PS3 Video Server, Media Server Preliminary Setup and Tests

**wbassett** · **01-01-09, 05:00 PM**

Quote:

marois wrote:

I've been running 2.53 since it first came out without any problems.

I did have a failure six months ago, system overheated, since then I've been using the new auto shutdown feature. I used to always leave the system running the protein folding, but no more. It cost me $150 for a new unit, which only took a week to get back once they recieved my dead system.

Jean it's great to hear you're not having any problems.

From what I am reading newer units seems to be fine, but units that are six months to a year or older seem to be having the problem, but not all have this problem.

When it hits it is a strange one. Some people can only play SDVDs, no Bluray or PS3 games, others can't play anything and have reported even the USB ports are inoperable.

I'm not trying to panic anyone, just let people know there is a very real problem with this update for some players.

Jean, since your system is working and I'm leery about updating mine, could you test the sequential playback feature with some .vob files and give a report on how it works?

This is big news, next will be if we can also do menus too!

**wbassett** · **01-01-09, 05:07 PM**

PlayOn enables consumers who own a PLAYSTATION 3, Xbox 360, or HP MediaSmart TV to access content from sites including Netflix, Hulu, CBS, YouTube, ESPN and more on their television. We have been testing PlayOn Beta for a number of months now, and the fully featured release will be coming shortly!

This is in beta stage, but looks promising.

Netflix s going to be the dominate streaming content provider, and they are actively working on HD streaming. Over the holidays I was down at my daughters and we connected a PC to their new 36" LCD HDTV and streamed some Netflix Watch Instantly content and I was really surprised. It was an episode of Sliders and looked every bit as good as DVD. A lot also has to do with how well your set upconverts too, so mileage may vary but the picture quality is getting better and better all the time.

It's just something to think about as an additional feature for the PS3!

**Ray3** · **01-07-09, 01:10 PM**

If you track back on the PS3 firmware upgrade versions, you will find that the problems with upgrades are not limited to 2.53. Each of the upgrades from 2.35 onward have generated reports that a small number of PS3s have had problems with each upgrade.

There seems to be no answers as to why this is happening and upgrades are a hit & miss thing. I've continued to upgrade with each release, including 2.53 and (knock wood) have had no problems. I got my PS3 in 11/08, so I don't know if it qualifies as newer or older.

A common theme in these upgrade problem threads shows that re4setting/rebooting the hard drive often claears the problems up. Some small percewntage need to send in their PS3s to Sony.

Wish I had better info for this. Actually, I wish SONY had better info.

**ratnrol** · **01-21-09, 03:23 PM**

wbassett, thank-you for posting your guide and walking us through your experiences. I have registered with this forum just to subscribe to this thread!

Cheers

**Wayde** · **01-22-09, 09:22 AM**

I just got a PS3 for Christmas and have just taken an interest in this thread.

I have had an Xbox 360 for some time and have used it as a media-center extender. Just as you outlined I used DVDShrink saved VOBs as one big file and renamed them .MPG. It worked great.

The problem I had with Xbox 360 and what eventually made me stop using it completely was the slowness. As my media collection grew navigating it got slower and slow. In fact, music is totally useless. I can't navigate it because I have so many music files on my computer the Xbox 360 completely chokes trying to page through my collection. It's unusable.

I have started using a Squeezebox for music and it works fantastic and also brings Internet radio to my HT.

But I'm now interesting in testing PS3 for video. I wouldn't mind being able to stream but I'm sure it's not the best option. My PS3 is hard wired to my router but my PC is wi-fi. I might even pick up a wireless N router and LAN card just to make streaming painless.

I'll let you know how it goes.

BTW. streaming lossless music files to the squeezebox and navigating my giant collection is completely hassle free. I really recommend this device - it's just a tiny screen that sits beside my center speaker, it's one of the best pieces of equipment I own.

**ratnrol** · **01-23-09, 01:19 AM**

I ripped 5 movies seamlessly using Shrink 3.2, with anydvd.

Dragged the vob file into my tversity movie folder and voila. All five play fine. The length of each movie is not displayed correctly, however. FF and RW capabilities are limited and flakey.

I am going to test my luck with the VOB2MPG program to see if the PS3 likes the mpeg format better.

For those of you using PS3 Media Server instead of Tversity, a poster uploaded a photoshop template for your cover art. It looks great. Unfortunately, I am having problems editing and saving the download. Hoping someone else may have better luck and be able to share their knowledge. I have an older version of adobe photoshop elements 3.0 and thinking that may be the issue.

