Orb Networks has launched a new service, Orb Live, which allows you to stream content from your Windows PC or Mac to your Android or iOS device for $9.99 – with no ongoing fees. Much like PlayOn, Orb Live uses Orb Caster on your PC or Mac as a proxy server. This allows you to stream premium content to your phone even if an app is not yet available for your platform. The content is streamed to your PC, then re-encoded and streamed to your phone. But note this could kill your bandwidth cap since this is a double-whammy – you have the stream coming in and the stream going back out.
But if you really want to get content on your mobile device and there isn’t a native app option, now you have this.
Full press release below:
Jul 18, 2011 08:10 ET
Orb Networks Launches First Service to Provide Free Streaming of Premium Online TV Shows, Sports and Movies to Mobile Phones
— New $9.99 Orb Live App Makes it Easy to Watch TV Shows and More on an iPhone or Android Device
OAKLAND, Calif., July 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Orb Networks (www.orb.com) is putting out the call to TV lovers today with the announcement of its new Orb Live app — the first service that enables consumers to stream the vast majority of popular premium online TV shows, sports, movies and more directly to their iPhone or Android devices. For TV viewing anywhere and anytime, Orb Live makes it simple and affordable for people to watch shows from Hulu, ABC, CBS, Fox, ESPN and more, with its unique technology that streams TV shows for free to a mobile phone.
Orb Live is the first service to stream free, ad-supported Hulu to mobile devices. Priced at only $9.99, with no subscription fees, Orb Live opens up a whole new world of entertainment options for mobile phone users, with thousands of TV shows available. Orb Live features premium online content, including full TV show episodes – which until now could only be watched through your computer’s web browser. With Orb Live, consumers can also watch a huge array of sports and movies via services such as Netflix and Amazon Video on Demand.
Mobile-video viewing saw a 41% rise from last year, according to a recent study by Nielsen Holdings N.V., and Orb Live is meeting this consumer demand for mobile TV and video viewing.
“Now consumers can use Orb Live to watch their favorite TV shows, sports and movies anywhere, on their mobile phone, without any additional subscription fees,” said Joe Costello, CEO and cofounder of Orb Networks. “No matter where they are, people can use their mobile phone to get the same great content that is available on their home PC for watching at the beach, on the soccer field, at the airport or on a commuter train.”
He added, “With this new version of Orb Live, we have also dramatically improved the streaming quality of the video to give users the best possible picture quality, at their current connection speed. As the connection moves up and down in quality, the video adjusts in real time to deliver the best picture and minimize the dreaded buffering so users always have access to their TV shows, movies and music.”
To help consumers easily find and watch their favorite shows, Orb Live features a powerful and easy-to-use global index of TV shows. Consumers simply type in the name of the show they want and then Orb quickly finds the show, without having to specify its source (e.g. Hulu, Netflix, ABC, CBS, etc).
The new version of Orb Live also provides consumers with all of the features of the original Orb Live, including live streaming of any music files, online music (Pandora, Sirius, etc.), video files (downloaded DivX/XviD files, home movies, etc.) photos and more to a mobile phone.
The new version of Orb Live for the iPhone is available immediately, with planned availability for the Android in mid-August. To get started, consumers download the free Orb Caster software from Orb.com to their PC or Mac and then download Orb Live from the App Store or Android Marketplace. Orb Live requires Edge, 3G, 4G or Wi-Fi network for connection to the Internet, to stream media via Orb Live to a mobile phone.
About Orb Networks
Based in Oakland, California, Orb Networks, Inc. is the leader in digital media streaming solutions for the digital home and remote access applications. In addition to Orb Live, Orb Networks offers the Orb Music Player ($79) that streams iTunes and Pandora to any home stereo. And, the Orb TV ($99) solution, with a hockey puck-sized device that plugs into a TV, enables consumers to stream online video content to a TV. The new OrbBR (Blu-ray) software works with an Internet-connected Blu-ray player and is easily controlled through a smart device or using any computer. For more information about Orb products, please visit www.orb.com.
SOURCE Orb Networks
CONTACT: Lisa Hendrickson, Commstrat for Orb Networks, +1-516-767-8390, lisa@commstrat.com
Web Site: http://www.orb.com
