Group 3: Anneliesse, Hannah, Melanie, Shinhye, Tony

=Slingbox=

History
Blake and Jason Krikorian, brothers from San Francisco and devoted San Francisco Giants fans, envisioned the concept of the Slingbox during the 2002 Major League Baseball season. Traveling far from home, they faced missing the best games of the season, and sought a solution. The Slingbox first made its appearance on the US market on July 1, 2005. Beginning with the colossal refrigerator-like prototype placeshifter for baseball games, the Slingbox soon evolved into the sleek form we see today, designed by Yves Behar, capable of 'slinging' any video source. This design was later replaced by the second and third generation products designed by NewDeal design in San Francisco. On September 24, 2007, EchoStar announced an agreement to acquire Sling Media for approximately $380 million USD.

The Technology
How it Works:

The Slingbox operates by connecting a television source (or another video-output component) to your home computer, where it compresses the television signal into manageable data that can be streamed online onto a private server for you to view from anywhere in the world through your laptop or cell phone. It is compatible with regular, cable, digital, and satellite TV as well as DVD players, DVR’s, HD components, Apple TV boxes, and pretty much every video component in your household; switching between components is as easy as clicking a button. Using the Slingbox IR emitter at home, it enables the user to use a virtual remote control for the online stream as though you were watching at home. Due to copyright infringement, access to a stream is limited to one user at a time per Slingbox.

In order to use the Slingbox, you must have a broadband router, high speed internet connection, video source, and either run Windows or Mac, incompatible with Linux.

Main Components Involved:

Digital Media Processor – Takes the television (video output) signal and converts it into data, then encodes the data into either a Windows or Mac codec, depending on the home computer.

Ethernet Port (RJ-45) – Broadcasts the encoded data as a stream. The Slingbox also uses a proprietary streaming protocol called Slingstream to adapt to varying network speeds.

Slingbox Tuner – Syncs with the television (video output) allowing the device to manipulate the output signal.

Basic procedure that the Slingbox performs:

1.	Connects video output to the Slingbox tuner 2.	Slingbox takes video signal from its source 3.	The digital media processor converts signal into manageable data 4.	The digital media processor compresses the data with a Windows or Mac codec 5.	The Slingbox broadcasts the compressed data in a stream 6.	You can then access the stream via home network or any internet source

Features:

Sling Remote: When watching your television online via Slingbox, you can control the video with a click of your mouse. There is a wide variety of remote skins included, based on actual models for most different brands of televisions so you could have a virtual copy of your actual remote at home.

Viewing Modes: When watching your video stream via Slingbox, you can watch in full-screen view, regular window view, or in a “Slingbar” view. The Slingbar view splits your computer screen into two separate video spaces. If you are watching and surfing at the same time, your watch space will not be interrupted by whatever you do on the work space.

Legal Issues
Although there are currently no lawsuits against Sling Media, the Slingbox could have some very serious repercussions in the near future. One issue that has been brought up with the Slingbox is the issue of breaching proximity controls. Proximity control is defined as the restriction of distribution of content to specific regions and times. With the distribution of media, certain media copyright holders decide where and when their programming can be viewed. With the Slingbox, subscribers can watch any program made available on their television anywhere in the world. This is known as place-shifting and the issues that are surfacing with the Slingbox are whether or not the consumer has the right to place-shift content just as consumers time-shift content. In order for certain individuals or companies to retransmit media content, they are required to sign complicated conracts and agreements. Cable companies have this consent but in their local area. They do not have the consent to retransmit media all over the country therefore the Slingbox is violating these agreements and contracts.

One example of how consumers can misuse the Slingbox technology is that two people who are across the country could send programming from their respective areas to each other. The person who is on the west could have access to media which is permitted to be broadcasted in that area, while the person in the east may not be authorized to watch this programming as that media was specifically distributed to be viewed by people in the west. By doing this they are violating the proximity controls that certain copyright holders have placed on their media content.

