# has anyone used slingbox, are they any good

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-used-slingbox-are-they-any-good/610937>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [January 28, 2012, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-used-slingbox-are-they-any-good/610937 "2012-01-28T01:34:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\
**Post date:** [January 28, 2012, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-used-slingbox-are-they-any-good/610937/1 "2012-01-28T01:34:29Z")

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If I am traveling and want to watch the DVR I know the slingbox can let you do that. But what about when someone is still at home watching the TV, does the slingbox allow them to still watch via the internet?

The dish network is 2 channels (two separate channels at a time in the receiver) hooked up to various TVs at home. Can two people watch different shows at home and still stream the DVR over slingbox, or does that not work?

There are other competing products

> **[Slingbox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slingbox#See_also)**
>
> The Slingbox was a TV streaming media device made by Sling Media that encoded local video for transmission over the Internet to a remote device (sometimes called placeshifting). It allowed users to remotely view and control their cable, satellite, or digital video recorder (DVR) system at home from a remote Internet-connected personal computer, smartphone, or tablet as if they were at home.
> On November 9, 2020, Sling Media announced that all Slingboxes had been discontinued, and that the Slingbo...

Does anyone have experience with any of them?

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**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\
**Post date:** [January 28, 2012, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-used-slingbox-are-they-any-good/610937/2 "2012-01-28T04:44:48Z")

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My business partner has one of the first models of slingbox. Since I don’t have cable he gave me his login and lets me watch it if needed. I used it to watch CSPAN once for some reason. He also uses it when he’s here visiting, on his laptop.

I think my best friend has it and he watches it on his phone when working out in his own basement.

As far as I know whatever is playing on the screen on the slingbox tv is what is shown on the receiving computer. If the computer user changes the channel, the channel on the screen of the tv changes (the tv might be turned off, sure). If someone changes the channel on the TV, the channel on the computer user’s screen changes.

You can be at home watching a show on TV and someone could be watching via slingbox. You’d be watching the same thing, tho.