TV to go

Who do you miss most while on the road: your family and friends, or Dr. Meredith Grey and Dr. Derek Shepherd of Grey's Anatomy? If the answer tends to the latter -- for an hour or two a week, at least -- read on: A slew of new technologies, such as portable media players, in-flight satellite access and live-TV-on-the-go gadgets, are helping fans stay perpetually plugged into their favourite shows, even when real life whisks them to the other side of the world.

Until a viable line of TV-friendly cellphones hits the market, Sling Media's Slingbox could become your saviour. This chocolate-bar-sized device sits on top of your cable box and pumps your home TV signal across the Internet. By plugging it into a high-speed modem and connecting it to the cable box's audio and video ports, you can watch and control your TV from anywhere in the world you can get on-line -- all in real time and with no service fees.

"So, if I'm sitting in Tokyo," explains Toronto-based technology consultant Albert Behr, "I can [use the Slingbox to]watch the season premiere of Desperate Housewives from my laptop or pocket PC. And, by the way, it costs nothing -- I paid my cable bill. It's frigging brilliant."

As networks and service providers concoct a seemingly endless supply of TV fare, portable gadgets designed to deliver this content remotely are popping up as fast as ratings in September. "What's driving this industry is service providers pushing stuff to devices," Behr says.

One such product is Pinnacle Systems' nifty new device called the PCTV HD Pro Stick, which uses an antenna to pick up both high- and standard-definition TV signals in its range, turning your laptop into a TV set. Launching in Canada next month, and priced at about $150, the Pro Stick also has recording capabilities.

If you're out of signal range -- and pining for your Lost fix -- portable media players like EchoStar's PocketDish can store and play programs you've downloaded or digitally recorded at home. Weighing in at five ounces and featuring a four-inch colour screen, Doghouse Electronics' new RoverTv can record from various sources, including TVs, DVD and CD players, VCRs and computers. And this month, Comcast (the largest cable distributor in the U.S.) trademarked the brand Anyplay to set the stage for what analysts predict is the launch of its own portable media player.

Most major TV networks have teamed up with service providers such as iTunes, Amazon, Microsoft, Verizon Communications and Rogers Cable to offer up for download episodes of prime-time shows -- most priced from 99 cents to $1.99 a pop, and commercial-free. The download downside, however, is time delay: In most cases, you can't buy an episode on-line until it's already aired (and nobody wants to be the last on the block to find out who Meredith Grey ends up with). Furthermore, service providers have ensured the video stream is tailored to your particular device, be it a PC laptop, iMac or iPod -- the latter of which, Behr says, offers "fabulous" image quality.

Often, however, your travelling TV fix is out of your hands. En route to the airport, make sure your limo is tricked out with KVH Industries' TracVision A5 satellite TV antenna, which delivers 125 channels through the DirectTV satellite service (for a mere $3,000).

Once in the terminal, you might have to stop watching long enough to clear security. But worry not: Board the right plane, and you're moments away from up-to-date episodes at 40,000 feet.

Airlines ranging from U.S. discount carrier Jet Blue to international heavyweight Singapore Airlines have beefed up their in-flight entertainment systems to include live digital satellite TV. Middle Eastern carrier Qatar Airways dishes live in-flight TV from such networks as Al Jazeera, CNN International, the Disney Channel and BBC World. And Virgin Blue flights to and from Australia offer passengers a pay-per-view access to popular networks like Fox News, CNN and Nickelodeon. Usually, a carrier teams up with a distributor, whose satellite beams a signal to an antenna located in the aircraft's fuselage. Most in-flight TV features personal seatback monitors and video on demand, so you can pause or rewind at will.

While only a handful of airlines currently offer satellite, it won't be long before their competitors follow suit. In Canada, WestJet has partnered with Bell ExpressVu to outfit its fleet of Boeing 737s with seatback access to 24 channels. Air Canada, meanwhile, is introducing a sophisticated new on-demand entertainment system to its fleet that includes a library of music, movies, and shows -- but no satellite plans as of yet.

So, even if you're reading this from a Himalayan mountaintop, rest assured you'll probably be able to catch tomorrow night's Ugly Betty season premiere. If only keeping up with real life was this easy.

The TracVision A5 satellite TV antenna delivers 125 channels - for a mere $3,000. For more information, visit http://www.kvh.com.

DIGITAL DOWNLOADS

PocketDish media players can store and play downloaded TV shows. They start at $180. For more information, visit pocketdish.com.

LAPTOP ANTENNA

The PCTV HD Pro Stick uses an antenna to pick up TV signals. It costs $145. For more information, visit pinnaclesys.com.

RECORD AND REVIEW

RoverTv devices can record from TVs, DVD players and VCRs. They start at $335. For more information, visit rovertv.net.

HOME LOOK-IN

The Slingbox pumps home TV signals across the Internet. It retails for $299. For more information, visit slingmedia.com.

Jet Blue: jetblue.com.

Singapore Airlines:

http://www.singaporeair.com.