Taking another stab at the consumer mainstream, Sling Media has launched the Slingbox M2, a video place-shifter that won’t require users to buy the requisite mobile apps, but will expand its use of advertising. 

The M2 (ZatzNotFunny caught wind of the product a few days ago) runs on the same hardware as the Slingbox M1, $149 product launched a year ago, but M2 buyers will no longer be on the hook to pay extra for the SlingPlayer app for iOS and Android tablets and smartphones, which typically runs $15 per app per device. There’s no recurring monthly fees, and M2 users also have the ability to stream content from their mobile device to Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices as well as to Chromecast adapters.

With the M2, a product outfitted with WiFi and 1080p capabilities that carries an MSRP of $199.99, Sling Media will instead try to make up for that by selling ads that run on standalone apps for mobile device and PCs, as well as Sling's browser-based clients.

Those users will see a pre-roll ad when they fire up those apps, and ads will also appear in the app viewing window (no ads will be placed on top of the video itself, however). Display ads  will disappear completely when M2 customers use the apps in full-screen mode, Mark Vena, Sling Media’s worldwide vice president of marketing, said.

“We think that’s a great tradeoff,” Vena said, noting that M2 Slingbox users will have the option to avoid ads on the mobile apps by purchasing the apps separately.

The ad model isn’t a new one for Sling Media. Last fall, the company started to stitch ads into its free Web browser client and a new standalone PC app for the M1 model. The decision was controversial in that it didn’t go over well with some Slingbox customers, but Sling Media defended the decision because it helps the company offset the costs of ongoing engineering and technology testing requirements.

Sling Media hasn’t revealed how many retail Slingboxes have been shipped (on the leased end of the spectrum, Dish Network embeds the technology in its new Hopper HD-DVRs, and Arris is Sling’s exclusive distributor of a place-shifting device optimized for cable operators and telcos). Vena estimates that the M1 currently makes up about 60% to 65% of the recent sales mix. Its high-end Slingbox 500 model runs $299.99. From this point on, the M2 is the company’s flagship Slingbox model.

Sling Media will look for the M2 to help it gain more ground in the consumer arena, even as the place-shifting platform faces off with multiscreen TV Everywhere offerings. Sling is trying to distance itself by promoting the fact that its products provide users with remote access to their full pay TV subscriptions, including DVR recordings, rather than to a subset of channels and features typically found in most TVE offerings. Last year, Sling Media introduced a consumer campaign that mocked the limitations of TVE.

Looking ahead, Sling Media plans to introduce a free app upgrade in October that will bring its Gallery view to smartphones that shares similarities with the company’s iPad app. The new app will also feature 20% quicker loading and connection times.

Sling Media also provided some revised usage data.

-Of its U.S. user base, 34% of Slingbox place-shifting is to Europe, followed by Asia (32.6%), and Mexico (9.6%).

-The longest Slingbox session recorded so far spanned 12,380 miles (from Asunción, Paraguay, to Taipei, Taiwan).

-About 75% of watched hours via the Slingbox occurs out of the home, and 80% of Slingbox viewing is of live TV, versus 20% from a DVR. 

EchoStar Corp. said the Slingbox M1, a redesigned version of the TV place-shifting device launched in the U.S. last summer, has gone on sale in the U.K. and Europe.

The M1, viewed by EchoStar as an easy-to-install model for mainstream consumers, carries a U.K. manufacturer’s suggested retail price of £129 (US$202).  In the U.K., the M1 is available at retailers such as PC World, Currys, Amazon.co.uk and Maplin, and via European distributors such as Turbosat International Limited, TechData and EET Group.

The M1, equipped with dual-band 802.11n WiFi and HD-quality streaming capabilities, is currently for sale in the U.S. for $149.

Sling Media said its M1 for the European market, like its U.S. counterpart, is not limited by geo-blocking (the inability to access content outside of the country where the Slingbox is installed), and can access all of the content of a user’s pay TV subscription.

Sling Media has not announced M1 sales, but it’s had a “strong reception” in the U.S., according to a statement from company SVP and GM Michael Hawkey. "The Slingbox M1 sets a new standard for ease of set-up and use, while delivering incredible value for the pay-TV satellite subscribers that we have always targeted with our products and services,” he said. “With a Slingbox M1 that has been completely localised for customers, we're delivering the most affordable Slingbox packed with the most robust set of features that we believe will significantly expand the mobile TV and video market."

Sling Media has taken some heat for inserting ads into its free Web browser and standalone PC apps for Slingbox devices, but said the strategy is necessary to offset the costs of ongoing engineering and technology testing. Sling Media does not insert ads on its paid apps for iOS and Android devices.

Sling Media revealed last week that a chipset from ViXS Systems is helping to power the MS4000 Media Streamer, a stand-alone Slingbox tailored for cable operators and other types of multichannel video programming distributors.

Sling said the network transcoder used in the device uses the ViXS XCode 5190 chipset, which can handle full 1080p video delivery and up to four independent video feeds, live or recorded, to mobile devices.

Arris, off its exclusive distribution and technology licensing deal with Sling Media announced last fall, has secured at least two operator deals for the MS4000 Media Streamer -- Service Electric Cable TV and Comporium.

Sling Media noted that the network transcoder used in its MVPD-tailored Slingbox uses the same baseline technology as its retail products, including the recently introduced Slingbox M1 (a new entry-level model) and rebranded and refreshed SlingTV model.

“Deploying Sling technology is one of the best ways for operators to extend the entire living room TV experience anywhere and our retail Slingbox products have long been a leader in this space. We are pleased to again be working with our long-time partner, ViXS, to deliver this solution to MSOs and MVPDs who are looking to add more value to their current customer offerings,” Michael Hawkey, Sling Media’s SVP and GM, said in a statement. “The Sling Media network transcoder provides a seamless way to integrate Sling technology for new and existing customers, further enhancing cable & telco TV offerings by extending the entertainment experience beyond the living room TV.”