Remember that Android or iOS SlingPlayer app that cost you $15 (or even $30!) to beam your Slingbox video around? Well, the company is retiring it. And you’re welcome to replace it with a free, ad-infested variant. Oh, you don’t like ads? Sling will gladly take another 15 of your hard earned dollars to remove them via an in-app purchase. At the very least, should your original app purchase cease to function, you’ll have some compelling new fodder for the class action lawsuit and I wonder if you can encourage iTunes to refund your original app purchase given its retirement and Sling’s double dipping.
UPDATE: It appears Sling may have changed course based on the feedback… and perhaps they had intended to take care of prior paying customers all along, but just failed in the communication department.
So, what we said yesterday about not supporting your paid version of Slingplayer after October 1? We realized that we could make things easier for everyone by just leaving things as they are, so the paid app will continue to be available and you don’t need to download the new, free Slingplayer app if you don’t want to.
But you should still download the new free app after October 1! It has great new features you don’t want to miss, and you’ll still have an ad-free experience. (As long as you download the free app from the same app store account you used to buy the original Slingplayer app)
(Thanks Mark P!)
As long as the app continues to work and remain available for download, it shouldn’t be a problem. But if they take action to block connections or the like, well…
Wow that’s kinda BS that they double charge you by retiring the old paid apps.
I would be more concerned with being able to download the app to a new or hard reset device after 10/1. Are they completely removing them or can owners download again beyond that date? Digital distribution without installer files, ugh
We don’t know… the ‘learn more’ link takes you to a place where you don’t actually learn more or anything at all. I’ll test come 10/1, since I’ve unloaded my Slingbox(es).
Wow, I sort of figured they would have a purchase or RESTORE previous purchase option for users who had bought it previously?
This clearly merits reconsideration by Sling. To a degree, I would understand if they fail to update it for iOS9, but to remove it entirely would be insane. Clearly, they should grandfather prior purchases.
WTH?!?!
I’m a pretty anti-ad, or, I mean against OBNOXIOUS ads. Frankly, I’ve found the ad versions of the Sling Player for my browser not to be a problem and about a lot of nothing. I can tolerate a pre-roll ad, but certainly don’t want ads as part of the video content I am streaming. However, the Sling experience is nothing like that. When I make my connection, I immediately open the Pop-up-Player–or it can be set so that the Pop-up-Player always loads, which presents a separate window with NO ADS. I then resize the window for what I want and keep it pinned with Always On Top so that it is always visible no matter what I may do. I’ve had consistently and AD-FREE experience after connection, so I would never consider the upgrade to making stuff ad-free because that is pretty much the experience today. Granted, if you a silly enough to NOT us the pop up player and allow all that space to be ad infested whilst having that tiny video of your streamed content in the corner, then I don’t think people know how to use Sling Players.
I will say that Sling was correct in at least providing the plug-ins and apps FREE of charge once they started the ads as part the experience.
What’s wrong is that for those who ALREADY paid for the apps to be required to pay again for the “ad free” experience, and that is just PLAIN WRONG, and the first truly lack of morals move by Sling, but they can probably get away with it, and class actions are not possible IF we have agreed to the terms that include resolution by arbitration, which TiVo, Dish, and so many other companies how put into their terms of agreements that we all robotically click “Yes,” and that is the fault of Congress. We can fix that stupid law that several courts have affirmed, but for now, we are SOL.
As for NEW users of Sling, If people don’t want the ads, then they would be paying the SAME fee they would have had Sling retained the pay for app only option.
Again, one can have a virtual ad free experience (I make exception for the pre-roll ad that sometimes appears when fist connecting, but even then I was able to SKIP the ad like on YouTube, and I’ve had a pre-roll ad only about 4 times out of the 20 times I’ve connected) by simply using the the options provided as part of the Sling browser plug-in or app. In fact, I consider the experience to be ad-free because I just never see those ads, and I have Pop-up-Player set to always load at connection. In other words, I appreciate the anger out there, and I do think it stinks that Sling pushes ads, but we can avoid the ads today very easily if one focuses on the solution rather than a never-ending stew trying to watch Sling the wrong way, as CNET would say.
I want to clarify what I said above: I am aware of the Class Action filed months ago, but I was referring to the NEW “ad infested” apps may have Terms of Agreement that excludes Class Action for Arbitration. So, in other words, we will want to read the Terms because if we “Agree” and load the NEW app, then we may have shot ourselves in the foot, IF one wants to join the Class of the lawsuit back in June.
Well, it will work on your current phone. But what happens when Apple decides to retire an API used in the App or they go to a new chipset in the phone which requires apps to be recompiled and updated. Sling pisses me off. Their Sling Catcher was garbage. And they obsoleted several of their boxes, prompting us to buy new ones if we wanted it to work on the phone. Now they are trying to herd people into paying them $30 more bucks? F*** that.
