Suggestions on building a PS3 centered media distribution network

[TauRus]

Hi, all! My first post on this forum. Thank you gentlemen for hosting such a resourceful website.
I need help to build an optimal home AV distribution network with my PS3 used as a streaming device. Is this possible?
In the setup I am trying to come up, I would like to use PS3 as a streaming device and a NAS unit. I have a D-Link DIR-655 router currently.
Limitations: PS3 does not fully support the most popular audio / video media formats. Currently I am getting around this by using an open source ps3mediaserver application. The downside is that this requires my PC to be on. I would like to avoid that as much as possible.
So, ideally, I would like a NAS device to host all media files, and PS3 to be able to stream the files off the NAS. Ideally this setup will support the same list of media formats as any current NMT.
Questions:
- is this possible?
- will all file formats be supported in this scenario?
- which NAS solution would be optimal to work in tandem with PS3?
As you probably guessed, I am not too experienced in these issues so I will appreciate your advice and suggestions. Thank you!

 

[GerryJacobus]

One Suggestion

While not exactly the solution you are looking for, I use a QNAP TS-509 for my NAS. It comes bundled with a TwonkyMedia media server which my PS3 recognizes. My only real complaint is that the PS3 doesn't allow browsing and queueing media files while it is playing a media file. That will be a problem no matter what Media Server is used with a PS3.

 

[TauRus]

Gerry,
Thank you for the response! So, if I understand you correctly, Twonky that is installed on the NAS allows PS3 to stream all files, even those that are not normally recognized by PS3, correct? If so, that is great. Then my only problem is to find the right NAS solution. The more I read the harder it is. One disk vs 2 or more disk units. What I am trying to figure out is whether for example a 2 disk unit will read and write faster or at the same rate as the one disk solution from the same brand / series. For example if you compare QNAP TS-119 vs TS-219 - are they likely to perform on the same level or TS-219 will outperform TS-119 because of the stripping mode (RAID 0)?
Also, will most current generation NAS solutions cope with feeding the HD video files (leaving aside possible network bottlenecks). I was looking up the NAS chart and while it was great to see relative comparison one question I had in my mind was: how fast is good enough? Is it 20 MB/s, or 30 or 50? What level of performance I should expect at each of these thresholds? The reviews did not seem to cover that aspect or perhaps I missed those guide lines somewhere.

 

[starfox101]

Just my 2 cents: The ps3 can't cut it! An nas is the way to go. I have both a qnap 409 and synology ds508. The synology has replaced the qnap. I use an eva8000 from netgear for media streaming. Netgear has a new model out, something like 9150. I think something like 8-10 mb/s is needed for sd. Sometime ago I choose to backup my dvd's in IFO. Video TS_folder. The ps3 will not play ifo's. I also have the wife factor, My wife can hit one button on the remote, bam! 400 movies to choose from.

 

[TauRus]

Starfox, Thank you!
Do I understand you correctly that TwonkyMedia server that is built into NAS units still does not allow you to stream all video and audio files to PS3? That is sad if accurate, since the software I am using now, ps3mediaserver, does allow PS3 to view and stream all media files including ISO etc. More info here - http://code.google.com/p/ps3mediaserver/
The only downside is that this requires running my main PC as well.

 

[starfox101]

Do I understand you correctly that TwonkyMedia server that is built into NAS units still does not allow you to stream all video and audio files to PS3

I may be screwing up, but I could not get the ps3 to play ifo files using the nas only. I believe it will work using a pc. I guess the pc having more computing power can trans code.

 

[pender]

I know how much you love the PS3, but I hate DLNA uPNP. Good in theory but overall poor execution as there is no ultimate free or commercial server out there. Also, if you are watching a file that needs to be transcoded, there is no NAS powerful enough to do it.

I you however invest in a HTPC running XBMC/Plex or Boxee, such as a Mac Mini, Nvidia Ion platform like the Acer Revo, you can watch anything off a SMB or FTP server and don't need a NAS with a commercial uPNP server solution. For standard definition, even a softmodded Xbox 1.0 with XBMC is cheap solution, but difficult to softmod.

