Media streaming

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Chris
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Howdy :)

Need a bit of help from anyone who's a bit more proficient in medium/advanced networking than me!

I'd like to get music from my macbook pro to my ps3! It was a very simple step with the old PC, I could just search for media servers from within the ps3, and my PC would appear. Alas, the macbook doesn't :'(

Anyone able to shed some light? I've had a look at the sharing permissions on the macbook, but there's nothing strikingly obvious to adjust!

I'd like to be able to do this without resorting to using a flippin' USB stick - why have a decent wifi network if you can't use it properly? :D
 
The PS3 needs a DLNA server for its media (This is what Windows Media Player does and other softeare). Apple uses its own version which the PS3 can't handle. You will need to find a dlna server for the Mac
 
I'm pretty sure apple doesn't do dlna and you will need an app.
 
My apologies.. Sounded like Apple were doing a DLNA client that wasn't compatible...




I'll crawl under my stone again ;)
 
In reality DNA is crap as it isn't a standard, ie a TV with dlna doesn't always mean it will play videos or even music. You have to read the small print.They need a simple way to state what each device can play.

Apple have done their own media sharing system which I hate to say works perfectly.
 
Dale_d3100 said:
Apple have done their own media sharing system which I hate to say works perfectly.
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So does a Windows share ;) The problem with DLNA is it is difficult for the client to describe it's capabilities. I have to say that if the playback device can't handle the native format, you're a tad rogered as you have to rely on the host CPU to convert. That's the way to very dicey quality....
 
Dale_d3100 said:
With many limitations

;)
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I haven't found a DLNA server (and I've tried a few ;)) that doesn't have its own limitations which, for me, have always been worse than a simple windows share...

;)
 
Twonky Server is extremely good, I can run it on a NAS or a Windows PC

I've not found any limitations. On my PS3 I access through DLNA and on my Netgear via Windows share (it builds its own database stored on the SMB share). The PS3 is more flexible. I can also control what is shown on the PS3 from my phone or my PC, I can drop a youtube video on to the PS3 icon and it will appear on the PS3 (This is done using Skifta)

My biggest gripe though on any system is video thumbnails. This is the place where XBMC got it right and it is the only place that has gotten it right.
 
Video thumbnails - not sure what you mean there.

I haven't found a DLNA server that serves up video (and this is what we use mostly) in a logical way. They are either direct representations of the underlying directory structure (so what's the advantage of a DLNA server in this case?) or views through the media sliced via metadata - which often isn't logical for video devices.

I've gone the direction where (other than the distinction between h/w that can play only SD clips and we have some here) every end device has the power to play all data on the server and doesn't need a server at the other end to hold its hand.

I don't have a smartphone, nor a tablet (they're not powerful enough to play full HD movies yet so of limited use) and I don't watch YouTube on a 50" screen (that's what the PC is for!). Dragging and dropping stuff doesn't appeal either. I'm very happy with a remote control and browsing on the screen. Perhaps I'm just old skool though ;)
 
arad85 said:
Video thumbnails - not sure what you mean there.

I haven't found a DLNA server that serves up video (and this is what we use mostly) in a logical way. They are either direct representations of the underlying directory structure (so what's the advantage of a DLNA server in this case?) or views through the media sliced via metadata - which often isn't logical for video devices.
Click to expand...

Year, genre, folder, tags. I think if you even go through and tag the files by actor, director etc. you can serve it up in that way. You just need a DLNA server you can configure the tree structure in.

Video Thumbnails - on XBMC it will go and get the DVD cover/film poster images for all the films. This made it great when my 2 year old was selecting a film as she would recognise the picture.

Some systems will great a thumbnail of 10 seconds in, this gives me the amazing selection between 50 20th Century Fox films, 50 paramount or 20 pixar films as 10 seconds in, you are still on the production company animation.

The PS3 is crap at handling thumbnails for films, Windows file sharing is also crap at thumbnails for films.

I want DVD art for my films, is it too much to ask for?
 
make your life easier.

Just buy an appleTV for a hundred quid and miss out the ps3 altogether. The interface and boot up time are also much nicer as well as all the added benefits you have from airplay, ipad 2 wirelss mirroring etc etc you may want to use down the road
 
neil_g said:
but no 1080 support unfortunately
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nope.

i can't honestly say that i can notice much difference between 1080p and 720p though so it's fine for me. With downloaded and streamed media I mean.

If i stick a blu ray disk in my ps3 thats 1080p I can see a world of difference, but if I run a 720p and a 1080p video on my mac both at full screen, they look the same to me - or at least not different enough for me to care
 
joescrivens said:
nope.

i can't honestly say that i can notice much difference between 1080p and 720p though so it's fine for me. With downloaded and streamed media I mean.

