SLINGBOX SOLO - WATCH TV ABSOLUTELY ANYWHERE

You're a week into your dream holiday in the Cayman Islands or some other far flung destination and suddenly you get the uncontrollable urge to find out what has happened on your favourite soap back home. Or maybe the 'Reds' are playing and you are steps away from throwing your Piña Colada into the ocean and catching the next plane back home to watch the match. Of course you could pay a fortune for satellite access from your hotel room but there won't necessarily be the channels you want to watch.

But now thanks to the Slingbox SOLO you can watch your favorite British programmes via Internet broadband connection wherever you are in the world. It's a streaming device with improved streaming capabilities up to 8Mbps that doesn't require any monthly fees, and it connects to equipment such as your DVR, satellite system or cable box to deliver HD-quality TV signals to anywhere in the world. So now you can watch your DVR, digital cable, satellite receiver, or DVD player wherever you see fit. You can change channels with the remote, pause, fast forward, rewind and change size of the screen. You can even watch programmes already saved on Sky+, as you have complete control over the box.

The Slingbox Solo is probably the most attractive of all the Slingbox models. Slingbox Pro is larger than life, very 'plasticky' in appearance and not easy on the eye but the Solo is relatively small, modern and shiny. 

The Solo's set-up process is easy - just connect it to your video and audio device. Connect to your home network connection then install the SlingPlayer software and you're away. Remember to adjust the firewall on your laptop (if you're using that) to allow the SOLO access. Software, which is currently available for PC, Mac, Windows Mobile 6 and Symbian S60 handsets (with the promise of BlackBerry support coming) takes about 5 minutes to run through the set-up.

One of a number of Slingbox products in this field it means you can watch television either through your laptop or your mobile phone as the age of telecommunications develops at a rapid pace.

The SOLO retails at around £130.00

The best thing about the Slingbox Solo is that it is really simple to connect and use.  

There are just a couple of down-sides to this gadget. One is that it monopolises the device it is attached to so anyone sitting at home watching TV will have to watch the same channel as you and grin and bear any channel switching that you do.  

Also, at the moment the Slingbox solo doesn't suppport Wi-Fi;  it has only ethernet so if your router is in another room from your input source you will need to buy some kind of wireless or power-line bridge.; maybe a gaming adaptor or homeplug networking device to solve the problem.

© Susan Bailey 2008 All Rights Reserved