| | Frequently Asked Questions about the SlingCatcher
- What do I need to get started with my SlingCatcher?
- 1. A television (standard definition or high definition)
2. A broadband Internet connection (DSL/Cable modem)
3. Home network router
- Do I need an Internet connection?
- You’ll need an Internet connection for SlingCatcher first time setup—it needs to download the latest software from our servers. After that, an Internet connection is not required. But in general, it’s highly desirable to have one, as it’ll be required for these things:
• Receiving Internet content (such as Internet videos) that you want to project onto your TV.
• Checking for updates to the SlingProjector software on your PC.
• Checking for additional software updates to the SlingCatcher.
• Streaming from a Slingbox that is located on the Internet (not on your home network).
• Using the SlingProjector Help system.
- How do I connect the SlingCatcher? (The entire set up)
- • Connect your SlingCatcher to your TV.
• Connect your SlingCatcher to your home network router.
• Connect your SlingCatcher to AC power.
• Install SlingProjector software on your PC. Make sure your PC is connected to your home network (the same network that SlingCatcher is connected to).
• Once SlingProjector is installed on your PC, click its round, center button to connect to your SlingCatcher. Refer to SlingProjector’s online Help for more information on using SlingProjector.
- How can I use my SlingCatcher?
- There are are three ways to use your SlingCatcher:
Watch video from your Slingbox
You can access live or recorded video from any device connected to your Slingbox (Cable, satellite, DVR, or DVD player) on your TV at home or in another location.
Watch video from your external hard drive
Load all your digital media files onto a USB storage drive attached to the SlingCatcher. Then you can watch your family videos, downloaded videos, and podcasts on your television.
Watch video from your PC
Project something that's playing on your laptop's screen directly onto a television. This is great for viewing Internet video from your web browser, downloaded movies from your hard drive or even photo slideshows on your TV.
- How is SlingCatcher different from the Slingbox?
- Your Slingbox:
• Transmits your TV programming to your computer or mobile phone.
• Lets you watch your TV anywhere you have a computer or mobile phone and a broadband connection.
• Works with SlingPlayer software (installed on your computer).
Your SlingCatcher:
• Transmits video and images from your Slingbox and/or computer to a TV… so you can watch stuff on a TV, instead of sitting at your computer.
• Also plays video and audio from a USB hard drive, or a USB thumb drive, to a TV.
- Do I need a Slingbox to use a SlingCatcher?
- Nope! SlingCatcher transmits video from your PC to your TV. It does that with its included SlingProjector software, a small, easy-to-use program that you install on your PC. With SlingCatcher connected to your TV, and SlingProjector installed on your PC, you can relax in front of your TV and watch Internet videos, DVDs … anything that’s on your PC’s screen. A Slingbox isn’t required … but for maximum viewing enjoyment, both at home and away, a SlingCatcher paired with a Slingbox makes an unbeatable combination!
- Do I need a PC to use a SlingCatcher?
- A PC is optional. SlingCatcher comes with software that you can use to connect directly to your Slingbox... either in the next room, or halfway around the world. SlingCatcher can also play back most video and audio files directly from USB mass storage devices (like USB hard drives or small USB flash drives). You do need a Windows PC to use the SlingProjector feature.
- Can I control SlingPlayer on my computer with the Catcher's remote? Can I change channels on the SlingPlayer with the Catcher's remote?
- No and no. The SlingCatcher remote is designed to be used solely with the SlingCatcher, although it does have some “learning” capabilities that enable it to perform a few functions of other devices, such as your television or home theatre receiver. However, it would not work for controlling SlingPlayer on your PC because most PCs have no receiver for the SlingCatcher remote’s signals. (Those that do don’t work with the SlingCatcher remote.) The only “remote” that works with SlingPlayer is SlingRemote, the onscreen “virtual” remote control that, if you choose it to, appears next to the SlingPlayer viewing window.
- What's the distance coverage of the SlingCatcher remote control?
- Approximately 30 feet, give or take. But it must have “line of sight” to the SlingCatcher.
- Can I use HDMI and composite, or component, at the same time?
- What devices you can use concurrently depends on the video resolution that you’ve set on your TV:
| Resolution | Active Outputs |
|---|
| 480i/576i | All outputs are active | | 480p/576p | HDMI, component outputs active; no video from S-video or composite | | 720p/720p 50Hz | HDMI, component outputs active; no video from S-video or composite | 1080i/1080i 50Hz
| HDMI, component outputs active; no video from S-video or composite |
If you experiment with the settings and inadvertently select one that the SlingCatcher doesn’t support with your TV, resulting in a “black screen,” no problem. Just hold the OK and UP arrow buttons on the remote control for five seconds. That’ll reset SlingCatcher to its factory default resolution.
- Will the SlingCatcher remote control act as a universal remote? And if so...
- Yes, the SlingCatcher remote can act as a universal remote.
You can program the VOLUME Up and Down, MUTE, TV POWER, and TV INPUT buttons on the SlingCatcher remote control, and they'll control your TV or other device.
How does it "learn" the commands from my other remote?
Here’s how:
- Press the down-arrow and OK buttons on the SlingCatcher remote for five seconds to enter the learning mode. The Sling button on the remote lights steadily.
If there is no button input for 25 seconds, the Sling button blinks 10 times and the remote exits learning mode. If this happens, you need to start over. - Press the programmable button on the SlingCatcher remote that you want to program (VOLUME Up and Down, MUTE, TV POWER, or TV INPUT).
The Sling button blinks once and remains lit. If the remote doesn’t receive a signal within five seconds, the Sling button blinks 10 times and goes back to the previous step. - Find the remote control for the device that you want to use with the SlingCatcher remote. Point that remote at the front of the SlingCatcher remote. Press and hold the corresponding button on the remote. The Sling button blinks 3 times when it has learned the command, and then it returns to the previous step so you can teach it another command.
Note that you can reprogram the SlingCatcher remote control buttons as many times as you need to. The buttons will always be assigned to the last learned command. - If the SlingCatcher remote doesn’t learn the command (this can happen if the signal from your device remote control is weak or in rare cases is incompatible with the SlingCatcher remote control), the Sling button blinks 10 times and goes back to the previous step.
- When you’re done, press any non-learning button on the SlingCatcher remote to exit learning mode, or just wait 25 seconds. The Sling button will blink 10 times then turn off to indicate the remote has exited learning mode.
You should now be able control your TV or other device with the SlingCatcher remote control.
What kind of devices would I be able to control?
Most kinds of devices that use an infrared (IR) based remote control.
- Can I use a SlingCatcher if I have a Mac OS computer?
- Yes! If you have a Mac, you can still use SlingCatcher to connect to your Slingbox, or to enjoy video and audio files loaded onto a USB drive. Unfortunately at this time, the SlingProjector software is only available for Windows XP SP2 and Windows Vista.
- My SlingCatcher is in a different room than my broadband modem and router. How do I connect my SlingCatcher to my home network?
- Check out the SlingLink TURBO. It turns the electrical wiring in your home into an ethernet network, so you can use any electrical outlet as an ethernet jack. SlingLinks come in a pair. You plug one unit into an electrical outlet wherever your router is located, then use the included ethernet cable to connect it to the router. Plug the other SlingLink unit into an electrical outlet near your Slingbox, and connect its ethernet jack to the one on the Slingbox.
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