Light Reading reports that Sling Media Inc. CEO Blake Krikorian testified before the U.S. House Commerce Committee that his video �place shifting� device will help, not hurt, network broadcasters and cable MSOs.
Sling Media's �Slingbox� grabs the TV signal at the home and slings it out over a broadband connection to a laptop, cell phone or any other connected device. Where the Tivo allows viewers to �time shift� their programming, Sling allows them to �place shift� it.
While Sling is still a young company and the quality of "slung" media is poor given bandwidth constraints, some members of the content and broadcasting communities have already expressed concern over the device. Krikorian points out, however, that the skepticism is unfounded because Sling neither records content nor distributes it to more than one end point at a time.
No matter, because the whole notion of place-shifting is a threat to legacy media companies who were hoping to continue the practice of selling the same content to consumers multiple times. When consumers gain control of redirecting content to a place of their choosing the status quo is essentially disrupted.
Sling Media's �Slingbox� grabs the TV signal at the home and slings it out over a broadband connection to a laptop, cell phone or any other connected device. Where the Tivo allows viewers to �time shift� their programming, Sling allows them to �place shift� it.
While Sling is still a young company and the quality of "slung" media is poor given bandwidth constraints, some members of the content and broadcasting communities have already expressed concern over the device. Krikorian points out, however, that the skepticism is unfounded because Sling neither records content nor distributes it to more than one end point at a time.
No matter, because the whole notion of place-shifting is a threat to legacy media companies who were hoping to continue the practice of selling the same content to consumers multiple times. When consumers gain control of redirecting content to a place of their choosing the status quo is essentially disrupted.