OrbLive is now on the appstore. http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=290195003&mt=8
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OrbLive is now on AppStore
- Thread starter goblues11
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Seriously??? 
I mean, I see it, but I can REALLY, TRULY AND COMPLETELY watch live TV on my phone now??? As in, any show and any channel that I want??? Wifi isnt an issue, but if I can watch anything I want, I'll be buying this NOW!
Ahhh, I was wondering how this worked and found the catch! You have to have some sort of tuner for your computer that costs $80 + and the one shown on the Orb site is a PC component...I only have a laptop and it isnt always near my tv. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to use this with a laptop and no desktop at home?
I mean, I see it, but I can REALLY, TRULY AND COMPLETELY watch live TV on my phone now??? As in, any show and any channel that I want??? Wifi isnt an issue, but if I can watch anything I want, I'll be buying this NOW!Ahhh, I was wondering how this worked and found the catch! You have to have some sort of tuner for your computer that costs $80 + and the one shown on the Orb site is a PC component...I only have a laptop and it isnt always near my tv. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to use this with a laptop and no desktop at home?
There are usb tuners and the like. Couldn't tell you what's available for mac since they've always been on the short end of esoteric component support. If you plan on using it with a cable/satellite box, you'll probably also need an IR blaster. Reasons #1121 and #3214 why it's good to have a pc sitting around.
I'm surprised there isn't much interest isn't this app on this board. Anyone using it, what are your thoughts? Do you need to have a PC to use the app? or is that just to stream content from your personal computer? What do you need in order to watch live TV? if anything.
I'm sure it doesn't help that Apple crippled it and stuffed it two months down in the app store. Regardless, it's been working great for me.
My setup is that I have a Hauppauge PCI card in a PC and a Comcast cable box that's connected to the tuner card via a composite input. The audio comes down via a separate line and I use an IR blaster connected via a USB port to change channels. It's probably not for someone who doesn't know their way around a computer, but there are also USB tuners so you don't need to open the PC and you can just use the internal tuner instead of rigging it to a cable box as I have. The upside of my setup is that I get 600+ channels where the internal tuner of a tuner card might give you what, 99 channels tops? I've also added various video and music libraries on my PC so I can access those and I use uSirius so I can stream Sirius to the iPhone.
My setup really isn't as hard as it sounds, it all depends on what equipment you use. Everything supports Hauppauge hardware these days and I didn't get the cheapest piece of crap they sell. I also bought a well supported IR blaster. As with everything else, you get what you pay for.
As far as I know yes, you need a PC as there's no Orb server for Mac. You might be able to use a USB tuner and Fusion or the like on a Mac, but I've never tried it.
Naturally it works best with wifi but, using voipover3g it works very well over 3g and even looks pretty good over EDGE although it buffers a lot. Still, if you're paranoid about the AT&T gestapo cutting you off, that's one way to keep your data usage down.
Orblive 2.0.6
The version for 3G has been released and its pretty good with streaming. I like and we should start giving better ratings to their work....!!!
The version for 3G has been released and its pretty good with streaming. I like and we should start giving better ratings to their work....!!!
I have had or on my iPhone since day one. I must say, if you like this get TVERSITY. It's much better.
not for me. I have always found it a lot, lot better. I find orb a lot slower, tversity transcodes, which is useful.
wondering if someone here who is familiar with these types of setups can answer a question for me (don't want to start a new account on another forum).
If I have a laptop that I keep at home and keep it on, and if I go out and buy a tv tuner card to slide into my PCMCIA slot, will I be able to use orb to watch tv on my phone or laptop that I keep with me OR does the home pc have to hooked up directly to my cable tv box? I guess in other words do the tv tuner cards for laptops wirelessly pickup on tv signals or is there more equipment the would have to be bought?
If I have a laptop that I keep at home and keep it on, and if I go out and buy a tv tuner card to slide into my PCMCIA slot, will I be able to use orb to watch tv on my phone or laptop that I keep with me OR does the home pc have to hooked up directly to my cable tv box? I guess in other words do the tv tuner cards for laptops wirelessly pickup on tv signals or is there more equipment the would have to be bought?
what do you consider slow? not sure about you but when i start video playback via orb, it generally takes about 5-10 seconds to start streaming.
also for anyone that cares, orb + voipover3g is definitely way better quality then the new version of orb with 3g/edge streaming.
