can you do what a SlingBox does for free and with high def?

I recently heard of the SlingBox.... and the idea sounds interesting however it sounds like its very possible to have something like it with a HTPC... but i'm not sure how to do it and was wondering if anyone knew how to stream such stuff over a network. I'm planning very soon on building a HTPC and was really looking forward to figuring out a way to do something along what the slingbox does only with High Defintion. Anyone have any ideas on how to do this for free.. in otherwords with some open source software or something? With high definition would i have to look into a Gigabit router? any advice is appreciated.. thanks.

Did a bit of reading on the Slingbox. It's basically a server that streams a TV feed across a network or over the internet.

It shouldn't be too difficult to do. Sounds like you could do it with your average HTPC and a good streaming video server. The only hurdle I see is controlling the feed remotely; you'd need an interface between the streaming site and the tuner controls.

The cool thing about the Slingbox is that it has an IR blaster that allows you to control it remotely. As a Beta tester I can say this thing is really slick. No more paying $$ just to watch a live CNN feed. Now you can watch CNN live.

Well as a beta tester, which no doubt you probably got it for free or for a discount as long as you promote it ;p... can you tell me when they plan on making it affordable for what it can do and also do HD content? Also the IR blaster is pretty lame.. should be an easier way than something like that to control the device...

It is not all about getting a free box to promote this. Not at all. The SlingBox opens up a whole new spectrum of TV watching. If you think about it. $249 is not totally out there. How much did you spend on your Video Card? Think about it.

If you really think about the IR Blaster, what other product/technology is available that will give you compatibility over 100's of devices? Bluetooth? Nope... Wireless.... Nope... Every device has an IR port so why not use it. Granted, it isn't the fastest, but hey... it works.

I think it'll be a while on HD. HiDef video takes a LOT of bandwidth. If you want to recompress it that'll take a LOT of horsepower. I'm assuming you want to do it remotely, not just on another system on the same network.