We bought a Sling Box for our son for Christmas. He travels a lot and wanted it in order to watch his Tivo'd sports from his hotel room. It truly is an amazing product, and works just as advertised.
For anyone who doesn't know what it is, a Sling Box lets you watch your TV at home from your computer anywhere in the world (as long as you have a fast Internet connection on both ends). I have no idea how it works, but it does, and the picture quality is quite good.
The only thing you need to be aware of is that you can't watch something on your SlingBox in California while your spouse watches something else at home. Only one person can control the TV, so you need to agree on who's in charge!
Thanks, Roz. We could have a dedicated TV at home so that there wouldn't be a problem. Does it just hook up to the router even thought nothing else will be connected to the router?
I honestly don't know how you hook it up, because I didn't do it. But my son (who is reasonably knowledgeable, but not really a techie) said it was quite simple to do and only took him a few minutes.
We haven't bought it yet as can't decide if we want to do it. All I know is what Roz has said and looked at the reviews. It does sound as if it would be good,
Yes,Jane , I can understand that as I have mixed feelings as well.(Not sure if yours are the same as mine).On one hand it seems like it would be nice to be far away from endless American consumerism & culture that (US) TV certainly brings with it.We do not watch much TV here.A big part of our reason for going is to expose my child to other ,more simple ways of living.
OTOH, on the cold and rainy winter days of endless culture shock and speaking ones second language ( in the "me Tarzan" style for me), I am wondering if it might not be a little bit of creature comfort to have something familiar as a little "security blanket".I love italian ,just the sound of it ,as it is melodious to my ears even tho I do not understand much ( I like Spanish & French too by sound) ,but I do remember sometimes being just fed up with it everywhere on lonely nights when I lived there that year.Even the lovely "one oh one" on the radio in accented english started to grate after awhile.
When the vacation part ends and real living begins, I know there is a process that happens with all expats thats not that easy.One is a foreigner in a foreign land afterall ,so some feelings of isolation happen.Perhaps its better today with our easy connections to anywhere and certainly easier with a family unit I think than alone.One funny thing I learned from my first expat experience is how truly American I am.
But I was thinking that sling box TV might be good for that , a once in a while treat and "cure-for-isolation feelings-pill".We were thinking of just bringing a short wave radio so we could at least get the BBC classical music and news in Spain & as we travel....then your news of this item certainly caught my eye.We are picking a rental without any TV or dvd ( the others just have spanish & UK TV which is not the same for us).I like the idea of just curling up by the fireplace or sitting on the ocean view terraces with good books which I know we will do...but wondering if we would benefit from a little TV as we go in Spain & elsewhere.Some times its nice to veg with a movie & we can only carry so many dvd's & I am not that fond of repeat viewings.
Its definately tempting ,but I do not want to open pandoras box or bring along part of what I am leaving for.
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