Yeah, better menus definitely trumps the advantages of the PS3, including the ability to play more formats.
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Apple TV vs Playstation 3
- Thread starter Digitalflick
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Yeah, better menus definitely trumps the advantages of the PS3, including the ability to play more formats.
Well, as someone who has both (got both at release), I can say that they are both fabulous products with their own strengths; and as has been alluded to, the PS3 is likely to get even better soon.
As of today; however, with the exception of a few tests which worked just fine, I don't do vid or music on my PS3. It already is the best blu-ray option out there and is the only one that's ready for the next round of upgrades today [That is to say, it is completely forward compatible while no other BR player on the market is.]
There are many advantages to the PS3, keyboard, mouse, better/fuller interwebs browsing (err uhh by "better/fuller" - I mean - existent), streaming photos is easier and way slicker on the PS3 (IMO), and it actually has CD, DVD playback with fantastic upscaling and a neat selection of visualizers, etc. Controlling it with a game controller is LAME, but the Bluetooth remote KICKS YKW!
To me, the question comes down to this (if you must choose): do you want to go all digital or do you want to do it all/in one box (or parabola?) with optical disk/removable flash card expansion slots.
Those folk with their noses in the air saying they don't play vidya games (well, la tee da.) need to take a closer look; the PS3 is an awesome piece of equipment in every respect. Don't forget easy expansion/transfer via sd/msp.
The PS3 is easily the more broadly capable device, and it is just as slick and solid as anything Jobs and company are making. As such, it's not [as some have suggested] a completely inane comparison. For the well educated technophile, it is a very interesting choice/question.
There is not a single thing [broadly- please no one insult my or their own intelligence by making some obvious and inane comment like "you can't download rentals from iTunes"] that ATV can do that PS3 cannot, the converse is not true.
As of today; however, with the exception of a few tests which worked just fine, I don't do vid or music on my PS3. It already is the best blu-ray option out there and is the only one that's ready for the next round of upgrades today [That is to say, it is completely forward compatible while no other BR player on the market is.]
There are many advantages to the PS3, keyboard, mouse, better/fuller interwebs browsing (err uhh by "better/fuller" - I mean - existent), streaming photos is easier and way slicker on the PS3 (IMO), and it actually has CD, DVD playback with fantastic upscaling and a neat selection of visualizers, etc. Controlling it with a game controller is LAME, but the Bluetooth remote KICKS YKW!
To me, the question comes down to this (if you must choose): do you want to go all digital or do you want to do it all/in one box (or parabola?) with optical disk/removable flash card expansion slots.
Those folk with their noses in the air saying they don't play vidya games (well, la tee da.) need to take a closer look; the PS3 is an awesome piece of equipment in every respect. Don't forget easy expansion/transfer via sd/msp.
The PS3 is easily the more broadly capable device, and it is just as slick and solid as anything Jobs and company are making. As such, it's not [as some have suggested] a completely inane comparison. For the well educated technophile, it is a very interesting choice/question.
There is not a single thing [broadly- please no one insult my or their own intelligence by making some obvious and inane comment like "you can't download rentals from iTunes"] that ATV can do that PS3 cannot, the converse is not true.
I have to agree. I love them both. The BluRay is excellent as well as the bluetooth remote. Web browsing is clumsy, but at least it exists. And of course the gaming. (Which I play sometimes)
But if I am going to look at trailers, podcasts, etc. or listen to my iTunes library then Apple TV is great.
Choosing one or the other would be tough. (except on my remote)
But if I am going to look at trailers, podcasts, etc. or listen to my iTunes library then Apple TV is great.
Choosing one or the other would be tough. (except on my remote)
PS3 + Medialink = ATV substitute. with Medialink, you can stream your music, photos, and videos from your Mac to your PS3. also, with the PS3's remote play function, you can stream that content straight to your PSP. theres the obvious advantages that ATV as over PS3 like movie rentals, flickr, youtube and stuff but i think the PS3 has an upperhand.
I must admit I love my PS3's bluetooth remote. Although I can't break myself from aiming it at the TV when I use it.
Even with MediaLink there are multiple problems with PS3's handling of video and audio files.
No fault of Nullriver, the PS3 is just extremely picky with regards to video files especially MPEG-4.
Many of my iTunes video podcasts won't work on the PS3 (using MediaLink or directly) unless I apply the so-called QuickTime badge to their respective video files.
If Sony would bring the PlayStation media interface inline with something more modern the PS3 would be a killer media platform. Also, drop the stupid 2GB file size limit and fix the QT header data issue.
