| Orb Q And A |
What is Orb? Orb is a streaming media service. Download the free Orb application onto your PC. Then you can access all the media that is on that PC or home network -- and anything on the web – from any internet connected device that has a streaming media player. On what devices do people use Orb? People access their home media from other computers – say, from the office or via a laptop while on vacation; they use their mobile phones to listen to their home music collection and catch up on their favorite tv shows; and they use Orb and their game consoles to watch home movies, or YouTube videos in a large screen format on their TV screens. How does it work? Once you download Orb onto your PC, you can then stream any content from that PC to any other internet-connected device that has a streaming media player. That lets you consume any of the media that is on your home computer, anywhere, at any time. So how does Orb compare to other broadcast media companies like MobiTV or VCast? Traditional media broadcasters decide what you are going to watch – and then send that stream out to the universe. Orb is a media enabler – we let users decide what media they want to consume – we call it MyCasting. Where does the content come from? In today’s media world, content is everywhere – from the big broadcast media companies to independent producers. From movie studios to YouTube. From record labels to garage bands. Not to mention the media that you create – photos, home movies, little Johnny’s school play. Orb is the media system for all the content that is on your computer, or that you can get from the internet. Can I play any content? Orb helps you manage and consume both branded and non-branded content. Orb provides you with a single system to play, share, and use content in the same manner. Does Orb work with other device manufacturers? We know we can’t do it alone. We have relationships with many companies in the industry, including many device and service providers in the mobile industry, many in the TV/Cable industry, the computer/device segments, as well as many in the content creation and delivery business. How does Orb make money? Like traditional media companies, Orb makes money by monetizing viewership. But in the new media world, there are better ways to deliver ad-sponsored services. We are beginning to explore ways to leverage user’s media consumption to deliver more targeted marketing messages. Why is the 1 million user mark significant? We think Orb will transform how people consume their media. In the advertising world one million users is the minimum threshold to be considered as an alternative to the current system. Does that mean banner ads? Banner ads are a fairly traditional web-advertising method and has accepted metrics to go along with it (raw page views, time on websites, and web traffic). However, we believe there are ways to improve the existing system and deliver more targeted advertising messages. Can I use Orb with a Mac? You can access your media from a Mac, but today, you must use a Windows PC as your Orb PC (where you have all your media). Stay tuned – we are working on many new things in the Orb Lab. Can I use Orb with my mobile phone? Yes, today you can use Orb with any mobile phone that has internet access and a streaming media player. All major carriers worldwide have multiple Orb-capable phones, in fact, we estimate that there are 140 million Orb ready phones in use worldwide today. Does Orb let me do what the Apple iPhone does? The iPhone is a fabulous device. But many other phones on the market today, when combined with Orb, can let you listen to your music, play videos or watch TV, or view websites like YouTube. Did we mention that Orb is Free? How can I use Orb to publish on other websites? Orb will automatically publish your playlists (your personal media selection) for embedding in MySpace, web pages, or other blogs. What is my public page? Orb provides a free, dedicated, personal Web page for each user account, so you don’t have to worry about upload, or length limitations for what you want to share. The content for this page is controlled by you and can be accessed by anyone. Can Orb play DRM protected media? Orb respects and complies with the DRM polices of all content owners. How does Orb get my media to the TV screen? The media world shook in late 2006, when Nintendo enabled Wii users to download the Opera browser. With it, the Wii game console became a bridge to the internet, and opened up Orb to the TV. For the first time, users could play the media they had on their computer –music, home movies, plus anything that was on the internet – on the best screen in the house (and the one with the surround sound music system). Microsoft and Sony soon followed Nintendo’s lead and similarly opened up the xBox 360 and the Playstation 3. Can developers write their own Orb Player? Yes, we have released an API for Orb media players. See https://developer.orb.com/wiki/Main_Page for details. How does Orb handle the transcoding of the media? Orb’s transcoding engine determines the optimal media streaming rate and transcoding method based on the properties (device, software, browser, player) of the device at the time you decide to enjoy your media. What are the system requirements for running Orb?
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