[Ruth]

OK here is my situation: I will be having surgery out of state. I will be recovering in a hotel room for a while before I can fly home. I expect to be bored and cranky. I will want my TiVo!!!!

Would a Slingbox let me access the programs on my TiVo (while it is still hooked up at home) from a remote location? I want to watch them on either the hotel TV or my laptop (on the TV would be best.)

I keep seeing references to Slingbox that imply that is my answer, but to be honest I don't really understand what it is. How does it work? What kind would I need? How much would it cost? Is it reliable?

Or is there a better way to do this? Or is it just impossible?

Please advise. Thank you!

 

[Gregor]

I think Slingbox will do what you want, as long as you have access to high-speed internet.

 

[beachtrader2]

Slingbox is a fantastic device.

What you would do is this:

Cable Box/TV Source >> Tivo >> Slingbox >> TV

The slingbox is also connected via an ethernet (internet) cable to the net/your internet connection.

You then download a small software program onto your laptop or computer or phone.

Start up the slingbox software on your laptop/computer/phone and it connects back to the Slingbox in your house. Whatever your Tivo is sending to the TV you will see.

You can control the Tivo through the Slingbox just like you are holding the Tivo remote control in your hand.

The faster the internet connection you have for your laptop/computer/phone the better the video will be.

 

[Ruth]

OK this is great, thank you very much. Sounds like it might be just what I need. Some more questions:

My TiVo is networked wirelessly. Can the slingbox be hooked up that way also or does it need a wired connection? (Would require an extremely long cable!)

At home, I have 2 TiVos hooked to one TV. If I hooked a slingbox into one of the TiVos, would it interfere with the other one?

My laptop is a Mac. Will that work OK?

Could I then hook the laptop up to a TV and watch the video on that?

 

[jennifer]

I think there is a wireless device that works with slingbox and your wireless router. IIRC, it's called Slinglink.

It will not interfere with the additional TIVO in that room.

Yes, it will work on a Mac.

Hope your surgery and recovery goes well.

 

[Ruth]

Thank you Jennifer. It's not too serious and I should be just fine. Better than before, actually!

 

[EVizzle]

the slinglink will use the existing wires in your home to run the internet connection. Not 100% sure, but I do not believe it is quite as fast as an ethernet cord. I have a slingbox Pro, wired directly to the ethernet router, use it to control 2 tivos and it works great. If you want to control just one tivo, you should set it up so the IR blaster is pointing toward only one tivo, so if the tivos are stacked, you want to point either up to one or down to the other, not on the bottom pointing up to both or on top pointing down to both. Programming controls for 2 tivos is slightly more hassle, so go with one and enjoy!

 

[stujac]

You won't be able to watch it on the hospital tv. I can't see the nurse or orderly hooking cables from your video card to the tv hanging on the wall.

 

[nlrushing]

similar question: i have a toshiba notebook PC and tivo series2 conected to a wireless network. My mother has no internet service, no cable service, and an older tv hooked up to an antenna with little to no reception. would something like this allow us to view my tivo at her home? i have just recently gotten this PC and set up the wireless network and do not fully understand yet all of the capabilities. would her home also have to have a wireless network for me to access?

 

[restart88]

I admittedly know next to nothing about Slingbox. I'm gonna say no. She would need a broadband connection (even the $15 DSL if available there), and I'll say that even if a dialup connection might "work" you likely wouldn't like the results.

Now if there is broadband, you don't even really need a Slingbox just to have something to watch. I use Network Magic to manage my home network and it will allow me to use Tivo2Go on my laptop to view recorded shows stored on my PC. Never tried it to directly access the Tivo so I don't know if you can and I haven't done it since the free trial of the premium features (which is a fair enough 1 time fee). But it does work on PC archieved shows.

I have tons of DVDs I will watch over & over. So having a copy them on the PC too opens up all sorts of options and saves wear on the disks.

 

[old64mb]

Slingbox doesn't work well with dialup on either end, so she'd need a network or you a EVDO connection.

And for Ruth, just make sure to tape around the IR emitter or ensure the two Tivos have different IR codes when you set the Slingbox up, or you may be controlling the wrong one. Wired connections work a lot better than their electrical one, although you could always try an ethernet bridge and wireless.

Can always try an SVideo or HDMI output if you have the requisite ports on both units, but it's still gonna be 320x240 resolution, which will not be great regardless of how big you make it.