Sling Media, the company that owns Slingbox TV-streaming hardware devices, has opened its video portal, Sling.com. Even though Hulu is a Sling partner, the two will compete, along with Joost, in offering users the possibility to stream a variety of TV shows and movies for free through an intuitive Flash player.

Sling’s selection is pretty comprehensive, offering content from most of the major networks and studios, including Warner, Sony, and MGM. The site also offers movies from a number of smaller sources. Unfortunately for users, there are a few notable exceptions: Comedy Central is nowhere to be found, which means The Daily Show and Colbert Report are not available. Hulu began offering both shows in June.

Even if Sling can’t offer its users Comedy Central, its biggest advantage over its competitors makes this exception fade away. Sling.com has the ability to stream content directly from any Sling boxes you own, giving access to both Live TV and premium content saved on your DVR. The service works very well, automatically detecting the contents of any Slingbox connected to your user account.

On the other hand, another disadvantage is the fact the live streaming is only available for Windows machines, even if a Mac version is on the way. Most parts of the site use a standard Flash player, but the live playback requires a browser plugin, which makes this application far less useful, as some users do not have the administrative rights required to download and install that plugin.

All in all, Sling had quite a good start in this industry. Its interface compares well to Hulu and Joost and its selection of content is impressive, even if it has some exceptions. However, if Sling wants this site at its best, it should nail down its live streaming, hopefully with full Mac support and no plugin needed.