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The beta version of the SlingPlayer 2.0 software is now available for Windows users as a free download from Sling Media's Web site. The software, which allows owners of the company's Slingbox products to access their TV programming via any broadband-connected PC, includes several notable upgrades from the previous version.

So what does SP 2.0 offer? In terms of new features, the biggies are a 60 minute video buffer and EPG. The video buffer allows you to pause or scrub through playback, without the lag associated with remotely controlling a DVR. OR a major bonus for those without a DVR. And the EPG is exactly what it sounds like - an electronic program guide of your local television lineup. SlingPlayer 2.0 also sports a modern, refreshed UI that I find visually appealing.

Today Sling Media is releasing a public beta of their Windows 2.0 software that adds several new features to the service. Among these upgrades, users can expect a built-in programing guide that enables quick channel search and channel change functionality from your PC with no IR delay. There will also be a live video buffer with DVR-like control, integrated Sling Accounts, and a fancy new look and feel. Clip+Sling is still MIA—but Sling promises that 2.0 will start an "important transition process" that will pave the way for that application and others like it. Detailed information on the new features is available after the break.

Sure, we've seen a few updates to SlingPlayer here and there since then, but these were mainly maintenance updates, remote control upgrades, and firmware fixes. Don't get me wrong, these are always welcome. However, as an avid Slinger, I've been waiting to sink my teeth into the meaty new features of SlingPlayer 2.0 ever since I got a sneak peak at it back at CES. Suffice it to say, it's been a long, grueling wait. The wait is finally over... SlingPlayer 2.0 is here... at least in Public Beta form. Will it exceed your wildest expectations? Does it live up to the months and months of hype? Will it blend?

Looking to broaden its once-traditional TV brands--now digital brands--Warner Bros. Television Group has signed five digital distribution deals for WB.com and KidsWB.com. The digital sites--Dailymotion, Joost, Sling Media, TiVo and Veoh--will launch separate channels for TheWB.com and KidsWB.com. Those new advertiser-supported broadband sites were announced in April. Time Warner-owned AOL is also a digital distributor of the two Warner Bros. Internet brands.

The Warner Bros. Television Group (WBTVG) has signed distribution agreements with a select group of preferred partners to launch a number of advertiser-supported branded channels in premium environments that will further WBTVG’s strategic expansion into the digital marketplace. WBTVG will work closely with Dailymotion, Joost, Sling Media, TiVo and Veoh Networks to launch channels that will include TheWB.com and KidsWB.com – the two new advertiser-supported broadband destinations WBTVG unveiled in late April at a press conference in New York City. The announcement was made today by Bruce Rosenblum, President, Warner Bros. Television Group.

Warner Bros. Television Group said Thursday that its content will be distributed through branded channels on Dailymotion, Joost, Sling Media, TiVo and Veoh Networks.

Warner Bros.’ new broadband networks, TheWB.com and KidsWB.com, will be distributed by partners Dailymotion, Joost, Sling Media, TiVo and Veoh Networks when they launch in mid-September, Warner Bros. Television Group president Bruce Rosenblum said Wednesday.

Warner Bros. Television Group (TWX) signed distribution agreements for the broadband version of its reinvented WB Network, as well as KidsWB.com, with Joost, Dailymotion, Sling Media, TiVo and Veoh Networks, which will carry the ad-supported broadband "channels," when they launch in September.

We had a feeling it was coming any day now, but now we have confirmation that Sling won't be leaving iPhone and iPod touch users in the lurch when it comes to streaming TV to their devices.

Sling showed us a brief demonstration of what the company's mobile application, SlingPlayer, looks like on a jailbroken first-generation iPhone. It's merely a proof of concept, the company says, to demonstrate how superduperexcited it is to get started on an actual product.

One of the applications I always knew would be a wonderful addition to the iPhone with its large beautiful display is SlingPlayer Mobile and tonight I received an email from their new Beta Manager that a proof of concept version will be shown at the WWDC this week.

After much speculation, Sling stopped by to show us they have indeed been working on a native app for the iPhone, and gave us a quick hands-on with the proof-of-concept. The demo, which also runs on the iPod touch, offers the ability to connect to your Slingbox and control it using the iPhone's touchscreen.

What we’ve got here is a technology demo and a stake in the ground: SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone. As it is, the current application is an amazing technological achievement (given Slingbox’s Windows Media Video broadcast) and the team has done a great job with the initial UI.

Sling Media, makers of the Slingbox place-shifting TV device, announced Sunday that it’s building a version of its SlingPlayer software for the iPhone and iPod touch. Last week Macworld was among the first to get a private preview of the software.

Sling Media today made official that it has been developing a version of its SlingPlayer Mobile software for the Apple iPhone. The software is described as a "proof of concept" developed using jailbroken iPhones but offers much of the same functionality as the released applications for Symbian S60, Windows Mobile, and other cellphone platforms. Users can navigate a Slingbox network streaming hub connected to a home TV feed and choose channels through a visual guide as well as stop or skip through playback.

All the WWDC rumors may be focusing on the new iPhone hardware we may see tomorrow. If you ask me, though, the far more compelling (expected) release is the iPhone 2.0 firmware and iPhone App Store. I'm more jazzed about iPhone software than new hardware, and tonight's announcement from Sling Media is a great example of why.

Much like versions for Windows Mobile and other smartphone operating systems, the software lets users pick from a channel guide when viewing TV and offers basic controls over live TV playback. The software requires a high-speed Internet connection currently supplied only through Wi-Fi.

How great would it be to be able to watch TV anywhere? With the Slingbox PRO, it's not just TV.

I get to see every game these days by using a product called Slingbox, which is available here in America. Recently on a night shoot for the film State of Play, I got to watch most of a game because the local real estate agent in a suburb of Washington DC let me sit in his office in the early hours and plug in a computer.