Not feeling the cord-cutting craze? From live sports and 24-hour news to a vast array of premium channels, most Americans are staying with cable or satellite TV for now. The problem is, aside from the lack of à la carte channel options, TV providers also make it exceptionally difficult to watch the programming you pay for from computers and mobile devices. Enter the venerable Slingbox, which since 2005 has made it easy to "place-shift" live TV and recorded DVR content, letting you watch it on any device over the Internet when you're away from home.

Now, after a four-year hiatus, Sling Media is back with the Slingbox 500 ($299.99 direct), its first consumer product since the Slingbox Pro-HD and the somewhat misguided SlingCatcher. With the 500, the Slingbox finally includes features many fans have been clamoring for, such as full 1080p streaming and Wi-Fi support. In an age of direct Internet streaming services, parts of the way the Slingbox 500 works are beginning to feel quite dated. But if you want to get the most out of your cable or satellite TV subscription, the Slingbox 500 remains a great way to stream live TV and recorded DVR content to any of your computers or mobile devices, at home or on the go. 

Design, Connections, and Setup

With its twisted design, the Slingbox 500 looks kind of like an inspired piece of modern art. It's made entirely of matte black plastic with a textured finish that feels durable and scratch resistant. As a coworker commented, it's no longer flat on top, so people won't be putting stuff on top and watching their Slingboxes overheat, which used to happen with the older models.

In the package, you get lots of goodies. Aside from the Slingbox itself, there's a small remote control, an AC adapter, an HDMI cable, component and composite video cables, a pair of stereo RCA audio cables, an Ethernet cable, and a printed instruction manual. The HDMI port seems like an exciting addition at first, but thanks to encryption issues from the TV providers, it only passes through regular TV and basic cable channels like USA HD. To get around this problem, Sling Media recommends a simultaneous HDMI and component audio and video cable setup; I ended up testing with the component connection.

The Slingbox 500 also includes an internal IR blaster for controlling your cable-company-issued set-top box. This means you don't have to fiddle with the little plastic external one on a wire, as you did with older models. Sling Media says the blaster is strong enough to bounce off the walls and hit the sensor on the set-top box. If that doesn't work in your setup, the company still includes the old IR blaster on a wire in case you need it.

I tested the Slingbox 500 with a Dish Network Hopper DVR and a Samsung HDTV. From the back of the Dish Hopper, I ran both HDMI and the five component A/V cables from the output jacks to the inputs on the Slingbox 500. Then out from the Slingbox 500, I connected the existing HDMI cable (from the Dish Hopper) to the back of the TV. The Slingbox 500 took about two minutes to boot for the first time; it installed a software update during this time, which I assume was already on the Slingbox, because I hadn't yet connected it to a network.

You can connect to 802.11b/g/n networks on either the 2.4GHz or 5GHz channel. I added the Slingbox 500 to our test WPA2-encrypted 5GHz network without issue, and then picked up the new remote to control the Slingbox's new TV interface. After inputting my location and zip code, the unit scanned the connected inputs and asked about our service provider, for which I selected Dish New York. It already had the Dish Hopper in its set-top box database and loaded the appropriate remote control layout. I tested the programmed remote buttons as directed, and everything worked properly from the Slingbox remote. I had no problem bringing up the menu and channel guide, switching channels, and powering the Hopper off or on—and that was without using the external blaster cable, and while standing in front of both devices.

The bundled Slingbox 500 remote is fairly small.  It's made entirely of black plastic and is very light, but doesn't feel too flimsy. It includes a Home button at the top, three function keys, an oversize five-way control pad, Play/Pause, Stop, and seek controls, and a numeric keypad. The rubber buttons are easy to press, although they're not backlit.

Performance

As with any streaming 1080p device, you'll want to make sure your home network is in tip top shape. As a general rule, 802.11n is better than 802.11g, and 5GHz is better than 2.4GHz. (Read How to Set Up a Wireless Router for quick tips on improving your network's speed and range.)

Slingboxes have always excelled at optimizing the quality of video against available network bandwidth. Even over Wi-Fi, the Slingbox 500 is no exception. I watched NCIS in HD and saw a clear, crisp picture, both over 720p and 1080p, on my ThinkPad's Chrome Web browser, with perfectly synced audio at all times. I also had little trouble changing channels and otherwise navigating the Dish Hopper's program guide.