Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The announcement of the Belkin @TV took me a little by surprise earlier this year - after all, this is a market dominated by Sling Media and (with a much smaller amount), Monsoon with their Vulkano Lineup. Packaging: The box itself is quite attractive - much smaller than the flat and long Vulkano, and more square than the Sling. It sits nicely on top of my Tivo Premier Elite. In the box is the unit itself, power, ethernet, IR blaster and video cables. Winners:There is no clear winner here between Vulkano, Sling or @TV - they all come with what you need. Inputs/outputs: Immediately, you notice a problem as the @TV only connects to Component or composite. You'd better have those, or you'll be out of luck. Disappointingly, the unit lacks HDMI in OR out. Winners: The Vulkano Lava and Blast win here as they have HDMI out. You can go Component IN and HDMI out. Only the Slingbox Pro has HDMI, but only with an expensive add-on. That said, if you have a decent cable box or TiVo, you'll be able to do HDMI out to your TV and Component out at the same time. Installation: The @TV lacks included software, and the download is a whopping 250MB. This is also where you learn a dirty little secret - the @TV is actually just a rebranded Monsoon Vulkano device, in a smaller box. You learn this by peeking inside the software (or if you have ever used one, you'll see that it is nearly identical). I had the @TV up and running in about 5 minutes - the procedure was less choppy than with Sling. You do need to assign the unit a name, but thankfully they use a new naming system, so previously used Vulkano names are available to pick. Winners: Large download with @TV, CD is included with Sling, but I ran into no issues, so @TV is definitely a breeze to setup. Software (Desktop): The @TV software has it all - decent EPG, well laid out remote (at least with my TiVo) and quick startup. From launch till menu is about 5 seconds, and another 6 to start streaming. Double click launches full screen, EPG is well designed and switches to a side bar showing the channel preview. The @TV does do something Sling can't - multiple LOCAL clients can connect at the same time. Winner: No clear winner - Sling, Vulkano and @TV all have a similar layout. Software (Mobile): This is an odd one. The @TV software is free for tablets, but costs $9.99 for phones. At least, that is what they tell you. I found the @TV player for FREE in the Amazon app store. Sling has always been a real pain with mobile apps - $29.99 EACH for tablet or phone. If you have an iPod touch, iPad and Android, this could cost you $90. They did recently lower prices by $10, but that is still too much. The software I tested was on my tablet(s) (Nexus 7 and Transformer Infinity) and on my phone (Galaxy SIII). It works perfectly. On 3G, streams start in about 15 seconds. On Wi-Fi, it takes about 10 seconds. Winner: Definitely the @TV thanks to its 100% free apps. Picture/streaming quality: Side by side, a Vulkano Deluxe Pro, @TV and Slingbox Solo shows slightly better picture quality from the @TV. My Vulkano Deluxe is a few years old, and Sling hasn't updated the Solo in over 5 years. There is less aliasing and artifacting on the @TV. All units stream at 720 locally, and lower for remote viewing outside the home. Winner: by a slim marging, the @TV, followed by the Vulkano, then the Slingbox Bonus features: The @TV does local placeshifting, which means you can pause live TV which is buffered on your desktop PC. You can then browse back and forth through your recording. Unlike with the Vulkano Deluxe Pro, you can't schedule recordings with the @TV. You CAN record live to a mobile device, but the process is a bit clumsy and could interfere with your home DVR. Winner: Vulkano Deluxe Pro Prices: The Slingbox Solo is usually just $129, but Sling has some major quality issues. Recent reviews of the unit have been very poor, and there are a lot of refurb units being sold by companies like Woot. At $179, the @TV is a little cheaper than the top of the line Vulkano, but more than the lowest end Vulkano - which does a lot of the same things. Bottom line: You simply cant' go wrong with the @TV. Build quality is good, the software is very mature (Vulkano had three years to perfect it) and picture quality is the best of any placeshifter I have tested here. I find the price a little too high - and would have been happier to see it at $149, but I feel the quality and free mobile apps make up for that. Even if I had to repurchase all three of my devices, I'd pick the @TV over the other options. Belkin did a good thing by picking Monsoon, and I hope their partnership helps boost Monsoon into the popularity they deserve. Sling has mostly abandoned the market, so there is a definite place for a new winner.