Obi — Vinyl Companion

Saar Labs

About this app

Put a record on. Obi tells you what's playing.

Obi turns your TV into a sleeve you can read from the couch. Drop the needle, press OK, and it listens to the room, works out which record is on the turntable, and follows along for the rest of the side — lyrics in time with the music, the tracklist, and how long you have before you need to get up.

No account, no library to build, nothing to import. It follows the record you already own.

WHAT YOU SEE

• Lyrics, scrolling in time with the music. The line you're hearing is bright and readable from across the room.
• The sleeve, the track playing, and what's coming up next.
• Where you are on the side — Side A, track 2 of 7, seventeen minutes left.
• Colours pulled out of the album art, so every record lights the room differently.
• A heads-up on the final track, so the end of a side doesn't catch you out.
• When a side ends, the full tracklist for the next one, and whether to flip the record or reach for the next disc.

HOW TO USE IT

1. Put a record on and drop the needle.
2. Press OK. Obi listens for a few seconds.
3. If more than one release matches, pick yours from the covers on screen.
4. Sit down.

That's it. Once a side is running you don't need the remote again — but if you want it:

• OK — listen again and re-sync. Use this if you've moved the needle or the timing has drifted.
• Left / Right — nudge the lyric timing. Vinyl pressings often run a few seconds off the version the lyrics were timed against. Hold to move faster.
• Down — put the lyric timing back to normal.

When the side ends, just flip the record. Obi listens every so often during the gap and starts the new side on its own.

YOU WILL NEED A MICROPHONE

Obi has to hear the record, so it needs a microphone — and this is the one thing to sort out before you start.

Most streaming devices, the Google TV Streamer included, have no microphone that apps can use. The mic in your voice remote does not count; apps cannot reach it. You will need a USB or Bluetooth microphone connected to your TV device. An inexpensive one is fine — it only has to hear the room.

If there is no usable microphone, Obi tells you straight away instead of leaving you on a "Listening…" screen.

WORTH KNOWING

• Obi does not play music. Your turntable does that. Obi listens and follows along.
• It works with records it can recognise and that have time-stamped lyrics available. Obscure pressings and instrumental records will come up short, and Obi will say so.
• Audio is used only to recognise what is playing, at the moment you ask it to listen. Nothing is recorded or stored.
• Built for the remote: no touchscreen needed, and everything is sized to be read from a couch.

What’s new

Added:
• A side now shows its running time, filled in while you listen.
Changed:
• Redesigned player screen, rebuilt to hold a steady frame rate.
• Albums play under the name they were pressed under.
• Better matching against the record actually on your turntable.
Fixed:
• Lyrics stay in sync, and tracks advance at the right moment.
• The player no longer clips its layout on some albums.
• Players with no usable microphone now explain the problem instead of crashing.