Playstation 3 for HD home videos?

[samirkharusi]

My query is how to facilitate storing and playback of my HD videos. I want to retain top quality, 1080 etc, as they come out of my Canon HV20 HDTV camera. Most of my edited video files are larger than 4GB each, so it seems I cannot use an ext hard drive formatted to FAT32 (4GB limit per file) to connect to a PS3 via USB. I could swop out the internal drive in the PS3 to, say 250GB, to get room for storage, but then how do I load the video files into it since I run into the same 4GB/file limit? I tried media sharing but I could not get the PS3 to share with my PC. With enough attention and a waste of many days I probably could manage it one day, but before going there, I want to be sure that the result will be worth it. The issue I foresee is that the streaming speed may not be sufficient. I tried media sharing between 2 PCs and that works fine for music but HD 1080 video breaks up. Recall that I want full 1080, mpeg2 quality, etc. Could of course be that one of the PCs is simply too slow (old video card) and possibly the PS3 will not show breakups. Has anyone successfully shared media between the PS3 and a PC at 1080 without breakups with m2t files larger than 4GB? How? I use a wired LAN connection to a home router.

I have no problems putting an m2t file with 1080 edited video on a USB drive or on an ext hard drive through USB to playback beautifully through the PS3, as long as each file is under 4GB (that FAT32 limitation).

[billthecat]

I have the same problem. I assume the solution is to set up a media server that is compatible with the PS3. I found a list of free software but haven't been able to get them to work yet. I'll keep trying. HDV is 25Mbps which isn't a lot. I'd think that 100Mbps Ethernet should work.

The internal HD should not have the 4GB limit, just USB drives you attach.

Bill

[samirkharusi]

I have the same problem. I assume the solution is to set up a media server that is compatible with the PS3. I found a list of free software but haven't been able to get them to work yet. I'll keep trying. HDV is 25Mbps which isn't a lot. I'd think that 100Mbps Ethernet should work.

The internal HD should not have the 4GB limit, just USB drives you attach.

Bill
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I did in the end solve the problem by using TwonkyMedia as a media server on the PC and a Cat 5 connection to the PS3. I have since digitised all my old home videos and also added a huge number of downloaded movies, ending with about 1500 GB on the PC. All my home movies, all my photos(jpegs, not Raws) and all my music are now instantly playable through the PS3. Great! The secret is to forego Windows Media Player and simply purchase the very cheap Twonky Media, available for a 30-day free trial.Highly recommended! Unfortunately the next catch was to play my downloaded movies. Only some 10% play through the PS3, for the rest I get file errors through the PS3. Practically all of these play on a PC using Quicktime. Again, Windows Media Player is not up to snuff. I suspect that the issues are to do with copy protection. Sony is particularly anal about this, Microsoft simply inept(?), but to progress we need a next-generation attitude. I have quit buying Blu Ray discs because of Region coding. Simply too much hassle, with Europe (my Region) being price gauged. I do not know when they will all get the message that all this copy protection/Region nonsense loses them more sells than protects anything. People will always find a way around. And as Michael keeps saying, downloading is the future.

Apparently downloaded movies have no problems playing through Apple TV, but that does not seem capable of playing 1080 home vides, so one has to retain the PS3 route for now. Currently I am debating whether, for my Quicktime-playable movies, I should simply hook up a cheap PC to the TV as a monitor or get a large PC monitor for my regular PC, until the software nonsense catches up with market forces. In the meantime I keep checking the playability with the PS3 each time I do a system update.

[billthecat]

Getting the PS3 to play a video can be tricky.  

I'm trying out this converter:
http://www.mp4converter.net/ps3-video-converter-win.html

It seems to work pretty well for most stuff. I don't want to fuss, I just want to get things done.

Most of my home videos work with the PS3, but for those that don't I'm planning to use converter software.

I love BluRay movies. But in the USA I just rent them with Blockbuster on-line and only get domestic releases. My wife was angry when the PS3 wouldn't play her foreign DVD, but I hooked up our old DVD player which worked.

Bill

[jwhee0615]

Just wanted to check and see if anything has improved on this front? love to stream edited content taken from my HV30 to the PS3 and display on 58" panisonic plasma.

[samirkharusi]

Just wanted to check and see if anything has improved on this front? love to stream edited content taken from my HV30 to the PS3 and display on 58" panisonic plasma.

My latest solution: purchase a "Western Digital TV" device (WD TV). It's excellent for streaming many kinds of video formats (a major limitation in PS3) and also full 1080p (a limitation in Apple TV). The WD TV (about $150) is cigarette-pack sized and hooks up directly to a hard drive (get the WD 2-Terabyte) by USB2 and the output is on HDMI to your TV, or composite video. It even has a tiny IR remote control for selecting and controlling playback, just like a DVD player. It plays video, music, and photos. There are now several other similar gadgets, but it seems that many are hobbled on various fronts. Eg Apple TV needs a software hack to play pirated movies and, apparently, even 1080 HD. The PS3 seems rather cantankerous in accepting which video formats it is willing to play, and it is even choosy within those codecs. The WD TV seems best and most cost effective, so far. Disadvantages? You have to disconnect your external Terabyte hard drive and connect it to your PC to load it. The PS3 and Apple TV link up (even wirelessly) to your PC so the Terabyte drive can remain connected to the PC permanently. There are even combined media-streamer/external-drive devices, eg from Iomega. I bought one and was disappointed. I now just use it for backing up my PC. Major issue with many of these devices is incompatibility with video formats. It does seem that there are far too many codecs for manufacturers to keep up with. So far, the best I found is WD TV. A friend swears by Apple TV, but that seems to require a software hack to make it user-friendly enough (for 1080 HD home vides and pirated movies), not my cuppa tea. While the word "pirate" connotes unpleasantness, I am afraid that there are now more pirated downloaded movies and music than there are legally-downloaded versions. The music and movie distributers have to adjust, but in the meantime we have to live in the real world.