A comparison of PS3 and 360 as media players
- Thread starter TrungGap
- Start date
Lots of reasons. I can't tell the quality difference on the devices that will be playing the re-encoded files anyways (smaller bedroom tv's, laptops, etc). In the main tv room I still play the original discs. We'd need a much larger raid setup to store the massive m2ts files, meaning a far more expensive raid setup. The current media playback boxes like the 360/ps3 already have problems handling 3gb files, I imagine the situation would be even worse with 30gb files. If I go on a trip I can copy 20 movies over to a laptop because the files are small, not possible with the original m2ts files. CPU use is less playing back the re-encoded files so they are more likely to be playable on a wide variety of devices. The re-encoded files are far more wireless network friendly, the 30gb files will really stress a wireless connection. Portable devices that use memory sticks can still store 2 or 3 of my movie re-encodes, yet will not be able to hold even 1 m2ts. Etc, etc, etc... The entire purpose of my re-encodes is so that I can enjoy my movies anywhere without limitations, be it on a laptop while chillin on my hammock, or playing then in the bedroom. On my main tv where I want full quality, I just play the original disc.
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In my experience the PS3 has no problems playing really large (> 10 GB) m2ts files using http streaming.
As an owner of both consoles, I would say that the PS3 is generally a better media player (and I use it as such)
, due to the fact that it can play Blu Ray, its much quieter, the HDDs are usually larger, and you can actually save videos to the HDD, unlike the 360.
However the 360 seems to be able to play more types of files, ie if theres a file my PS3 can't play the 360 more often than not will be able to play it.
And the the 360's visualiser is pretty cool once you know what you're doing.
, due to the fact that it can play Blu Ray, its much quieter, the HDDs are usually larger, and you can actually save videos to the HDD, unlike the 360.
However the 360 seems to be able to play more types of files, ie if theres a file my PS3 can't play the 360 more often than not will be able to play it.
And the the 360's visualiser is pretty cool once you know what you're doing.
To my knowledge, Xbox 360 can't play AVCHD files whereas PS3 can't play certain MS AV files (e.g., Lossless WMA). As for DivX, I think it depends on whether the Xvid extensions are used. If so, the video may not play on both PS3 and Xbox 360. Both also cannot play DTS audio track "as is".
True, when trying to play certain HD clips the PS3 doesn't recognise audio, also some vids with AC-3 don't work either.
[rant alert incoming - shield your eyes]
I only have two major sources of media - both of them are free. I record all my TV off satellite freeview and I use internet radio.
When PlayTV was originally announced, I was quite excited for it. I put off making any decisions for a while in anticipation. But in typical sony style, they announced it way too early (It was over a year before release? - and even so, PlayTV isn't available in New Zealand)
Eventually I gave up and built a cheap vista media centre for streaming to the xbox. And I'm very happy I did. It cost less than the xbox, and was less than half the PS3 price (at the time).
In terms of ease of use and interface, I honestly don't think there is a comparison. The system is robust and very easy to use (it's very easy on the eyes especially). Begin able to watch the most recently recorded show in 2 buttons presses (from shutdown) is a good example.
And unlike the consoles themselves, it supports plugins. I have a couple of radio plugins (eg shoutcast) a brilliant weather plugin, a mostly useless internet TV plugin and even a web browser (which is rather useless as well
).
If there is a video I can't play (rare, given I have very few videos), then there is a transcoding plugin too. (Although you have to press the 'info' button, and select transcode - after a couple of seconds pause it plays)
All of which work well with the excellent remote bundled with the xbox. My past tech illiterate flatmates really liked it (the rubbish they recorded...). Even my mum can use it when they visit
Windows7 will also improve things again, with *fingers-crossed* h.264 DVB-T support (New Zealand DVB-T freeview runs upto ~20Mb 1080p / 5.1). And the interface updates it look even easier to use and read.
Why do I say all this?
Becuase a while ago I finally bought a PS3.
While it's media capability may be superb, at the end of the day I feel it's badly let down by it's interface.
Part of this is my disappointment with the XMB - there seems to be absolute basics that it just doesn't get right.
I feel like I could write for pages, from minor UI inconsistencies to down right what the hell were they thinking decisions.
But the basics are that I find the UI to be cluttered, oversensitive, poorly documented and far, far too difficult to read (especially when there is even a hint of navigation movement).
Even the photo viewers (which are technically fantastic) feel like they were developed in isolation. And I have to say I feel the video playback controls are downright atrocious.
Yes, I'm slowly getting used to it's quirks - but frankly that's not good enough.
Colour me disappointed.
I only have two major sources of media - both of them are free. I record all my TV off satellite freeview and I use internet radio.
