Enjoy your computer on big screen or your TV in distant spots
Jim Jamieson
Province
What is it? SlingCatcher
Price: $329.99
Why you need it: You want to one-up your techie friends who already have a SlingBox.
Why you don’t: You’re still trying to figure out how to set the clock on the Betamax.
Our rating:
The SlingBox is one of the coolest tech gadgets to hit the market in recent years.
It allows you to watch your home’s satellite, cable or personal video recording content remotely on a computer that has a high-speed connection. It can also stream media to cellphones and handhelds.
Now the company that makes it, Sling Media, has gone one better with the SlingCatcher — which does two things:
It is a universal media player that delivers TV, Internet video and personal content from PCs to television sets.
With this device you can watch online video from any popular site on the Internet, such as YouTube.com.
The SlingCatcher will also give those who already own a Slingbox the ability to watch their home TV on another TV, say at the cottage or on the road in a hotel.
The device also allows users to watch content from their main TV on another one in the house — which doesn’t sound that difficult until you think about the cost of more than one set-top .
SlingCatcher includes standard-definition and high-definition outputs to connect to a TV including HDMI, component video, S-Video and composite video, as well as analog and digital audio connectors.
It also features a standard Ethernet jack to connect to the home network,
Available at Best Buy, Future Shop and London Drugs.
© The Vancouver Province 2008