Categories:Sony’s came with little fanfare in 2005 when it was first released. For whatever reason, the majority of gamers who owned a PSP did not realize how much the LocationFree base station could do for them. They just saw the icon on the XMB as something else to ignore just like Crackle video (from RSS), SenseMe, and others that flopped.

You have to give Sony credit. They are ambitious and will try to experiment and develop something fresh and new. The same thing goes for their games. Always innovating and discovering. So what gives? Why did the LocationFree not hit the strides that it could have with integration with your PSP in addition to your PC or Mac?

Was it the cost, lack of marketing, or simply a device that was too complicated for the average user? The best answer would be all of the above. Today you can still purchase a LocationFree Base Station and Sony was extremely intelligent on how they built it from the ground up. As long as this device functions it will always be viable with the technologies used. Although the chosen use of NetAV as a Dynamic DNS (DDNS) host is the default, you have the ability to enter an alternative DDNS host in case NetAV ceases to link properly with the software or ceases to exist at some point, future-proofing the device quite well!

Standard coaxial cable is available only on the LF-B1/LF-PK1 revisions of the LocationFree base station, which provides many additional possibilities for devices you can control. Other later revisions added the ability to learn Remote Controls/Remote Control Functions and the final revision (LF-V30) even provides component video input, although only SD video is sent through, making the LF-PK1/LF-B1 with a digital coaxial connection superior from a video quality standpoint. WHAT DOES IT DO? For those who may not be 100% familiar with Sony’s LocationFree base station, I’d like to give a clear explanation exactly about what it does in a few simple points: Media Streaming - This is the main purpose of the LocationFree base station and allows you to stream media from your cable/satellite TV to any place in the world where you can make a WiFi connection with a compatible LocationFree device. Compatible devices range from Desktops/laptops to the PSP and even Android Devices courtesy of Since LocationFree is the only commercial streaming media solution for the PSP (aside from Remote Play with a PS3), it’s your only mainstream option and clearly the best choice. The PSP can have trouble however due to it’s very limited capability browser connecting to a WiFi hotspot and is also limited to 802.11b speeds maxing out at 12Mbps, which is fine for what the LocationFree base stations are intended for. Security Monitoring - With a LocationFree base station and your PSP or other device, you can easily monitor live security footage Multiple Platform Compatibility - You can connect to your LocationFree base station with the LocationFree Player software for PSP, PC, or Mac (with discontinued 3rd party software that is now difficult to find on the open market) Mobile DVR management - Forgot to record a show?

Use the LocationFree Player to access your cable, satellite, or TiVo DVR and take care of it! Extra wireless router - Most of the LocationFree base stations can double as a wireless router, providing an extra wireless access point. Variety of connectivity - This holds especially true with the LF-PK1/LF-B1, which lets you control both a coaxial source and 2 other A/V sources (including both composite and S-Video inputs). The LF-V30 also provides a good variety with Component Video (480i only), Composite, and S-Video. The LF-PK1/LF-B1 is the only base station that has coaxial, while the LF-V30 is the only base station with Pb/Pr/Y Component Video, so it’s important to consider what kinds of devices you want to control when selecting a LocationFree base station. Remote Control Learning - This is a feature of the LF-B10, LF-B20, and LF-V30 and is not possible with the LF-PK1/LF-B1. You will be limited to the pre-packaged list of devices that can be controlled based on Sony’s software.

A Few Fun Ways to use various Location Free Base Stations. Use the LF-V30 to connect to a first generation AppleTV using Component Video and the Remote Control Learning feature to learn the Apple Remote. Since you can store your SD quality movie library locally on the hard drive, it makes a compelling argument for being quite useful as a media hub for home and away usage.

Connect an early Roku player that has Component Video Output to do the same thing and also gain Netflix on the PSP, something that is not currently (and likely never will be) a possibility since it is an available feature on the Vita. With a VCR (along with other devices that can be controlled and have multiple inputs and 1 or more a/v output options) and the remote control learning function of base stations that support it, you could potentially control even more devices by connecting them to the inputs on the VCR. If you have ever thought about home automation and the home automation hub runs off of an IR based remote control, you could potentially control your lights, heating/cooling, and other things in the house with your PSP. Summary There are many more uses for the LocationFree base stations than meets the eye, both for practical and entertainment purposes.