Sorry, but it appears I don't have five posts and cannot create a link. Here is where I found this template...
AVS Forum > Digital Video & Audio Devices > Home Theater Gaming > PlayStation Area > [PS3 Media Server], a new java based streaming application

**WRYKER** · **01-23-09, 10:09 AM**

I read the first part of this thread and several last posts. I haven't found someone post a way to watch HD movies through/on the PS3 (either wirelessly, hardwired, through USB, etc).
DVDShrink will not work with a lot of newer movies - I have 800 DVDs including BD's & HDDVDs and I'd love to get them onto a HD and be able to watch them on/through the PS3 without loss of video quality or sound. I also have an XBOX 360.

**wbassett** · **01-30-09, 06:13 PM**

Quote:

ratnrol wrote:

I ripped 5 movies seamlessly using Shrink 3.2, with anydvd.

Dragged the vob file into my tversity movie folder and voila. All five play fine. The length of each movie is not displayed correctly, however. FF and RW capabilities are limited and flakey.

I am going to test my luck with the VOB2MPG program to see if the PS3 likes the mpeg format better.

For those of you using PS3 Media Server instead of Tversity, a poster uploaded a photoshop template for your cover art. It looks great. Unfortunately, I am having problems editing and saving the download. Hoping someone else may have better luck and be able to share their knowledge. I have an older version of adobe photoshop elements 3.0 and thinking that may be the issue.

Sorry, but it appears I don't have five posts and cannot create a link. Here is where I found this template...
AVS Forum > Digital Video & Audio Devices > Home Theater Gaming > PlayStation Area > [PS3 Media Server], a new java based streaming application

Chris before you try VOB2MPG (not familiar with that program myself to be honest) keep in mind that .vob files are already mpeg encoded. You don't need to use any program to convert to mpeg, infact I discourage anyone doing any type of conversion programs because each time you convert, there is a loss of PQ. Even if it's small, it's still a loss.

All you have to do is rename the file extention from .vob to .mpeg and it's an MPG file now! I just setup a drive for my brother that are all in mpeg, and did the entire TV series Man from U.N.C.L.E (48 dvds) plus all the UNCLE movies, and even the complete Girl from U.N.C.L.E! Nothing is compressed and it's all on a 320GB external drive.

**wbassett** · **01-30-09, 06:15 PM**

Well I am happy to say I am now up to 2.5TB of storage! Soon to be 4.5TB

**WRYKER** · **01-30-09, 06:21 PM**

Quote:

wbassett wrote:

Well I am happy to say I am now up to 2.5TB of storage! Soon to be 4.5TB

And still no answer to my post....

**wbassett** · **01-30-09, 06:26 PM**

Quote:

WRYKER wrote:

I read the first part of this thread and several last posts. I haven't found someone post a way to watch HD movies through/on the PS3 (either wirelessly, hardwired, through USB, etc).
DVDShrink will not work with a lot of newer movies - I have 800 DVDs including BD's & HDDVDs and I'd love to get them onto a HD and be able to watch them on/through the PS3 without loss of video quality or sound. I also have an XBOX 360.

Yeah I've been having trouble with some new releases too. Seeing Shrink was closed, there won't be any updates for it, what a shame. I'll have to play around with DVDFab some more and see if it will do the job.

As far as HD movies, you should be able to stream those over your network if you're connected. If not, now the PS3 will handle play lists, so it's theorectically possible to have a high def movie and via the play list, play each file segment and watch the entire movie that way. Fat32 and that 4GB file size limitation is still killing us though. A 20GB HD movie would have to be broken up into five segments. I guess that's doable, but man what a pain.

**wbassett** · **01-30-09, 06:28 PM**

Quote:

WRYKER wrote:

And still no answer to my post....

I was responding at the same time you hit submit!

That may not have answered your question though. I'll look into this and see what I can find.

**wbassett** · **01-30-09, 06:43 PM**

More great news for PS3 owners and maybe even those still on the fence whether to get a PS3 or a stand alone DB player...

One complaint with the PS3 was that it didn't decode DTS-HD Master Audio (but it did send it to a receiver undecoded so the receiver could do the work), as of June 2008, firmware upgrade version 2.30-2.36 fixed that problem. Now the player decodes Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, giving users the latest surround sound formats. That same upgrade also added BD Live (Profile 2.0) support, meaning users can connect to the Internet for additional downloaded content for any BD Live-enabled disc.

Now the only complaint would be it doesn't have discrete 5.1 outputs, but a lot of BD players don't have that either. This may be a deal breaker for some, but for most I think it's not.

Also Firmware update 2.53 added play-list capability, but as I mentioned, stay away from that update. They are up to 2.60 now and I'm hearing better results and will be updating to it this weekend myself.

