comments are based on a US based use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citizen33 Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 (edited) I don't know if there are geographical restrictions and how well it would work, but it may be worth just checking out Sky's own service - SkyPlayer. Anybody who subscribes to Sky can sign up free and get this service on up to four PCs (it monitors the Ip addresses). Only one PC can get the premium film content. There have been times when only recorded content is free and the live channels incur an extra charge of £10 a month (which could be worth it), but everything is free at present. The system works okay in the UK and I am able to get football, for example, at a remote location with a PC and broadband access. It is a bit more demanding of bandwidth than BBC IPlayer. I'd say you need about 1MB on IPlayer and 2MB on Sky. Regrettably my crappy Virgin Media 10MB broadband sometimes fails to deliver enough speed to avoid lags at peak viewing times. So I wonder how well Skyplayer works outside the UK, perhaps via a proxy server? There is a free sample channel on the website (probably need to sign up but not subscribe). I'm in the UK at present and cannot do an overseas test. http://skyplayer.sky.com/vod/page/default/home.do?DCMP=KNC-SkyPlayer_OBU P.S. Just noticed that somebody above did mention VPN and Sky - so this is probably an option to consider. Edited January 26, 2011 by citizen33 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikerlou47 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I am not so sure that you are being limited by your bandwidth in Thailand if you email me I think I can prove it! i have been using a slingbox for about 5 years. My is obviously the older analog one, but works fine. I updated the software so the compression is up to date. This is not great picture but it's ok. The issue is my internet connection here in Thailand. If we had real internet here in Thailand the picture quality is capable of HD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikerlou47 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I am not so sure that you are being limited by your bandwidth in Thailand if you email me I think I can prove it! i have been using a slingbox for about 5 years. My is obviously the older analog one, but works fine. I updated the software so the compression is up to date. This is not great picture but it's ok. The issue is my internet connection here in Thailand. If we had real internet here in Thailand the picture quality is capable of HD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikerlou47 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I am not so sure that you are being limited by your bandwidth in Thailand if you email me I think I can prove it! i have been using a slingbox for about 5 years. My is obviously the older analog one, but works fine. I updated the software so the compression is up to date. This is not great picture but it's ok. The issue is my internet connection here in Thailand. If we had real internet here in Thailand the picture quality is capable of HD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkksw Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I've been using this one for a while now, and an older model for years before that. Bottom line: With the right connection they work very well. And the speed of the connection determines the overall resolution which determines how good the picture. I find it works well for news, sports, and hobby shows.. but for movies or series tv shows I prefer the quality of torrents. Torrents you can watch when you want, either in SD or HD without commercials or a time difference. So.. it can supplement your television programming with news and shows from back home, but because of the time difference and resolution issues I don't think it adequate could stand alone for my tastes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Langsuan Man Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 As long as you have a DVR at home then the time difference makes no difference. It has been my experience that a pre recorded program play much better since the Slingbox stream is able to buffer better since the TV signal is constant I use Slingplayer version 1.5 and stay away from the 2.0+ versions since they "sling" through the Sling Media web site Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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