Verizon Omnia 910 and Slingmobile- Issues

[Guest ciscokidinsf]

Keeping in mind my point of comparison is the Phone the omnia replaced, which was my trusted HTC XV6700, also with Verizon. In the 6700, I always got a clear Sling connection via the Phone. (I remember watching many World Cup games with it) Whether it was driving or not moving at all, I always got a quick connection and decent image. (And I live in Silicon Valley, not the boondocks)

Now, with my Omnia, even when I'm supposed to have all 4 bars, the cellphone never connects to give me a decent signal for the slingbox. Many times the program closes after 3 minutes of trying. (It connects fine via Wi-Fi to the Slingbox) :(

So, has anyone been successful at watching their slingbox with the Omnia via the network? (Verizon) Is the antenna very crappy? (I believe so) is it unfair to compare it to the XV6700, because that phone had a very large and powerful antenna?

I've been extremely disappointed with this. I don't think it is Verizon slowing down the signal. I haven't even purchased the slingbox mobile software out of the trial version because it seems the Omnia is too weak to handle it. Access to the slingbox was reason number 3 I stayed with Windows Mobile instead of going iphone. B)

Anyone else having these issues?

Edited March 11, 2009 by ciscokidinsf

[Guest baaadandy]

Keeping in mind my point of comparison is the Phone the omnia replaced, which was my trusted HTC XV6700, also with Verizon. In the 6700, I always got a clear Sling connection via the Phone. (I remember watching many World Cup games with it) Whether it was driving or not moving at all, I always got a quick connection and decent image. (And I live in Silicon Valley, not the boondocks)

Now, with my Omnia, even when I'm supposed to have all 4 bars, the cellphone never connects to give me a decent signal for the slingbox. Many times the program closes after 3 minutes of trying. (It connects fine via Wi-Fi to the Slingbox) :(

So, has anyone been successful at watching their slingbox with the Omnia via the network? (Verizon) Is the antenna very crappy? (I believe so) is it unfair to compare it to the XV6700, because that phone had a very large and powerful antenna?

I've been extremely disappointed with this. I don't think it is Verizon slowing down the signal. I haven't even purchased the slingbox mobile software out of the trial version because it seems the Omnia is too weak to handle it. Access to the slingbox was reason number 3 I stayed with Windows Mobile instead of going iphone. B)

Anyone else having these issues?

Me too!!! I thought maybe I was the only one! My SlingPlayer works, but it cuts out for no reason in decent signal areas. Also, when I stream internet radio at only a 32Kbps stream, it will cut out!!! Now, I've compared dBm ratings through Debug (**33284) and the Omnia does pull in a weaker signal than my XV6800 and XV6900, enough to be noticeable. I'm still deciding if I'm going to keep it. It's not the network, I live in high signal area with Rev. A so it's def the phone.

If I were you I'd hard reset and try this new version of SlingPlayer. It is much better than the current release and may fix your issues.

[Guest ciscokidinsf]

If I were you I'd hard reset and try this new version of SlingPlayer. It is much better than the current release and may fix your issues.

I'm using the latest version of slingmobile. I'll give your CAB a try. Why do I need a hard reset? I don't want to as I've got hours of customization there already.

But yes, it seems that besides my eternal hate for the stupid proprietary USB and the never ending dongles, the zero visibility in sunlight and now the weak antenna is too much to deal with... I'm thinking of just cutting my losses, return the phone and go somewhere else.

[Guest tfmendonca]

Yeah, If I was still in my thirty day window, I would be returning the phone due to its poor reception.

[Guest baaadandy]

I'm using the latest version of slingmobile. I'll give your CAB a try. Why do I need a hard reset? I don't want to as I've got hours of customization there already.

But yes, it seems that besides my eternal hate for the stupid proprietary USB and the never ending dongles, the zero visibility in sunlight and now the weak antenna is too much to deal with... I'm thinking of just cutting my losses, return the phone and go somewhere else.

That cab isn't released yet according to the website. Current available download is 1.6.0.111 and that cab is 1.6.0.112. If you've done tons of customizations and don't want to hard reset I don't blame you, but a lot of the time a hard reset will fix an issue. IMO it is the phone.

[Guest dwallersv]

Well, this isn't the answer you guys are looking for, but some of you may be willing to try something else...

I live in Scotts Valley, not far from the OP's location. I run a complete Orb media server setup on my PC, with a WinTV PVR150 capture card (they're quite cheap these days). For the client, I use CorePlayer 1.3 on the Omnia.

I regularly watch full resolution (for the Omnia) TV from my DishNetwork system, stored video on my PC (I download all shows that I like in HD from EZTV via bittorrent), as well as stream my entire music collection over the air. I have great performance and can sustain 320kpbs from Orb to the Omnia about 90% of the time. Worst performance I ever see is having to dial it down to half that.

I gett this all over the north Monterey Bay area; going over Hwy 17 to the Silicon Valley; anywhere I go in the SF Bay area, N/S/E/W. The video is fabulous while sitting still or on the move, and Orb does a very good, reliable job transcoding on the fly.

Total $$ investment (not including the Omnia): $70 (PVR150) + $25 (CorePlayer). And my PC, with 6 terabytes of disc on it, can store and forward a lot more video than the Slingbox (which might have changed lately -- slingbox couldn't stream stuff from my PC when I last looked at it, which was what killed it as a solution for me).

Best of all, Orb is free. Has really good TV listings support, and DVR functionality over the web.

So, if you can't get your slingbox issues worked out, you might look into an Orb (or TVersity) solution. A bit more technically complicated to get all set up and going, but being more open platforms, much more flexible. On top of that, CorePlayer is probably the best, most versatile media player for PPC/smartphones, so you get exceptional YouTube integration and quality control, plays just about any container and/or codec format, and with 1.3 is finally ready for prime time (earlier versions had some very frustrating problems).

Go to www.orb.com for more info. I have nothing to do with them at all, other than being a very happy user for the last year and a half.

Edited March 12, 2009 by dwallersv