Sling Flings HDTV
EchoStar Subsidiary Announces Availability Of $300 PRO-HD Box
By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 9/25/2008 8:38:00 AM
Sling Media is now selling the Slingbox PRO-HD – which lets users watch high-definition cable or satellite programming on PCs, over the Internet or a home network – with a $300 list price, $100 lower than the EchoStar subsidiary previously announced.
The box can stream up to 1080i HD content, which has 1920-by-1080-pixel resolution, to Windows computers over a user's home network. In addition, according to Sling Media, the PRO-HD can also deliver HDTV over the Net to a remote location if the broadband connections on both ends are at least 1.5 Megabits per second.
When Sling Media announced the PRO-HD in January, it expected the product to have a list price of $399.99.
Sling Media also released a new version of SlingPlayer for Windows XP or Vista. The 2.0 version provides a live video buffer that lets the viewer pause and rewind a live video stream and includes an electronic programming guide to navigate channels without having to call up an on-screen guide on their home set-top box.
The Slingbox PRO-HD may be ordered from slingmedia.com and Internet retailers including Amazon.com and Buy.com. The product will start rolling into retail stores nationwide, including Best Buy and Fry’s, in the coming weeks.
The PRO-HD includes support for both standard (4:3) and widescreen (16:9) video formats and provides multiple audio-video inputs and outputs, including ATSC and HD digital cable (clear QAM) channels.
EchoStar announced the acquisition of Sling Media in September 2007.
