In an article I posted in regards of my eeePC, I briefly mentioned the LocationFree software I installed on it. While I do not use it very often, it has been quite useful for me over the years.

What is LocationFree?

Sony’s LocationFree system is often compared to Slingbox. Both systems work as a box that sits between your TV signal and the internet. It enables you to watch the content of the connected device, it being either a DVR (Tivo), a Satellite receiver or a DVD player, and control it over an internet connection.

A couple of years ago, when I still used a PSP for video playback on the go, I stumbled upon information about LocationFree. The PSP has this feature build-in, and after doing some research to find out what it was, I decided to see what it was all about, and ordered a Base Station from eBay. The hookup was fairly simple. The LFB-20, the base station I have, features 2 RCA input connections, enabling it to connect 2 devices at once, and includes ports for IR-Blaster for each of the connections to be able to provide access to the functions of the device.

How do I use it?

The setup changed a bit throughout the years, It had our 2 Tivo’s (Series2) connected to it for a while, but currently, it’s hooked to just 1 Tivo (mine). I have given a friend of mine, located overseas, full access to it, to watch certain Sports that he could otherwise not watch. With the Tivo connected to it, the timezone difference is a non-issue, and because I don’t use the Tivo myself that much when I am home, he can record and watch all the shows he wants. For me, I use it whenever I am “stuck” in a location for a while, and do not have anything else to do. When my wife was in the hospital, we used it to catch up on some shows we missed, and she was also quite happy in being able to watch her favorite channels that the hospital TV ystem did not have. It takes a little while to get used to the few seconds of lag when skipping through the commercials, but all in all, it has proven to be very useful. Once everything is setup, it just works. Quality of the video is great, thanks to the use of the AVC format, and with the capability to actually change channels, it provides a perfect viewing experience for any location where you have internet access.