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Free Orb TV allows user to stream TV from home to 36,000 ft

techcrunch.com — Given my failures with Slingbox, I'm a little skeptical, but I'd still like to take this for a test drive...especially since it's free.

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  • giggins, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8Isn't this the program Robert Heron is addicted to?
    • G4techTV, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6yes it is
    • foolfromhell, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9I have been using this for 1 year, (since i heard bout it in PopSci), its free, so i used this instead of Slingbox, i Have streamed my media from my home computer in Texas from India, where i had a 512 downstream. Quality is pretty good and depends on bandwidth size.
      You can view the video on ANY streaming-capable browser, doesnt matter what device, too bad PSP dont have streaming browser... :(
  • N3wtR0ckn13, on 10/12/2007, -7/+3going to ttry this out. post back later, but saved me from dropping 225 at comp usa in the meantime. back track later. peace.
    • danboarder, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12http://www.videolan.org/streaming/ VLC can serve streaming video out to a browser or streaming media player. it works on linux, windows, mac etc. Not the easiest to set up, but I've done it, it can share your media over the web. "The VideoLAN streaming solution includes:

      * VLC media player (initially VideoLAN Client), which can be used as a server to stream MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 / DivX files, DVDs and live videos on the network in unicast or multicast; or used as a client to receive, decode and display MPEG streams under multiple operating systems,

      * VLS (VideoLAN Server), which can stream MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 files, DVDs, digital satellite channels, digital terrestial television channels and live videos on the network in unicast or multicast. Most of the VLS functionality can now be found in the much better VLC program. Usage of VLC instead of VLS is advised."
    • N3wtR0ckn13, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1cool, thanks for the vlc update. almost forgot about those capabilities. nevertheless orb seems alright, just curious about privacy policies and all. nevertheless can't beat this price. quick solution above any other.
  • fartninja, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6No Linux version? What is there for Linux that could do this? Preferably one that works with Ubuntu or Debian.
    • danboarder, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2http://www.videolan.org VLC can stream video out to a browser or streaming media player. it works on linux, windows, mac etc. Not the easiest to set up, but I've done it, it can share your media over the web. Look on the right side of the VLC site - "Streaming Solution" and "On the fly transcoding as a streaming server"...
  • tange1, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5I've used it, pretty much works as advertised. Its not perfect but its not bad!
    • snub, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1I dont get why people are so obsessed with taking their movies and video with them everywhere. Games sure, maybe even movies and tv shows on a laptop on a long flight. But streaming video onto your mobile phone with that tiny screen? I really just dont get it.
    • dekkerd, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Two personal examples that I can give you. Out of town for the holidays, and my father-in-law wanted to catch his local NFL team. Watched the game live on my laptop. Out of town for business, and a tropical storm was rolling into my home city. National news wasn't very good about covering it, as it wasn't a hurricane. Tuned in my local news channel on my cell phone. 2.8" screen is fine for talking heads.
      Just a few examples, I usually use orb during the NFL season.
  • Willis, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2I curious about your failure with the slingbox. I've had one since they launched the product and it's worked great for me in every way I've needed it to work.
  • yeahbuddy, on 10/12/2007, -9/+1No Palm version? Uhh, do they realize that the Treo user base is frickin' humongo? Slingbox too. Geez people, get a clue!
    • dekkerd, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2Yes, they also realize it's going away. Palm is losing market share, and since the Treo itself has evolved into a windows mobile device, isn't likely to get bigger. Unless the rumored 700p is a gigantic hit, palm OS is on it's way out in the US.
    • yeahbuddy, on 10/12/2007, -7/+0link?
    • yeahbuddy, on 10/12/2007, -9/+1^^ nice of you to delete your inaccurate comment about windows mobile taking over the world (don't remember your username, but you deleted your comment). so you knew you were wrong. as you were.
    • dekkerd, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3On the loss of market share? Not sure if you're referring to me or the comment someone deleted. Windows Mobile caught up in 2004.
      http://www.brighthand.com/article/PPC_Sales_Equaled_Palm_Sales_During_Q1_2004
      Here's one on the licensing problems, and the acquisition by access of Japan is common knowledge.
      http://news.com.com/Is+Linux+Palms+savior/2100-1047_3-5719142.html?tag=nl
      Do I have definite info it's going away? No, just looks like it to me, YMMV.
  • VolcanicGoo, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2This sounds too good to be true.
  • Roger, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2I use Orb for streaming my video library to my PDA. Its pretty cool.
  • dbt777, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3"To enjoy Orb TV Live, your TV cable needs to be connected to the TV tuner on the back of your Windows XP computer. "

