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Slingbox gets a new competitor

by on24 October 2007
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IP Comm Asia: anyX offers similar features


IP Comm Asia is happening in Taipei this week and we visited the show to find out what was going on. One of the first companies we ran into is called anyX and is part of the CMC Group. Yes, this is the optical disc manufacturing company.

They only have one product available so far and oddly enough, it goes under the anyX brand name. It's a competing solution to the Slingbox, although it can't quite compete with some of the newer models in terms of input options, but it does have some features to offer that the Slingbox doesn't.

First of all, it allows you to stream your video data over IP, which enables you to watch it on most 3G or Wi-Fi enabled handsets, as long as they can run the Java based client software in their browser. This means that most Windows Mobile devices won't work, unlike with a Slingbox where the opposite is true.

The anyX attaches either to your aerial cable, or via composite video cable to something such as a DVD player or any other video source with composite video output. The video data is then streamed and you can access it pretty much anywhere there is an Internet connection and you're not limited to using a phone, as it will also work with notebooks and desktop computers.

At the moment the anyX is only available for sale in Taiwan, but here it is retailing for less than the original Slingbox; and the company told us that they're working with several distributors in Europe to get this product onto the European market, although some fine tuning has to be done before it will launch. The first place where it's likely to appear is in the Netherlands.

They're working on a new model with more advanced features and we'll keep you posted. If we're really lucky, then we'll get a review sample to have a look at, as well. Until then, this is what it looks like.

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Last modified on 24 October 2007
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