"PS3's remote play function, you can stream that content straight to your PSP."
Oh snap! I can't believe I forgot to mention that. It really is analogous to the iPod, ATV, iTunes ecosphere in many ways. I love my PSP/PS3 and iPods/ATV, I wouldn't give any of them up. But in fairness, my PSP is pretty dusty right now; While my 160gb Classic is never out of my reach day or night.
Oh snap! I can't believe I forgot to mention that. It really is analogous to the iPod, ATV, iTunes ecosphere in many ways. I love my PSP/PS3 and iPods/ATV, I wouldn't give any of them up. But in fairness, my PSP is pretty dusty right now; While my 160gb Classic is never out of my reach day or night.
Dude! You're not kidding! Zune software integrate with XBOX 360? HA!!! It doesn't even 'integrate' with the Zune, or Windows!! HAH HA HA HA! This is the biggest peice of crap ever foisted onto the marketplace. That's not hyperbole, that's for realz!
http://forums.zune.net/89626/ShowPost.aspx
http://forums.zune.net/3247/ShowPost.aspx [even though the mods locked this one nearly a month ago, it remains one of the bigest and most viewed thread on the board]
Yikes!
My Take...
To be honest I've owned both and if you take the gaming and blu-ray playback out of the mix (because only 1 machine can achieve those goals)... they both lose to my lowly Xbox (original) running XMBC. I have a 1.5 TB NAS with built in uPNP, SMB, AFP, iTunes music server, etc etc (It's a ReadyNAS NV, Infrant (now Netgear))... an amazing little box. I would actually LOVE to replace my aging ugly and noisy Xbox XBMC with an
TV, but the one thing that hold me back is not being able to stream from my NAS via uPNP (which pretty much anything coming out these days supports... PS3, heck even my DirecTV sat receiver just got an update than can stream from my uPNP server). If it could do that (or just mount my AFP media share like I do on my Macs via a shortcut in my Movies folder)... it would be perfect: HDMI, enough power to do 720p... h.264, mp4, nice interface, etc etc. I really do not understand why Apple has chosen not to add support for that protocol (uPNP) into the OS. Sony has done it on the PS3 and they are a movie company amongst other things.
Anyway... just my 2 cents.... the PS3 does get the nod as it does support uPNP... and does stream quite nicely... HD content etc. DivX is fine and dandy but I am going for best quality. My XBMC mounts ISO's directly and it's just like you inserted the DVD into the machine; menus extras, etc. 100% quality.
To be honest I've owned both and if you take the gaming and blu-ray playback out of the mix (because only 1 machine can achieve those goals)... they both lose to my lowly Xbox (original) running XMBC. I have a 1.5 TB NAS with built in uPNP, SMB, AFP, iTunes music server, etc etc (It's a ReadyNAS NV, Infrant (now Netgear))... an amazing little box. I would actually LOVE to replace my aging ugly and noisy Xbox XBMC with an
TV, but the one thing that hold me back is not being able to stream from my NAS via uPNP (which pretty much anything coming out these days supports... PS3, heck even my DirecTV sat receiver just got an update than can stream from my uPNP server). If it could do that (or just mount my AFP media share like I do on my Macs via a shortcut in my Movies folder)... it would be perfect: HDMI, enough power to do 720p... h.264, mp4, nice interface, etc etc. I really do not understand why Apple has chosen not to add support for that protocol (uPNP) into the OS. Sony has done it on the PS3 and they are a movie company amongst other things.Anyway... just my 2 cents.... the PS3 does get the nod as it does support uPNP... and does stream quite nicely... HD content etc. DivX is fine and dandy but I am going for best quality. My XBMC mounts ISO's directly and it's just like you inserted the DVD into the machine; menus extras, etc. 100% quality.
To be honest I've owned both and if you take the gaming and blu-ray playback out of the mix (because only 1 machine can achieve those goals)... they both lose to my lowly Xbox (original) running XMBC. I have a 1.5 TB NAS with built in uPNP, SMB, AFP, iTunes music server, etc etc (It's a ReadyNAS NV, Infrant (now Netgear))... an amazing little box. I would actually LOVE to replace my aging ugly and noisy Xbox XBMC with an
Anyway... just my 2 cents.... the PS3 does get the nod as it does support uPNP... and does stream quite nicely... HD content etc. DivX is fine and dandy but I am going for best quality. My XBMC mounts ISO's directly and it's just like you inserted the DVD into the machine; menus extras, etc. 100% quality.
Honestly, since I discovered mkv2vob, my appleTV has been collecting dust. I only use it for the occasional rental or show purchase. All other media I run through the PS3 via MediaLink which for me has been rock solid.