    --Pretty neat, not something I'm willing to do though.
  • Yankees368, on 10/12/2007, -14/+8DUPE DUPE DUPE

    here is just one of the many listings here for ORB

    http://digg.com/software/Orb_Offers_Easy_Media_Streaming
    • foolfromhell, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4Hey, this is not WHAT Orb is, this is the backing up of the fact that Orb is capable of straming at 36,000 ft IN THE AIR!
    • Yankees368, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Big deal...ORB will work in space if you have an internet connection.
    • foolfromhell, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1Like most of us can go to space, most people can get on an airplane.
  • rot97, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Orb is a very good program, especially if you have windows media center. It streams your tv to any computer, anywhere, and does not interfere with Media Center (in previous versions it did, but the newest has fixed the problems) Its pretty easy to use so i recommend some of you to check it out, its still good even if you dont have a tv tuner, if you just want to share your music/pictures/videos.
    • esac, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I just found this out, it was absolutely amazing to have it automatically integrate with my media center, and start watching my recording television remotely. BEAUTIFUL.
  • Nunya, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11He was streaming Underworld Evolution? Hmmmmm, when did that DVD come out?
  • vypergts, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Link to actual story http://mobilecrunch.com/2006/03/23/why-buy-sling-mobile-when-orb-is-free/
  • dekkerd, on 10/12/2007, -4/+0Maybe not the first digg about ORB, but dug for relevance, given the recent slingbox mobile announcement.
  • Phantom1000, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I have a myth box at home. Can anyone explain to me how this differs from mythstream? I don't mean this as a troll or a flame, I'm just trying to figure out what, if any benefit, this would bring me.
    • MrShoop, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Orb and Slingbox both would downsample and stream content to a remote location. Both will work with PocketPC devices, for example (Slingbox has custom app for playback, Orb has web interface). I'd love to hear how that compares with MythTV and MythStream.
    • jijin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I also have a Sprint PCS Phone and this works great with it

      (Smasung M920)
  • computerdude33, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3No *nix/Mac version? Digg for functionality, but hope for a *nix/Mac version.
  • rot97, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2What Orb does/is- open up a browser, go to the site, log in, click on a channel/videos/music/pictures..etc.. and itll stream it to wmp,winamp, realplayer, and some others. It also has some small add-ons for contacts and bookmarks..
    • jijin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1this includes 3GP streaming for some cell phones
  • Schrade, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3The privacy policy is scary if you read it. :-/
  • beoswulf, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I'm afraid that as an OptOnline user I'll get capped for using Orb. My area in Long Island, NY seems to get caps for any upstream of more than 100 for any length of time. And their customer service and tech support is scripted to deny and deny it until you reach a real techie and not a cue card drone.
    What's the lowest resolution that would look good for say Babylon 5 on a vga pocket PC?
    • gamekid, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Glad I have Verizon.

      I hate local cable monopolies. VZ might want to tier the intarweb, but I'd rather lose Google for having them than lose everything just cause I DLed a bit more than CableFission wishes me to.

      I'm no big traveler, but I like this Orb thingy (maybe I'll actually use it sometime). Optimum can cap my foot up their ass.
    • Daniel591992, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I also have OptOnline, and I have been noticing a slower than usual connection. Hopefully they fix it :)
    • mcduckov, on 10/21/2007, -0/+1I rememe when opt online was offering 10 down and people were actually accusing them of doing a bait and switch because "no ISP could make money offering that much down for ~40 a month". It was good times, no caps either.

      That was a few years back. Are they doing the capping/shaping thing now?
  • softmod, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Can multiple users log on to an account to view the same content ...at the same time????
  • Daniel591992, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Seems like it doesn't work woth the PSP browser. If anyone get's it to work, let me know.
    • diggmon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Orb only works for pictures on the PSP, as the PSP cant stream music or video yet.
      I watch TV at work with orb shhhh.
  • loveandrockets, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2How does this work? This seems incredible. This guy watched something on his home computer though his PDA in midflight. I don't get how this could be done.
    • dekkerd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Haven't RTFA since this morning, but I seem to remember he used Boeings inflight wi-fi service. I can stream reliably with EDGE coverage to my phone, I assume the boeing service is at least that fast.
    • loveandrockets, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Ok. He streamed over the plane's wifi. Thanks.
  • dWhisper, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It's a great concept, but unfortunately, has one of the bigger pitfalls of free and closed source... it's buggy and unstable, at least in my experience. I had problems with Orb killing videos when running on the local system, and could never get it to sync properly with my tuner on my Media Center. In the end, I had to uninstall it because it was causing XP errors...

