SlingBox - Ultimate entertainment upgrade

[dejavu]

Hi all. I thought I would relate the wonderful discovery I've made. Movie nights after sailing are popular aboard Deja Vu given the great pit sofa and the 26" HDTV I installed (detailed in an article on the old forum). Problem is, TV reception was awful and now with digital TV coming in, I was looking for an upgrade. Satellite is not an option because it's expensive and the dish is a pain to mount & unmount. A Slingbox is a small box that hooks up to your home cable box/DVR and also to the internet. It costs a few hundred dollars with no monthly fee. Once it's hooked up, you can access the internet from any PC, laptop, heck, I can even watch TV on my PDA cell phone. The new laptop I got recently made all the difference as it has an HDMI Out socket. I get to the boat, turn on the laptop, plug in the ATT Wireless air card for internet access, plug in the HDMI cable which is permanently plugged into the TV and I am watching my home TV on the boat. Everything you can watch at home you can watch remotely, even recorded shows on your DVR. The picture and sound are great and they now have a HD model. With a small inverter, you can even sit at anchor and just watch TV directly on the laptop. It has solved all of my TV problems.

Mike

[stone21]

DejaVu,

I too use Slingbox alot when I'm away from home, but my enjoyment is always dependent upon the wireless connection that I can get. Are you happy wih the ATT card and Service? I've seen the commercials but am having a hard time justifying the cost since I already have internet at home, school, and work. The connection would come in handy at the slip, anchor, and away from home.

[dejavu]

Hi Stone,

Yes, I'm very happy with the 3G unit from AT & T. Much better than my prior Sprint card. Marina del Rey is in a 3g area, so that helps. The other good thing is that it's a USB device. In the event your home internet goes out (cable or DSL), you can just stick this in your desktop and use it as a backup.

Mike