From launch to current date, the PS3 is one of the only Bluray players from back then that was capable to be upgraded to Profile 2.0, and really its full potential has yet to be tapped.

Full Divx support is there now, and the biggest breakthrough improvement will be if Sony ever knuckles under and finally adds NTFS support. This will be absolutely huge if they ever decide to do it, and yes they are getting a lot of pressure from owners to add this to a future update.

**WRYKER** · **01-31-09, 05:10 PM**

Quote:

wbassett wrote:

I was responding at the same time you hit submit!

That may not have answered your question though. I'll look into this and see what I can find.

It did and it didn't - I haven't had any success using TVersity to stream anything to my PS3. My PS3 is wired into the router along w/3 computers so it's not an issue of 'wireless' since it's wired.

I have no problems streaming music using WinAmp though (but that's just music)

What I'd love to do is to back-up/copy all my DVDs, HDDVDs, & BD's onto harddrives and watch them over my network without loss of audio (DTS, 7.1HD-MA, TRUE-HD, etc) or video (bitrate)

: if there's a way to do that (please no Kaleidoscope posts) I'd love to know.

**mechman** · **01-31-09, 05:15 PM**

I updated to 2.6 last Wednesday. Everything seems fine.

Does the PS3 only see fat32 usb drives? It's supposed to be able to see my freeNAS server which is ufs. There's actually a service that I enabled for PS3. I haven't tried yet though. I may have to do some searching on this...

**wbassett** · **01-31-09, 05:47 PM**

Quote:

WRYKER wrote:

It did and it didn't - I haven't had any success using TVersity to stream anything to my PS3. My PS3 is wired into the router along w/3 computers so it's not an issue of 'wireless' since it's wired.

I have no problems streaming music using WinAmp though (but that's just music)

What I'd love to do is to back-up/copy all my DVDs, HDDVDs, & BD's onto harddrives and watch them over my network without loss of audio (DTS, 7.1HD-MA, TRUE-HD, etc) or video (bitrate)

: if there's a way to do that (please no Kaleidoscope posts) I'd love to know.

I hear ya Wryker... I want to put all mine on drives too. If for no other reason than to save shelf space because I am completely out. I'll edit and post a picture of my DVD shelf system when I get a chance, but it's 8' wide by 8' tall and I have two stand alone DVD racks that are full too, and I have a bookshelf in the bedroom that's full too. If nothing else I'd like to at least get my TV series and special genres down to the drives.

I do apologize about not answering you. As far as the timely response, I was swamped with work and then down with the flu. As far as the quality of the reply in answering your question... I honestly don't know right now because I haven't tried to do Bluray or HD DVD yet.

Red Kawa is a very good streaming program from what I have read, but again, I haven't tried it. This is one area that maybe we can work together on and if you find something first, please post it up because I am sure others are very interested in this as well.

I really love this concept and totally geek out over it so I'm just as interested as you in figuring out a way to do this. Again, my apologies about not having a straight up answer for you right now, but one thing about the Shack is we won't snow someone and say we know something when we don't. We will try to figure it out though!

Right now the short term answer in my opinion is streaming, or with the playlist that 2.53 introduced. The long term answer as far as USB drives is whenever Sony decided to add NTFS support.

We'll figure something out, don't worry! Maybe you'll be the one to come up with it first, if so... post away! Any input and tips/tricks are always appreciated.

In the meanwhile I'll try to find something out myself too. I hope to have an LG Super Drive my the end of next month.

**wbassett** · **01-31-09, 06:11 PM**

Quote:

mechman wrote:

I updated to 2.6 last Wednesday. Everything seems fine.

Does the PS3 only see fat32 usb drives? It's supposed to be able to see my freeNAS server which is ufs. There's actually a service that I enabled for PS3. I haven't tried yet though. I may have to do some searching on this...

From a locally attached USB drive, yes only FAT32, and that is a really debilitating obstacle right now.

I partially understand their reasoning, FAT32 is old but universal. Macs can read it as well as PCs, so it's the least common denominator. But it's not the best or most efficient that's for sure.

The fact that Sony even allows .vob playback is huge. The fairness doctrine allows us to make an archival backup for our own personal use, and that is soley the intent here. Nobody is trying to cheat anyone, just make our viewing experience easier and more enjoyable. To that end I applaud Sony for allowing us to do this because Sony is also one of the biggest defenders of copy-rights.

The bigger issues is that seeing that Sony provided .vob support as well as all video format support now... it is Sony vs Microsoft. NTFS is a Microsoft file system, and as such there are some issues between the two companies. Even if Sony wanted to incorporate it in the next FW release, it's doubtful Microsoft would go along with it since they are rival consoles. And that is a shame that it comes down to that type of mentality.