Most would recommend XBMC or Boxee because it is a very full featured rich UI environment that will play anything off a simple NAS with SMB shares because the HTPC does the decoding and the NAS only streams and does not transcode. Boxee also has Hulu and Netflix built right in (XBMC through plugin).

Mac Mini with XBMC/Boxee is a great out of the box experience that will handle HD video and has a remote, but lacks HDMI - need DVI to HDMI adapter. Revo and other HTPC requires a remote but have HDMI. Revo can decode 1080p.

 

[mamexp]

I know how much you love the PS3, but I hate DLNA uPNP. Good in theory but overall poor execution as there is no ultimate free or commercial server out there. Also, if you are watching a file that needs to be transcoded, there is no NAS powerful enough to do it.

I you however invest in a HTPC running XBMC/Plex or Boxee, such as a Mac Mini, Nvidia Ion platform like the Acer Revo, you can watch anything off a SMB or FTP server and don't need a NAS with a commercial uPNP server solution. For standard definition, even a softmodded Xbox 1.0 with XBMC is cheap solution, but difficult to softmod.

Most would recommend XBMC or Boxee because it is a very full featured rich UI environment that will play anything off a simple NAS with SMB shares because the HTPC does the decoding and the NAS only streams and does not transcode. Boxee also has Hulu and Netflix built right in (XBMC through plugin).

Mac Mini with XBMC/Boxee is a great out of the box experience that will handle HD video and has a remote, but lacks HDMI - need DVI to HDMI adapter. Revo and other HTPC requires a remote but have HDMI. Revo can decode 1080p.

Great advice, i have gone through the same thing. DLNA has lots of limitations that would never be mainstream.

Get one of those mini HTPC or better yet.... get a NMT and call it a day. NMT appliance is gonna be very popular.

Budget one thats workable is WDTV.

 

[pender]

Yes a NMT like the Popcorn Hour is enough for some. Most are very plain UI and have a slow UI response because the general purpose CPU is too slow - it also is very buggy and most just freeze and need rebooting (which use the Sigma Chipset). None have a standalone meta data scraper (Popcorn hour uses a meta data scraper that runs on a PC). FYI, Meta Data scrapers pull media information from the web (say TV Shows and Movies). This may not be important for movies, but it is a godsend for TV Shows because it keeps track of which shows you've seen.

Generic Networked Media Players are likely to be a fad just like generic MP3 players 5 years ago. Sure they all decode the same video formats, but it comes down to UI, ease of use, and frequency of software updates to fix bugs

Some people are content with the NMTs, but those wanting a rich, easy to use experience are likely not going to be too pleased with the unit and might shelve it after a few months, or to a lesser extent, might find themselves watching less content on the NMT because of its nuances.

 

[mamexp]

Qualcomm chipset is getting more and more attention. Its the best i haven tested. (i do have some sample at work)

ps. the one i'm preferring to is dragon.

 

[TauRus]

Thanks for the advice!

All, thank you for the advice! I weighed many options, played with a couple of NMTs and in the end stayed with the original setup: PS3 media server running on a regular PC (sitting in my office on the second floor) serving media files to my PS3 downstairs.
I am not exactly sure what DLNA limitations you guys are talking about: this setup allows me to watch pretty much anything I have been throwing at it: a wide range of audio and a wide range of video files from SD to 1080p.
IMHO, PS3 functions almost like a perfect player with its snappy interface. It cashes the files, menus etc and therefore browsing folders (with real time video previews) is a fast pleasant experience (unlike slow choppy performance of a couple of NMTs I tried).
As far as format support, natively PS3 is lacking support for certain media formats, but this is where PS3 Media server comes to the rescue.
My original search for a better solution was desire to go away from needing to run a PC, but like you all said, none of the NATs and Windows Home server devices are powerfull enough to take on the media transcoding job. So, having played with a number of options I went back to the original setup and this is the optimal one for me. YMMV.