Before we begin, you might be wondering what exactly is this "Orb" thing, and why it matters. To put simply, Orb allows you to stream media content from your home PC to just about anything that has an internet connection, a web browser, and a media player. This is accomplished by downloading and installing the Orb application, which then scans your media files and makes them available for streaming via Orb's MyCast login system (only you are able to access your media files, unless you specifically share them with someone). The only downside to this method; it requires an "always on" home PC (no Mac support, unfortunately), and a broadband connection. That said, if you meet the minimum system requirements, Orb is a great way to access your media content without having to directly load it onto your Pre (especially important considering we only have 8 GBs of space).
If you're interested in setting using Orb, and in a further display of just how awesome of a community we have, forum member deesugar has posted an excellent, very detailed step-by-step guide on how to get Orb working on the Pre. Combine this with the DoubleTwist media manager, and you could ultimately have all the media you own accessible on your Pre. Of course Orb also works with other devices as well, so you could stream to your PS3, iPod Touch, Xbox 360, and your mothers Palm Centro without having to jump through any additional hoops.
While we'd still like to one day see a 16 or 32 GB version of the Pre, this does help ease some of the pain for those of us that have more than 8 GBs of media. Let us know what you think of this solution in the comments, and be sure to head over to the forums and thank deesugar for his excellent guide.
Comments
This and DoubleTwist are now on my weekend list of things to do. The ability to stream music would be fantastic. I'm assuming that when you say broadband connection you mean accessing the web with the Pre via wifi and not through Sprint?
Think he means your home computer (where orb is installed) needs to have a braodband (not dialup) connection to the internet.
moved up...
nice! like the Slingbox for Pre!
If you have a TV Tuner in your computer you can also watch live TV with Orb.
I couldn't get TV streaming to work, it used to work on a WM phone.
Have no fear folks. This program is very reliable.
Honestly, since I set this up last week, I haven't really touched the media I actually placed on the Pre. Orb has even taken over some of Pandora's responsibilities. Having on the fly access to over a terabyte of media from my home PC has been awesome! One warning though: when streaming movies expect your battery to cry. Your Pre is heavily accessing the internet, and rendering video too which really kills the battery. I doubt you could get through a full movie this way.
Now if only I could get TVersity to work on the Pre instead, I'd also love to be able to watch all those video RSS feeds.
the big question would be the battery usage of using Orb, versus a native built in app like the pandora. How does it compare with one another? and no, I don't even own a pre, but I just like to peep in because I do plan it get it soon. so any feedback would be great on this.
Orb uses the Pre's media player which is a built in app like Pandora to play video (I haven't tried audio yet), so I imaging the battery drain will be about the same as with Pandora.
Does anyone know what link or how to stream wfan new york to orb so I can hear it on my pre?
I thought Orb was comingup with a update to avoid the 3GP cause that setting doesn't look all that great to play back on my phone.
Has it been Confirmed in Stone that Streaming Live TV will NOT work with ORB on Pre? Having no TV (Orb or Sling) is the only thing really holding me back from upgrading the 755p. Has anyone tried ORB or Sling M. with the new Version of Classic (1.1)?
Sling is not working on Classic. I don't think Sling has the stomach for R&D anymore, they lost their entrepeneurial edge with the Echostar takeover. Other software and hardware solutions are making noise about being on Pre ASAP.
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