Hey Mikey,
Have you noticed that any file created by mkv2vob over 4gb you cannot play the entire video. What happens is when you play the file, it will play the video and at a certain point, it will just stop playing. When you go to info, the duration of the movie is way off. When I use the split feature of mkv2vob, and split the files, the movie plays fine. Both files show the video duration exactly what it should be.
I heard the new Medialink 1.3 version fixes this problem, but i dont know. Any problems on your end?
Have you noticed that any file created by mkv2vob over 4gb you cannot play the entire video. What happens is when you play the file, it will play the video and at a certain point, it will just stop playing. When you go to info, the duration of the movie is way off. When I use the split feature of mkv2vob, and split the files, the movie plays fine. Both files show the video duration exactly what it should be.
I heard the new Medialink 1.3 version fixes this problem, but i dont know. Any problems on your end?
I have this problem also. I have installed the new version of Medialink and the problem is still there.
I have the same problem with medialink. EyeConnect and Twonkymedia worked, but are less elegant solutions than MediaLink.
Twonkymedia has not worked for me. The server keeps on disconnecting on my PS3. It will show up for around 60 seconds, and then it will disconnect, and reappear. I have tried port forwarding, reset my router, upgrade my firmware on the router, still no go. Twonkymedia on a Windows PC, using the same equipment, works perfect.
Only if Medialink can stream files over 4gb, including vob, it would be a perfect solution.
Only if Medialink can stream files over 4gb, including vob, it would be a perfect solution.
I'll go with the AppleTV, its better for me. I'm based on iTunes media, so the AppleTV makes sense...I love the fact I can buy a show downstairs, watch it as I eat, finish eatting and come up stairs to finish it.
I own both and although I think the PS3 is a fantastic Blu-ray player, I prefer the GUI of Apple TV for all of my video/audio content that's stored on my hard drives. Plus I have a lot of content that was purchased from iTunes so it's just easier to use the Apple TV.
For those of you with PS3's I have a question. How reliable has your network connection been? I just hacked my Xbox (original) to use XBMC and tried to stream videos to it from my Mac. The only way I could get anything on my xbox was to choose the SMB option and then the connection would drop out after a couple of seconds. I tried EyeConnect, Twonky, and MediaShare and nothing worked. I'm really trying to decide between the tv and the PS3, but the networking horrors of the xbox have me leaning toward the tv at the moment. I really only want to stream DIVX files, and a couple HD podcasts from iTunes. The Blu-Ray and game support would be an added welcome bonus from the PS3.
tv and the PS3, but the networking horrors of the xbox have me leaning toward the tv at the moment. I really only want to stream DIVX files, and a couple HD podcasts from iTunes. The Blu-Ray and game support would be an added welcome bonus from the PS3.
DIVX, does it mean the container is AVI or ...? TV only supports whatever that iTunes does. Unless you've lots of content on iTunes or don't mind spending hours converting or ripping whatsoever, then TV would be a good choice for you.
TV only supports whatever that iTunes does. Unless you've lots of content on iTunes or don't mind spending hours converting or ripping whatsoever, then TV would be a good choice for you.
For those of you with PS3's I have a question. How reliable has your network connection been? I just hacked my Xbox (original) to use XBMC and tried to stream videos to it from my Mac. The only way I could get anything on my xbox was to choose the SMB option and then the connection would drop out after a couple of seconds. I tried EyeConnect, Twonky, and MediaShare and nothing worked. I'm really trying to decide between the
Well, to the direct question, 100% reliable on the PS3 network connection. It has a gigabit which is nice if your connecting it to a GB router/switch.
Now, I've been using XBMC on 2 xboxs for almost 2 years, and have had beautiful performance with it. There are a few things I would ask about your setup...
First off, what is your network setup to each device? Wired, wireless..?
Secondly, what kind of router/switch do you have and what speed?
Finally, keep in mind that the venerable xbox is pretty old hardware (a 733 mhz celeron: intels budget proc). It is absolutely not capable of handling any HD content with consistent results, and I've had trouble with x.264 encoding if the bit rate is too high. For my usage, I've either ripped to an ISO file which is FLAWLESS performance wise on XBMC (since it's an image of a DVD with compression/bitrates the hardware can handle since it can play DVD's)... and MP4 compression using handbrake. I encode at whatever the bit rate falls at specifying a 2gb file max (2048mb). This is the max size give or take that the XBMC can handle without losing the ability to fast forward / rewind while watching. Bigger than 2gb and things get a little wiggy. Again, MP4 video compression, not x.264. Now x.264 will play, but the bit rate has to be lower than what your mac or an apple TV can handle. I spent a ton of time doing side by side comparisons of MP4 vs x.264 at the highest bitrate that would play on XBMC and found that MP4 was better in quality (given the bitrates that were available).
