1080p Streaming

[Munson]

Situation.

MBP + Wireless N router + PS3

I stream a LOT of content to the PS3. However, I can only stream 720p over wireless. 1080p requires the ethernet hooked up.

If I were to get a n popcorn hour, would the network be able to cope with 1080p? My MBP is n, as is my router, so at the moment the weakest link is the PS3. Relieve the PS3 of streaming duties, and get a wireless n capable popcorn hour? Deal or no deal?

Wiring it all up is getting on my breasts IIRC. Got the FB coming over tonight for some smooching and viewing, and I hate having to have ethernet strung across the living room, shattering the mood created by the Maltesers.

 

[Revels]

Where is all your data stored?

Ext HD, you can get 1TB passport drives now and get a Mac mini. Get Plex running and it's superb.

Then you don't need to use the MBP or the PS3.

 

[Munson]

Where is all your data stored?

Ext HD, you can get 1TB passport drives now and get a Mac mini. Get Plex running and it's superb.

Then you don't need to use the MBP or the PS3.

I have a 1TB passport. Most of my content is on that, and some is on the MBP's local disc. I imagine a Mac Mini is a tad more expensive than a PCH? I'll look into that though.

Danke Schon.

 

[Revels]

If you have a big drive already, why don't you just plug that directly into the PS3? No cables all over the place, no streaming.

I looked into PCH but seemed quite expensive for not enough, for me anyway. AppleTv was winning (not so good for you due to it only doing 720p) but I found a mini cheap.

A mini is £500ish but if you're prepared to go 2nd hand, can be had a fair bit cheaper.

 

[Munson]

I was led to believe that the PS3 only supports FAT32. My drive is NTFS (3g-Mac FUSE).

I've never really understood the PS3 FAT32 thing, as I know I have had c. 20GB video files on there and played them just fine.

 

[sneeks]

I ditched my PS3 and ATV in favour of a £240 Acer Revo 3610 PC which can play 720P & 1080P files without any problem with the added benefit of the XBMC interface.

 

[wozzaa]

Why not try a homeplug setup?

PS3 ethernet into homeplug and 2nd home plug to router.

Cheap, not adding extra devices and you can get 1Gbps homeplugs. So way more bandwidth than you will ever need.

 

[Munson]

Hmmmm interesting. I could do that. Thanks for the suggestions so far.

 

[Longy]

Wireless N still isn't fast enough for 1080p streaming tbh.

 

[FiXX]

Wireless N still isn't fast enough for 1080p streaming tbh.

yup, i stream 1080p to my 360 with no problems whatsoever

 

[Griff]

In theory 802.11n has plenty of bandwidth to stream 1080p. Whether it works in reality is obviously dependant upon factors such as signal strength, distance between devices, obstacles in the way etc..

I know you like a simple yes or no answer Roy but I'm afraid it's not that simple.

 

[Dafthead]

Roy what do you use as the media server on the MBP? Or does the PS3 just pick it up?

Andy

 

[Longy]

yup, i stream 1080p to my 360 with no problems whatsoever

How are you connected up?

True 1080p video's you will struggle with wifi, in theory it should work but Wireless N isn't that great on throughput on equipment I've tested and also online reviews confirm this.

 

[Brazo]

and I hate having to have ethernet strung across the living room, shattering the mood created by the Maltesers.

Smooth b*****d

 

[iain187]

In theory 802.11n has plenty of bandwidth to stream 1080p. Whether it works in reality is obviously dependant upon factors such as signal strength, distance between devices, obstacles in the way etc..

I know you like a simple yes or no answer Roy but I'm afraid it's not that simple.

if it doesn't work, you have too much s**t in the way... so drill a hole in your wall, and pull a cable through properly

 

[Munson]

In theory 802.11n has plenty of bandwidth to stream 1080p. Whether it works in reality is obviously dependant upon factors such as signal strength, distance between devices, obstacles in the way etc..

I know you like a simple yes or no answer Roy but I'm afraid it's not that simple.

