Today Hot Report

Having already achieved a level of brand recognition in the marketplace with its Slingbox product, which allows someone to watch their home television anywhere in the world via an Internet-connected laptop, Sling Media is looking to take the concept to the next step.

The Foster City, Calif.-based company has already developed SlingPlayer Mobile, which brings home television to Windows Mobile, Palm OS or Symbian-supported PDAs and phones, and its core product line also includes the flagship Slingbox AV, Slingbox Solo and Slingbox Pro, each with different levels of functionality.

The Slingbox sits near the television, connecting to either the digital cable box via different video outputs or directly into the coaxial cable, and also connects into your Internet router. Through a Web connection and a computer, either at home or on the road, someone can control and watch their television as if they were at home.

This fall, Sling Media will be launching two new offerings that drive the concept forward says Sling Media’s spokesperson, Brian Jaquet. Replacing the high-end Slingbox Pro will be the Slingbox Pro HD, which he says will bring true HD-quality video to the Slingbox experience.

“It’s a big step forward for the Sling Box family,” said Jaquet. “We’ve been able to support HD in the past…but it was (down converting) because the processing power and the broadband power required to send that content was prohibitive. With the Slingbox Pro HD we don’t down convert that source.”

The product will be able to stream content to “place-shift” HD content from an HD cable box to a computer within or outside the home. Bandwidth requirements will be important for good quality access, says Jaquet, including upload speed in the home of 1.5 to 2.0 Mbps. The new 802.11n wireless routers will also enhance the experience, he adds.

With laptops becoming more robust and cheaper, and with more of then becoming HD-compatible, Jaquet says he sees the Slingbox Pro HD being a popular fit in the market.