When PlayTV was originally announced, I was quite excited for it. I put off making any decisions for a while in anticipation. But in typical sony style, they announced it way too early (It was over a year before release? - and even so, PlayTV isn't available in New Zealand)
Eventually I gave up and built a cheap vista media centre for streaming to the xbox. And I'm very happy I did. It cost less than the xbox, and was less than half the PS3 price (at the time).
In terms of ease of use and interface, I honestly don't think there is a comparison. The system is robust and very easy to use (it's very easy on the eyes especially). Begin able to watch the most recently recorded show in 2 buttons presses (from shutdown) is a good example.
And unlike the consoles themselves, it supports plugins. I have a couple of radio plugins (eg shoutcast) a brilliant weather plugin, a mostly useless internet TV plugin and even a web browser (which is rather useless as well
).If there is a video I can't play (rare, given I have very few videos), then there is a transcoding plugin too. (Although you have to press the 'info' button, and select transcode - after a couple of seconds pause it plays)
All of which work well with the excellent remote bundled with the xbox. My past tech illiterate flatmates really liked it (the rubbish they recorded...
). Even my mum can use it when they visit Windows7 will also improve things again, with *fingers-crossed* h.264 DVB-T support (New Zealand DVB-T freeview runs upto ~20Mb 1080p / 5.1). And the interface updates it look even easier to use and read.
Why do I say all this?
Becuase a while ago I finally bought a PS3.
While it's media capability may be superb, at the end of the day I feel it's badly let down by it's interface.
Part of this is my disappointment with the XMB - there seems to be absolute basics that it just doesn't get right.
I feel like I could write for pages, from minor UI inconsistencies to down right what the hell were they thinking decisions.
But the basics are that I find the UI to be cluttered, oversensitive, poorly documented and far, far too difficult to read (especially when there is even a hint of navigation movement).
Even the photo viewers (which are technically fantastic) feel like they were developed in isolation. And I have to say I feel the video playback controls are downright atrocious.
Yes, I'm slowly getting used to it's quirks - but frankly that's not good enough.
Colour me disappointed.
Yeah but I wish MS offered additional full 3D visualizer packs on Live Marketplace. I wouldn't mind paying a couple dollars for some really nice 3D visualization plugins.
Yap ! I ranted about the same thing last year.
Individual media players have their own archaic UI that is totally different from XMB and everyone else. They should standardize on the playback panel (like the current audio playback panel). It can get irritating dealing with different UI in different media.
The folder organization type/style is also different for photo, music and video. There should be some basic similarity. For heavy media use, a DLNA server is necessary to organize the media better. Then you can stream or copy the media down for playback. At times, I wish there is write access to the server. The PS3 is pretty good at rotating large number of photos (faster and more convenient than on a PC). Unfortunately, I can't commit the changes to the server.
The under-utilized part is the web browser. I use it sometimes for Internet video. I wish I can see the bookmark/history right in XMB itself so I can jump to a page directly. That way, they can integrate HTTP-aware media server more seamlessly into the environment too. HTML can be a nice layout tool for media library.
I can't wait to try out the extender functionality of Windows 7. Instead of just supporting wmv and mpg, the extender will also support avi (divx and xvid), mp4, and m2ts. No mkv yet, but as long as the mp4 or m2ts support now allows 5.1 channel audio, I don't care. Only takes a few minutes to remux from mkv to mp4. And since it will all be through the extender, no more file size limitations or dealing with the crappy dashboard media interface.
I'll be trying this all out as soon as the beta is released. I know the 7000 build has showed up online already, but it's got some bugs that are supposedly fixed in the real beta.
I'll be trying this all out as soon as the beta is released. I know the 7000 build has showed up online already, but it's got some bugs that are supposedly fixed in the real beta.
Lucid_Dreamer
Veteran
DivX is releasing version 7 with .mkv support up to 1080p with aac audio. I'm thinking this should come to the PS3 soon, since it's a certified DivX player.
That would be hot.
DuckThor Evil
Legend
That would rule! Although converting mkv's with mkv2vob is rather painless, it still a bit annoying.
Babel-17
Veteran
It's a new profile (DivX Plus™ HD) requiring a different level of hardware support. Laughably easy for the power of the PS3 but still, Sony will have to work out some kind of firmware update.
http://investors.divx.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=357904
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=143731
A DivX employee: http://forum.doom9.org/showpost.php?p=1234513&postcount=106
http://investors.divx.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=357904
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=143731
A DivX employee: http://forum.doom9.org/showpost.php?p=1234513&postcount=106
And we know how averse to firmware updates Sony is!
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I've downloaded about half and hour ago. It just crashes when I try and run it.
Emailed them about the error, and in response got:
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