Well thanks but it should be quite simple. All devices would be in the same room, and the router is decent.

Roy what do you use as the media server on the MBP? Or does the PS3 just pick it up?

Andy

PS3 Media Server for Mac OSX.

 

[Glos182]

Several ways round this i suppose.........

Another option not mentioned would be to buy one of these:

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/7977460/Western-Digital-WD-TV-HD-Media-Player/Product.html?&_$ja=tsid:11518|cc:|prd:7977460|cat:Hard+Drives

Plug your 1tb external hdd straight into it. (YES it plays mkv files straight out the box x.264)........sound too good to be true? Kind of is, because the unit can't decode DTS. So will only work if you have a amp with optical input, which will decode the DTS. IF your files are none DTS, then u have no problem.

This is the setup i sorted my gf's father out with, he had a WD blackbook 1tb thing, so it matched the above device in looks etc, hooked it up to his amp (who can seriously appreciate bluray without surround sound hay) switched on his TV and amp, hits play, job done.

If you have the amp, then this maybe the 2nd cheapest option over the PoE. As you already have the HDD and already have the files etc, no more streaming, just a tiny little black unit next to TV

Hope this adds food for thought.

 

[Darren S]

In theory 802.11n has plenty of bandwidth to stream 1080p. Whether it works in reality is obviously dependant upon factors such as signal strength, distance between devices, obstacles in the way etc..

I know you like a simple yes or no answer Roy but I'm afraid it's not that simple.

^^^ - the exact reasons why if I was ever bother to have a media server, I would want it cabled. No ifs or buts, it just works - no 'grey areas' of signal strength, etc.

I still don't really get the fascination that most people have with wireless. It's almost like they need wireless everything.

D.

 

[FiXX]

How are you connected up?

True 1080p video's you will struggle with wifi, in theory it should work but Wireless N isn't that great on throughput on equipment I've tested and also online reviews confirm this.

just a simple bt homehub, 360 wireless n adaptor..... works fine for me! 1080p 10Mbps+, avi ,x264 mkv 5.1 etc etc

 

[Munson]

Several ways round this i suppose.........

Another option not mentioned would be to buy one of these:

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/7977460/Western-Digital-WD-TV-HD-Media-Player/Product.html?&_$ja=tsid:11518|cc:|prd:7977460|cat:Hard+Drives

Plug your 1tb external hdd straight into it. (YES it plays mkv files straight out the box x.264)........sound too good to be true? Kind of is, because the unit can't decode DTS. So will only work if you have a amp with optical input, which will decode the DTS. IF your files are none DTS, then u have no problem.

This is the setup i sorted my gf's father out with, he had a WD blackbook 1tb thing, so it matched the above device in looks etc, hooked it up to his amp (who can seriously appreciate bluray without surround sound hay) switched on his TV and amp, hits play, job done.

If you have the amp, then this maybe the 2nd cheapest option over the PoE. As you already have the HDD and already have the files etc, no more streaming, just a tiny little black unit next to TV

Hope this adds food for thought.

Cheers for that. I may investigate this further. Yeah my amp has a million inputs, so the dts thing is no big deal.

I still don't really get the fascination that most people have with wireless. It's almost like they need wireless everything.

D.

Maybe it's something to do with me not wanting ethernet leads draped across my living room, and not wanting to keep wiring/unwiring them. Just as I explained in the OP. It's not a cool look, and it's a pain in the ass having to keep reconfiguring the PS3's network connection.

Anyway, I think I will go the media player route and plug content directly into it, as per the link above. JD.

 

[Mark One]

Do PS3s support Gigabit LAN on the ethernet port?

If so, theres your answer. Run a cable. Everything works better on cables. I don't bother with wireless now. I just run a cable no matter how much fuss it is.

 

[Munson]

I don't want to run a cable. Hence the thread.

