Sling Coming to iPhone

[mgamber]

Yes and no. OrbLive does a lot more. You can use it to stream live tv and also video files, transcode streams on the web so the iPhone can play them, audio files, pictures, random files, webcams, all kinds of things. All the Slingbox/Slingplayer does is live tv. The only real advantage of Sling is they have a piece of stand-alone hardware that you plug in the wall, plug a cable box (or whatever) into and you have live tv. For Orb you need a computer that's on when you want to watch, you need to install and set up Orb and you need a compatible TV card if you want live TV. Then again, considering how little power a UMPC uses, how much horsepower they can provide and that you can get a tuner on a USB stick, Slingplayer is losing ground daily against Orb. I wouldn't be surprised to see Orb release a Linux based box that does something similiar to the Slingbox. Since they're not married to the Windows Media format like Slingplayer is, they could use any codec they'd like. The transcoding is probably the best part of Orb. I can use uSirius to provide Orb with a way to change channels and listen to Stern, Garage, whatever Sirius channel I'd like on the iPhone. Right now. Today. Or I can point Orb at MLB Television online and watch all things baseball on the iPhone. Neither would work directly because they're Windows Media streams (as is quite a bit of online streaming media) and god forbid Apple would stoop to playing that directly.

And actually, Slingplayer would duplicate the functionality of Slingplayer. After all, I've been using Orb for two months. Sling hasn't even submitted an app.

[M4tt Dam0n]

Yes and no. OrbLive does a lot more. You can use it to stream live tv and also video files, transcode streams on the web so the iPhone can play them, audio files, pictures, random files, webcams, all kinds of things. All the Slingbox/Slingplayer does is live tv. The only real advantage of Sling is they have a piece of stand-alone hardware that you plug in the wall, plug a cable box (or whatever) into and you have live tv. For Orb you need a computer that's on when you want to watch, you need to install and set up Orb and you need a compatible TV card if you want live TV. Then again, considering how little power a UMPC uses, how much horsepower they can provide and that you can get a tuner on a USB stick, Slingplayer is losing ground daily against Orb. I wouldn't be surprised to see Orb release a Linux based box that does something similiar to the Slingbox. Since they're not married to the Windows Media format like Slingplayer is, they could use any codec they'd like. The transcoding is probably the best part of Orb. I can use uSirius to provide Orb with a way to change channels and listen to Stern, Garage, whatever Sirius channel I'd like on the iPhone. Right now. Today. Or I can point Orb at MLB Television online and watch all things baseball on the iPhone. Neither would work directly because they're Windows Media streams (as is quite a bit of online streaming media) and god forbid Apple would stoop to playing that directly.

And actually, Slingplayer would duplicate the functionality of Slingplayer. After all, I've been using Orb for two months. Sling hasn't even submitted an app.

You're right, Orb does more. But ya the main reason I got Orb is for live Tv...took so long to apple to approve the app lol. The webcam is awesome too hehe, especially the OrbSecure feature(video surveillance ftw! And to think I bought a laptop(really really good deal, not much space in my room) as an orb server that stays 24/7 on. Of course I use my laptop for much more. I also didn't realize slingbox does not plug to pc. But ya live tv still needs to be transcoded on the fly which sucks because of the huge delay and slow transitions between channels. But it's the current technoly and I gotta accepts its limits...

[buzios]

hmmm

wonder if and how well it will work on 3g

well it does work over 3g

Apple forbids the use of 3G network to stream data for a long time.

This is part of the deal with AT&T and the rest of the world has to pay the price.

If this app is released via iTunesStore it will have to limit 3G streaming for 30 seconds maybe a minute.

[mgamber]

Orb works via 3G. It's done so since like day 3 without having to jailbreak the phone or anything.

[RonMexico]

I can put a price on it... 20 bucks tops or they don;t get my money! And if it doesn;t work over 3G, I pass...



Did you do a search or anything on Google? It is essentially a DVR meant to be viewed from anywhere via internet connection...

did you do a search on anything before answering someones question incorrectly?

it does work over 3g I posted a link earlier

and its not a "DVR meant to be viewed from anywhere via internet connection"

right from their site "A Slingbox lets you watch and control your TV(cable,satellite or DVR) through the internet."

