We quite liked the WDTV Play when we reviewed it back in February. The streamer is a step (or three) slower than the Roku and with far fewer apps, but brings several nifty tricks of its own including a fresh, customizable UI with Android-esque widgets. After receiving Sling’s monthly email blast, featuring promotional WDTV Play pricing, and inquiries from a pal maintaining an out-of-state apartment (where his children live) I figured it was time to fire up the SlingPlayer app.
The SlingCatcher may be long gone, but the dream of a television-based Slingbox endpoint lives on…. And the WDTV Play SlingPlayer app works exactly as you’d expect, relaying Slingbox video content from elsewhere in the home or cross-country (as I tested). Interacting with your remote set-top is of course somewhat sluggish and picture quality will vary dependent upon available bandwidth, but that’s the tradeoff for “real” TV Everywhere. One of WDTV Play’s most clever features is the ability to power up the box into a specific app – and I suspect my friend will put that to use as he continues to enjoy his Comcast subscription several states away.
Should you be similarly intrigued, Slingbox or no, the promo knocks $20 off the WDTV Play — click here and use coupon code WDTVPLAY20 to receive the $50 pricing (plus tax and $3 shipping).
Do the remote play, pause, ff, etc buttons work with the slingplayer or do you have to use the onscreen and arrows? I have an old Sony Google TV that works OK but the remote integration doesn’t work very well and since it’s the keyboard remote in the first place it’s just not good for holding in your hand and controlling..
Pretty sure they did so (slowly) – will double check and confirm tonight.
Update: Yep, I remembered correctly and the transport controls work. Of course, there’s a decent amount of lag transmitting the signal and then waiting for the action to catch up with the buffer and/or rebuffer if needed. That’s the nature of the beast.
Hey Dave, has WD TV and/or slingbox fixed the bug of constant disconnections with the sling app?
Same question as MB. I got a WDTV Live (Plus maybe?) specifically to be a Slingcatcher. Constant freezes requiring a hard reboot. I have no idea if the Play is any better…
I used it very little – had a few connectivity problems when I set the pq too high. But I streamed about 90 mins for Sports Center from the left coast to the right without a drop once I was up and running. Also had no drops another time, but the duration was shorter. So my testing was limited.
My buddy did indeed pick it up and has been using it for a few days. First, it’s way better than trying to stream his Mac screen to Apple TV as he’d been doing. But he reports WDTV Play channel changes and such respond slower than Sling’s app and he’s also had more disconnects than via the web player. So not perfect, but he’s relatively satisfied for the money he paid and for his situation.
I use the WD TV Slingplayer app to watch TV on a remote TV. My experience is very good, but agree trying to control the Slingbox using the WD remote is terrible. Instead I use the Xfinity remote app, which also allows me to access my DVR recordings and On Demand content. Changes onscreen are still a bit laggy (I think the WD box buffers 12 seconds) but overall it works really well for me.