A comparison of PS3 and 360 as media players

For those renting Blu-ray from Red Boxes:
http://www.homemediamagazine.com/redbox/analyst-coinstar-safeway-deal-could-bode-well-redbox-24184

On June 9 Redbox parent Coinstar announced it would install roughly 1,400 coin-counting kiosks in Safeway stores in the United States and Canada this year, and that could spell good news for Redbox kiosks as well, according to one analyst.

“While the news of coin-counting kiosks returning to Safeway is very positive, in our opinion, we are increasingly optimistic about the potential for a renewed relationship to lead to other Coinstar concepts installed within their stores,” Eric Wold, director of research for Merriman Capital, wrote in a note to investors.

Currently Safeway uses Blockbuster Express kiosks, but the Coinstar agreement could lead to Redbox supplanting those kiosks, Wold wrote.
Click to expand...
 
Turns out that Sony also updated PS3 Music Unlimited to 1.10 today when they release the Android version.

New features are:

* show discography and biography of artist in "Related Info" section.

* add demo playback for non-subscribers (may be for search ?). Heard Gaffers complain about 30 second limit. This might be it.

* other minor enhancements/bug fixes.
 
Got an issue with playing mts files on the PS3. I downloaded the Pioneer demo disc here: http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/477....Experience.Disc.2008.BD-25.Untouched.Blu-ray

I tried to play the mts files individually and there are issues. If it plays, the play is very choppy. I even copied the files to the harddrive. The encoding seems to be around 40mbps mpeg2. Any suggestions? The torrent is the complete blu ray content. Any way to play it as a movie off the usb? or do I need to burn it to a blu ray?

update: the files play fine on the PC. Can't play them smoothly off the usb or when copied to the harddrive on the PS3.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
RobertR1 said:
Got an issue with playing mts files on the PS3. I downloaded the Pioneer demo disc here: http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/477....Experience.Disc.2008.BD-25.Untouched.Blu-ray

I tried to play the mts files individually and there are issues. If it plays, the play is very choppy. I even copied the files to the harddrive. The encoding seems to be around 40mbps mpeg2. Any suggestions? The torrent is the complete blu ray content. Any way to play it as a movie off the usb? or do I need to burn it to a blu ray?

update: the files play fine on the PC. Can't play them smoothly off the usb or when copied to the harddrive on the PS3.
Click to expand...

I don't think I ever got any transport streams to work on my PS3 natively; I had to use PS3 Media Server and even that was iffy when trying not to touch the video.
 
NavNucST3 said:
I don't think I ever got any transport streams to work on my PS3 natively; I had to use PS3 Media Server and even that was iffy when trying not to touch the video.
Click to expand...

That sucks :( I downloaded a smaller demo loop which is only 150MB in size and about 8.9mbps on the codec front. That runs fine. So it's either the 1GB file size or the 40mbps encoding. I know the BR specs are pretty high and the PS3 doesn't have an issue there so I assume the BR capabilities don't translate to files off XMB.
 
PS3 Torne DVR updated to 3.0:
http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2011/07/05/torne_update/

Sony will be giving its PlayStation 3 digital video recorder attachment Torne a major update on July 7. The Version 3.0 update adds over 20 features.

Different from past updates, this one is a mix of free and paid features. Paid features include Reco x Torne, connectivity for additional devices, and design themes.

Reco x Torne allows Torne users to use the Torne interface to control a Sony Blu-ray recorder that's in another room. Torne can then be used to schedule recordings on the Blu-ray recorder and also view programs that were recorded on the Blu-ray recorder. ... One reason a Torne user may want to use this feature is because Torne only has access to terrestrial digital broadcasts while Sony's Blu-ray recorders have access to satellite and cable.

The new device connectivity options allow for programs to be copied to Sony's Walkman and nav-u personal navigation system products. ... Previously, Torne could only output videos to PlayStation Portable.

The design themes change the Torne interface's design, background music, sound effects and other effects.

...

Free features include the following:

Auto power off to turn off PS3's power once video writing is done
Write video to Memory Stick through Sony's memory card readers
More advanced remote play allowing you to connect through the internet to view the Torne programming chart and set recording times
Improvements to programming guide
Improvements to program search
Improved playback features and playback performance
Updated Twitter support, with streaming API support to allow for real time Tweets to be shown
The full list of free features can be seen at Sony's announcement page (Japanese).
Click to expand...

Should standardize the BR recorder control API/protocols.
 
RobertR1 said:
That sucks :( I downloaded a smaller demo loop which is only 150MB in size and about 8.9mbps on the codec front. That runs fine. So it's either the 1GB file size or the 40mbps encoding. I know the BR specs are pretty high and the PS3 doesn't have an issue there so I assume the BR capabilities don't translate to files off XMB.
Click to expand...

