transcoding discussion * spin-off

Can you elaborate please ? Is it because the 360 did not recognize MediaTomb (due to MS's DLNA extensions/deviation) ? Or is it because of lack of expected WMV support/integration ?

 

The mediatomb devs say the 360 isn't supported due to MS's deviations from upnp/dlna.
http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?thread_id=1784977&forum_id=440750

 

No, that wasn't a discussion, it was a reason why there isn't any discussion to be had. No good can come of this debate. I'm not knocking the 360, I'm not a PS3 fanboy despite the fact that I own an 80GB model and love it. Next month I'll be moving into a new apartment and my new roommate is going to pickup a 360. I'm sure our living room will be all the much better for it.

 

Oh right, that was the same guy. I thought the comment was made by another DLNA developer.

 

Latest rumour is Sony's content downloads rolls out in Summer. About the same time as Home. And PlayTV. And the PSP tilt controller. And when those pigs flap their wings...

 

ShaidarHaran, why don't you just post how you use the PS3 as a media center.

I know some have collections from em... unpublished sources. But I would like to know more about your experiences from the mainstream ones. Things like personal DVD rips, Blu-ray Live encounters, gametrailers, gamevideos, gamersyde, youtube, BBC, DV cameras, FreeView player, blah. Also experiences with Divx/Xvid, WMV and AVI would be welcomed (since I considered them potentially more problematic than MP4 + AVCHD)

I am surprised none of the PS3 magazines/sites have published an in-depth workshop/guide on Sony's behalf (e.g., How to build a real home media network based on AVCHD, plus short falls).

 

You are all wrong. The Wii is obviously the best media center.

 

Actually, I don't mind paying for a Wiimote if it works with any media center.

 

I tried using the Wii ... it was terrible. The video quality is horrible because everything plays through flash.

Edit: If it worked with SDTV quality and supported a good number of codecs, it would be great. It's playing everything through flash that kills it. It is something that could be fixed, I think, but it really depends on whether Nintendo feels it's worth the effort. I'd honestly use it as a media center on my old tv if it didn't suck so bad.

 

Yes, that's a nice feature. I was addressing ShaidarHaran, so the list is indeed PS3 centric. I often leave the slide show running with music playlist in the background. However since I'm in Resistance MP almost all the time, the thought of playing background music in-game has never occurred to me. Usually I just listen to clan mates yakking away like a talk show (and switch back to my work machine at the same time while waiting in the lobby). Occasionally, they will play their music through the mic.

 

What program are you guys using to rip your dvds to a media server that is PS3 friendly? I would like to start ripping my dvd collection to my PC and would like to be able to play it on my PS3s. I will use anydvd to strip the encryption.

 

I no longer do this but here's what I did long ago:
http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/2796/ps3_how_to_convert_movie_dvds_to_mp4_playstation3

You may be able to find better tools these days.

 

I've yet to explore the full functionality of my PS3 as a media center, as I have little media to serve other than a few PS3 games and B-r movies. I'm not a pirate and I don't spend all my money on entertainment (not this form at least) so I don't have a huge need for it yet, however as I have started to use my DVR more I find that I could benefit from using the PS3 as a media center, particularly if it offered a transcoding app.

 

This isn't even a valid argument. Clearly you can read, as can I. Are you now telling me that I can't read about the features of each platform as an MC and form a valid opinion? In that case one would have to be an expert on both platforms in order to compare the two.

Ludicrous.

 

in the MCE market? good luck. Seriously, most of the systems (all?) greatly exaggerate their abilities and so far non of them make really decent media centers. The strict lack of expandability alone makes then all unfit for anything but the most basic of tasks. Legal limitations of vendor hardware/software also doesn't help out at all.

Aaron Spink
speaking for myself inc.

 

What "lack of expandability" do you refer to? The PS3's HD can be upgraded, you can run Linux on the system and therefore any media center application that runs in Linux. I think the expandability is quite nice.

 

You must be kidding. The boot time and stupid drive partitioning options makes it a really horrible option. I was hoping that this would be a good option to replace XBMC on my original Xboxes, but PS3 Linux really is a joke.

Both the PS3 and X360 (w/o MCE extender) are pretty lame and severely limited media center interfaces. If you include a Media center though, the X360 is far superior (but still pales in many areas next to XBMC).

Right now, from either of my HDTV's I push a button on my standard programmable remote to fire up the 360 (can't do that with a PS3). It goes immediately into the MCE extender, where I have access to all my music (most is WMA lossless, can't play that on a PS3). I can setup HD recordings for any channel by my cable provider (Cable Card - can't do that with a PS3) on two separate tuners, and/or use two additional OTA tuners for any HD channel out of L.A.. It's got a real nice interface with good WAF, that is completely separated from the games.

