Guide to Orb for streaming Media to the BlackBerry

TheManicHispanic · Thread Author #1 02-08-2010, 08:31 AM

I don't know about you guys, but I find myself forgetting to load the music I downloaded to my BlackBerry. So it will sit there on my PC, while i settle for Pandora and hope that one of the songs I downloaded will play. I also rip my DVD's into my PC to have easy access to them in my living room by streaming them to my 360 or PS3. While I do take the time to rip my DVD's, I always forget to then convert that movie to a size that will play on my BlackBerry. I decided to try out Orb, and while not the prettiest girl in the dance, it has 2 things going for it: 1. it does the heavy lifting of converting the files you have to something that is playable on your BlackBerry and 2. it's FREE. I don't post often, but I read the forums everyday. I checked here to see if anyone has written a complete how-to for both the computer and BlackBerry. I can't promise that this will work for everybody, since I only have the Bold 2 and on T-Mobile where they have 3G. I also have a PC set up, so I haven't tested it on a Mac.

Intro to Orb

Orb is a program that lets you gain access to folders on your PC from practically any device that has both internet access and a media player. From the folders you select in the installation process, it will pull all the pictures, music, and videos it detects in those folders. If you happen to have a TV Tuner card on your PC, Orb will see that and will run a channel search depending on what kind of Cable you have set up on the Tuner Card. So you could watch your movies, listen to your music, look at your pictures, AND watch and record TV. So let's get started.

PC set up:

The computer that I use to run Orb is ancient, so chances are for most of you, it will work. it's a Pentium 4 @ 2.2 Ghz with a gig of RAM. I have it hooked to the web via a wireless N USB adapter, and I also have a WinTV TV Tuner PCI card installed. not the fanciest computer, but the one i'm most comfortable leaving on for days on end.

. The Orb website set their requirements as having:

"AMD Athlon 3200+ processor or equivalent, or Intel Pentium IV 2.4Ghz processor or equivalent (Note that a slower processor may cause excessive buffering, "stuttering", or "choppiness" when streaming TV or videos)
512MB of RAM
100MB available disk space
Windows XP (Home or Professional) with Service Pack 2 or later, or Windows XP Media Center Edition (2004 or 2005). Orb is also compatible with Windows Vista and Mac OS X Intel 10.5 or later.
Broadband Internet connection
Note: We recommend a minimum of 1GB of available disk space for writing media (recorded TV, video, audio and photo) files.

TV Tuners for Windows Users
A supported TV Tuner is required for streaming live TV in Orb. Be sure you have the latest driver for your current OS."

Get it...got it? good, let's move on!

Network connections (for those that have a network in their homes)

I found that Orb runs faster with having these ports open:

TCP Port 554
UDP Ports 13398 to 13401

If you need help with the kind of router that you have, you can alway go to portforward . com and search for your router model and then Orb should be in the list of applications.

Firewalls

when prompted, allow Orb access to the internet. It won't work if you don't

Now that we went through the requirements, let's install this thing. download the latest and greatest from their website orb. com

Orb installation (Taken form the site)

"1. Double-click OrbSetup.exe to launch the NSIS installer, which will guide
you through the Orb setup process, then click Run.
2. Click Next on the "Welcome..." screen.
3. Read the License Agreement then click I Agree if you accept the Terms
of Use: the installation process will begin.
4. Select your destination folder for Orb install, or leave the default
location, then click Install.
5. Click Finish to close the Setup Wizard when Orb installation completes."

Orb Configuration (I'm going to assume that everyone is a new user)

1. Click create an account
2. Create your login and password. This is what you're going to use to access
your files from your phone.
3. Please enter a valid email address. I entered my email, and they have
never spammed me. They use it to send you your password and to verify
your identity when you first log in to it.
4. Click Next

Configure your TV Tuner

If your cable connects directly to the card, click next

If you are running a set-top box, make sure you indicate how that box connects to the Tuner via coaxial (channel 2, 3 , or 4), composite video, or S-video, then click Next.

TV Guide Configuration (The last step)

1. Enter your zip code, then click 'get list'
2. select your service provider from the list and click next

The site says that it could take up to 2 hours for Orb to download the TV listings, but I have basic cable with 70 channels and it took about a minute.

That's it, you're done. Time to check it out on your BlackBerry.

