Product Reviews

If you're out and about a lot, the idea of streaming TV from your living room to a mobile device is attractive. It's a concept that has come of age, with Sling Media's excellent Slingbox picking up an award. This month we looked at Sony's similar LocationFree Base Station.

This video-streaming device looks stylish and stands vertically. On the front are four LEDs to inform you of its current status. On the rear are two composite video inputs, each with a matching set of phono inputs. This means you can attach two devices easily.

Unlike the Slingbox, the Base Station lacks a built-in TV tuner, so you'll have to use a set-top box to receive TV channels. This means that you cannot stream TV to a mobile device while someone else watches a different channel at home, unless you have the luxury of two set-top boxes.

You'll have to position the IR transmitter to control your set-top box, then select your box from a list to get the correct IR codes. Separate settings are provided for each video input so you can control two devices, although you'll have to position the IR transmitter

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to cover both of them.

Disappointingly, we couldn't find the remote control codes for our Mitsubishi Freeview box on Sony's website, so we were unable to control it properly. It's best to check with Sony for support for your set-top box before you buy; the list is available at tinyurl.com.

The LocationFree software can stream video to pricy LocationFree Sony displays, PCs and even Sony's PSP console. It plugs into your router at home and can be used locally or via the internet. It has built-in 802.11b/g wireless so you can connect a local wireless device directly. Bizarrely, it won't connect wirelessly to your router, so you have to use an Ethernet cable. Once connected, you can access the Base Station from anywhere in the world.

The software is simple to use, and all the necessary controls are easy to find. Controlling your set-top box is done via a virtual remote, though these don't resemble your real remote. Like the Slingbox, you can't timeshift TV unless your set-top box is capable of doing so.

Video quality on our wireless network was acceptable. However, there were some heavy compression artefacts present, which we expected to see only when using the device across the internet. Quality across the internet depends hugely on your connection; a 256Kbit/s connection will give you a watchable picture, although compression artefacts did spoil full-screen playback.

If you have a PSP and want to stream TV and video content to it, the LocationFree Base Station is the only product for the job. However, for everyone else we'd recommend the slightly cheaper Slingbox with its built-in digital tuner.