One of the ways that the 21st century is changing how people watch television is that there are any number of different streaming video devices. Slingbox has long been in that category but their latest advance brings the company further into the new 21st century.
Streaming television and movies through the internet really is the “it” tech of the last few years as some people are even avoiding paying cable bills altogther in favor of services like Hulu Plus, or the granddaddy of all the internet streaming services, Netflix. The demand for being able to watch television shows on a person’s computer or portable device, even a Smartphone is becoming so big that quite a few stations are releasing their own apps dedicated to their programs. It wasn’t long ago that Cartoon Network released an app on Android (making it finally available for both Google and Apple’s iOS’) that will actually show entire programs wherever a user wants to watch them.
While the argument can be made that these types of advances are actually making cable television obsolete, there is at least one company that is trying to make the exact opposite argument. Slingbox wants it and cable companies in general to stay relevant and feels the best way to do that is to change just enough with the times to keep demand up. That is why, after a delay that seems a bit too long in coming, the Slingbox is finally going to be able to work with Google TV.
Slingbox really was one of the first devices that allowed people to use the internet to watch programs that were being broadcast to one television in their home either on another television or on their computer. It was the first device that showed so many others just how popular something like that could be. Now that the company is jumping into the current decade with gusto, will it be able to take back its crown as king of streaming devices? That answer may not come for quite a while, but we do know that when the device does finally arrive (it is currently in beta and not on shelves yet) it will allow users to watch any program that they could watch on their Google TV on any other television in the house or computer outside the house as long as they have an internet connection.
One caveat is that for now, Slingbox is only planning connectivity with the Slingbox Solo or the Slingbox PRO-HD.
