Crave

(Credit: Sling Media)

You can finally remove the SlingCatcher from the vaporware list. Following reports that it was popping up on store shelves around the country, the $300 product officially begins shipping today, ending a wait that began more than 18 months ago when it was first unveiled at CES 2007.

The SlingCatcher is a playback device that's designed to pull digital content from three sources and display them on your TV. It can play a variety of digital video files from an attached USB storage device (anything from a thumbdrive to a hard drive); display anything on your PC screen (including full-motion video) via the SlingProjector "screen scraping" software; and stream video from any source connected to a Slingbox (elsewhere in the house in high-resolution, or from a remote Slingbox source over the Internet at lesser quality).

While the SlingCatcher may sound like a niche device, there's strong indication it will gain more widespread appeal with forthcoming feature upgrades. Enter Sling Media's Sling.com Web site, which recently entered a closed beta phase. Originally intended as a home for the YouTube-style "Clip-n-Sling" snippets (another Slingbox feature first demonstrated months ago), the site appears to have morphed into a more Hulu-like "premium library of movies, TV shows, and Web videos" (to quote the site splash screen), with content from NBC, Fox, CBS, Showtime, Break.com, National Geographic, and MGM highlighted on the homepage. (Also mentioned: the capability to watch your Slingbox in the browser, directly through the Sling.com portal, presumably without the need for a software install.)

How does the eventual launch of Sling.com tie into the SlingCatcher? Blogger Dave Zatz--a former Sling employee-- writes, "SlingCatcher will eventually tap directly into Sling.com for some web video, perhaps partially taking the PC out of the mix." In other words, the need to have your PC nearby and be running the SlingProjector software may be more of an intermediate step to a direct pipeline to Web video for the Catcher. Sounds intriguing indeed.

We'll have a full review of the final SlingCatcher hardware as soon as our sample arrives. In the meantime, check out our hands-on preview of the product from September, and our full review of the recently released Slingbox Pro-HD.

Editors' note: Sling Media and CBS (the parent company of CNET) are working together on Sling's Clip-n-Sling project and the CBS' Interactive Audience Network.

(Credit: Sling Media)

When Sling Media released a trio of second-generation models in the fall of 2006, the Slingbox Pro was at the top of the line. Unlike the entry-level Slingbox AV, the Pro had pass-through outputs, an analog tuner, multisource capability, and the ability to accept high-def video sources. Unfortunately, it also came with a handful of caveats: While it could accept HD video, it downcoverted that to 640x480 for streaming--and you needed to invest in a $50 dongle if you wanted to use a component video (HD) source. It was also an ugly maroon color, ensuring that it contrasted with everything else in your home-theater equipment rack. The third-generation Slingbox Solo appeared the following year, co-opted nearly all of the Pro's key features, making the need for an upgrade to the Pro even more apparent.

(Credit: Erica Ogg/CNET)

Last week, the folks from Sling Media stopped by to give us a hands-on look at the SlingCatcher. Originally due in 2007, the long-delayed product looks to be finally ready to ship this fall. (The video below is Molly Wood's preview of the SlingCatcher when it was reintroduced in January 2008.)

As the name suggests, the SlingCatcher is a hardware version of the SlingPlayer software that's available for various devices. Connect the SlingCatcher to your bedroom TV, for instance, and you can access the live TV and recorded programs from your living room DVR (which, in turn, is connected to a Slingbox).

So, instead of being limited to the small-ish screens of a laptop (or even a mobile phone), you're back to watching TV on...a TV.

The SlingCatcher can access any Slingbox that you've added to your Sling.com account, but the same caveats apply to it as with the software SlingPlayers. Most notably, only one client can access a given Slingbox at a time.

Bandwidth constraints apply (streaming within a home network generally looks great, but remote Slingbox resolution will be limited by upstream bandwidth at the source location). And the Slingbox monopolizes the AV source to which its connected (if you log in to your DVR and start playing Desperate Housewives while somebody's in the living room watching football, they'll suddenly see Eva Longoria instead of Eli Manning.

Will we actually see the SlingCatcher before 2009?

If you've been waiting been patiently waiting for the SlingCatcher, we feel your pain. We first saw the device back at CES 2007 and were impressed, but then it never came out. Then we saw it again at CES 2008 and we were told it would be out in the second quarter of 2008--and Sling missed that deadline. Now it's September and still no SlingCatcher.

