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Demonstrating that you can do convergence on a budget, Orb claims that Nintendo Wii owners have downloaded 50,000 copies of its software that permits them to access their home music and photo collections on their games consoles.
A Swedish Wii owner took advantage of the console's built-in Opera browser and Wi-Fi to tap into his PC's media collection shortly before Christmas. The Wii remote can then be used to show photos and browse iTunes playlists on the TV.
Getting your stuff from a computer to a TV set has defied some of the biggest companies in the business. Games rivals Sony and Microsoft have spent billions - the figure probably tops $10bn - developing expensive console hardware to support ambitious "convergence" strategies this decade. But with a simple (and quite legitimate) hack, Nintendo has beaten them to it with cheap hardware, and no apparent strategy at all.
The irony wasn't lost on one Digg poster, who wrote:
"How cool that it'd be Nintendo - the only one of the Big Three WITHOUT much-hyped aspirations to provide a console that'd go beyond gaming and become the mythical Digital Hub for the TV - who would deliver on that vision first."
Orb simply provides the bridge software, which runs on a network-connected Windows PC and a free user account. The company blessed the hack on 5 January.
Well its nice to see that you dont have to spend £500 - £2000 to get a "HUB" and I am sure this is a perfect solution to people on a budget.
A Swedish Wii owner took advantage of the console's built-in Opera browser and Wi-Fi to tap into his PC's media collection shortly before Christmas. The Wii remote can then be used to show photos and browse iTunes playlists on the TV.
Getting your stuff from a computer to a TV set has defied some of the biggest companies in the business. Games rivals Sony and Microsoft have spent billions - the figure probably tops $10bn - developing expensive console hardware to support ambitious "convergence" strategies this decade. But with a simple (and quite legitimate) hack, Nintendo has beaten them to it with cheap hardware, and no apparent strategy at all.
The irony wasn't lost on one Digg poster, who wrote:
"How cool that it'd be Nintendo - the only one of the Big Three WITHOUT much-hyped aspirations to provide a console that'd go beyond gaming and become the mythical Digital Hub for the TV - who would deliver on that vision first."
Orb simply provides the bridge software, which runs on a network-connected Windows PC and a free user account. The company blessed the hack on 5 January.
Well its nice to see that you dont have to spend £500 - £2000 to get a "HUB" and I am sure this is a perfect solution to people on a budget.
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Oh Definitely. Dont get me wrong it is not the sole or even one of the main reasons to buy a Wii but it is a nice little extra. I just saw the article and thought it might interest techy people.
To answer Garin, it isn't cheaper to buy a PC and a Wii than a PS3 but lets face it most people have a PC already. Bottom line is the Wii is a fun games console which tries to be nothing else, it just so happens the orb software developers have created a little "bit of fun" for those for which gaming isnt enough. The PS3 tries to do all the things a PC does but not as well on all fronts and lets face it who does not have a PC. So..... In my opinion use you PC for multimedia and serious gaming, your Wii for fun gaming and leave the half arsed PS3 on the shelf to rot with the thousands they are struggling to sell. If i were to do the unthinkable and buy a "hub" console I would prob go for the 360...... if they didn't keep breaking haha:)
To answer Garin, it isn't cheaper to buy a PC and a Wii than a PS3 but lets face it most people have a PC already. Bottom line is the Wii is a fun games console which tries to be nothing else, it just so happens the orb software developers have created a little "bit of fun" for those for which gaming isnt enough. The PS3 tries to do all the things a PC does but not as well on all fronts and lets face it who does not have a PC. So..... In my opinion use you PC for multimedia and serious gaming, your Wii for fun gaming and leave the half arsed PS3 on the shelf to rot with the thousands they are struggling to sell. If i were to do the unthinkable and buy a "hub" console I would prob go for the 360...... if they didn't keep breaking haha:)
I'd be interested to see how you stream PC files to your TV without additional equipment.
The PS3 seems the best for creating a hub without a PC, though the space is obviously limited. (Not sure if it supports USB Hard Drives?). The 360 does support MP3 and photos on the hard drive, but not video unless it's downloaded from Xbox Live. It also has nowhere near enough HD space to use without a PC, so just becomes a useful hub for streaming (though its very picky about what it can stream).
The Wii using Orb can do quite a lot of what the 360 can do in terms of streaming, so its not bad. It's not what Nintendo intended, but it's a nice touch for anyone wanting to have a basic streaming device if they already own a Wii.
As for me, my PC is upstairs, my TV downstairs. Streaming seems great, till you realise that you need the PC and the TV and the hub of some sort all on at the same time. Easier, then, to buy an 80gb Ipod and a set of leads for the TV, perhaps. The consoles claim to have all these hub features isn't really all that great. It's a case of; great if you've got the console, but not worth buying one just for that feature.
The PS3 seems the best for creating a hub without a PC, though the space is obviously limited. (Not sure if it supports USB Hard Drives?). The 360 does support MP3 and photos on the hard drive, but not video unless it's downloaded from Xbox Live. It also has nowhere near enough HD space to use without a PC, so just becomes a useful hub for streaming (though its very picky about what it can stream).
The Wii using Orb can do quite a lot of what the 360 can do in terms of streaming, so its not bad. It's not what Nintendo intended, but it's a nice touch for anyone wanting to have a basic streaming device if they already own a Wii.
