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PS3 instead of AppleTV

I use Visualhub to convert the mkv's to AVI to stream to my PS3 using medialink, works really well, as does Medialink though I confess I've both systems wired into my router so can't comment on wireless performance of the streaming.
 
neiltc13 said:
The difference in price is £100. I'm pretty sure it's a valid comparison considering that PS3 can do everything that Apple TV can.
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Well, it can't rent iTunes movies or play DRMd iTunes stuff. Luckily Requiem will decrypt your TV shows, music and movies. 😀

I have a PS3, but I'd rather have an AppleTV. I never use the gaming portion of the PS3, I only use it to play movies and stuff, and as of late I've just been getting all of my TV shows from the iTMS. I just decrypt them and play them on my PS3 but it wish I would just play them, the AppleTV can just play them. 😀

If anyone wants to trade me like $100 and their AppleTV for my PS3, I would so do it right now.
 
If you are in the US then you'll have noticed that PS3 has its own store packed with video content. It's coming to Europe some time next year.
 
You can play anything you record with EyeTv on the playstation over medialink. Including 1080i programs with 5.1 audio.
 
The General said:
Well, it can't rent iTunes movies or play DRMd iTunes stuff. Luckily Requiem will decrypt your TV shows, music and movies. 😀

I have a PS3, but I'd rather have an AppleTV. I never use the gaming portion of the PS3, I only use it to play movies and stuff, and as of late I've just been getting all of my TV shows from the iTMS. I just decrypt them and play them on my PS3 but it wish I would just play them, the AppleTV can just play them. 😀

If anyone wants to trade me like $100 and their AppleTV for my PS3, I would so do it right now.
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We too buy some TV shows from iTMS - episodes we miss, and some shows from networks our cable provider does not carry.

I have both the PS3 and Apple TV and also a WII ( this is a lot of fun )

Useages are .......

PS3 - Play Blu-Ray DVD's & Some gaming by the kids
Apple TV - TV Shows and other iTMS - DVD Movies ( non Blu-Ray type )






But we have a problem ......

We added a WII console with WII Sports and WII Fit. It gets more use than the PS3 and Apple TV combined.
 
I have an AppleTV and a PS3. They both get the job done, however, my AppleTV has worked FLAWLESSLY. My PS3, using that nullriver software, pretty much won't stream anything over my N network. The AppleTV streams just fine from the same computer. So basically I have to copy over each video file I want to watch on the PS3 first, and then play it locally. This can take as much as 20-30 minutes with the ****** G card that is in the Playstation.

If I had to use only one for a media center, it would be the AppleTV hands down. But I enjoy the games and the blu-ray player of the PS3 - also, since it was a gift, I did not have to drop 400 bucks +tax to get it.
 
spydr said:
This was my logic when I traded my apple TV for PS3.

Now it is clear that I use the media center aspect of PS3 way more than playing blu-ray or games. And for media center streaming, all I can say is that it is barely acceptable at best.

It is a bit infuriating that it cannot wake up my mac when I want to browse the media (will have to go wake up the mac and then browse the media in PS3). But what is downright unacceptable is that my movie will suddenly stop playing and that is because my mac has gone to sleep! Can't Medialink even keep the media playing without letting the system go to sleep? Also, quite a few mp4 files that I made with handbrake won't play on the PS3. It is very annoying that while it can play a few more formats, one can still not be sure if a given mp4 file will be playable (though it will play perfectly on the mac).

So, the bottom line is: If you are going to use PS3 for mostly media streaming, apple TV is a way better option. For $199, you get a seamless connection with a stunning UI. PS3 doesn't quite cut it.
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I know this was an older post but, why don't you use a program called "jiggler." http://www.sticksoftware.com/software/Jiggler.html Basically it "jiggles" your mouse cursor at a set # of minutes to keep your computer from going to sleep. It is free and easier than changing your settings back and forth.
 
AppleTV was a last thought BUT ........

I held off for ages buying one because I figured I wouldn't need but this is by far the best Apple Product I've ever bought, in a heartbeat get it.
You don't really need a 160gb over a 40gb because you'll probably just end up streaming content from your mac computer when iTunes is open.
I love it, I don't care that I have to encode stuff from .avi etc to play it's just awesome.
The Last Apple Product I bought but the most useful - i have a ps3 no comparison, this is Apple man you know everything they make is useful and just works easy !
 
shpxnvz said:
Be sure to try the MediaLink demo before purchasing. Some of us are experiencing DLNA protocol errors using MediaLink with the latest PS3 firmware, and NullRiver does not appear to ever respond to support requests.
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I experienced the same DLNA protocol issues using MediaLink v1.59 and PS3 firmware v2.40+. Sent a couple support requests to NullRiver, but never got a response either.