By simply getting creative with a device that can be controlled by IR and the LocationFree software vast possibilities await the savvy user. Configuring the base station is fairly straightforward for the intermediate to power electronics user, but could be cumbersome to a novice. The Sony LocationFree base station and LocationFree Player software were designed to have a long, useful life and can accept various custom network configurations - even another DDNS server in case NetAV ceases to exist or function properly within the provided software. Sony failed to promote this product enough and did not bring it to market at an affordable price - something that clearly undermined it’s capabilities. If I had one device to compare it to offhand in terms of what it offered but didn’t deliver the way it should have, I would cite Apple’s G4 Cube.

Sonny's Locationfree To Be Available For Mac Os

You can find a Sony LocationFree base station on the cheap these days on eBay (although the LF-V30s still tend to go for a premium due to them having Component Video inputs). Pick one up today and start experimenting!

The Good Streams video sources, including live TV, to any broadband-connected Windows PC, Mac, or PSP in the world; no host PC or monthly charges required; built-in wireless networking includes the ability to act as a full-service access point for your home network; controls most cable and satellite boxes and DVRs; lets you 'learn' remote codes for nonsupported devices and functions, just like a universal remote; includes full connectivity (with one set of pass-through outputs) for controlling two A/V sources. The Bad Convoluted setup and installation; software remote support should be expanded and improved; Mac software clients-and additional Windows PC clients-cost extra; Windows Mobile client announced but not yet released. The Bottom Line Sony's improved third-generation LocationFree TV product includes several cool features-including wireless connectivity, PSP compatibility, and remote control customization-but setup headaches and software limitations keep it from being a true Slingbox killer. Visit for details. Main content Like the Sling Media, Sony's LocationFree products enable viewers to view and control TV channels from their home cable or satellite boxes on any broadband-connected PC, be it elsewhere in the home or anywhere in the world. In fact, Sony's first LocationFree products-the and the -were available a year before Slingbox's summer 2005 debut, but they were hobbled by high prices, the need for proprietary viewing hardware, and a steep learning curve when it came to installation and setup.

The company followed up with the improved, a simplified Base Station that let users watch TV with a PC software client or on the Sony PSP (so long as it was in range of a Wi-Fi signal), but that $350 device remained more expensive and harder to use than the Slingbox, which had since undergone a number of substantive firmware and software upgrades. But Sony has gone back to the drawing board and come up with a new iteration of the LocationFree TV hardware: the LF-B20 ($250) and the LF-B10 ($200).

Sonny's Locationfree To Be Available For Mac Free

Both new Base Stations equal the basic features of the latest: the ability to control one or two A/V sources-a cable or satellite box plus a DVD player or DVR, for instance-that are connected via composite or S-Video inputs. Moreover, like the latest Slingbox models, the new LocationFree boxes boast updated chipsets that can utilize H.264 AVC video encoding (the same efficient video compression used by the video iPod, as opposed to the older MPEG-2 version found on previous LocationFree boxes). Additionally, the LF-B20 includes a feature you won't find on any Slingbox model to date: built-in 802.11a/b/g wireless. That means-unlike the Slingbox and the otherwise identical LF-B10-the LF-B20 can interface with a home network via Wi-Fi without the need to connect an Ethernet cable. Furthermore, Sony is expanding the ways in which you can watch LocationFree streams.

Currently, the video from existing and future LocationFree Base Stations can be viewed on any broadband-connected Windows PC (using Sony's included software); any Mac OS X machine (using software from ); the (just upgrade to the latest firmware, version 2.50 or later); or even one of the original LocationFree LCD tablets, such as the aforementioned LF-X1. The company is also working with Japanese software developer Access, owner of the Palm operating system, to develop a for handhelds and smart phones. And a forthcoming companion product promises to beam LocationFree signals to other TVs in the house. (Viewing software also has been for the, but it's unclear when and where it will be available and whether the software will work on other Symbian-powered smart phones as well.) Before you can get to any of that streaming-TV goodness, of course, you have to set up the box.