As for me, my PC is upstairs, my TV downstairs. Streaming seems great, till you realise that you need the PC and the TV and the hub of some sort all on at the same time. Easier, then, to buy an 80gb Ipod and a set of leads for the TV, perhaps. The consoles claim to have all these hub features isn't really all that great. It's a case of; great if you've got the console, but not worth buying one just for that feature.
DoomBaboon1982 wrote:
> No where here does it mention that the Orb software is anything
> to do with Nintendo.
The thread title "Wii outdoes the PS3 again" and then we have "Nintendo has beaten them to it with cheap hardware". There is clearly an implication that this is some achievement by Nintendo.
> Nor does it say it is the first. It says it
> is the first of the big three (Next Gen consoles).
The quote from the digg poster, "...who would deliver on that vision first". They're trying to say that Nintendo will obtain a goal before the others. Yet the others already had the media hub functionality.
> As I have
> already mentioned it is no replacement for a PC based hub but it
> is considerably cheaper than any other solutions, though it may
> not offer as much as some of the others.
Of course its no replacement. As a PC is required for this solution. Now quite how you fathom that a Wii + PC is cheaper than a PS3 or 360 I dont know. You say well most people already own a PC yet if thats the case theres certainly no need to buy a 180 pound console to stream content to a TV. Thats an expensive solution.
Its a nice little extra for the Wii no doubt but thats all it is.
> No where here does it mention that the Orb software is anything
> to do with Nintendo.
The thread title "Wii outdoes the PS3 again" and then we have "Nintendo has beaten them to it with cheap hardware". There is clearly an implication that this is some achievement by Nintendo.
> Nor does it say it is the first. It says it
> is the first of the big three (Next Gen consoles).
The quote from the digg poster, "...who would deliver on that vision first". They're trying to say that Nintendo will obtain a goal before the others. Yet the others already had the media hub functionality.
> As I have
> already mentioned it is no replacement for a PC based hub but it
> is considerably cheaper than any other solutions, though it may
> not offer as much as some of the others.
Of course its no replacement. As a PC is required for this solution. Now quite how you fathom that a Wii + PC is cheaper than a PS3 or 360 I dont know. You say well most people already own a PC yet if thats the case theres certainly no need to buy a 180 pound console to stream content to a TV. Thats an expensive solution.
Its a nice little extra for the Wii no doubt but thats all it is.
No where here does it mention that the Orb software is anything to do with Nintendo. Nor does it say it is the first. It says it is the first of the big three (Next Gen consoles). As I have already mentioned it is no replacement for a PC based hub but it is considerably cheaper than any other solutions, though it may not offer as much as some of the others.
Whatever your personal preferences regarding consoles or media hubs it doesnt alter the fact that the article says some misleading things.
Firstly, Orb is nothing to do with Nintendo. Its a generic solution that works on any device that has access to a browser or is capable of streaming media already. Yes this includes the Wii, but it also includes the PS3, XBOX 360, and set top boxes with browsers too. So basically Nintendo havent delivered on any vision here. And they certainly havent done it first. The original XBOX could be modded to be a media centre and the 360 has built in support for streaming too so even in the console market they arent first. I can stream content from my PC to a TV without buying a console to do it anyway. So exactly what is the big story here? The Wii is still incapable of acting as a media hub as the 360 and PS3 try to be. So nice games console the Wii might be, cheap solution for media hub its not. :)
Firstly, Orb is nothing to do with Nintendo. Its a generic solution that works on any device that has access to a browser or is capable of streaming media already. Yes this includes the Wii, but it also includes the PS3, XBOX 360, and set top boxes with browsers too. So basically Nintendo havent delivered on any vision here. And they certainly havent done it first. The original XBOX could be modded to be a media centre and the 360 has built in support for streaming too so even in the console market they arent first. I can stream content from my PC to a TV without buying a console to do it anyway. So exactly what is the big story here? The Wii is still incapable of acting as a media hub as the 360 and PS3 try to be. So nice games console the Wii might be, cheap solution for media hub its not. :)
Garin, to clarify i would prefere a PC based home hub but for the money and for the console market i just thought this was an interesting viewpoint and proves that you don't necessarily need to spend billions of dollars on this area to get it right as the Wii has shown. Orb software maybe a fairly neiche market but you have to respect what has been ocomplished.
Nothing biased about it. I owned both consoles. I was seriously unimpressed by the PS3 and have since sold it on. Not as easy as you may think seeing as the shops have shelves full. This isnt over supply it is because the PS3 gives very in the way of new development. They have just given a "boob job" to the PS2. Anything a PS3 can do a PC can do twice as well and lets face it most people have a PC. If you want a fun games console then the Wii is your machine. If you want to play serious online games or use internet or multimedia facilities then you use a PC. I really just dont see where the PS3 has a place in todays market. Even the 360 does what the PS3 does much better and with the already established "xbox live", will far outstrip the PS3 in online gaming within an already comparably weaker console online market.
Nothing like a totally loaded and biased article. :)
I guess it is size and just to be able to say you can. How many people have a 42" monitor. Also its a bit more social to run a film off your hard drive and show it in the lounge than everyone picking a spot on your floor in the study.
It still baffles me why people want to see/hear the contents of their PC hard drives on their TV when their computer monitor is usually 3 feet away.
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