This IS the Avid L2: Re: [Avid-L2] remote client viewing?

Monday, February 8, 2016

Re: [Avid-L2] remote client viewing?

I thought I'd loop back around on this for others who might be interested.

I purchased the Slingbox 500 and hooked it up to MC8.4.4 via HDMI through an AJA IO Express. The box config and account setup on Slingbox's site were relatively simple. Their website interface for viewing video is kinda clunky, requires a browser plugin and seems to have trouble connecting to the unit. After three unsuccessful attempts it reboots the Slingbox (which takes about a minute) and then the browser can usually (but not always) connect.

The video at 720P looks good when there's sufficient bandwidth and audio is in sync. The browser window has two banner ads but there's an option to view the video in a resizable popup window which obscures the banner ads. The downside to this is when closing the popup the underlying webpage loses the connection to the Slingbox and you have to go through the reconnect, Slingbox reboot cycle.

I found there to be a 5-10 second delay between when the Avid started rolling and when video on the Slingbox site started playing.

I agree with what Blafarm mentioned earlier, for the price, it will definitely do in a pinch when a producer or client can't make it into the edit bay and we need a quicker answer than exporting and posting a review copy.

Thanks,
-Terry

> On Jan 22, 2016, at 3:24 PM, Terry Barnum terrydop@gmail.com [Avid-L2] <Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
>
> Thank you very much for the detailed writeup. I see the 500 on Amazon for $230.
>
> > On Jan 21, 2016, at 8:59 PM, blafarm@yahoo.com [Avid-L2] <Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
> >
> > One last point that I actually mentioned in my first post on this subject -- but not in my last verbose monologue:
> >
> >
> > Due to not wanting to risk running afoul of content owner DRM requirements, Slingbox encrypts all video streams in a manner that only allows one client app to view a stream at any one time. That means you can forget about simultaneously multicasting a single stream to multiple clients -- whether they are in adjacent offices within the same office building -- or geographically spread throughout the world. The only way for multiple individuals to view a particular stream is to ask them all to sit in the same room in front of the same client playback device.
> >
> > Slingbox is a point-to-point solution -- it is a consumer device that is designed to be used by individuals who want to watch media on their home systems -- while they are away from home (think local football games, local TV shows, DVR recordings). As such, Slingbox has limited the video stream playback to only one player app -- and they encrypt that stream it so that it cannot be compromised or hijacked -- and so they cannot be accused of rebroadcasting content that they do not own the rights to.
> >
> > While the viewer limitation can easily be viewed as a liability for some workflows -- the encryption feature is actually an asset. Few live streaming services allow for an easily administered encryption methodology. Yes, some of them offer a password protected player page -- but that's not real the problem. An unencrypted video stream traversing the public Internet can be viewed at any node that it hits -- unless, of course, it lives within a SSL page or is tunneled th rough a VPN. The fact that this cheap solution offers adaptive bit rate playback -- as well as automatic stream encryption (without any administration for either feature) is actually a good thing -- if you can work within its limitations.
> >
> > Again, its not an enterprise level solution -- but for the money, it can offer some interesting options if you have the need for (near) real time collaboration.

Terry Barnum
digital OutPost
Carlsbad, CA

http://www.dop.com
800/464-6434