I was somewhat doubtful when I read yesterday that someone had picked up a new Slingbox, but I figured what the heck and headed over to Best Buy (Fairfax, VA) during lunch. Lo and behold, about half a dozen AV Slingboxes were on the shelf next to the original Slingbox. I had an employee ring up the price: $179.99. The side panel of the boxes confirms there will ultimately be three new models — the Tuner, AV, and Pro. The Tuner unit includes a built-in tuner (duh) for analog cable or antenna, the AV model is for controlling a set-top box, and the Pro model appears to support multiple sources and HD. The other side panel indicates support for Windows and Mac OSX… AND Symbian! (Which CEO Blake Krikorian alluded to two weeks ago.) I didn’t come across much more info on features (versus the “classic” Slingbox) or pricing of the other two models, though we gotta hear something official soon – right?
UPDATE: Ryan H from the Sling Community was a little more thorough than I when visiting his Best Buy in August, GA. The Best Buy computer shows the Tuner model listed at $150 and the Pro model listed at $250, both being available 10/22. Additionally, there’s a listing for a $50 HD connector.
UPDATE 2: Amazon has both the Slingbox AV and Slingbox Tuner online. Neither is available for purchase, though the AV is listed at $180 and can be pre-ordered for $155. The descriptions indicate a 400% improvement in picture quality over the original Slingbox. (Thanks Bill!)
Updated info:
The 2nd Generation Slingbox Resource Page
Three New Slingboxes Formally Announced
ok… 179 for which model and whats the $99 tag for in the picture?
The $179.99 was the AV model they had in stock. I didn’t think to ask about the others as I had a very important appointment at McDonalds to attend to. The $169.99 in the picture is for the original Slingbox and the $99.99 is for the Slinglink network-over-power adapters which weren’t in stock.
The moral is I need to carry a real camera with me, as the 6700 just doesn’t cut it. Is a qwerty phone with a decent camera too much to ask for?
UPDATE: I took another trip to Best Buy with my “real” camera, so the pics are a bit sharper.
You know, the Pro sounds interesting as a companion for the Series3.
But what would sell it to me is if they had a SlingPlayer Box. Something I could drop in another room, like the bedroom, and control my livingroom setup with. Slingbox could be the best video sender on the market, and so easy to use, and ALSO provide access from outside the home. But they only have the server piece, no clients except requiring a PC/Mac or mobile. Which is overkill.
I’ve caught SlingCatcher device references a few times over the last year… It’s also something I’d like to see and would probably be a big seller!
Best Buy is now selling the SlingBox AV online.
http://tinyurl.com/gqjlt
I’m not seeing the $155 pre-oder price on Amazon. Is that over already? It says the AV wont ship till Oct. 1, so wouldnt it still be a pre-order?
Hm, looks like that price is not being offered today… THOUGH the Tuner model is $155. Who knows how these things work — if you’re in no rush, I’d keep checking.
very helpful
THis thing rocks. way beyond my expectations.