I just checked and I see that NullRiver has a new version of MediaLink available (v1.7) that claims it "Fixes major video streaming bug when using a high speed connection (Caused random errors during streaming)". Has anyone tried this new version? Any luck? I'll try it tonight when I get home.

Another media streaming option for the more technically inclined is MediaTomb, which has worked very well for me streaming video from my iMac to my PS3.
 
I have both a PS3 and an ATV as well, and I prefer the ATV setup MUCH BETTER than the PS3. i LOVE my PS3 for games and blu-ray but for playing ripped content/music/ect ATV is the better way to go.
 
I debated the same thing and I went with the ps3 because I love the blu-ray player and I do play the occasional game.
The only issue was you can't play stuff you bought through iTunes, but I guess a poster above said you can decrypt it anyway (thanks, gotta get on that!).
I use medialink wirelessly and it works fine for me. It is great and I stream all my shows and also use the USB port to to plug in a HDD/Flash drive to watch videos.
Apple TV is great but I find its limited to just iTunes Store, which I personally don't spend too much on 😉
 
shpxnvz said:
Be sure to try the MediaLink demo before purchasing. Some of us are experiencing DLNA protocol errors using MediaLink with the latest PS3 firmware, and NullRiver does not appear to ever respond to support requests.
Click to expand...

Same here ... but re-reading this thread i downloaded new version and it does seem to fix issues.....

I just wish they would answer support emails .... especially when you've paid them money!
 
I wouldn't consider the Apple TV. I recently got a PS3 as I am a gamer sick of Microsoft's warranty on the XBOX 360 and I just got playTV for £50. It's amazing. I think it's great. Just turned my 42" plasma screen into a TV 😎
 
Why PS3...?

I know its the equivalent of the antichrist but looking at your needs why even consider a PS3??

A 360 hooked up by nullrivers Connect360 is flawless..it really is...and for media streaming more format support and you could even get away with the arcade version and save $$$!!!

the only downside is the need for the wireless adapter or just hook it with cat5 and it will work great.

As a bonus all the best games are on 360.

At worst you could buy both for similar money to a Ps3.

(PS3 price cut rumoured soon..google)
 
Re-work on kit - my PS3 v my Apple TV

Well, over the weekend, I 'updated' my Apple TV with the XBMC for Apple TV software via a patchstick. 😎

I already had a PS3 which I used to play my mix of umm err 'media' 😱 on, which was held on a mac mini running mediatomb. However, some 'media' would result in playing for a few minutes then throwing up a dnla error and then I'd have to copy the 'media' to the ps3 disk before I could watch it. 🙁

In steps the ATV now with XBMC. I still get all my iTunes media (but need my mac turned on), but I can now access all the other stuff on the mediatomb server. This is much better than the PS3 at playing media back including .avi, .mkv files - no sign of a DNLA error and more media types play straight off. I don't have to convert these any more to play on the ATV, and I don't get the noise of these fans going on the PS3 spoiling the quite bits. 😀

Yesterday, I've stored all the video on the mediatomb server, and changed the ATV to sync just the music off my Mac's iTunes - even better. Now, I don't need to leave my main Mac on while listening to music in the lounge. The interface in XMBC isn't bad, much better than that on the PS3. It adds a couple of menu items to the standard ATV menu, one of which launches the XMBC player. It took a while to set-up the screen on my 42" screen to get the correct 16:9 picture without distorting the picture, but once done I love it. My ATV plays just about anything - my mac mini with 4 external hard disks holds stuff that goes back over 15 years and pre-dates my return to mac's from the Windoze and OS/2 world.

Thing to do now, is to get a 2tb NAS with built-in DNLA server to replace the mac mini, then I can reduce some of the duplicate pictures, video and music I have currently spread across the 4 external disks/mac mini and main iMac.
 
I too have both and I can say that I do not regret either one.

I replaced the HD on the PS3 and store all my non iTunes movies ripped from dvd. it is really great to have them all so easily available.

I use the ATV for all my purchases on iTunes. And that woks very very well.

having blu ray and games is also an excellent advantage. You won't regret them.

Best wishes
 
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