    I love the idea of Orb, it just needs a little more polish.
  • MrShoop, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Orb is great, and so is the Slingbox, but it seems to me they are serving slightly different purposes. If you already have a tv tuner on your PC, Orb is a great way to stream the video content out. If you don't have a tuner or media type PC setup, Slingbox is a nice ll in one solution that plugs into your actual TV /cablebox.

  • randal2k, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1follow me down the rabbit hole for a seconded, if you will......

    An orb box at home, streaming Super bowl (Olympics .. whatever) to VLC at work (streaming again), and we all have a good time!!

    ok, back out of the hole.
  • TCDToxic, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1No Sir, I dont like it.

    Had many problems with orb. Plus you can stream stuff via vlc without orb and control it with a radmin...
    • dekkerd, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Can you use VLC/radmin on your cell phone?
  • culebra, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I dunno. This is one of the most innovative things I've sene out of the dot.com area since kozmo.com

    Truely awesome. What a golden age we live in. I'm sure it won't be long until some lawyer has to shut this down.
    • digboy99, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0If you knew about it six months ago, why didn't you post it then???
  • rtay150, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1This story is so old. I have know about this for over half a year.
  • futoranime, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I use it to show family guy episodes at our LAN event. It's something for those who suck at Counter Strike.

    http://www.gameaddicthotline.com
  • eTron, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I use it just about every weekday. The quality is not bad considering I'm running a wireless card with a max upload throughput of 384k for the Orb server computer. And verizon EVDO broadband on the laptop. I can sit outside at baja fresh on my lunch break and watch TV (only the channels I specify), view all my pics, videos, and even webcam. I usually just run it in a small window and it looks nice. Oh yeah... you can also setup user accounts / guest accounts for limited access to pics etc. It's a nice service. I hope they do more with the web interface but I can't complain.
  • bluntsage, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0http://www.olivelink.com/
  • shadymg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Agree this has been around a while, but i love seeing great publicity for great technology for a small company. Of course it keeps getting better.
  • Peppe316, on 10/12/2007, -5/+0orb is old news yo
  • aurigus, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0As a newer user to digg I am glad to see this as I hadn't heard of it before. I currently use BeyondTV (http://www.snapstream.com) for my streaming TV/Video but it is very IE dependent and doesn't do photos and such. I just got an EDGE phone so looking forward to utilizing the faster speed.
  • Vision77, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1I need a good app to stream video to my treo 650.
    • Hoamer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0unfortunately, despite my exhaustive searching, currently there is no way to stream video to the treo 650. you can watch pre-recorded/ pre-loaded videos with no problem, but i had been hoping that either sling or orb would address this with a palm release. nothing doing. i keep an eye on the sling message boards for an announcement concerning a palm-based player but that might take some time (if ever).
  • kaptainsteve, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0is it peer to peer, say like http://www.Streamerp2p.com or http://www.peercast.org?
    see, with streamer you can stream to an UNLIMITED amount of peers and not have
    worry about bandwith as it is p2p, ie. one who downloads, serves to the next person.
  • caldroun, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I have used this for a while now, and it works very well...Scales good according to the bandwidth you have available to you.
  • comeonpriitk, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0Lemme guess, this is linux right? It doesn't actually say what the product does.

    From the article I only learnt it's some kind of portable media player?
  • dmsteg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I use this in conjunction with GBPVR and it's pretty slick.
    It's like taking Tivo to go to a whole new level.
  • jonathanex, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'd love to use this on my pocket PC, but as Microsoft hates any old version of Windows Mobile, I'm left with a bastardised unupgradable version of Windows Media Player. Real Player is no better.
  • thecommish, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Like slingbox better. No digg.
  • priapos, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Orb Never really works properly. Too many problems. Slingbox is awesome
  • cochrate, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Dude, linux is better than windows...everyone knows that...at least those that are technically savvy.
  • tahim, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1finally set up my Orb account.... works beautifully. can use DVRanywhere to control your tivo as well. it's free, and no extra hardware needed.
  •  

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