With all of the media hype surrounding Slingbox, and the Sony LocationFree Player, an easy and inexpensive (as in FREE) solution is getting overlooked: My Orb. But that's to be expected. They haven't advertised heavily, and they're fairly unassuming. But don't think that their product is underrated, because it's not.
To use Orb, all you do is install the software on your desktop system (only works with Windows XP machines), and it'll let you access your photos, music, and movies right through the Internet, right away. It'll even stream your music in Windows Media Player or Quicktime streams, depending on what computer you use to access your files (PC or Mac).
I wouldn't have known about it myself, except that I bought a Creative web cam for my laptop, and found the software bundled onto the installation CD. I tried it, and it really works like a charm! I simply installed the software, set up my account at My Orb, and logged in. All of my photos, music, and videos were listed right in my account. I was able to stream my movies from my home machine, and watch them over the Internet, at work. And if you've got a Media Center PC, it'll even let you access your recorded TV shows, or the live TV stream. Cool!
And, what's even cooler is that they've got this service called Orb Secure, which they make available for free to Creative web cam buyers, that'll let you use your camera as a surveillance device. You can access the camera's video stream at any time to see what's going on at home, or even better, use it as a motion sensor, and set it to record video for a pre-set amount of time whenever movement is sensed. What's more, this service will even email or SMS you whenever motion is detected. You can then watch either the live video stream, or the recorded video portions, right on the Orb site, and take action if needed (i.e., call the police). How cool is that!
So why spend your money on yet another piece of hardware? Use what you already have, and get your money's worth. Look into Orb.
Article comments
1 - Dave Zatz
I agree that Orb is a good product, but it is different than Slingbox in many respects. First, you need a PC at home and opened to the Internet to run it unlike a Slingbox. Second, it doesn't support remote control of dozens of devices in the same way Sling does. Sling's mobile solution (Windows phones and PPCs) is much cleaner and well done than Orb, though fewer devices are supported.
Orb IS free if you already have a PC with capture card and Orb will also stream your music, picture, and video files in addition to TV. I assume Orb is building their user base and at some point will either charge for a subscription or use advertising revenue if they company is not purchasaed in the near future.
Being geeky I have used and appreciate both, though I prefer Slingbox for controlling and broadcasting my TiVo.