With all these delays, we're about as skeptical as you can be, but Dave Zatz (of Zatz Not Funny and former SlingMedia employee) recently noticed that both the SlingCatcher and Slingbox PRO-HD are available for preorder on Amazon. And quick zip over to SlingMedia's site shows that the company is also offering up the units for preorder, and we have to imagine Sling is close to delivering the products if they're starting to take money for them.

Maybe the bigger question is whether the SlingCatcher still appeals to us as much as it did back in 2007. The device is capable of streaming media, transmitting your PC's display to a TV and "catching" a stream from your Slingbox, but a lot of those functions are pretty limited in real-world use or already done by other devices. We've already reviewed one device--the ZvBox--that aims to bring your PC and internet video to your TV, and we were less than impressed. Sling has a good reputation for a solid user experience, but at $300, it's yet to be seen if the SlingCatcher can appeal to larger than a niche audience.

Are you still excited about the SlingCatcher or Slingbox PRO-HD, or is the thrill gone after all these delays?

This is just getting silly.

The makers of the popular Slingbox have been promising the SlingCatcher for almost a year and half now. And once again, the projected release date will come and go quietly.

Sling Catcher delayed again. This time, they're crossing their fingers for a release date sometime before the end of this year.

(Credit: Sling Media)

Gregg Wilkes, vice president of sales for Sling Media--which is now owned by EchoStar Communications--told a frustrated customer in an e-mail that the goal to release the device during the second quarter of this year will not be met.

Wilkes writes: "Will the catcher ship in Q2? No. We are upgrading the user experience and making enhancements to the feature set. These may or may not all ship at the same time. Will the Catcher ship in '08? All indications point to this happening in 2008."

The SlingCatcher is a set-top box, separate from the Slingbox, that brings video content from a Slingbox to another TV in a house, or from an external hard drive. The SlingCatcher also lets users project Web content to a TV screen, either wired or wirelessly, through an application called SlingProjector.

The device was originally introduced at CES 2007, and shown again at CES 2008, which was when Sling was floating the Q2 time frame.

Apple TV: Leopard enhanced?

(Credit: CNET)

The Leopard update of Apple OS X will be able to wirelessly transmit the Mac desktop to any HDTV that's connected to an Apple TV box--at least, that's the word according to LoopRumors (as spotted on Digg). Of course, the report is nothing more than a rumor: no source is cited, and there's no way to know if this is based on genuine inside information or whether it's just another fanboy fantasy. But chewing on wild, unsubstantiated rumors is half the fun with Apple products, so--with a massive grain of salt firmly in place--let the speculation begin.

We already know that the Apple TV can stream iTunes media files--music, movies, TV shows, photos--from networked Mac or Windows computers. But the ability to broadcast a Mac desktop in real-time would offer a nice bonus for Apple users vs. their Windows counterparts. If it really delivered a WYSIWYG version of the desktop, the feature would also make Apple TV a more compelling product: instead of being a slave to iTunes, the Apple-TV-plus-Apple-Leopard combo would let users easily view and share any digital media, including YouTube videos, PowerPoint decks, online photo slide shows (from the likes of Flickr and Snapfish), or view any Web page, all via the lean-back comfort of a big-screen HDTV.

But if that sounds familiar, it's because we've already seen it: the SlingProjector feature of the recently announced Sling Media SlingCatcher. At CES, I was able to see the SlingCatcher in action, and the ability to wirelessly mirror the desktop of a networked PC running the SlingProjector software was impressive. The SlingCatcher will retail for "under $200" (in other words, probably $199) when it hits later this year, and it can also stream live TV content from any Slingbox. But with a February debut, the $300 Apple TV will get a head start in the marketplace of several months--whether or not it offers the same desktop-mirroring technology.

To date, the SlingPlayer viewing software has let owners of the Slingbox watch their home TV on a Windows PC, a Mac, or a Windows Mobile device anywhere in the world they have a broadband connection available. Symbian smartphone software is already available in Europe, and Palm software has just been announced. Those software players will soon be joined by a hardware option in the form of the recently announced SlingCatcher, due to hit stores in mid-2007 for under $200.

