By WALTER S. MOSSBERG
Most people understand the concept of time shifting for television shows. Using a digital video recorder, such as a TiVo, or a videocassette recorder, you can record a TV program for viewing at a time that is more convenient for you.
But there is another idea for making TV watching convenient that is less well known. It is called "place shifting." Place shifting allows viewers to watch TV shows they receive at home in other locations, and on devices other than their TV sets.
Unlike time shifting, which has been around for decades, place shifting is just getting going. A few portable video players are available, but they can't play live TV, only shows recorded on special TiVo models or relatively expensive TV-capable "Media Center" PCs. And they are clumsy to use.
Today, however, place shifting of TV shows takes a big leap forward. A Silicon Valley start-up company called Sling Media is introducing a $250 gadget it calls a "personal broadcaster." This small device, named the Slingbox, can beam any live TV show coming into your home to an Internet-connected Windows PC anywhere in the world. It also allows you to remotely watch shows you have recorded at home on a TiVo or other digital video recorder.
The Slingbox gives you full control of your home TV and digital recorder even if you are thousands of miles away. You can change channels, use the program guide, and perform any action on the menus of your TV or recorder just as if you were sitting in front of your set. The home TV doesn't even have to be on at the time.
And, best of all, the Slingbox is just a piece of hardware, not a service. It is a small silver box that simply sits between your cable or satellite receiver and your home broadband Internet connection and pumps your TV programs out via the Internet. It doesn't require a TiVo, and it works with a standard Windows PC.
There are no periodic fees to pay, no membership is required and no advertisements are beamed at you other than the normal commercials that appear in the TV programs. All you shell out is the $250 for the device itself. Starting today, it will be available at CompUSA and Best Buy stores, and at those companies' Web sites.