Review: Sony LocationFree

Sony's alternative to the Slingbox, but can it justify the high price tag?

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Price: £229.99

Manufacturer: Sony

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Verdict

Pros: Works with the PSP; compact design
Cons: Software isn't free; no widescreen; no digital tuner; expensive
Overall: If you've got a PSP it might be tempting, but we'd recommend opting for the cheaper Slingbox with its free software

Will Stapley, Personal Computer World 30 Jun 2006

LocationFree is Sony’s alternative to the impressive Slingbox.

By connecting to up to two separate video sources (for example Freeview, Sky+ or a DVD player), it lets you watch whatever’s your home TV over the Internet.

You will, however, need a broadband Internet connection with at least a 300kbit/sec upstream and a router (wired or wireless).

On the day of its launch, a £350 price tag was slapped on LocationFree. But, with the Slingbox selling for £180, Sony unsurprisingly had to adjust the RRP and you can now pick it up for substantially less. The Sony Style website is currently selling it for £229.99.

Design-wise, the LocationFree Base Station certainly looks better than the rather bizzre design of the Slingbox. The tall, slim case features a series of LEDs at the front of the device, while the various video inputs and ports are housed round the back.

The pdf manual covers most aspects of the device, but it’s poorly laid out and we found it extremely confusing at times.

There is a wireless element to LocationFree, but instead of linking up with your Wifi router, it sets up its own wireless network. You can connect direct to this via a wireless-enabled desktop PC or notebook and, interestingly, a Sony PSP.

Since it acts as a wireless access point, you'll need to hook it up via a wired Ethernet connection to your router to watch over the Internet. Alternatively, you can purchase a wireless bridge.

A major issue with LocationFree is that Sony charges for each copy of the software. One copy of the LocationFree Player is included as standard in the package, but if you want to install it on a second PC you’ll need to buy an additional copy at a cost of £19.99.

You can get around this by deleting the registered PC and then registering a new one using the same license key, but you first have to prep Base Station at home.

The process is a little complicated, but it basically involves deleting the registration for the old PC, enabling the registration mode, making a note of the password, then trundling off to your second PC and installing the software. Not much good if you're in an Internet cafe in another country.

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