UPnP Media Servers for the PS3

The topic comes up every once in a while in the PS3 General Discussion thread and came up in the Compatible Media Formats for the PS3 thread, and just recently in a different discussion.

UPnP Media Servers have not only improved drastically over the years, but there are many to choose from now, so I thought with more and more people using their PS3 as a media player, perhaps it might be useful if there was a dedicated thread where we could all discuss and share our opinions and experience on many of these UPnP media servers.

Just to get things started and for those that may not yet know about or understand what UPnP media servers are and why they might be useful, let me start by offering some helpful links to at the very least give you some basic understanding:

• Official PS3 System Software Guide on Media Server Settings, Explanations, etc
  
• Official PS3 Knowledge Center for Troubleshooting Possible DLNA and AV Format Compatibility Issues
  
• Wiki Listing for UPnP Media Servers
  
• Basic Comparison of Some of the Popular UPnP Media Servers

In addition, here is some info on Google Media Server as it pertains to the PS3:

Digital-Nitrate

YouTube on your XMB
Friday, 27 June 2008 17:46

With the release of the Google Media Server for Google Desktop you can now have quick and easy access to various YouTube videos straight from your XMB.

Once configured you get one-click access to the most viewed, featured, top rated, etc videos from YouTube which load directly as an AVC file without the need to open the browser. Not just that but you can also copy the clips straight to your PS3 HDD. I'm sure there's possibly a way of doing this already (maybe with TVersity?) but this couldn't be simpler.

If my explanation left you puzzled here's a YouTube video that should clear things up.

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Stream YouTube videos directly to your XMB
Posted Jul 10th 2008 4:30PM by Andrew Yoon

If you have Google Desktop, you may want to download the Google Media Server application. With it, you'll have an easy way of sending YouTube videos to your PS3. Once a computer on the same network as your PS3 is configured with Google Media Server, you'll be able to easily access the most viewed, top rated, and other featured YouTube videos instantly from the XMB. In fact, you'll not only see thumbnails, but you'll also be able to copy the videos directly to your PS3 hard drive, for easy replayability.

Click to expand...

Setup Google Media Server

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Speaking of YouTube and the PS3, the open beta of their new YouTube service for PS3 users is now available:


YouTube on your PS3…in Full-screen!
Posted on Jan 15, 2009 by Ginger Kraus // Sr. Director of Promotions

Have you ever wanted to just sit on your couch and watch YouTube on your TV? Well, it’s now possible via YouTube for Television, available through your PLAYSTATION 3. Currently in beta, the TV Website provides a streamlined interface that enables you to discover, watch and share YouTube videos on any TV screen through your PS3.

Simply open up the Web browser on the PS3, and enter the following URL: www.youtube.com/tv (note: this link will not work from a PC or Mac, only from a PS3) and hit enter. Now you’re good to go! You’ll notice a new YouTube interface that allows you to watch videos in full-screen. With enlarged text and simplified navigation, it makes watching YouTube on your TV as easy and intuitive as possible. Here’s a helpful video that guides you through the process:





We’re working closely with the YouTube team to make a more PlayStation-centric version of the YouTube TV Website page accessible from the lefthand menu bar (the YouTube button currently takes you to our branded channel on YouTube). So stay tuned for that and in the meantime grab a cold one and sit back to enjoy your favorite videos on the big screen!

Happy watching,
Ginger Kraus

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Good thread.

First, I want to say that the streaming setup on Vista (this is killing me) works much better and faster at the base function than anything I run on my XP box. My wife got a new laptop and a matter of seconds after I setup network sharing in the network settings it showed up on my PS3, while my XP box using anything waits for a network refresh to show up. I think this may have more to do with my old PC than XP itself though. But Vista's options are somewhat limited in what it does other than share.


Moving on:
Personally, I use Nero Media for my media server. It works well, will auto-cache everything in advance in order to prevent any lag, and will transcode on the fly (converts as you stream to the PS3) to whatever your preferred media format is.

Currently I am using the free OEM version that came with my DVD burner, so I cannot use the MP4 codec with it, but it will transcode it to Mpeg 2. It works extremely well and I used it a lot before the PS3 had a lot of its codecs updated.


One thing I am looking into is the PlayOn media server.
http://www.themediamall.com/playon

This will allow even Netflix streaming to be played on your PS3 (no need for a 360 and the NXE). Basically it will do most streaming video sites and send them to your PC. I have yet to test it but mean to. Since Hulu started working on my PS3 I didn't have much of an urge too, but now I have a few shows not available on Hulu that I want to watch.

I've tried SimpleCenter on XP, which is free in its basic form and worked well with my PS3.

I've since moved on to use Ushare on my Linux server which works very well. I've also tried MediaTomb under Linux which also worked.