Won't Sling soon be a thing of the past?

[sbrown02]

With high speed internet connectivity built into DVR's like the Hopper, won't the need for a Sling adapter eventually be a thing of the past? Said differently, with their TV Everywhere technology won't Dish have the capability (although perhaps not fully enabled yet) to broadcast any content flowing through the DVR/Hopper to any platform connected to the internet which they choose to enable (cell phones, tablets, PC's, etc.)? So eventually what's the need for a Sling adapter?

Thanks

Steven

 

[Poke]

Yeah they should just integrate in with the DVR. That way people don't have to deal extra hardware attached to the device just like they should add built in Wifi.. Less hardware to deal with is always better..

 

[Pepper]

That's fine, assuming the only thing you'll ever want to sling is what's on your Dish box. I agree in principle on the Sling adapter, but the standalone Slingbox is still quite useful.

 

[garys]

I was surprised as the 922 had the sling loaded into the receiver, yet the Hopper does not. I would think there was a reason of some sort, I never heard as to why not.

 

[GaryPen]

I was surprised as the 922 had the sling loaded into the receiver, yet the Hopper does not. I would think there was a reason of some sort, I never heard as to why not.

My guess is cost. You want that ability, you pay for the add-on. Same with OTA.

 

[Poke]

But you should never have to buy hardware for something that should already be part of the DVR.. Just another way to make people buy something they should not have to..

 

[JM42]

Theoretically, Dish could just serve the content directly over the net, but can't right now due to licensing issues.

From a legal perspective, Sling gets around (or tries to) some of the licensing/copyright issues since you are playing back you're personal DVR for your personal use. Some of the networks disagree with this and have made Sling a bullet point in the PTA/Autohop suits. Time will tell.

Technically, the root of what the adapter does is to re-encode/re-compress the image to fit your bandwidth. Without Sling, you would need about an 8mbit upload rate to play back a Dish HD sat broadcast natively. We are beginning to see those kind of upload rates, but they are a long, long, long way from being the norm.

Bottom line, if we want the functionality we will need a sling adapter (or sling box) for the foreseeable future until licensing, copyright and bandwidth issues are resolved.

Will it eventually be obsolete? Yes, but so will broadcast/linear TV in general. I'm not sure I'd take a bet on which goes first.

 

[JM42]

But you should never have to buy hardware for something that should already be part of the DVR.. Just another way to make people buy something they should not have to..

But why should it be part of the DVR? Why raise the cost for every box when a minority use it?

I have a sling adapter from the free promotion. I use it occasionally, but would never have paid for it, and would not want it increasing the cost of any future boxes.

 

[sbrown02]

JM42 - Very helpful explanation. I assumed it might have something to do with licensing, but hadn't thought about the down conversion/encoding of the signal.

Pepper - What else can you sling beyond what's already on the Hopper?

 

[caam1]

You can sling live any channel that you receive. I use it mainly with my Iphone to watch local sporting events or news when I am not at home or out of town.

 

[Scherrman]

But why should it be part of the DVR? Why raise the cost for every box when a minority use it?

I have a sling adapter from the free promotion. I use it occasionally, but would never have paid for it, and would not want it increasing the cost of any future boxes.

I agree. Why should it be part of the DVR? There are sooo many people out there that have never heard of it or would never care for it. The DVR is mainstream and Sling is not.

 

[jimdandyvi]

I used my SlingBox to watch the Olympics in English when I was in Panama when I could not get a good picture using USTVNOW or NBC directly.

Will use it later this summer to watch NFL games while in Greece.

 

[gza808]

hopper 2

 

[356B]

I guess I'm in the minority here but, I use Sling on a daily basis. I use it when I travel, on my Mac at home and have been known to check in on the iPhone.
I had the vip922, for the first several months Sling barely worked. In fact initially it worked sporadically but then did not work at all for weeks. Anyone who followed that era surly remembers the frustration.
I always believed the vip 922 was a test ride for Hopper. The integrated Sling was a casualty of a poor design, space or just because they could charge extra for the Sling Adapter.
The Sling adapter was a add on for the vip722.
Currently I use the Sling Adapter on Hopper and to date it has never failed to operate nominally.
I feel streaming is the future... if you have a quality internet connection. Satellite could be obsolete in a generation...perhaps significantly less.
Cable in my area won't last a decade unless they radically upgrade the delivery system....very limited HD.
The alliance of Sling and Dish will eventually evolve into something sexier, faster and predictably cheaper for them, which may or may not bode well for the consumer.

 

[Pepper]

Pepper - What else can you sling beyond what's already on the Hopper?

A standalone slingbox can be connected to any video device with compatible outputs: FTA satellite, cable box, DVD player, security camera, etc.

 

[riffjim4069]

That's fine, assuming the only thing you'll ever want to sling is what's on your Dish box. I agree in principle on the Sling adapter, but the standalone Slingbox is still quite useful.

Yep, with FiOS TV and Tivos...I certainly don't need Dish. To be honest, as much as I love our Slingbox it doesn't get used too often because I cannot stand watching TV on a laptop, smartphone, etc. When I watch TV I want it in HD and I want to view it on my Big Screen.

 

[DISHinOhio]

From what i have heard, the 922 was basically a large beta test for the Hopper. When DISH crunched the numbers, the number of people utilizing Sling on the 922 did not match the cost for loading it into the Hopper. In turn, they did cut the cost of the Sling Adapter in half when the Hopper was released.

 

[mnevar]

From what i have heard, the 922 was basically a large beta test for the Hopper. When DISH crunched the numbers, the number of people utilizing Sling on the 922 did not match the cost for loading it into the Hopper. In turn, they did cut the cost of the Sling Adapter in half when the Hopper was released.

Price went from $99 to something like $30, then up to $50 just before the Hopper release.

 

[Bobby]

Actually I got the Sling Adaptor for $30 after my Hopper install in March....

 

[356B]

I got one for 30 bucks prior to Hopper release, before that with rebates (for a limited time) they were free.