My son has both a PS3 and the XBox 360, and I respect the 360 immensely. Where the two differ, and I will state that this is my opinion, is that the 360 is a true gaming console and it has the lions share of better games, whereas the PS3 is more of a component that can be integrated into a Home Theater easier. Both are powerful, but as a full media center I put the PS3 ahead of the 360, and... I am no Sony fan so that says a lot right there I think.

The 360 has an HDMI out, but if you need a digital optical out, you need a special adapter. Lack of an internal HD DVD drive or BD drive also limits it. Being able to plug in an external HD DVD drive was a big plus, but where is the external BD drive now that the format war is over?

Don't get me wrong, I personally like HD DVD better than Bluray, but that's all moot now.

Until Sony an MS sort things out, we're stuck with FAT32 for our local USB drives, or... streaming the content. I wish it were different, but I don't see this changing for a long time if ever.

**ratnrol** · **02-05-09, 07:22 PM**

Thanks wbassett, I researched the vob2mpg a little more.

Here is what the videohelp web site says...
"VOB2MPG converts your DVD to MPG file(s). It goes through a whole DVD VIDEO_TS folder and joins up the various vobsets to produce mpgs for the different titles. It does NOT reconvert the video and audio."

Following your instructions in regards to ripping as a single vob and just renaming work and plays on the PS3. I guess I will just live without FF or RW features.

**Desperado** · **02-25-09, 11:26 PM**

This is a great thread! I've bookmarked it and joined the forum.

Regarding VOB2MPG, I had the FF/RW issue with my VOB files as well, even when renaming the extension to MPG. However, I started using VOB2MPG to "convert" my files (after ripping with DVDShrink), and the FF/RW problem is fixed. I'm not sure what that program does, but I use it for all my DVDs now. Takes 5-10 minutes to run.

One thing I've noticed is that sometimes the program will bomb out after a couple of seconds. I just click the "start" button again and it works fine. This is with v2.5. Maybe there's a newer version where this is fixed - I haven't looked.

**Blaser** · **02-27-09, 12:32 PM**

Quote:

ratnrol wrote:

I guess I will just live without FF or RW features.

Speaking for myself I guess not. This is really what bothers me regarding using the PS3 as a movies server...

**Blaser** · **02-28-09, 08:00 AM**

I have updated my PS3 to firmware 2.6 and I'm happy it seems there is no more problems with FF or RW. I would nevertheless prefer 4 Gb files instead of 1 Gb so that there would be only one interruption / dual layer DVDs.

Any idea what program to use?

**ratnrol** · **02-28-09, 06:38 PM**

Blaser,

I have used Shrink 3.2. Just set the output files to be one large vob file versus 1 gb chunks.

As per my earlier posts, vob2mpg helped add the FF/RW functions back. If the new update gets rid of this, it will at least remove one step from the method I use. Good news.

**Blaser** · **03-01-09, 02:27 PM**

Yest but I do not like 4 Gb compressed movies. On my big screen full DVDs do not look perfect already...

**dh2005** · **03-04-09, 11:36 AM**

Which is why you need a Popcorn Hour, dude...!

... but being serious for a moment, though...

I used this thread a great deal to begin with. It was the perfect starting point for learning about ripping, remuxing, VOB-merging, timecode-repair and other such things. And Bill is the perfect moderator - full of knowledge, innovative ideas and encouragement - which I deeply appreciated then, and I still do now. He and the other members helped me to get the very best that I possibly could out of my PS3, as a media device.

But, when push came to shove, it couldn't be denied that the Popcorn Hour machines are easier to use and, in my opinion, do a better job. I haven't had to compress, remux or otherwise "mess with" any DVD rips since going over to the Popcorn Hour. With my PS3, I was doing it all the time. And that God-forsaken 4GB limit was always a problem. It dictated what I could and couldn't back-up, because after 15 to 20% compression, the movies looked and sounded awful. And if it looks and sounds awful, you might as well use the disc...! Which completely defeated the object of the exercise, for me.

I know a lot of people are very happy with the PS3 - particularly those who stream content from networked devices, who can therefore circumvent the FAT32 issue. But for those who aren't, you might consider the Popcorn Hour (and/or other similar media devices).

Anyone with questions, feel free to PM me.

DH.

**dh2005** · **03-04-09, 01:36 PM**

Then again...

... on reflection, this thread's for setting-up the PS3 as a media device. I don't mean to hijack it, or be obnoxious - so I've edited some of the above. I only posted here because Blaser and I were discussing the merits of the Popcorn Hour A-110 on another thread.

No offence intended. And none caused, I hope.

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