Watching Our Home Television in Berlin

Our home television network fits in one drawer

We are going to Berlin-Germany for 3 months this February. We are renting an apartment while Lulu does research at Humboldt University. 

I have always said that if I had satellite TV and wifi Internet - I could live anywhere. Well thanks to Directv and Slingbox - we can watch all our channels including the Tallahassee news anywhere in the world. 

All we need is a good strong wifi connection and our home channels are streamed to our computer anywhere. We even have the ability to change channels and set the DVR to record things we want to see. 

It starts in a drawer in our guest bedroom. In that drawer is the Directv DVR. The DVR is hooked up to a Slingbox with a red/white/yellow RCA cord. The Slingbox is wired to a Wireless Router Bridge using a white ethernet cable. The Wireless Router ($20) sends the signal to our main Apple wifi router in the attic that is hooked to a Motorola Cable Modem. That sends the TV signal out to the world. Anyone with a computer on wifi can see the TV signal with the right code. Only one computer can watch it at a time. 

In the picture above you can see the Directv DVR (black) - the Slingbox on top of it (black) - and the Wireless Bridge (white) on top of it. 

When I bought the Slingbox - almost 10 years ago - it cost $100. The Wireless Router cost $20. There is no monthly fee for either device. You just pay your normal Directv bill - although you could send Comcast Cable programs or any programming over the Slingbox. 

We have even used this system in a moving motor home - watching  our home TV going down the highway. We have used this system almost 10 years.