Orb on your Blackberry

I like to use the WAP browser (web2go for T-mobile). It could be just me, but it seems to run smoother than the regular browser. you can get there by going to mycast.orb.com

play around with it and hit me up with your questions as I type up my guide to Orb on the BlackBerry. I'll be sure to include screen shots of the quality of the TV streams and movie streams. my web cam died of old age, so I no longer have that up and running, but it was cool when I did have it up.

This came out longer than I thought it would, so I hope this was more helpful than boring.

vincentnyc · #2 02-08-2010, 09:40 AM

Bs it didn't work on my pc and 9700 when I try to stream video or mp3. I think hispanicman work for orb. I ask him to show proof last time with screenshot and he never did.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

TheManicHispanic · Thread Author #3 02-08-2010, 01:13 PM

I don't work for Orb, but thanks for the compliment. I don't think that my post was professional-worthy, just the steps I took that made it work for me. I'm going to take this time to post the second part, which is using Orb on the Blackberry. I'll even throw in some screenshots for you Vincent. Here we go:

Logging in to Orb

go to mycast.orb.com and there should be a sign in button in the top left corner. Once you get there, there should be a login screen asking for your username and password. I posted a screenshot of that. use the username and password that you set up on the Orb configuration. It gives you the option to save the username and/or password.

Orb's screen

The main real estate on Orb's home screen consist of your favorite TV channels (if you have a TV Tuner), your favorite songs, and recorded TV (if you have a TV Tuner), and an option to resume. At the top, you can see the main categories: TV, Audio, Video, Photos, Docs, File Browser, Feeds. I'm not familiar with Docs, File Browser, or Feeds so if you'd like to check them out and post them on here, it'd be a welcome addition.

Before we get to streaming

These are 2 settings that I have and they have worked for me.

1. go into settings, located on the bottom of the page, and select stream.
2. Make sure that it is set to .3gp. I attached a screenshot of what it should look like.
3. click on save & exit.

another thing that has worked for me is to select 160 kb/s and bypass the speed test. The speed test always lets me down, but I think that's more of an issue with our beloved browser. The upcoming Web-Kit browser will hopefully run that test better, but until that glorious day comes, I'm sticking to the preset 160 Kb/s. I'll attach a screenshot of that. the little hand is ready to select it

Now we're ready for the streaming fun!

TV

This is by far my favorite feature of Orb. I've run a channel on my phone while turning on my bedroom TV and there's about a 4-5 second delay between them. I was seriously considering getting a slingbox, but the funds are low, and I couldn't justify buying a slingbox, then strapping on the app costs. This solution is less elegant, but works well considering it's free. Here's a couple of screenshots: ESPN and Comedy Central in action. You know ESPN is current, since that's Drew Brees after winning the Superbowl.

there are TV listings and also options to select a show that is hours away. select that show if you want to record it. I'm at school in the evenings so that's a good way to catch up on the shows I miss. if you're done with a show, you can delete it from your computer right from here by going to the recorded TV show and selecting 'more' that is right next to the title of the recording.

Audio

all my music are .mp3's and i don't touch iTunes. The easiest way to navigate to your music is to select Browse Folders. I have my collection set up by artist, then album. I'm old school in that I like to listen to someone's CD rather than have a mix of artists. Pandora/Slacker do a nice job of mixing for me

I provided a screenshot of it in action. Nothing fancy, just says live. the Sound, in my opinion, doesn't lose much if anything. I'm not an audiophile, so music is more of a try it for yourself type of thing. There are also internet radio options, but I've never touched those features. I just wanted a way to listen to my whole collection in case i forgot to load my newest CD.

Video

This is another feature that I'm happy with. Like I stated above, I'm not a fan of converting files over and over. This option lets me stream all my videos with no problem. I mostly have .avi movies and TV shows. I had trouble with this at first, but then i download the K-Lite Codec pack (google search it) which includes ffdshow and other goodies to help my old pc recognize them faster. Here's a screenshot of The Hangover in action.

And that's it. Orb does have more functions than the ones I've described, but these are the main features I use.

vincentnyc · #4 02-08-2010, 05:29 PM

trying to browse to mycast.orb.com....my pc and blackberry browser is trying to load up that page for the last hour...sigh.

vincentnyc · #5 02-08-2010, 06:52 PM

Ok I chose ur setting for 160k for streaming and selected 3gp for format. When I try to stream mp3, it couldn't open open the file. I'm using wifi and don't have bis plan. I wonder if that matter?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

TheManicHispanic · Thread Author #6 02-09-2010, 07:02 AM

That could be the problem. I have BIS. Have you tried running web2go instead of Browser?

