London Ninja

Ah yes, it’s back. Football. No, not soccer. Real football that you do not play with your foot but with your hands. Of course the question is:

“How do you keep up with football in the UK?”

There are two answers:
1. Sky Sports
2. Slingbox

I don’t think I need to describe Sky Sports in detail as you just order some premium package and pay your arse for it. My personally mantra states that I don’t generally pay my arse for anything. This leaves us at the second option: Slingbox.

Here’s how it basically works:

The Slingbox AV is the perfect companion for your DVR, digital cable, or satellite receiver. The Slingbox AV allows you to watch and control live TV, or any other TV entertainment you have, anywhere you go. Using an Internet connected computer or wireless mobile device, you can watch and control your home TV, DVR, digital cable box, or satellite receiver around town or around the globe. With a Slingbox AV you will never be separated from your favorite TV shows, sports broadcasts, breaking news stories, digital video recordings, or video on demand.

I bought a Slingbox for ~$100 before I crossed the pond and hooked it up at my folks’ place. Now I can watch anything they watch. It is essentially like being able to watch their TV. The only thing is that if they flip the channel, you watch what they watch. I would recommend a Tivo, also , as it will allow you to beat the time zone difference and be able to watch Monday Night Football without staying up past midnight. It could get a bit choppy when around 100-200kbps streaming, but good enough to get what’s going on. The audio portion generally comes down quite well, so it definitely allows you to follow the game.

The best thing is that this means I don’t have to start watching that other football anytime soon….you know, the kind you play with your foot.

UPDATE (Oct 27, 2008):
There’s a new option I have learned of, the NFL Game Pass with Yahoo. It’s currently $100 for the season or $80 for just your favorite team, but I think those are mid-season prices. I believe the normal price is something around $200-$300. Sounds like an ok option but I still prefer Slingbox. As a matter of fact…I loooove Slingbox.