OMG I *need* to buy this when it comes out

[Reverend_Smitty]

The premise is simple: instead of streaming your TV across the 'net to PCs (as with the SlingBox), the SlingCatcher does the opposite by streaming your PC's videos to the TV. The SlingCatcher is expected to retail for under $200 some time in the middle of 2007; it will come with HDMI and component connectors and will feature both WiFi and Ethernet for connectivity.

SlingCatcher represents a different approach to the merging of television and computers than other attempts, such as Microsoft's Media Center and Apple's upcoming iTV . The former uses a Windows PC as a personal video recording device, and can stream video—although unfortunately not videos encoded with DivX or Xvid—wirelessly to a television through the use of a Media Center Extender such as the one found in the Xbox 360. Apple's solution leverages the iTunes Video Store to allow users to view content that they have purchased online, but it is build atop QuickTime and is not expected to play or stream video in other formats.

The SlingCatcher, on the other hand, is media-agnostic. It doesn't care what codec videos are encoded with, nor whether or not they have been purchased from an approved online store. It is designed to take video output and stream it, which means that you could use the SlingCatcher with video purchased from other online services, such as the iTunes Store or CinemaNow. In this way, the SlingCatcher may turn out to be a one-size-fits-all solution in a field populated with specialty products.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070108-8569.html

I was excited about the prospect of iTV but hated all the restrictions placed on it, especially the bit about only playing QuickTime videos. But this product seems a million times better, almost too good to be true. I watch quite a bit of media on my computer so not being constantly tethered to my laptop is a godsend. I truly can't wait!

[laconicsax]

1. My old laptop had an S-video port

I just plugged it in, plugged in my ancient sound system to the headphone jack, changed the display settings a bit to improve the picture and let it run. When I created a 'TV' display profile, the setup was even faster.