Slingbox in Switzerland

kilns

Hey All,

I am moving to Switzerland soon and obviously would like to keep in touch with the channels here at home.

Is the slingbox the right way to go? I was thinking of hooking it up to my parents UPC.

And also if it was hooked up, would I have to watch what they are watching at that time?

mickko

Slingbox is great. However it is not easy to set up on home modem, and I'd advise that you consult Slingbox website for recommended Modem's.
If your current modem is listed, you should be ok.

Yes, you would have to watch whatever is been watched at home. I would advise you use a separate dedicated device. However, I'm not familiar with UPC and what they charge, so a separate device may not be an option.

Maybe an analogue device would be better so you could at least access analogue service at no extra cost. The Slinbox Pro has a separate tuner inside it. I know this has an MPEG2 digital tuner, but am not sure if it has an analogue tuner. if it has, just plug in fly-lead from home, and tune up UPC analogue service which should be freely available to you.

There is also the Slingbox Pro HD, which may also have a tuner, but I'm not sure. If it has an MPEG4 tuner, you could use antenna for the Saorview service, and stay away from UPC altogether. This would all depend on your aerial reception and where you live.

I nearly pulled my hair out setting up modem. Went through 3 modems if I remember correctly, but once set up, it's never given any trouble. Have it and modem on UPS as well just in case of power outage, and have Slingplayer for my iPhone for €23.99, once off charge. Great job.

mickko

See Slingbox Pro here.....

http://uk.slingbox.com/go/slingbox-pro-techspecs

It says it has a DVB-T tuner, but I'm nearly certain it's also an analogue tuner. I can check my own tomorrow if you wish.

If that's the case, I'm sure if you are on UPC that you have another connection somewhere at home. If so, just plug in another room and tune analogue service.
If not, get an f-type splitter, and split incoming cable to UPC box, giving you a separate connection for Slingbox Pro.

Another advantage of this configuration is that you do not need any separate device, like UPC cable box, and no remote sensors either.

So no extra subscription charges from UPC, but Slingbox Pro, is a little more expensive.

munchkin_utd

"slingbox pro" has a terrestrial digital mpeg2 decoder so no use for irish saorview. Should be ok for analogue cable services though.
The "slingbox pro hd" is compatible with irish digital terrestrial, but has no teletext services (red button)

If you dont want to share a box with your folks, an extra upc digital box is only a fiver a month or something small so could go for that and get the plain tunerless "slingbox solo".

although if you dont want extra recurring costs, you could always get a slingbox pro and use its analogue tuner for the main channels (RTE/ BBC/ UTV etc) without disturbing your folks and tap into the digital box with their agreement then the odd time you need sky sports or another channel not available on analogue cable.

mickko

munchkin_utd wrote: »

although if you dont want extra recurring costs, you could always get a slingbox pro and use its analogue tuner for the main channels (RTE/ BBC/ UTV etc) without disturbing your folks and tap into the digital box with their agreement then the odd time you need sky sports or another channel not available on analogue cable.

But you would need a separate Slingbox for this??