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Review : watching TV remotely with SlingPlayer Mobile over UMTS August 29, 2006 [Pocket PC phone] | By Edward J. R. Previously we have published review of SlingPlayer Mobile for Windows Mobile (see there for more details) but we have used then Wi-Fi as communication channel. What about using Internet connection over cellular networks? Clearly GPRS is too slow, but what about UMTS? Will SlingPlayer Mobile really work over UMTS? Here we are testing SlingPlayer Mobile: 
... of latest version (that was released just yesterday): 
... which is also a version that for the first time should offer improved viewing quality when used over cellular network: Better performance in relatively lower bandwidth environment (a 3G cellular/ WiFi/ USB-based connection still recommended) By the way we have noticed that claim of SlingMedia company, that using EXE setup program for PC is better because then settings from PC version of SlingPlayer will be passed over to Windows Mobile version of the player - is not true! After installation we had to enter data of the SlingBox from the scratch. Therefore we recommend you to use CAB version of the installation program: please copy it to your Windows Mobile device, and then open it internally in the device! Since not all mobile networks offer the fast UMTS - HSDPA (in UK for example: Orange offers only UMTS, and only Vodafone and T-Mobile offer HSDPA) it was crucial to test whether SlingPlayer Mobile in combination with SlingBox makes it possible to watch TV remotely over UMTS network! What is the result of our UMTS testing? It is positive! We have been testing SlingPlayer Mobile over UMTS (please note "U" in title bar): 
... and as you can see above we have been able to achieve reasonable frame rates (up to 24 frames per second), and reasonable speeds (up to 219 Kbps): 
Both sound quality and viewing in full-screen mode: 
... were satisfactory! The interruptions of transmission occurred but they were rare and usually were occurring only immediately after TV channel change. Conclusion: since mobile TV channels offered by wireless carriers and 3rd party mobile TV services are usually cut-down versions of well-known TV channels, in order to obtain full TV programming in your mobile phone (powered by Windows Mobile - SlingPlayer Mobile is not available for other platforms yet), you can use SlingPlayer Mobile and you will be then able to watch your regular TV (including pay-per-view, satellite-only, Freeview, DVB-T, analog, etc) also over cellular networks! Obviously some Windows Mobile phones support even HSDPA (fast version of UMTS with transfer speeds nowadays up to 1.8 megabit/second), but we have tested and proven that in fact even UMTS itself (transfer speeds up to 384 Kbps) is sufficient to watch mobile TV with SlingPlayer/SlingBox combination!  Post your comment (free registration is required to post, but if you register you can edit your posts later) [ 2 Comments ]
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