Author Topic: Overwhelming Response To Orb Mycasting Service Drives Enhancements  (Read 7012 times)

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Offline Gahiggidy

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Orb Networks has made turning your Wii into a home media center easy, and free.

Orb Networks Unveils New TV Interface, Creating the Ultimate in Personal Broadcasting of Digital Media for Gamers    


EMERYVILLE, Calif. — January 29, 2007 — Four weeks after Nintendo® opened up the Internet browser on its WiiTM console, more than 50,000 gamers have discovered Orb Network's MyCastingTM service, which is a simple way to enjoy all of the digital entertainment on the home PC directly on the living room TV screen using Orb's software as the bridge. Responding to the fast-growing user base, Orb created a new TV interface for gaming enthusiasts developed from feedback by gamers in Orb's Wii support forums and Wii blogs.    


"Wii users are really getting into using Orb: watching YouTubeTM videos and listening to their music on their TVs. But they want a simple interface to make it easier to navigate with the Wii remote - so we designed one quickly and launched it today," said Joe Costello, Chairman and CEO of Orb Networks. "The experience continues to be about simplicity and when you have 50,000 people starting to use your service over such a short period of time, we want them to know we're listening and responding."    


Orb's free software allows you to enjoy all digital media from your home PC, as well as online videos from the growing source of Internet TV and content sites on any other networked device with an internet browser - be it other PCs, lap tops, PDAs or mobile phones with streaming players and TV with the Wii. In addition, Orb announced last week that they also had developed a way for Sony PS3 gamers to also enjoy their personal digital media on their PC directly on their TV as well.    


How Orb Works with the Nintendo Wii:    


     
  1. Download the free Opera Internet browser available at www.wii.nintendo.com onto your Wii game console.
  2.  
  3. Download Orb at www.orb.com onto your on always-on Windows PC at home. It takes less than 3 minutes to do. To ensure you get the new TV interface you must have Orb Version 2.0 or higher.
  4.  
  5. Turn on your TV and access the Wii main menu. Select the Internet Channel when connected to the Internet and open the browser.
  6.  
  7. Using your Wii remote, log onto your Orb account through Wii at mycast.orb.com. That's it. Now enjoy, watch and listen to any digital content on your home PC - videos, music, Internet TV and radio or any other online content you programmed in your Orb MyCast application: they are now all airing on your TV screen.
  8.  
 


Offline NWR_pap64

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RE: Stream Music and Video From PCs to Wiis
« Reply #1 on: January 29, 2007, 07:06:24 AM »
I would gladly use this...IF I KNEW WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON WITH MY WII AND THE INTERNET CHANNEL!!!!!!!
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Offline KnowsNothing

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RE: Stream Music and Video From PCs to Wiis
« Reply #2 on: January 29, 2007, 07:08:18 AM »
I tried this the same day I discovered that I discovered Wii Media Center X was garbage. Orb seemed to have trouble finding my photos and videos (although with the videos it might be because of the codecs used).  It found my music, but playing them back was such a pain that I decided it wasn't worth it :P

Hurrah!  
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Offline Ceric

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RE:Stream Music and Video From PCs to Wiis
« Reply #3 on: January 29, 2007, 07:24:12 AM »
Yeah, I used Orb version one for a while with my PDA.  As long as you had the Codec on your machine it would translate and then stream it remotely.  So I wanted to get Video to my Wii and so I went back to Orb and the 2.0 version doesn't even find all my videos and can barely stream any of them.  2.0 is a VERY big step back from the impressive 1.0 product.
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Offline IceCold

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RE: Stream Music and Video From PCs to Wiis
« Reply #4 on: January 29, 2007, 07:31:17 AM »
Does DivX work?
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Offline Caliban

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RE: Stream Music and Video From PCs to Wiis
« Reply #5 on: January 29, 2007, 09:34:37 AM »
This afternoon I tried Orb, it does what it can but I wasn't satisfied.

Offline Ceric

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RE: Stream Music and Video From PCs to Wiis
« Reply #6 on: January 29, 2007, 10:14:13 AM »
I'll try again when I'm at home but I beleive not.
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Offline WuTangTurtle

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RE: Stream Music and Video From PCs to Wiis
« Reply #7 on: January 30, 2007, 07:12:18 AM »
Can anyone tell me whats the difference between Red Kawa's Media Center X vs Orb's.  And why KnowsNothing thinks Red Kawa's Media Center X is garbage?

Streaming my pc stuff sounds great especially if they don't have to be reformated to a different and crappier format (mjpeg).

Offline KnowsNothing

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RE: Stream Music and Video From PCs to Wiis
« Reply #8 on: January 30, 2007, 07:37:54 AM »
Media Center X doesn't support music playback yet, and can only play flv video files.  They advertise the thing like it can stream anything, but when you go and download it you discover that it's really early in development, and doesn't contain any useful functionality at all.

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Offline IceCold

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RE: Stream Music and Video From PCs to Wiis
« Reply #9 on: January 30, 2007, 08:41:30 AM »
I downloaded this, and it actually works really well! Remember to change the options on the site from "Media Player" to "Orb Flash" or something. Once I did this, everything only took a couple of seconds to work on the Wii, and the picture clarity was great. It does support DivX.
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Offline NWR_pap64

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RE: Stream Music and Video From PCs to Wiis
« Reply #10 on: January 30, 2007, 09:32:09 AM »
I....have no idea how this works. :\

How do I stream videos again?
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Offline fropi

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RE: Stream Music and Video From PCs to Wiis
« Reply #11 on: January 31, 2007, 07:42:29 AM »
i'm really excited to try this later.

