Playstation 3 Q&A
- Thread starter Batman
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-B-
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Tee
Active Member
I should check out the new version of PS3 Media Server. The one I tried a year or two ago just didn't do what I needed it to do, which is why I migrated to TVersity. PlayOn does almost everything I need it to do for local media, except stream WMAL, which is the only reason I keep a second DLNA server running to begin with. PlayOn is not, however, cheap. I was one of their early adopters, so I got a lifetime subscription inexpensively. Others may not see the value. It depends on how much online content you want to stream that isn't available on Netflix or Hulu Plus.
Kazaam
Well-Known Member
I tried out "PS3MediaServer" just for kicks and grins, but the only way I could get it to work was to unblock Java from my firewall. I can't shake the feeling that isn't a good thing to do since other programs besides this the media server use Java and it could make my PC more vulnerable??? Any thoughts?
One thing I do like about this program, though, is that pictures appear to have artwork in their thumbnails (unlike when I tried WMP11/WMC). ***Edit: WMA files are showing artwork, too, which is cool... though I can't yet get it to play the majority of my music (or pictures) yet even though the folders are there. (Looks like it's transcoding WMA to PCM, fwiw.)
One thing I do like about this program, though, is that pictures appear to have artwork in their thumbnails (unlike when I tried WMP11/WMC). ***Edit: WMA files are showing artwork, too, which is cool... though I can't yet get it to play the majority of my music (or pictures) yet even though the folders are there. (Looks like it's transcoding WMA to PCM, fwiw.)
I downloaded PS3 MediaServer and the newest version of Java. If I get a chance tonight, I'll try it out (kid's watching Sesame Street now).
Cool thing is the PS3MS did try to find my PS3. I'm hoping this will let me play my flac files (most important) and show my artwork (not as important).
Cool thing is the PS3MS did try to find my PS3. I'm hoping this will let me play my flac files (most important) and show my artwork (not as important).
Kazaam
Well-Known Member
lulimet said:
Is the PS3 video hooked up via HDMI to the TV? If so, I am wondering if maybe you need to also activate the "Audio Multi-Output" option on the PS3. It's found under the Sound Settings and, basically, it will turn on the PS3's optical output (in addition to outputting audio to the TV via HDMI.)
But if that isn't it, then I'm really grasping at straws with this next thought: Do movies have sound, but not CDs/MP3s? If so, I wonder if changing the output frequency to "48Khz" under the Music Settings if that would make a difference? (I'm just thinking in terms of if by chance the receiver isn't able to accept a 176.4kHz upconverted stereo signal.)
All of this stuff can get a bit tweaky and a lot of it is what I would categorize as "enthusiast-only" and not ready for general consumers. The PS3 is a very powerful machine, but can be quite configuration sensitive. DLNA is a great standard, but a lot of the software seems to have been written by geeks for geeks and comes with a learning curve. I have a freaking Master's degree in Computer Information Systems and some of this stuff gave me fits until I figured out how it all worked.
Kazaam
Well-Known Member
^^^
No doubt software can make a difference. I'm giving TVersity a try now, and both it and PS3MediaServer are both much better than the WMC built into WMP11, imo. (In particular, I liked how easy it was to specify certain folders and files and how easy it was to refresh them.) Neither is program perfect, though. And I don't know enough about DNLA as a standard to say if hardware and software can be created that will make things seem 'perfect' to me (i.e. - make it even faster and slicker)... or if it'll need to be a whole new set of standards, say a "DLNA-2" in addition to better hardware/software in order to reach that point.
No doubt software can make a difference. I'm giving TVersity a try now, and both it and PS3MediaServer are both much better than the WMC built into WMP11, imo. (In particular, I liked how easy it was to specify certain folders and files and how easy it was to refresh them.) Neither is program perfect, though. And I don't know enough about DNLA as a standard to say if hardware and software can be created that will make things seem 'perfect' to me (i.e. - make it even faster and slicker)... or if it'll need to be a whole new set of standards, say a "DLNA-2" in addition to better hardware/software in order to reach that point.
Hey guys,
I got time to play around for a few minutes and noticed when I went to the music section on the PS3, that it saw the PS3 Media Server. I'm now able to play my Flac files through the PS3! it does convert it to 2ch PCM, but I'm just glad I'm able to play those files since most of my music is ripped to Flac (596 vs 221 for MP3).
Thanks for the help and thanks Tee and B for the link!
I got time to play around for a few minutes and noticed when I went to the music section on the PS3, that it saw the PS3 Media Server. I'm now able to play my Flac files through the PS3! it does convert it to 2ch PCM, but I'm just glad I'm able to play those files since most of my music is ripped to Flac (596 vs 221 for MP3).
Thanks for the help and thanks Tee and B for the link!
Kazaam
Well-Known Member
Towen7 said:
Nah... using the PS3's interface pretty much all looked identical (save for a few different named folders) on all three of the DLNA server programs. They all looked just like the other folders already built into the PS3's taskbar, which I find to be acceptable for surfing media files, but it's hardly anything wonderful.
I guess what I'm saying is two-fold: (1) the Windows Media Connect feature (or whatever it's called) that's built into WMP11 on Vista didn't perform as well as TVersity and PS3MediaServer in the sense that I sometimes got thumbnails for pictures (and album artwork) with those other programs, whereas I never once got the artwork with "WMC/WMP11".
And (2) if anything, it's a difference of setup menus on the PC's software side where I found myself appreciating the other programs. The PC's interface on my laptop for both TVersity and PS3MediaServer let me specify which folders I wanted to send to the PS3 (and then to quickly refresh things). I like this because it makes things easy to quickly stream newly added pictures and videos. But on WMP11, I could only find where the program wanted to take all of the stuff from my "media" folders, not just a single specific folder, and as such it took a rather long time for WMP11 to "refresh" before it would stream the newly added media. Granted, I'm not the most skilled at Windows Media Player and perhaps I missed something that would've helped, but the other programs just seemed better in that regard.
Gotcha... I thought you were referring to the Windows Media Center interface on the Xbox. Thats all I've used as the rest of this DLNA server stuff seems like a lot of work. Not that getting WMC to play FLAC ox .MXV was exactly straightforward or easy.
Hey Gurus, got another question.
How do you download Hulu? I had it once before but deleted it. Since I've upped my IP service, I would like to give it another go and see what they have. I can download Hulu+, but I really don't want to pay for it since I'm paying for Netflix.
I'm really digging Netflix. Sure wished they had more to offer for streaming, but I'm really enjoying some of the programming that's on there. There's quite a bit of Top Gear that I haven't seen that I can now stream and I'm also doing mini-marathons of Arrested Development. I'm near the end of season 2 and going to start season 3. (I only have season 1 on DVD).
How do you download Hulu? I had it once before but deleted it. Since I've upped my IP service, I would like to give it another go and see what they have. I can download Hulu+, but I really don't want to pay for it since I'm paying for Netflix.
I'm really digging Netflix. Sure wished they had more to offer for streaming, but I'm really enjoying some of the programming that's on there. There's quite a bit of Top Gear that I haven't seen that I can now stream and I'm also doing mini-marathons of Arrested Development. I'm near the end of season 2 and going to start season 3. (I only have season 1 on DVD).