OrbTV
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Streaming outfit Orb Networks acquired, winding down operations
Orb has long kept busy making its media streaming solutions compatible with everything from Android to the Wii, but now the business as we know it is trotting off into the sunset. Joe Costello, founder and CEO of Orb Networks, quietly announced on the firm's website that the team and technology have been acquired by one of its "large strategic partners who completely shared the Orb vision for building a standard platform for media solutions and beyond." Costello didn't divulge the buyer's identity, but noted that their new owners had been "investing aggressively in this technology," and Orb will lead their streaming media charge. Although the company stopped selling its products in May, it will continue to honor the one year replacement warranty for Orb Music and TV. The hardware and Orb BR should continue to work, but changes made by streaming services could throw a spanner in the works, as bug fixes and updates are off the table. Orb Live apps, on the other hand, rely on the firm's cloud servers that are slated to shut down by the end of the year. Mycast, the outfit's free service, is expected to work through August, but won't see life past 2013. Hit the source links below for Orb's parting words. [Thanks, Tom]
Orb TV streams video from your Mac to your TV
I've been playing around with the US$99 Orb TV for a few weeks now, and I have to say I'm quite impressed with it. For those of you not familiar with it, Orb TV is a media streamer that connects to your TV and lets you play any video from your computer to your television. It's shaped like a hockey puck, and at a 95 mm diameter and a 21 mm thickness, it comes in smaller than the new Apple TV. Despite a few hiccups in getting it connected the first day, I've found the Orb TV easy to use. Simply connect the component or composite cables from the Orb TV device to your TV, then launch the Orb software on your Mac. The Orb software will search your media libraries and pick up all your non-DRM video, music and photos. Next, download the free Orb Controller universal iOS app and navigate through you video library with ease. When you find a video you want to play, simply tap it to play it now or add it to your video queue. It's also important to note that the Orb TV doesn't have an interface -- not one that appears on your TV screen anyway. You control everything through the Orb Controller on your iPhone, iPad or Android device. There is also an Orb Mini Controller for Mac and PC for those users without an iOS or Android device. Orb TV also allows you to watch Hulu, Netflix and YouTube videos right through your TV. But my favorite thing about the Orb TV is that it picks up any non-DRM video -- not just video in your iTunes music library -- on your Mac and streams it to your TV. This means that you don't have to have all your movies in one central location on your Mac, nor do they have to be in one specific format as Orb supports H.264 BP/MP/HP, VC-1 SP/MP/AP, MPEG4 SP/ASP, MPEG2 MP and MPEG1. The biggest drawback is the lack of an HDMI port. Still, my HD video came in clear and crisp on my 1080p TV. Also the Orb controller software could use a bit of a redesign. It works just fine, but it has more of a bare bones UI as opposed to a well thought out software controller feel. That being said, for $99, the Orb TV is a good product for those looking to stream videos from their Mac to their HDTV. %Gallery-119625%
Orb TV is the $99 video streamer that will do Netflix and Hulu, but not HD
Your Apple TVs and your Google TVs hold a lot of potential, but their limited access to content freely available to any 'ol PC and Mac is what you'd call a bit of a problem. The latest product from Orb fixes that by being a simple media streamer, relying on a computer elsewhere on the network to pull that content locally before turning around and pumping it back out to the company's new Orb TV coaster, which in turn displays it on your actual TV. Since the content is hitting the computer first (the "Orb Caster") Hulu is available on-tap, but somewhere along the way support for HD video quality goes out the window: this thing maxes out at VGA. Sure, you can already do this with your TVersity's and the like, but the Orb TV is a lot smaller than your average media extender hardware, has a very handy remote control app for iPhones and Androids, and kindly will support multiple Orb devices on the same network. Best of all? It's shipping right now, so make with the clicking and get your Gleek on. Update: We're being told the Android app is available now as well.