For my purposes the PS3 is pretty much useless as a media center, it's a good Blu-Ray player though.

 

Here's a hint. If you actually did try using the 360 and PS3 as a media center, you'd find the 360 for example is far far better at surfing photos than the PS3 is. It does a quick cache before you start viewing them, and as such when you browse them it responds far faster than the PS3 does. Thumbnails on 360 come up instantly, and switching photos is fast. So your blanket comment of PS3 > 360 as a media center comes off as quite comical, although it makes some sense now as it seems like you've never even used a 360 as a media center.

Personally, from a media center point of view, I find the 360 is better at photos, the PS3 is better at music, and both are too limited to be useful for videos.

 

Touche ! But I wouldn't call it a joke, more like an unrealized dream
Work on Open Source media center on PS3 is slow. Dual booting process is geeky (needs typing !) although someone sexed it up a little: http://linux.softpedia.com/get/System/Boot/Petitboot-34400.shtml

You can have your PS3 boot from a DVD to have a custom app environment (MythTV).

You need IR2BT to make PS3 compatible with your IR controller. Because it uses Bluetooth instead of USB, you can turn PS3 off/on using any IR remote:
http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/03/2...luetooth-converter-now-on-sale-ps3-owners-re/

If you live in Europe and may be Korea (?), you'll have PlayTV to play with. It includes dual-tuner and a PS3 DVR software (No PC needed):
http://kotaku.com/gaming/clips/play-tv-on-ps3-explained-292541.php. If you're outside the house, I don't know if RemotePlay will work with PlayTV though. Would be way cool and very useful.

Unfortunately if you live in US, the only option is to go through DLNA

TiVo
===
My friend has a TiVo. So he set up TiVo Desktop and have it access the NAS (like ReadyNAS, TeraStation, ...) for storage. The PS3 can then read the recorded videos from the NAS box via DLNA. You'll need the following software (instead of MCE):

* TiVo Desktop ( http://www.tivo.com/buytivo/tivogear/software/index.html )
You may need to make a registry change to Windows so that TiVo can use the NAS box: http://www.edn.com/blog/400000040/post/790012279.html

* PS3 Video 9 ( http://www.redkawa.com/videoconverters/ps3video9/ )
To convert .tivo files to PS3 readable ones.


Internet Videos and TVs
===============
Besides Youtube and DLNA links, you can also check out Videora to download recorded videos from the net. It's done by the PS3 Video 9 folks too (Supposed to include interesting UI concepts like "Season Pass" to download series of videos from the net).

If you also have a PSP, use TiVo To Go or PSP Video 9 to copy these recordings to your PSP.


Live TV
=====
Nero MediaHome, Orb and TVersity can serve Live TV stream to PS3. Here's a video demo: http://ehomeupgrade.vodpod.com/video/793790-ps3-playing-encrypted-live-tv-via-tversity-in-xmb

I don't know how well they work, probably not very well. In my setup, I try to make the entire, basic home network independent of a PC. Then I add a PC/Mac on top to value add. This is because my PCs/Macs come and go (Laptops or assigned to other work). Wife hates to have too many boxes lying around too.

A PlayTV like solution would be best for me (but with options to subscribe to Cable or DirectTV).

Is photo and slideshow slow in PS3 ? I didn't realize it at all. One of my favorite things to do on PS3 is to leave my slide show running with background music while I work.

I like "Portrait" slide show best since it will pan and zoom into faces automatically instead of boring slide-by-slide (fit-to-screen) view.

"Slide Show 2" is nice too. I can see all the thumbnails parade by and manipulate them at the same time. I only use this to check new batch of pictures.


Nonetheless, I agree that there are still much room for improvement. I'd like to have a video playlist for example. I want to cycle through all my home videos or trailers.




... and a simpler setup procedure, plus more direct user interface *grumble* *grumble* SIXAXIS *mumble* *mumble* PS Eye

 

Sony to buy operator of CDDB database and Music ID technology

http://www.thealarmclock.com/mt/archives/2008/04/sony_pays_260m.html

I always thought media management and search service is critical to the digital world. To me, transcoding is a distraction. Consumers should never had to deal with it. The publishers and studios should be able to provide trouble-free access to individual titles easily.

For a start, I hope all my songs on the PS3 will be automatically tagged in some distant firmware upgrade.