Slingbox is like a giant Internet remote control

Q: What is a Slingbox?

A: Slingbox is an incredible piece of technology that, unfortunately, most people know very little about. In a nutshell, Slingbox allows you to watch and control live TV, or any other TV entertainment you have, anywhere you go.

You do this by first hooking up the Slingbox device to your television or, more preferably, your digital video recorder (DVR). The Slingbox then needs to connect to your computer’s network, either through a hard-wired or wireless connection.

This is where the magic begins. With the setup complete, you can now access and control your television or DVR from any Internet connected computer or mobile device. So the next time you’re visiting the in-laws, you can sneak away to their computer, fire up the SlingPlayer software and catch up on a few episodes of the Sopranos stored on your DVR back home.

Better yet, if you have one of the Slingbox approved mobile devices, you can do the same exact thing right on your phone.

And remember, Slingbox does more than just allow you to watch television away from your house. You are actually remotely controlling the device in your home. So when you are done watching an episode of your favorite show on your DVR, you can delete the show or even program your DVR to record another show that you forgot to record before you left the house.

This post was originally broadcast Friday, June 22, 2007 on Tech Talk with Noobie, a weekly radio show on WCBK 102.3 FM in Martinsville, Indiana. Tech Talk with Noobie airs every Friday between 11:30 a.m. and noon. If you have a question you would like Noobie to answer on the air, simply e-mail your question to .