SlingPlayer for TV in action on the SlingCatcher

(Credit: CNET)

We knew the general details of the SlingCatcher based on Sling Media's announcements earlier this week, but this morning we were able to get some hands-on quality time with a working prototype of the device. It delivers two main functions: SlingPlayer for TV and SlingProjector. SlingPlayer for TV is exactly that: it lets you watch the same placeshifted video you can tap into with the software SlingPlayers, but on the expanse of a big-screen TV. So, if you want to watch any programs you recorded on the living room DVR (which would be attached to the Slingbox transmitter), you can stream them to the bedroom TV (connected to the SlingCatcher). On an average home network, the SlingCatcher should be able to deliver full-screen, 30 frame-per-second video at excellent quality. And while the demo unit wasn't nearly a final product, video quality was indeed solid and eminently watchable--more or less on a par with the quality you'd get from an analog cable TV channel. There's no reason the SlingCatcher can't work outside the home either--to stream your home cable or satellite box to your vacation home or hotel room, for instance--but bandwidth limitations will mean degraded picture quality.

Like the software SlingPlayers, the SlingCatcher will let you have complete control over the remote device as well: it will be shipped with its own remote control that will be able to be mapped to the key functions of various source devices, such as DVRs, cable and satellite boxes, and DVD players. In the meantime, Sling was using a generic universal remote for the demo, and we were able to flip channels without a problem, though--as with all streaming devices--there is a delay because of the encoding buffer. One other note of interest: the SlingCatcher should work with all Slingbox models, including the original Slingbox Classic.

SlingProjector mirrors anything on your PC to your TV screen

(Credit: CNET)

The second big feature of the SlingCatcher doesn't even require a Slingbox source. SlingProjector is software you run on your computer that lets you mirror anything and everything on the PC screen to your TV. Because it works independently of file formats and codecs, there shouldn't be any annoying caveats and limitations for media types--if you can see and hear it on the computer, you can see and hear it on the TV. We were able to watch a few YouTube clips and watch a PowerPoint presentation, but there's no reason you couldn't "project" an iTunes playlist, a Flickr slideshow, or any other multimedia content, from a 30-second clip to a full-length movie. The caveats: the SlingProjector software is a one-way "push" from the PC, so you can't select files or access the PC-based media from the SlingCatcher--you need to do it from the computer. Also, you get exactly what's on the PC screen--including IM and e-mail pop-ups and the like. (SlingProjector was running on a Windows PC, but a Mac version is on the horizon as well.)

The SlingCatcher packs in every possible A/V output

(Credit: CNET)

The SlingCatcher hardware packs a lot of features into its tiny frame. It's small enough to be mounted behind a flat-panel TV, but it offers the entire range of A/V outputs: composite, S-Video, component, and HDMI, along with analog stereo and digital coaxial outs. Sling recommends using the wired Ethernet connection for best results, but the Catcher will also be the first of the company's products to employ Wi-Fi networking as well. Rounding out the back panel are two USB ports. To that end, company reps showcased a hard drive module that snaps on to the SlingCatcher, but they remained vague as to what sort of functionality it would add--though it's a safe bet that some sort of local media storage is in the cards.

All in all, SlingCatcher and its two headline features--SlingPlayer for TV and SlingProjector--look to further expand the Sling experience. The company continues to be the couch potato's best friend, letting you watch your home TV virtually anywhere and anytime, and with SlingProjector, it's letting users go beyond the TV to the wider world of digital media.

We'll have a more thorough hands-on review of the SlingCatcher as soon as it becomes available later in 2007.

What's the opposite of the Slingbox? The new SlingCatcher.

The SlingCatcher is a set-top box that will let users project Web content to a TV screen, either wired or wirelessly, through an application called SlingProjector. Navigation can be done with either the included remote or through a PC.

SlingCatcher

(Credit: Sling Media)

The device is set to be announced Sunday at CES 2007 by Sling Media, the same people behind the Slingbox, which lets you watch your home TV channels on a laptop or a smart phone. The SlingCatcher retains the Slingbox's familiar trapezoid shape.

With an eye on Apple's upcoming iTV, Sling Media CEO Blake Krikorian said announcing the new device for bringing Web content, such as YouTube videos, to a living room is his company officially "throwing our hat in the ring there."

Krikorian said the SlingCatcher will be available for "less than $200" sometime in the second quarter or as late as this summer.