Sling Media slinging content in new ways

Sling Media has launched SlingCatcher, designed to deliver rich video experiences to a television located in the home as well as in remote locations. Sling Media also announced the first key applications that will be a built-in part of the SlingCatcher platform at launch: SlingProjector and SlingPlayer for TV.

The SlingProjector application – bundled with every SlingCatcher – takes a radically new approach to bringing web and PC-based content to the television by enabling the consumer to wirelessly project any web site or digital audio/video format onto their TV. “Current ‘digital media adapter’ products only provide subsets of the digital media experience we have come to love on our PCs and Macs,” said Blake Krikorian, co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Sling Media. “The beauty of the Internet is its totality and diversity. Hence, the notion of providing subsets of it on the TV screen just doesn’t cut it. In keeping with our reputation of providing uncompromised and empowering solutions to consumers, the SlingProjector application enables you to enjoy a full-blown web and digital media experience on the TV. Essentially, anything that can be viewed or played on my PC can now be slung to my TV via the SlingCatcher’s SlingProjector feature.”

The core use cases for the SlingProjector feature revolve around consumers wirelessly projecting web or PC-based content from their laptop to the TV. Net-based, long form content such as movies and shows mesh wonderfully with the “lean back” nature of the home TV experience. Additionally, short form content such as funny videos, music services and home movies/pictures lend themselves very nicely to social gatherings around the big-screen TV.

While the current Slingbox enables consumers to placeshift their favorite TV programming to a PC, Mac or mobile phone, one of the most requested features from the Sling Community has been to provide the ability to sling that same programming to another TV located in the home or to a TV in a remote location.

The SlingPlayer for TV application built into the SlingCatcher delivers an easy, familiar way for customers to move TV content around the home or access content from the home remotely via a TV, without the need for a PC or Mac in the process.

“From the very beginning our customers have asked why we didn’t offer a product that allows them to watch their home TV via the Slingbox on another TV,” continued Krikorian. “For instance, Slingbox customers have shown a desire to access their living room DVR on every TV in the home. The SlingCatcher enables them to do just that.”

The SlingCatcher also has the ability to download or stream content directly from the Internet and display it on a TV without the need for a PC to serve that content. Sling is currently discussing partnership opportunities with both large and small content owners to create and deliver their offerings directly to the TV via the SlingCatcher. The add-on storage capability (via hard disk drive attachment) could be utilized for direct delivery of such content. More details will be announced closer to the launch of the SlingCatcher.