It gives you access via internet connection to whatever you have it hooked up to at home, like your cable box,DVR,satellite so live tv will be on your phone.

[buzios]

Orb works via 3G. It's done so since like day 3 without having to jailbreak the phone or anything.

I don't know how the app was approved.
Well, I think it all boils down to the reviewer.
The developer contract states that you can't write an app that uses too much 3G bandwidth.

I wrote an app called "IP Vision".
It is on AppStore.
It allows you to watch video streams from IP cameras (in you house/office or from public cameras around the world).
The first release I submitted to Apple had no restrictions.
You could connect to the camera via WiFi or 3G and watch it 24x7.
Apple rejected the app because it was using too much 3G bandwidth.
I them blocked 3G viewing to 30 seconds at a time. No restrictions via WiFi.
The app was approved.

[mgamber]

I'd imagine it's because Orb is a popular program that could generate a certain level of income for Apple. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to hear that not only does Slingplayer work via 3G, but it runs as a background process, also. This whole iPhone thing has amply demonstrated over and over that Apple cares about Apple and if you wave a big enough check under it's nose, you'll get anything you want.

[volly20]

This is one of two apps I'm waiting for to surface. The other is usirius. I know orblive works with sirius, but I just had a question. I'm a mac user and I wanted to know where orblive is at with mac program compatibility. Also wanted if there is a program like usirius that runs in the background for a mac to run satiellite radio. Somewhat unrelated for this conversation, but if anybody knew it would be appreciated.

[plcrules]

Noo I wanted the location free player app this sucks

[danvicente]

@volly20 Orb has a beta version for mac if you do a quick google im sure you can find it... if you get stuck PM me... this beta version is quite QUIRKY and only runs on leopard+.. As of now the beta version does not support Live TV or anything else thats good lol.. What I have been using it for is to organize all my music and videos onto the server.. I guess it its useful to watch videos without taking up the space on my phone plus the fact that you dont have to convert .avi to .mp4 etc.. orb transcodes it for you directly through the stream.. works over 3G, edge, and wifi....

I dont think sling will restrict it against edge or 3g users.. It is out for the blackberrys now in beta testing and it runs over 3g and wifi possibly edge (the connection option says mobile so i assume best available mobile connection)... I recently installed on my sisters AT&T bold and it ran smoothly. The worst that could happen is that they lower the amount of data in when you are on 3g/ edge which will just make the picture more pixelated and u may notice some lag every now and then.. As of now there is no reason for me to believe that AT&T would say no to this as they offer it on many other phones..

[JStraitiff]

awsome!!! ive been waiting for this for a long time thiss will definately kick orb live's ***

[RelleR]

Have any of you people gone other routes than the slingbox? A little over a month ago I made a purchase of the EyeTV 250plus for $250 from London Drugs here in Victoria, Canada and the software that comes with the hardware is great!

-There is an option that will take your EyeTV Recorded program and encode it right away (the minute it's done recording) and will goto a streaming Database that I can grab through my iPhone. I'm sure quite a bit of you already know about this, but it sounds very similar... Maybe I don't know a lot about Sling Box and it's grown a fan base that I haven't yet had the desire to jump the bandwagon.

But I've found out the EyeTV goes for $200 - $50 less - through the Apple.ca site and I returned within 15 days from my purchase (they wouldn't match the price because it wasn't local). I've come to realize that maybe even $200 isn't worth it either so I'm just waiting for something better to come along.

-After all, EyeTV doesn't even encode HD widescreen aspect ratio. It only encodes with the ratio of 4:3 unless someone can tell me if there's anyways around that I'll go back and pick one up again.

How do the two products compare and separate itself from eachother?

[imagine engine]

I wonder how much data the Sling Media Player would use over a 3G connection watching an hour video? If it has good data compression then it would be beneficial for those in remote locations who are not near a WIFI connection.

[RelleR]

dell.ca is in the middle of their 10 day sale. Each day there are a few things on sale for one day only -

... I impulse purchased the Slingbox Pro-HD for $250 ($130 off their site's price) and I probably owe it all to this thread.

[zodiac code]

cant wait

[Melech518]

eh, I dont have a sling box