 

[David]

to answer your question. no i tried it with a colleague and it still judders with 1080p content. to resolve he bought a wdtv live and hooks a 1.5tb ntfs drive up to that. works fine for mkv's although any converted files with dts encoding for the ps3 no longer function so he had to redownload his movie collection pretty much from scratch. i run cables myself. the only other thing i can think of is buying a 500g 2.5" bash that in the ps3, then copy content over wireless before you play it. which imo is a pain in the ass but would solve the issue despite having to wait x amount of time and deleting the movie afterwards.

in your case it would seem plugging ur hdd into a wdtv live (around £100) solves the issue.

 

[Munson]

Yeah I've copied stuff over before but it get's tiresome eventually and needs to be pre planned, which rules out spur of the moment choices.

RE: WDTV - It also doesn't decode Dolby Digital beyond 2-channels, let alone dts. I'd have to toslink it into my amp, which isn't a problem. That would give me both DD5.1 and dts.

 

[McBunny]

when it comes out ftw
http://www.boxee.tv/box

 

[Munson]

Wow that looks pretty f**king awesome.

 

[Revels]

The box looks good and the remote is ace but I don't like the software at all.

 

[Rasclart]

I have a small PC running Windows Home Server under the TV that performs all downloading and acts as a store etc. This connects into the LAN and then into a Popcorn Hour C200. Works a peach plus the Popcorn Hour C200 could take over your Blu Ray dutys!

However I use Wired not Wireless. I would advise heading over here, you will get a 100% solid answer here

http://www.networkedmediatank.com

 

[Rasclart]

when it comes out ftw
http://www.boxee.tv/box

Still no Popcorn Hour! SO flexible and awesome with YAMJ & the AEON skin. In a month or two it will have a RICH UI and be even more sweet!

 

[Munson]

Thanks sweetie. Popcorn Hours are a bit more than I'd like to spend TBH.

EDIT: Not really interested in networking. I'd just like to be able to plug in my drives and play. The WDTV thing seems like the ideal solution for me. If the PS3 supported NTFS external drives, I wouldn't even need one. c**ts. Although it doesn't natively play mkv anyway. Double c***s.

 

[Rasclart]

If you only want to plug an external drive in then why does N wireless matter?

C200 or the A200. Get it done. Pennys for a high roller like you.

 

[Munson]

Because initially I wanted a streaming solution but, as the thread has developed, I've decided that a media player to relieve the Piss3 of those duties, is a better idea.

 

[McBunny]

The box looks good and the remote is ace but I don't like the software at all.

i dont either tbh media portal is much better its odd since they are both xbmc based

 

[Munson]

In the interests of thread continuity for search results;

I just ordered the WDTV Live, which has network capability and, more importantly, outputs both DD5.1 and dts5.1 over hdmi. Should be ideal for what I want. I'll update with opinions once I've given it whirl.

 

[sneeks]

Acer Revo 3610 works perfectly for me at home running XBMC in Windows 7.

EDIT:

Just realised I've already posted in this thread.

 

[Rasclart]

I just bought a Ac Ryan Playon HD Mini for the bedroom. Works a treat

 

[Revels]

What sort of interface does that have, Roy?

You need cover art TBH.

 

[Munson]

What sort of interface does that have, Roy?

2x USB, 1x ethernet. One of the USBs can be used for a wireless adaptor but I doubt I'll be using over a network anyway. At least not initially. I'll just bang my 1TB Passport into a USB.

I only upgraded to the Live version as it handles dts.

 

[David]

yeh told ya, it's great. tiny aswell. remote is a bit shitty and turn off the folder art view if u want to use it quickly, but other than that, it's awesome.

 

[Rasclart]

2x USB, 1x ethernet. One of the USBs can be used for a wireless adaptor but I doubt I'll be using over a network anyway. At least not initially. I'll just bang my 1TB Passport into a USB.

I only upgraded to the Live version as it handles dts.

I think he means the GUI young Roy.

Another good thing about the ACRyan Play On! is that it now supports YAMJ which is full of win!