Slingbox Pro HD:

Pro:

• Digital cable tuner: this means HD digital channels can be streamed to 1 remote viewer while I watch different channels on a tv at home.
  
• Tech Support: Very responsive and helpful tech support over chat. They can also remotely connect to control your computer and see what the problem is. They didn't always get the problem right, and tried to say I had to do something and contact them again later. But I argued each time and they helped.
• Quality: Because it's got the digital tuner, HD channels are streamed within my home network at what looks like DVD quality.
  

Cons:

• There's frequently missed frames or entire seconds of a show, so watching the news I've missed some key words and phrases, so the news story doesn't always make sense.
• Only 1 person can connect at a time, whether at home or across the great waters.
• The Program Guide doesn't work with digital cable, and the channel numbers are screwed up. On the TV I have channels like 2,3,4,9,50, etc. In slingplayer I have channels like .247, 9.1, 50.1 and 50.2. No clue what each station is unless I change channels, no clue what is on each channel. They say they're working on it. I wouldn't bet on it.
• The remote control is lousy. Because they don't utilize the information about my service, they give me a stupid remote that I can use to press channel up and down.
  
• Changing channels takes about 5 seconds.
• Slinglinks (ethernet power adapter) don't work well. I have to use an outlet on the other side of the room and lay out an extension cord to get it to work.
  

Hava Wireless HD:

Pros:

• Multiple people can watch at one time.
• You can record live tv.
  

Cons:

• Tuner is only good for analog cable, not digital, so our HD channels can't be controlled by Hava, so no HD unless you want to let Hava control your cable box, which would mean you have to watch the same thing on tv as is being broadcast over Hava
• Lousy lousy lousy tech support. No chat option, you have to call and talk to someone who speaks softly and with a very strong Indian accent. They'll say something like you need to hardwire your computer to the router instead of using wireless, and they won't help you until you do that. With a desktop on a different floor from the router this isn't going to happen. Nor was it even possibly related to the problem of Windows Media Center freezing.
• Windows Media Center freezes or says I have no tv signal.

For me slingbox wins. There's no tv guide but I can watch and control the digital cable through the slingbox. If I didn't mind having to watch the same thing on the tv as on the slingbox this wouldn't be a problem, but it's a deal breaker.

For now I'm willing to live with having no channel guide. I can watch the channels in HD, and I'll just have to type up a list of what channel is what.

1 Comment

1. mr. childs on 12/8/08, 11:26 AM

   I still use my pro daily, havent upgraded to the pro hd yet...