My Mac is wireless, gets a constant 270mbps connection to my router (802.11n) and my XBMC and server where my video is stored are both wired (server at GB, xbox 100bt of course).
Hope that helps... like I said, give some consideration to your network setup, if your trying to do streaming to the xbmc wireless (esp. on a less than high performance wireless connection) you will have problems.
Also on the protocol front, go with SMB; It's the most reliable by far. FTP into your XBMC and pull off sources.xml and edit to your liking. You can take adavantage of the <DEFAULT> </DEFAULT> tag and make xbmc hop right on your share when you go into Videos...
Please hold the blow torches but... I will add that I've not come across any set top media extender type device that even comes close to the interface and functionality of XBMC. I'm SO looking forward to when the mac port is complete and ready for prime time. A MINI will replace my fugly xbox on that day!!!
Well, to the direct question, 100% reliable on the PS3 network connection. It has a gigabit which is nice if your connecting it to a GB router/switch.
Now, I've been using XBMC on 2 xboxs for almost 2 years, and have had beautiful performance with it. There are a few things I would ask about your setup...
First off, what is your network setup to each device? Wired, wireless..?
Secondly, what kind of router/switch do you have and what speed?
Finally, keep in mind that the venerable xbox is pretty old hardware (a 733 mhz celeron: intels budget proc). It is absolutely not capable of handling any HD content with consistent results, and I've had trouble with x.264 encoding if the bit rate is too high. For my usage, I've either ripped to an ISO file which is FLAWLESS performance wise on XBMC (since it's an image of a DVD with compression/bitrates the hardware can handle since it can play DVD's)... and MP4 compression using handbrake. I encode at whatever the bit rate falls at specifying a 2gb file max (2048mb). This is the max size give or take that the XBMC can handle without losing the ability to fast forward / rewind while watching. Bigger than 2gb and things get a little wiggy. Again, MP4 video compression, not x.264. Now x.264 will play, but the bit rate has to be lower than what your mac or an apple TV can handle. I spent a ton of time doing side by side comparisons of MP4 vs x.264 at the highest bitrate that would play on XBMC and found that MP4 was better in quality (given the bitrates that were available).
My Mac is wireless, gets a constant 270mbps connection to my router (802.11n) and my XBMC and server where my video is stored are both wired (server at GB, xbox 100bt of course).
Hope that helps... like I said, give some consideration to your network setup, if your trying to do streaming to the xbmc wireless (esp. on a less than high performance wireless connection) you will have problems.
Also on the protocol front, go with SMB; It's the most reliable by far. FTP into your XBMC and pull off sources.xml and edit to your liking. You can take adavantage of the <DEFAULT> </DEFAULT> tag and make xbmc hop right on your share when you go into Videos...
Please hold the blow torches but... I will add that I've not come across any set top media extender type device that even comes close to the interface and functionality of XBMC. I'm SO looking forward to when the mac port is complete and ready for prime time. A MINI will replace my fugly xbox on that day!!!
PM sent with my information.
I'm having the same problem, I converted some mkv's to mp4 using the latest mkv2vob and then copied them to the PS3 via medialink.
I checked the first few minutes of each one and each was fine, so I deleted the original files from my mac. The next day I realised each file, even under 4 Gb did not play past the incorrectly reported size. I assumed this was a problem with the mkv2vob trancode I did under parallels, but reading this thread I think it might be a medialink problem. And actually one of the files I converted using visualhub but that still reports the wrong size, is medialink corrupting files as it copies them over?
Is anyone else having problems after copying the files or is it just when they are streaming?
Is it possible to transfer movies from an external hdd (250) powered bus to the ps3? everytime i connect my hdd, it doesn't get recognized by the ps3
you must be doing it wrong. make sure that harddrive is FAT32, then when it appears press triangle and select "show all".
ps3 is far superior to the apple tv, eventhough, yea, the interface is not as slick... but does the apple tv play metal gear solid 4 and/or blurays? didn't think so
I think your ps3 has a problem. I can't hear mine, at all.
Or maybe you're a bat... then it's quite impressive you're posting on a mac message board.
I'm quoting myself here, just in-case anyone has this problem, but I have fixed it after speaking to nullsoft. It seems to be a known bug, but it's fixed in medialink 1.33...