Offline NWR_pap64

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RE: Stream Music and Video From PCs to Wiis
« Reply #12 on: January 31, 2007, 08:03:52 AM »
OK, I am this close to saying that this program is not worth it...

First, it is not as easy as the company claim it is. I think you have to jump a lot of hoops just so you can watch something.

Second, the program isn't working as well on my machine for some reason. Sometimes it says that the computer is not connected to the server, even though the program is on, and now I am getting messages that the session has expired.

And I still don't know how the hell you play videos on your Wii. I see the options but none of my music and video files appear.

HOW THE F*CK DOES THIS WORK?!?
Pedro Hernandez
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Offline KnowsNothing

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RE: Stream Music and Video From PCs to Wiis
« Reply #13 on: January 31, 2007, 08:48:24 AM »
It doesn't.
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Offline IceCold

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RE: Stream Music and Video From PCs to Wiis
« Reply #14 on: January 31, 2007, 10:01:29 AM »
It works perfectly for me - I'll explain to you what I did in a few hours.  
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Offline TAYREL713

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RE:Stream Music and Video From PCs to Wiis
« Reply #15 on: January 31, 2007, 11:53:19 AM »
Works like a champ for me. I like the way the new "Wii Styled" interface works as I was using this before they fixed that and it was a whole lot of zoom in and click here that was not very intuitive. The giant sized font and layout of media is so much easier than before. The fact that it streams directly from my PC as opposed to having to go over the internet and then to my Wii makes it considerably faster and just pretty fly to me.
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Offline IceCold

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RE: Stream Music and Video From PCs to Wiis
« Reply #16 on: January 31, 2007, 06:06:36 PM »
OK, this is for anyone who hasn't got it working yet - hope it helps..

I'm assuming that you've downloaded the programme, set up an account, added the folders you want to be able to use, etc etc. The first thing you need to do is allow access to port 80. The process depends on which firewall you are running, but it should be easy to navigate it and add a port on the "allow" list.

Then, go to the Orb main site on your PC. You can check to see if the videos are up ("Open Application" --> "Videos"). Next, on the bottom of the page, click the numeric value next to where it says "Web speed." It should bring up the Control Panel. Here, click "Streaming Formats" on the left, and choose "Orb Flash Player" (it would be on Windows Media by default). Remember to click OK/Apply.

It should now work on the Wii. I had the same problem with it getting stuck loading music and video, but after I did this it worked. It shouldn't load for long if you have a fast enough connection.
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Offline NWR_pap64

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RE:Stream Music and Video From PCs to Wiis
« Reply #17 on: February 01, 2007, 11:46:05 PM »
Quote

Originally posted by: IceCold
OK, this is for anyone who hasn't got it working yet - hope it helps..

I'm assuming that you've downloaded the programme, set up an account, added the folders you want to be able to use, etc etc. The first thing you need to do is allow access to port 80. The process depends on which firewall you are running, but it should be easy to navigate it and add a port on the "allow" list.

Then, go to the Orb main site on your PC. You can check to see if the videos are up ("Open Application" --> "Videos"). Next, on the bottom of the page, click the numeric value next to where it says "Web speed." It should bring up the Control Panel. Here, click "Streaming Formats" on the left, and choose "Orb Flash Player" (it would be on Windows Media by default). Remember to click OK/Apply.

It should now work on the Wii. I had the same problem with it getting stuck loading music and video, but after I did this it worked. It shouldn't load for long if you have a fast enough connection.



I did everything except the Port 80 part...just what is it? I have the Zone alarm anti virus and I know how to allow trusted zones, but don't know what is Port 80.

I think I already allowed Orb into my safety zone.
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Offline KDR_11k

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RE: Stream Music and Video From PCs to Wiis
« Reply #18 on: February 02, 2007, 01:13:55 AM »
Port 80 is HTTP.

Offline NWR_pap64

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RE:Stream Music and Video From PCs to Wiis
« Reply #19 on: February 02, 2007, 03:01:39 AM »
Quote

Originally posted by: KDR_11k
Port 80 is HTTP.


...And? How do I find that? Just what is it? And how do I allow it on my trusted zone?

As you can tell, I am STILL completely in the dark as to how this works.

But I have no hurry to get this working. My internet is acting up, AGAIN.
Pedro Hernandez
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Offline KDR_11k

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RE: Stream Music and Video From PCs to Wiis
« Reply #20 on: February 02, 2007, 03:22:09 AM »
Notice how every URL starts with HTTP? HTTP is the protocol used for websites. When the Wii looks at your PC to get a website it'll ask your port 80 because that's where the webserver usually is. I have no idea how you make that work with your firewall.

Offline NWR_pap64

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RE:Stream Music and Video From PCs to Wiis
« Reply #21 on: February 02, 2007, 03:29:34 AM »
Quote

Originally posted by: KDR_11k
Notice how every URL starts with HTTP? HTTP is the protocol used for websites. When the Wii looks at your PC to get a website it'll ask your port 80 because that's where the webserver usually is. I have no idea how you make that work with your firewall.


So, Port 80 is basically a website address to connect to the server?

I do know what HTTP is. I just want to know how to get Port 80 and how to make it work with my Firewall.
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Offline Ceric

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RE:Stream Music and Video From PCs to Wiis
« Reply #22 on: February 02, 2007, 04:22:08 AM »
On the people who have gotten to work.  For some reason on my machine this version of Orb isn't loading all of the Media that I have added folders for.  All of it is in Divx for the most part.  Anyone else have a similar problem?
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Offline NinGurl69 *huggles

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RE: Stream Music and Video From PCs to Wiis
« Reply #23 on: February 02, 2007, 06:34:34 AM »
So let me get this straight.

It takes all your media and recompresses it in Flash video format?

Crap.
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