Orb Pumps Media to the PlayStation 3

Orb has added Sony's PlayStation 3 to the list of devices that can access video, music, and photos stored on home PCs.

Orb Networks has added Sony’s PlayStation 3 to the list of devices which an access video, photos, music, and other media streamed from its MyCasting software from a home PC. The move comes comes only a few weeks after Nintendo opened up Internet access for its Wii game console; since then, the company claims to have had nearly 50,000 downloads for its Orb software from Wii users looking to watch video and other computer-hosted media on their TV screen using their Wii. Now, PlayStation 3 users can do the same thing—and it’s free.

The Orb software acts as a conduit for media stored on a user’s PC, enabling Internet-capable devices which can handle streaming media to tap into that content. In theory, Orb can make a computer’s media accessible to nearly any Internet-capable device which can handle streaming media, including cell phones, PDAs, notebook computers, and (now) video game systems—all they need is Web access, streaming media support, and sufficient bandwidth. Users install the Orb software on their always-on home PC, then access that content by logging into an Orb account at mycast.orb.com.

Orb CEO Joe Costello said response to Orb from Nintendo Wii users caused the company to jump on a way to provide Orb support for the PS3. “We’re also seeing a steady increase in usage as Wii users discover the different ways to use Orb,” said Costello. “The ability to watch YouTube videos and listen to music through Orb from your PC directly to your TV has been an eye-opener for people—you can start sharing those digital moments of your life on the big screen that until now have been locked up on your PC.”

Orb is free to download and requires Windows XP SP2 or Windows XP Media Center Edition with a sufficiently powerful processor and at least 512 MB of RAM.