Orb Networks has quietly been wading into the OTT video fray in the last few weeks, with a incredibly inexpensive proposition for consumers. For a one-time fee, viewers can access a broad range of online and in-home content. This week, a move to expand TV viewing to Android and Apple devices is bringing Orb out of the shadows and into the spotlight.
The Orb Live app for iPhone and Android devices costs just $9.99 one time, upfront, to download and allows users to sync with content via the home PC or Mac. To get started, consumers download the free Orb Caster software from Orb.com to a PC or Mac, and then download the Orb Live app from the App Store or Android Market to sync a range of online video, plus users' music files, online music (Pandora, Sirius, etc.), video files (downloaded DivX/XviD files, home movies, etc.) photos and more.
In terms of where it plays in the competitive field, Orb is a bit of a mutt. In many ways, it squarely fits in the Roku/Boxee Box roundhouse, despite being a software-only proposition. Its de facto role as an aggregator lets it leverage the content stables of the likes of Netflix without having to pony up massive content licensing fees, and it’s meant to supplant rather than enhance the pay-TV operator proposition. Yet its mobile access options offer a certain special sauce. And, as a partner of Amazon, Netflix and Hulu, it doesn’t compete with the pure OTT TV proposition, but rather enhances it.
Technically, though, Orb is a syncing service — a digital, cloud-based way to access whatever is accessible via the home PC, which makes it less of a new service and more of a utility.
"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," said Joe Costello, CEO and cofounder of Orb Networks, in a statement.
Regardless of its competitive classification, Orb is paying attention to the user experience details. In terms of content discovery, it's taking the same approach as Google TV, or Microsoft's X-box TV with Bing strategy: A global search function lets users find the shows they want to watch on-demand, without having to specify its source (e.g. Hulu, Netflix, ABC, CBS, etc).
Also, Orb also is continuing to add content. This week, Hulu, ABC, CBS, Fox and ESPN join its streaming lineup, which also includes YouTube, some cable channels like Comedy Central, and Netflix and Amazon.
Orb is also paying attention to bandwidth optimization in the face of mobile delivery. Costello 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."
Orb Live for the iPhone is available immediately, with planned availability for the Android in mid-August. Orb is also available as $20 Blu-ray software that works with a Web-enabled PS3 and is controlled through iOS or Android apps, or using any computer.
