Connecting a video source to your Slingbox SOLO

Are you having trouble figuring out what all those ports on the back of the Slingbox SOLO are for? You may be saying to yourself, "I thought that I could only hook up one device -- how come there are so many places to plug stuff in?"

While it is true that the Slingbox SOLO is designed to be connected to one device, it's also designed to accept a wide range of new and old devices... anything from your brand new TiVo Series 3 to your old standard definition cable set-top box. We provide three different types of video inputs, offering a variety of ways that you can connect a video source to the Slingbox SOLO.

NOTE: A Slingbox SOLO will work with a lot of things, but because it doesn't have an internal tuner like the Slingbox PRO or Slingbox PRO-HD, you can't connect it directly to the cable or satellite TV line that comes from the wall. If you have this, just connect it to your cable or satellite TV set-top box that has a tuner in it.

Below are descriptions of the different video connections, plus examples of what they look like when they're set up.

What connections should I use?

Before you begin, take a look at the back of your audio/video source. What types of connections does it have?

HD: If it is an HD source, it should have component cables (blue, green, red) for the video. You definitely will want to use those. They provide the best quality video. (Don't forget, even with the terrific video quality that component cables offer, they still carry only video signals. Once you've connected the component cables, make sure to connect the red and white cables for audio, too.)

S-Video: S-Video is the cable that has five little pins on its connector. S-Video offers the next-best video quality. As with component (above), S-video cable carries only the video signal. Make sure that you also connect the red and white audio cables.

Composite: Composite connections use a yellow cable for video, plus the red and white cables for audio. If your source isn't HD and doesn't provide an S-Video connection, you can use this kind of connection.

Connecting your Audio/Video source For the best picture, hook up your HD set-top box to the Slingbox SOLO. Click here to see what it looks like all hooked up. First connect the Slingbox to your audio/video source using component video cables, plus just the red/white audio cables from the composite cable set. DO NOT connect the yellow video cable from the composite cable set! You can now pass the signal through to your TV using another set of component video cables, as well as the red/white audio from a set of composite cables. This step is optional. If you aren't hooking your Slingbox SOLO to an HD source, the next best choice is S-Video. Here is an example of what it looks like. First connect the Slingbox to your audio/video source using the s-video cable, plus just the red/white audio cables from the composite cable set. DO NOT connect the yellow video cable from the composite cable set! You can now pass the signal through to your TV using another s-video cable, as well as the red/white audio from a set of composite cables. This step is optional. Finally, if your audio/video source doesn't have an S-Video out connection, use the composite cable set. Click here to see how this is done. First connect the Slingbox to your audio/video source using the provided composite video and audio cable. You can now pass the signal through to your TV using another composite video and audio cable. This step is optional. Connecting your Remote Control IR Blaster cable Connect the Remote Control IR Blaster cable to its port on the back of the Slingbox. Then position the head of the IR Blaster cable (the clear bulb) so that you can control the audio/video source that you connected to your Slingbox SOLO. Here is a diagram and some tips for setting up the Remote Control IR cable.