One recommendation that could be given to Sling Media in regards to their Slingbox technology is that they could attempt to develop their technology in a way in which it does not violate copyrights.

Competitors
Some of the Slingbox's competitors include: 1. Sony’s LocationFree TV - Functions much like the Slingbox but can also direct its signal to Sony’s PSP’s as well.

2. TiVo Series - Allows the user to watch pre-recorded programs on your computer; however it is unable to play programs in real time.

3. Linksys Media Hub - All media files (photo’s, music, videos) could be uploaded to the console where it can be accessed (via internet) all over the world. However it is constrained to your digital library and cannot play live television.

Advantages
HD Streaming Connects to any one of your HD sources for true high-definition streaming on your computer and great picture quality on your mobile phone.

Multiple Inputs Connect to and control multiple video sources, including your DVR, digital cable, satellite receiver, and DVD player.

Built-in Digital Tuner Features an integrated digital tuner for access to analog or digital cable (clear QAM), and digital over-the-air broadcasts (ATSC). The digital tuner may be used independently from your cable or satellite box.

With a set of Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition (HD) inputs and a built-in digital HDTV tuner, you can truly watch all of your TV anywhere. The built-in TV tuner also allows you to watch your local analog/digital broadcast or basic cable without changing channels on your home TV. Slingbox PRO-HD unleashes the latest hardware advancements to deliver the best video streaming quality of any Slingbox to date, for both local and remote viewing. And you can use the Slingbox PRO-HD with virtually any audio/video device such as an HD-DVR, satellite receiver, cable box, or security camera.

On Screen Remote Control Every feature that's available on your TV remote control is accessible through the included SlingPlayer software for your Windows or Mac laptop. This means you can view your electronic program guide (Windows only) and change the channels, queue a recording on your DVR, or even watch pay-per-view movies.

Full Set of Pass-Through Connections Easy integration for up to three A/V devices. Includes component, composite, S-video, and ATSC connectors.

Other advantages
 * No monthly fees.
 * Watch your HDTV anywhere on your laptop or mobile phone.
 * Watch and control a high-definition and a standard definition A/V device, such as a DVR, cable set top box, satellite receiver, or DVD players, plus your basic cable program content with the built-in HDTV tuner.
 * Mobile phone compatibility. SlingPlayer Mobile* software lets you watch and control your TV and all of its programming on compatible Windows Mobile, Symbian, or Palm OS mobile phones.
 * Crisp video streaming. SlingStream is the innovative streaming technology that ensures you receive the clearest picture possible at any given location.
 * Supports over 5,000 A/V devices.
 * Supports Windows XP/Vista, Mac, and Windows Mobile, Symbian or Palm OS-based smart phones.

Disadvantages
No Built-In Wireless Networking Support Having no wireless support monopolizes the device.

Lacks Wireless Networking Component If there are no ethernet connection available, it requires you to hook it up to a wireless networking bridge.

Multiple Channels = Multiple Slingboxes Another disadvantage for a slingbox is that if you would like to watch multiple channels at the same time, it will require multiple slingboxes. It is one-to-one streaming not one-to-many.

Degraded Video over Internet If you are watching your saved tv show over the internet, the upload speed can be a problem. Under local wifi settings, it would work perfectly but long distance wireless can slow the upload speed down since there can be limitationss. This can degrade the video quality, possibly ruin the experience with the slingbox.

Recommendations
One of the reasons why the Slingbox is highly criticized is because it can only be used by one user at a time; they should develop a technology that allows users to share the streaming, Also, in order for Sling Media to avoid significant legal repercussions in respect to their Slingbox technology, they should try and alter it so that it does not conflict with copyright agreements. They could put some constraints on the technology which would only allow subscribers to use the service within the area that is specified under the copyright agreement for specific media content. This would take a lot of time and effort to figure out which media is authorized in certain areas but could also save them millions of dollars in potential legal fees.

TechSlingers: Group Members
Anneliesse Bilic, Shinhye Park, Melanie Robichaud, Tony Yu