Sony's Locationfree To Be Available For Macbook

From afar, the Base Station could be easily mistaken for a miniature version of the PlayStation 2. In fact, like the PS2, it's designed to sit either horizontally or, with the included plastic stand, vertically. At 7.88 inches high by 1.88 wide by 5 deep (when mounted vertically), the LocationFree BaseStation occupies no more space than three standard DVD cases. The front face of the minimalist black box has a smattering of green status LEDs, along with a power switch, a Setup mode button (for use during the initial configuration), and a reset switch.

As always, though, the back panel is where the action is. There are two A/V inputs. The first includes S-Video (in addition to composite) and stereo audio inputs, along with a duplicate set of pass-through outputs. The second is composite A/V only, and lacks the corresponding outputs.

There's also an Ethernet port for a wired network connection; the wireless antenna is internal. Last but not least, there are two infrared (IR) blaster ports-although the Base Station ships with only one single-headed blaster. Setting up the LF-B20 is a two-step process: you need to get it connected to your network (which involves installing the included software on a PC), and you need to connect the A/V cables to the video source or sources. For the networking setup, you're offered two wireless options: using the LF-B20 as a wireless client or using it as a wireless access point.

Client mode means the LF-B20 can wirelessly connect only to your wireless router-which is great if you don't have an Ethernet connection near your TV. Access point mode, on the other hand, lets you use the LF-B20 as a point of entry to your network for any other Wi-Fi device (laptop, handheld, PSP, DS, what have you)-but to do so, it requires a wired connection to the router. In other words, the wireless functionality is an either/or proposition-connect wirelessly to your router, or to your PC/PSP, but not both simultaneously. That doesn't make the LF-B20 different from any other access point or router you'd buy-just don't buy it expecting it to work as a wireless bridge. Because of those advanced wireless capabilities, the LF-B20's networking hookup is more challenging than that of the Slingbox.

(Remember, if you don't have a need for wireless connectivity, you can save $50 and go for the wired-only.) A quick-start guide poster is included to cover the basics, but it includes a rather poorly thought-out flow chart that's almost certain to confuse all but the most knowledgeable home-networking gurus. (Another caveat: if you intend to use it in client mode, you'll need to run a wired networking connection during setup.) During the process, you'll need to install the included LocationFree Player software, which includes a setup wizard. The software wizard is a bit easier to follow than the quick-start poster, but it requires you to enter a Web browser at one point to adjust some settings on the LF-B20-similar to the browser-based interfaces found on most wireless routers. If you slow down and follow the printed and software instructions step-by-step, you just might make it through. By comparison, if you have a UPnP router, the setup options on the Slingbox are a lot smoother and user-friendly, possibly because the Slingbox lacks built-in wireless.

During the setup process, you'll also need to connect the LF-B20 to a video source or two. Doing so is no more difficult than hooking up a VCR or a DVD recorder. We appreciated the pass-through outputs, which let the LF-B20 sit innocuously in the chain between our cable box and the A/V receiver, without the need for splitters or monopolizing precious S-Video outputs.

The most likely video source for the LF-B20 is a cable or satellite set-top box, which will let you watch the full range of your live TV options. The LocationFree TV products lack the built-in analog TV tuner found on the Slingbox Tuner, Slingbox Pro, and Hava Wireless, so it's critical that your box has composite or S-Video outputs (all digital set-top boxes-and most analog ones-will). You choose the make and model of your set-top box or other video source from an onscreen list so the B20 can send the right codes via the IR blaster, which you need to string to the front of your cable/satellite box.

Here, Sony has included two very cool options. The system can autodetect the brand of your set-top box if you point and 'shoot' your remote into a small IR receiver on the LF-B20's front panel when instructed to do so (it correctly determined that we had a Scientific Atlanta box). And, if you have a brand that's not in the database, you can have the LF-B20 'learn' the main commands from any remote and map them to corresponding keys on the onscreen remote on your PC.