The scoop: Slingbox , from Sling Media, about $250.

What it is: TiVo and other personal video recorders (PVR) introduced the concept of time shifting, in which TV content could be viewed by people whenever they wanted. Sling Media's Slingbox takes this concept a step further by letting people view their TV content wherever they are. Sling Media calls this concept "place shifting," which means people can take their video sources (TV, cable, satellite or even content from a PVR) and view that content on a PC in another room, city or even continent (works over a LAN or a WAN).

This is handled through the unassuming little Slingbox, a device about the size of a gold brick that connects the TV source (via coaxial cable, S-video or composite cabling) to an Ethernet router (wireless and power-line bridges also supported). PVRs and cable boxes can be controlled through an additional infrared cable that lets users switch channels on the box when they are remote.

A software client on a user's PC (only Windows XP is supported at the moment) connects to the Slingbox and provides the user interface for viewing the "TV" and changing channels.

Why it's cool: Too many times I've been in hotels where the only thing on TV is local news, weather and sports. Three time zones away, I often want to watch the Red Sox and cannot. With the Slingbox, now I can. Any saved content stored on a PVR also can be streamed across the Internet and viewed on my Windows XP notebook. The value of being able to watch my TV content, whenever and wherever I am, is well worth the $250 price tag.

I was most surprised and pleased with the quality of the video stream. Sling Media uses optimization technology and buffering to create a very smooth video feed that provided a 300K to 500K bit/sec stream on the LAN, and between 200K and 400K bit/sec stream while going across the Internet. I streamed the video wirelessly through my home LAN, at a public Wi-Fi hot spot, and then through the company's T-1 LAN (but accessing the TV feed across the Internet). The picture window won't fill up your entire screen, and it's not high-definition content, but it's still very watchable.

Testing notes: The simplicity of setting up the hardware depends on the type of TV source you want to connect and whether you can place the Slingbox near your home router. For example, if you want to connect a cable box or PVR to the system, you need to install the infrared cable. If your router is away from your TV source, you'll have to install a wireless Ethernet adapter or a power-line bridge to connect the Slingbox to the router.