SUNNYD71 · #7 02-27-2010, 09:50 AM

I get the same error. Is web2go browser only available for TMobile? I have BIS and tried that and wifi but get "Content not available. Server is blocked or unresponsive" and "An error has occurred attempting to play media" In Opera it just downloads the file and doesn't know what to do with it.

TheManicHispanic · Thread Author #8 03-02-2010, 08:06 AM

This only works with the native browser. Did you make sure that you port forward if your computer is connected to a network? Also, if your computer is connected to the modem directly, please make sure that your firewall isn't blocking Orb's access to the internet. Web2go is a T-Mobile name for the WAP browser. Another thing that I forgot to mention is the APN settings. for T-Mobile users, make sure you're using epc.tmobile.com. I've tried wap.voicestream.com and internet2.voicestream.com, but they don't work as well. Let me know if that worked. What Blackberry model and carrier do you use?

TheManicHispanic · Thread Author #9 03-04-2010, 07:48 AM

Haven't heard from Vincent or Sunny in a little while. I hope you got Orb up and running. For those that have it up and running, how are you liking it? Do you use it to watch TV? That's definitely my favorite function

NAs1980 · #10 03-08-2010, 01:09 PM

Hi I have tried to make this work every single way possible. I tried out orb back in december and it worked fine. I tried again in January and it all of the sudden doesnt work anymore. I have tried every single setting in orb and it doesnt work. I am on Tmobile and I have BIS service. I have used every single browser the regular blackberry, the tmobile wap, opera and bolt and they all fail to show the video. Youtube works fine though. Also I can stream the feed on my ipod touch and my other computers so I know that my orb setup is fine. Can anyone use orb on their bb bold 9700 and tmobile and not have any issues? It is driving me crazy trying to get this to work again. When i try to load the video from the orb menu from w/in the blackberry browsers it says, "an error has occured attempting to play media" When i try to run the config settings from test.orb.com it says "content not available. Server is blocked or unresponsive" I have set my stream speed to the lowest fixed rate just to troubleshoot and still no luck. The orb forums are useless for blackberry owners also.

TheManicHispanic · Thread Author #11 03-09-2010, 01:20 PM

how is the PC connected to the internet? if it's connected to a network, do you have ports forwarded to that PC for Orb? I got those errors as well until i opened the ports to my PC (TCP Port 554, UDP Ports 13398 to 13401). I have a wireless N network and my PC is connected to the network with a wireless N adapter. I also have 3G available in my town (Mesa, AZ). EDGE didn't cut it when i tried it on my 8320. If you can give me some info on your set-up, we can figure it out. I agree that the Orb Forum is wack on helping BlackBerry users. That's why I shared the steps that worked for me. I'm building a new machine soon, that will have 4 times the power of the PC i'm using now

so let me know the following:
1. PC specs ?
2. How is your PC connected to the internet and what kind of internet do you
have?
3. do you have your APN settings set to epc.tmobile.com for T-Mobile? If that doesn't work for you, have you tried wap.voicestream.com or internet2.voicestream.com?

NAs1980 · #12 03-09-2010, 04:41 PM

PC is a core i7 12gb ram ati 5800 series video card
I pc is ethernet connect to a router with cable modem service. I port forwarded using the ports you suggested on my router settings.
I have a strong 3g connection (wash DC) but I cant get it to work over wifi either.

My apn settings are epc.tmobile.com I tried both other ones and no luck.

so when you opened your ports, you just went to your router homepage and changed the settings from there right? Can you give me a screen shot of your router settings just so i can make sure i did it exactly right. I am pretty sure I did though because I used to have to do that for torrents

also which 3gp setting do you use on your blackberry. I have tried the .spd and the other two as well, but which one do you use?

TheManicHispanic · Thread Author #13 03-10-2010, 10:05 AM

there's a screen shot of the browser selecting .3GP on the 3rd post. It completely slipped my mind that other ports might be favorable depending on the router that one uses. My router is a D-Link 655. you can check your specific port configurations at portforward.com by first selecting your router model, then the Orb program

. We're going to get to the bottom of this NAS.