If i stick a blu ray disk in my ps3 thats 1080p I can see a world of difference, but if I run a 720p and a 1080p video on my mac both at full screen, they look the same to me - or at least not different enough for me to care
Click to expand...

it is a bit slow of apple not to be up with the times though. its not like 1080 is new..
 
Dale_d3100 said:
Year, genre, folder, tags. I think if you even go through and tag the files by actor, director etc. you can serve it up in that way. You just need a DLNA server you can configure the tree structure in.
Click to expand...
What I mean is, I don't often use anything but the film name to search for a film. I admit that sometimes we want to watch something along the lines of a comedy we haven't seen yet but just browse the library with the film info switched on in the media browsing screen.

Dale_d3100 said:
Video Thumbnails - on XBMC it will go and get the DVD cover/film poster images for all the films. This made it great when my 2 year old was selecting a film as she would recognise the picture.
Click to expand...
Doh. Yes of course. Thumbnail and fanart all displayed when you navigate over a folder here.

Dale_d3100 said:
The PS3 is crap at handling thumbnails for films, Windows file sharing is also crap at thumbnails for films.
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Not when you have a system that generates the views through a database system ;) But as you said, xbmc does do that well ;)

Dale_d3100 said:
I want DVD art for my films, is it too much to ask for?
Click to expand...
No ;)
 
neil_g said:
my ipad2 quite happily plays 8gb~ HD MKV :) although not streamed, thats transferred to internal storage first.
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I might just as well watch it on a PC or TV then that can stream it. The only real use is then when I go elsewhere and I'm still too tied to a keyboard....
 
neil_g said:
my ipad2 quite happily plays 8gb~ HD MKV :) although not streamed, thats transferred to internal storage first.
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Have to say I didn't notice the ipad2 had full 1080p support. It still lacks DTS support though :rolleyes:
 
neil_g said:
stereo FTW :D just roll out the senns.
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You're missing the point. The source material is in DTS. I know the device can't do better than stereo, but it doesn't support my source format, so it's useless to me.
 
neil_g said:
most of my rips have DTS source
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So you're playing DTS through the ipad2? Doesn't say it's supported on the specs page.

Is there not something which allows the ipad to read off a windows share?
 
arad85 said:
So you're playing DTS through the ipad2? Doesn't say it's supported on the specs page.

Is there not something which allows the ipad to read off a windows share?
Click to expand...

DTS decoding/downmixing is only a codec though, ive got a player app that supports DTS and AC3.

if you jailbreak you can get an XBMC app that lets you playback from shares.
 
neil_g said:
if you jailbreak you can get an XBMC app that lets you playback from shares.
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<stokes chin> Is this the first Apple product I'm tempted by I wonder..... (probably not as I have enough ways of watching video in the house).
 
arad85 said:
<stokes chin> Is this the first Apple product I'm tempted by I wonder..... (probably not as I have enough ways of watching video in the house).
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do you have a way of watching video whilst on the toilet though? :D:D
 
Don't you normally pee on apple products? :lol:

;)
 
Dale_d3100 said:
Don't you normally pee on apple products? :lol:

;)
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No 1's or No 2's. Seems the ipad can handle both.... :D

In seriousness, with all the conversations going on over the last few days about these things, the more I'm realising that we're setup differently chez arad85 to others.

We have 2 main rooms with TVs/hifis in. Both have PCs running xbmc so we can access all media through the TV/hifi with remote controls. There are 3 of us here and most of the time, that suffices. If it doesn't, there's always a PC to use running xbmc. There are a silly numbers of TVs here - at least one in each bedroom plus the other two in the living rooms (no I don't have one in the loo!) so live TV isn't a problem.

Neither of us commute by public transport (we mainly work from home and if we do commute it is by car, so no opportunity to use these things to while away the time whilst travelling). If I can't listen to music quite loudly (i.e. loudly enough to annoy people in other rooms), I tend not to bother and would rather be online than listening to music on headphones (or even doing both at the same time). My partner isn't interested in music other than background music and would rather watch TV/videos than listen to music.

Any online video content is always viewed on a PC, not on a TV as the quality isn't good enough to view on a large screen at the moment. Any online web pages that need to be shared can be done directly on the TV as both xbmcs have keyboards.

Our personal media needs tend to be handled by replicating hardware around the house, as we find it more useful that way. I can see that people may prefer to have personal devices if their needs are different though.
 
arad85 said:
Any online video content is always viewed on a PC, not on a TV as the quality isn't good enough to view on a large screen at the moment.
Click to expand...

can you elaborate?

I watch youtube on my 50 inch HD tv through AppleTV in 720p

Also bbc iplayer through my freesat box streamed in high quality is as good as standard definition tv channels
 
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