This article was published on July 16, 2014

Sling introduces its cheapest Slingbox ever at $149 and rebrands the Sling 500 the SlingTV


Sling introduces its cheapest Slingbox ever at $149 and rebrands the Sling 500 the SlingTV

Before set-top boxes and smart TVs made watching streaming media an everyday occurrence, Sling Media had its Slingbox streaming your home TV anywhere in the world. It’s still making cable and DVR content available anywhere with two updated products and a new set of features to make those finding shows easier.

The Sling M1 and SlingTV replace the Slingbox 350 and Slingbox 500, respectively. The new M1  also is Sling’s cheapest TV-anywhere devicee to date at $149.99. The SlingTV shares the same unconventional styling of its predecessor with a swooping top that’s definitely not made for stacking.

0715_slingbox2

 

The Sling M1 is meant to be an entry-level device with a desktop app that makes set up a 10 minute affair. It includes dual-band Wi-Fi and an Ethernet port and connects to your cable box or DVR via component or composite.

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The SlingTV is the more robust of the two with a price of $299.99 to match its superiority over the M1. The SlingTV, as its name suggests, is meant to be connected to the TV and act as a set-top box. The Sling TV includes a new on-screen menu system meant to facilitate discovery and can filter content via genre and if a show is live or recorded. It includes Rotten Tomato ratings for all movies and, for sports fans, can display the score of a game without having to switch channels to said sporting event.

Plus both boxes will share all that content from your home cable box or DVR with you anywhere in the world via the Sling mobile apps or online without fees. So that’s nice when you’re on vacation in another country and for some reason they don’t broadcast True Blood and  you need your vampire fix. The Sling M1 will be available July 20 and the SlingTV will ship in August. The SlingTV software will be available on Sling 500 boxes for free.

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