They may have turned off Blu-ray rip playback on USB thumbdrive but I'm not sure (I remember BDA had a one year grace period to allow Blu-ray players to play BR movies from HDD/thumbdrives in the early days but my memory is vague now).

Regular mts files should play fine (e.g., Those output from video cameras).

EDIT: I also remember reading somewhere that the PS3 HDD and BR video players are indeed different.
 
patsu said:
EDIT: I also remember reading somewhere that the PS3 HDD and BR video players are indeed different.
Click to expand...

That seems to be the issue here. Either the file size or high bitrate is causing performance issues with the mts files I'm trying to play. Oh well.
 
RobertR1 said:
That seems to be the issue here. Either the file size or high bitrate is causing performance issues with the mts files I'm trying to play. Oh well.
Click to expand...

The BR player environment seems to be separate from GameOS. It reserve everything for Java, DRM, 3D H.264 and DTS/AC3 playback. After they turned off the AVCHD on USB drive playback, I doubt you can use it to play your BR grade mts file anymore.

The HDD player gives up memory and SPU time for XMB and GameOS. In addition, it upscales and reduces noises in SD movies. It also supports the "seek ribbon timeline" feature. I guess the supported profiles are lower because of the added overhead.
 
tuna said:
I do not have any problems with .ts, .tp or .m2ts files.
Click to expand...

Interesting. One of the reasons I had finally picked up a PS3 was to be able to stream the last of my D-VHS .ts that I had on my external. When it "never" worked (read: smoothly) I deleted all of them and I had some really good content I had recorded as well, ugh. Oh well...nice to know .ts works or at least works for someone. It could have been my settings since half the recordings came from the Apple virtual D-VHS and the other half from my actual D-VHS player from 2005-2006.
 
Have you guys thought of just using pc's? They are brutally cheap to make nowadays, and they play everything flawlessly. I've been using a pc hooked to my tv downstairs for years now without issue, and it plays everything from home hd movies, blu-ray rips from raid, video camera footage, etc...Much easier than with console, no tweaking, media servers, etc needed. I read how much time and trouble people spend trying to get basic media playback working on console and I kinda of wonder why bother when the issue is so basic to solve with a cheap pc. As a bonus you get all other pc features like Skype, a fully working browser, next gen looking pc games, etc, all on your media room tv.
 
Which files are there that does not play smoothly? I tried two and they were smooth (although no sound on worlds end, probably due to the DTS DCA codec on that file).
 
joker454 said:
Have you guys thought of just using pc's? They are brutally cheap to make nowadays, and they play everything flawlessly. I've been using a pc hooked to my tv downstairs for years now without issue, and it plays everything from home hd movies, blu-ray rips from raid, video camera footage, etc...Much easier than with console, no tweaking, media servers, etc needed. I read how much time and trouble people spend trying to get basic media playback working on console and I kinda of wonder why bother when the issue is so basic to solve with a cheap pc. As a bonus you get all other pc features like Skype, a fully working browser, next gen looking pc games, etc, all on your media room tv.
Click to expand...

I have been looking into the HTPC for some time now, what is your basic setup?
 
tuna said:
Which files are there that does not play smoothly? I tried two and they were smooth (although no sound on worlds end, probably due to the DTS DCA codec on that file).
Click to expand...

Probably those that push the limit of Blu-ray.

As for using PC/Mac, I agree if you want to play assorted media, it's the best way to go. Once you set up a media server, you'll be able to play the contents on consoles and tablets anyway. Although sometimes, I just copy the media to the playback device via the media server.
 
joker454 said:
Have you guys thought of just using pc's? They are brutally cheap to make nowadays, and they play everything flawlessly. I've been using a pc hooked to my tv downstairs for years now without issue, and it plays everything from home hd movies, blu-ray rips from raid, video camera footage, etc...Much easier than with console, no tweaking, media servers, etc needed. I read how much time and trouble people spend trying to get basic media playback working on console and I kinda of wonder why bother when the issue is so basic to solve with a cheap pc. As a bonus you get all other pc features like Skype, a fully working browser, next gen looking pc games, etc, all on your media room tv.
Click to expand...
And how "complete" are they manageable just with a remote? From my experience its either problematic to turn them on (which might take a while aswell) or they suck gobs of power in standby.
If id want a media player Id go for something like the "WD TV Live Hub" which is pretty complete in terms of media playback, costs likely half of an HTPC and if you still got an itch to do more, you can install a homebrew firmware.

(but alas Im just using my LG TV, which has a few disabilities regarding subtitles but plays most formats without problems)
 
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