Can anyone please give me instructions on how to use this app without a tv tuner ? I have googled and gone to orb.com only to be confused
I have tried to add channels from live webcams and internet tv but it will not work on my phone ? I would love to be able to watch CNN and africam as well as citypulse (news) while I am at work.
I have tried to add channels from live webcams and internet tv but it will not work on my phone ? I would love to be able to watch CNN and africam as well as citypulse (news) while I am at work.
- From your PC browser login to http://mycast.orb.com.
- Open Application-> TV/ Webcam -> internetTV -> Add Custom -> Here provide ur internet TV URL... thats it.
- Now from "OrbLive" access Orb PC & enjoy your favorite TV.
- Open Application-> TV/ Webcam -> internetTV -> Add Custom -> Here provide ur internet TV URL... thats it.
- Now from "OrbLive" access Orb PC & enjoy your favorite TV.
Downloaded this yesterday. So far I cannot stream my live TV even though orb recognized and set up the tuner. I emailed them about it. This is going to be freaking cool if it starts working with the TV. It was kind of creepy though to turn on my webcam with the iphone and see myself sitting there in front of the computer.
Should I jump the gun and get a iPhone 3g?
This app looks great and this just what I have been waiting for.
SHould I be worried about att cutting off data services due to this app?
How is it via 3g? Does the quality downgrade?
For tversity...I read that you must convert the whole video before it starts to play. Same thing here?
This app looks great and this just what I have been waiting for.
SHould I be worried about att cutting off data services due to this app?
How is it via 3g? Does the quality downgrade?
For tversity...I read that you must convert the whole video before it starts to play. Same thing here?
I would recommemnd getting the Iphone as I love mine. Remember the ap is nothing special and you shouldnt pay for it. You have been able to do the same things by logging into the orb website on your phone (actually I think its better than the ap and free). Also rememberyou dont nee an iphone to do this, I have been doinig it on a number of phons for years. TVERSITY transcodes, which means if the video is in the wrong format for yor device, it transfers it to the right format as you watch. Orb doesnt.....
I got this app working with my cheapo Pinnacle PCTV HD Pro Stick that I got off of woot.com a while back. This is awesome. The video looks fantastic on wifi. It's more fuzzy on Edge but VERY watchable although it stops sometimes to buffer. I had barely 3 bars of edge and I was watching TV with only the occasional buffer pause. The key is to find the right setting with the stream optimization slider in the Settings screen. When I was watching via Edge with barely 3 bars as I stated above I had the slider right at the line between Edge and 3G. I tried it lower but it was too few frames per second and the quality was worse.
This morning I was watching over wifi with the slider all the way to the best quality and the picture quality was outstanding with no stops or noticable buffering.
As has been said Orblive works on its own and you no longer need to run it in tandem with voipover3G.
Of course there's a lot more that you can do with this besides just TV but the TV is definitely the coolest part.
This morning I was watching over wifi with the slider all the way to the best quality and the picture quality was outstanding with no stops or noticable buffering.
As has been said Orblive works on its own and you no longer need to run it in tandem with voipover3G.
Of course there's a lot more that you can do with this besides just TV but the TV is definitely the coolest part.
Apparently doesn't work with OS X for TV streaming...bummer!
I would imagine that it is coming.
um yes orb does this. the iphone clearly can't play divx/xvid/etc etc videos and yet i can stream them through orb just fine.
Yep, Orb does transcode just fine. I can play video and audio files in all kinds of formats including the Sirius channels I've set up to play through it and live TV which the web site doesn't do. Most of my video files and a large percentage of those around the net are in wmv format and they all play on the iPhone via Orb.
In fact, this is the only way I can think of offhand that will let me listen to MLB and local minor league games in the spring since they're all in WMA format.
Per the server, I've read on Orb's forums that they're working on a Mac and Linux version. I didn't see any timelines, however, so if you want it tomorrow, you'd probably do best to buy a cheap PC. I've been thinking of putting a server on a Samsung Q1 with Windows XP and a USB tuner just to see if it works. They're cheap, tiny and they don't consume much power, perfect for something that needs to be left on all the time.
In fact, this is the only way I can think of offhand that will let me listen to MLB and local minor league games in the spring since they're all in WMA format.
Per the server, I've read on Orb's forums that they're working on a Mac and Linux version. I didn't see any timelines, however, so if you want it tomorrow, you'd probably do best to buy a cheap PC. I've been thinking of putting a server on a Samsung Q1 with Windows XP and a USB tuner just to see if it works. They're cheap, tiny and they don't consume much power, perfect for something that needs to be left on all the time.