Quote:
wbassett wrote:
 I still may do this, but as of right now I put this project on the back burner, and that is building an HTPC that would play both Bluray and HD DVD.
I think it would be a thread that some people would be interested in, but I was looking at my equipment and asked myself 'Just what would I gain by building this?' The answer was nothing, in fact most likely I would lose a few features or quality.
The PS3 plays CDs, SDVDs, BDs, and movies archived on an external hard drive. My cable box provides DVR capabilities, the A2 plays SDVDs and HD DVDs... everything seems to be covered. It would be nice to have one box that does it all, but I have a sneaking feeling it would be a 'jack of all trades, master of none' type scenario.
My son bought the 40GB PS3 and also has a 360. He has two external USB drives hooked up to the PS3, and is loving it!
The only problem he's told me about is some movies have playback issues, but only they ones that he went nuts on and compressed them down to under 2GB in size. He's coming up for two weeks and bringing his PS3 and 360 and we'll check out his movies, but other than a couple the rest play fine and he's more than happy.
As far as the PS3, I am very happy with it myself, and seeing I bought it last year, it is one of the few players from that time period that will be able to make it to profile 2.0
So plin I agree, the PS3 is a very good deal as well as being a powerful system. |
Bill - your timing is excellent!!!
I got my PS3 on Thursday and have been getting acquainted with it. What a piece of equipment (BTW - I agree with your assessment on your HTPC; the PS3 pretty much negates the need)
Anyhow, I’m hoping for some opinions/guidance before I start putting things in place. I have a PC in the 2nd floor office with a 500GB HD (450 GB available) and the PS3 in the basement HT (40GB HDD). Wireless network with good signal strength. I also have available 320 GB and 750 GB external USB HDDs that are pretty much empty, but I have lots of DVDs (500+ and BluRay on the way) I want to store.
I was going to start searching for possibility of attaching multiple USB external hard drives to the PS3 and here you mention your son does this already. I just ordered an IR remote control solution that will use one of my two available USB ports.
Can I use the remaining PS3 USB port with a powered USB hub and add some additional ports and then plug in two (or more) external USB HDDs (formatted in FAT32) and will the PS3 “see” both of them and allow me to get at my media?
The answers to the above gets me to the following alternatives:
1) Stream all my media from the PC
If I plug the two of the external HDDs into the PC, I will have 450 GB (internal) plus 320 + 750 GB. If I choose this solution, I will need to use Tversity or WMP11 as my media center software. Some questions:
-Can I load all of my media on the 3 HDDs and will the PS3 “see” all of HDDs and allow me to stream?
-Does streaming everything from the PC and it’s attached HDDs eliminate the need to format the external HDDs in FAT32?
2) Just use the PS3 and don’t stream from the PC
If I plug the two of the external HDDs into a powered USB hub, then into the PS3, I will have 40GB (internal), plus 320+750. I won’t need to use media server software (or will I?) and the PC doesn’t need to be on all the time. The PS3 would simply be a standalone entity. A question:
-Will the PS3 see both external HDDs if I plug them into a powered hub, then to the PS3 and allow me to get at the media?
3) Use the PS3 –AND-- stream from the PC
Plug one of the externals into the PC and one into the PS3. Load my music on the PS3 40GB and scatter the rest of my media around the externals and the PC. Need to use Tversity / WMP to get at the PC.
The advantages to item 1:-Much easier to move / add/ delete files and media
-If I don’t need to do FAT32 formatting to the externals, my DVD .VOB files can be larger than 4GB
-I can use all of that storage for things other than media
The advantages to item 2:-Don’t have the complexity of having the PC in the mix.
-Turn the HT stuff on and start enjoying.
-Can move / add / delete by taking the externals to the PC and plugging them in , then return to the PS3.
-Not dependent on a wireless network.
Item 3 is just flexible, but uses both pieces and is more complex.
Whew, I have such a headache! I could really use some input here, including some options I haven’t considered. The reason for all of this is that I want to get ALL of my DVDs (I have 500+ and BluRay is on the way) onto the HDDs I already own. I also want to make the process of using the PS3 as seamless as possible.
Thanks,
Ray