HarryKerryJr, thanks for pointing out the possibility of new arbitration agreement upon install. Not being a lawyer, in this case, I wonder if it could be voided due to coercion. At the very least, the second one can’t reinstall the paid version of Sling Player or it ceases to function, I’d make a stink with Apple/iTunes and Google/Play.
Regarding the ads themselves, it is specifically the in-video ads that made me crazy — that’s where the line is crossed. Making folks watch a commercial before they can watch their own content is just wrong. Specific to your ad-avoiding strategy, wonder if you’ll have that option available indefinitely…
I solved my problem by unloading my Slingboxes. There’s enough streaming content elsewhere and my TiVo Roamio streams most stuff — offloads, too!
“I solved my problem by unloading my Slingboxes. There’s enough streaming content elsewhere and my TiVo Roamio streams most stuff — offloads, too!”
Dave, have you considered becoming a Brand Ambassador for Slingbox?
First post: how repeatedly paying $15 / month for the ad-free experience is the best bargain in tech.
Second post: how Slingbox may well cure cancer.
It’s win-win!
Some responses from sling on their forums clarify that the old app will continue to work after October 1. It just won’t be updated anymore. Further, if you are one who purchased the old app, if you then download the new free app under the same App Store account after Oct 1, your previous purchase will be grandfathered and you will enjoy ad free viewing. This is only true after Oct 1 though. If you download the free app today, you will see ads.
Thanks for the info. I will wait until after October 1st then to download the new app.
I completely understand those who have been offended by Sling Media’s switch to the ad model, and even more offended by Sling’s “attitude,” so each is going to decide which course to take. I will be curious how the ad versions of the new mobile app will handle the ads. While today it is an free in full screen, I will have to reserved judgement until I load the new ad version of the mobile app.
I’m not sure what “in-video ads” mean. Does that mean that while in pop-up Player for desktop or full screen in mobile app a commercial interrupts your Slinged content like the way Hulu sticks in a commercial in the middle while you are watching the content or a banner of ads while watching Sling content IN FULL SCREEN or Pop-up Player? If so, that is really bad. If it is pre-roll, then significantly less bad.
For me, Sling still works extremely well and I can still avoid the ads by doing what I have ALWAYS done: not viewing with the content in the tiny corner with all that screen space wasted that is now where the ads appear.
FWIW, I really do think Sling can only go so far with the ads. Sling makes states that NO ADS will appear in full screen mode (and either full screen or Pop-up Player–a separate–window, and that is probably how it will always work, but if one is in a viewing mode less that full, ads will probably appear. Again, this absolutely does not affect me as I always watch either full screen or Pop-up Player and then resize the new window and keep it Always on Top. Sling still is the best quality streaming today and the only one to have no restrictions on the content, and that makes it still King of streamers. An ad free experience while streaming/Slinging can still be had very easily. I just think Sling Media went about implementing the ad model very poorly. I really do think a video from the CEO explaining why and all could have gone a long way, and they should have grandfathered all the current Sling App owners of the non-ad apps. Of course, while Sling states there will be no ads in full screen or the like, they are predictably mum about using the Pop-up Player for the desktop. As for mobile, I can not watch any other way than full screen, which means no ads appear.
This is more akin to the, was it Samsung, HDTV that had banner ads while you were watching TV. Horrid, yes, and very awful, but there is a simple way to turn OFF that banner ad feature, although Samsung didn’t let us in on it. While ads can’t be turned off, there are still ways to view Sling with NO ADS and with all the benefits of Sling compared to all other streamers.
Still a Sling user. for now? :).
I assume they’ll push ads as far as they can because I similarly assume they don’t do very well in retail sales. Was always a geeky, niche item and there are so many more options now than when Blake got this crazy thing going. Chucky’s comment is kinda funny considering I once was sort of the paid Sling evangelist (amongst other things)…
So, this was just sent to me from sling media regular communications
“So, what we said last week about not supporting your paid version of Slingplayer after October 1? We realized that we could make things easier for everyone by just leaving things as they are, so the paid app will continue to be available and you don’t need to download the new, free Slingplayer app if you don’t want to.
But you should still download the new free app! It has great new features you don’t want to miss, and starting October 1, current customers who previously paid for the Slingplayer app will continue to have an ad-free experience. (As long as you download the free app from the same app store account you used to buy the original Slingplayer app) ”
So that pretty much confirms that if you have paid for it, there must be some form of “restore previous purchase” option on the free version that will keep ads from showing either pre-roll or otherwise.
I stuck that note in the post over the weekend… grabbed it from the forums.
What exactly are the “great new features you don’t want to miss” that the free version has that the paid version does not? I have tried both and see no difference aside from a reset of the version number to “1” for the free version, and the “upgrade to sling premium” button to remove ads (will that button disappear October 1?). The descriptions of each in the store sound similar too.
This isn’t true because I still have ads: “…and you’ll still have an ad-free experience. (As long as you download the free app from the same app store account you used to buy the original Slingplayer app)”