Sporting newfound PAL support, Sling Media's place-shifting Slingbox is gearing up to let European stream their TV live over the Internet - now also to Windows Mobile devices.
Place-shifting pioneer Sling Media has announced the company is readying a new version of its Slingbox supporting the PAL video standard, predominantly used in Europe. Similar to its NTSC counterpart, which came to market in the US in early 2005 as one of the very first place-shifting solutions, the Slingbox PAL will enable owners to capture the input from TV channels in their home and stream this across the internet in real time.
Accepting video feeds through composite, S-Video and coaxial connections, as well as RCA audio, the Slingbox relies on the Windows Media Video format enhanced with the company's own proprietary stream optimization technology to stream a single TV channel. The encoding itself takes place on a Windows XP based PC, which must be connected to the Slingbox by way of Ethernet.
With plans to deliver the PAL version of the Slingbox in the first half of 2006, Sling Media said it had been running a limited beta program for the European market in November 2005 and was working to ensure compatibility with various satellite and cable set-top boxes. Further information concerning pricing and availability was said to be unveiled in the second quarter of 2006.
In related news, the company also announced the upcoming availability of a Windows Mobile version of its SlingPlayer software to be dubbed SlingPlayer Mobile, enabling real-time streaming and control of home TVs to smartphones and communicators. Current devices compatible with the offering include the
O2 XDA Exec,
T-Mobile MDA Pro,
Orange SPV C600 and more.
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