Just to be clear, the picture from Slingbox was never s**t. Even the earliest release provided quite a good picture. The upgraded software did improve the picture, and the newest boxes have a new chip that improves it even more.
It can work with most all Dish boxes, and all the functions.
http://us.slingmedia.com/object/io_1159232433920.html
The picture is almost superb on your own network, and good to almost very good remotely over the internet, dependant on the speed of your connection. You must have DSL or Cable both for sending and receiving. I also use it on my smartphone and it is amazing. For those that use Cingular, you DO NOT need the 3G network as I see many posts say. It works great over Edge.
It is true as a post above says, there have been a couple of reports of Internet providers limiting data flow but so far it is not widespread. I suppose if you used it 24 hours a day there could be a problem, but not to watch a few programs. Cingular also has something in their contract about streaming limits, but again doubtful there would be a problem to watch something for awhile, just not for hours.
Keep in mind it can also be used for other uses, such as security. I also have security cameras hooked up to it. You could hook up a radio if there is somthing you listen to that cannot be heard where you happen to be.