Streaming media to PS3 FAQ Thread

[Zhou]

On boombooms recommendation I thought I would just write up a quick guide to media streaming to ps3.

Why stream media instead of just copying it? Well for one thing, you're going to save space for those all so hard drive eating game installs. When streaming media to the ps3, it doesnt get stored to your hard drive permanently. Say you have 120gb music and videos, how are you going to fit that on your current 40gb model anyway? the answer? STREAM Not to mention Tversity at least will play any if not all the files you could throw its way. mkv, mp3, avi, rmvb etc. Also it can handle huge files fine, unlike the ps3 which natively only supports files up to 2gb.

Hopefully this guide will help and possibly save you having to buy and install a new hard drive for ps3.

When it comes to media streaming to your ps3, there is 2 options.

-Tversity which can be downloaded here. (thanks BurnZ )


-Windows media player 11

both are relatively low resource demanding programs, I have run tversity on a pentium 3 with 512mb ram and XP and it still streams at a steady rate.

Depending on your requirements, 90% of cases, you should use tversity. If you only want to stream say, the latest metallica album, wmp 11 should be fine.

step 1. open media player.
step 2. go to the library tab, click media sharing...
step 3. depending if vista/xp wants to play nice, (my vista didnt), you should see unknown device for a sharing option. Click allow. Thats it.
step 4. Make sure either your ports are forwarded for the firewall or turn if off altgoether.
step 5. reset your ps3, enable media streaming from xmb
step 6. seach for media servers on xmb. easy.


say you want to get media either dvd rips or whatever else. Prison break anyone? go ahead and download tversity. You can get it here at www.tversity.com after its installed, install as you would, theres an option somewhere in the install; saying, 'Disable Windows SSDP Discovery Service' DO NOT TURN IT OFF. it just screws you over later. Well it did for me anyway If you're looking for the one im talking about , its the 2nd option under "do you want to allow through ms firewall. Finish up by installing the codecs and what not. Dont bother with configuring it, the defaults are fine. Start tversity, and set up your directories for the media ---> pics/music/videos etc. Go to settings and start tversity media server Restart your ps3 and search for media servers. If done right, your media serer/s will be updated in the xbmc

**As a side note, unless you have a good router, it is advised to use Ethernet cable to stream the media, for music/pics its not that big an issue, but for those huge video files *cough girls gone wild? without a good wireless router or ethernet cable, its going to be a bit lag, unless you let it buffer out a bit first.

*** If you dont see your media servers, turn off your firewalls, especially ms firewall.

Any more questions just post here and I'll try to answer, BoomBoom should know a fair bit on it too

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additional notes:

As BoomBoom mentions, you may encounter "error connecting to server" errors, this may be due to programs such as zonealarm, as a fix, try temporarily disabling them. In addition, mac users may have alternatives, but I have no idea about that. Maybe someone can write up a mac steaming section to ps3?

Boomboom also suggests: using Nero Media Home as a media server, as he reports it is more stable than Tversity for him. However like other Nero software, it doesnt come free, but its a good alternative to those who already have Nero.

Capoeira suggests also using this to help you find the ports you need to forward. This is also a good site for port forwarding for games and the such. Worth a look if you still cant connect despite having disabled software firewalls.

BurnZ reports that Media Player can't stream over MP4, WMV and DIVX extension files, only AVI it appears. (Or the PS3 can't pick them up via MP), thats where tversity comes along. Effort wise, if you just want to stream music, use the wmp and it will be fine, anything else, use tversity.

ShaBTraxX, has an overview of his setup on page 2, which even I am quite impressed with, so I'm sure he can answer some questions too
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[BurnZ]

Another side note that Media Player can't stream over MP4, WMV and DIVX extension files, only AVI it appears. (Or the PS3 can't pick them up via MP)
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[Zhou]

^ my ps3 picked them up, but kept saying it wouldnt play. The manual says it supported AVI, but none of my avi files played. lies. lies. lies. T_T

WMP wouldnt play the video files, which is where tversity came into play.

but yeah i was thinking what exactly what you said, but didnt end up typing it, merely vaguely implying
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[Buttmouth]

I've had some troubles with TVersity, mostly "error connecting to server."

I'm not sure if its Zone Alarm or something like that but it frustrates the hell out of me.

Another point to make is that I think there are some other options for Mac users besides TVersity.
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[Zhou]

^ Yeah that would be the firewall. Avast was a bitch with it, till i disabled it. now its happy day for my steaming...and virus/hackers
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[Capoeira]

If people are having a hard time forwarding the ports on their routers, this site will clear all that up for you. Not only does the site list your router by its exact model number, it also contains a separate guides for each specific forwarding task. Guides for individual games, torrent programs, PSN or XBLA and yes, there's even a guide for TVersity! Remember, every single guide will be also be specific to your router, which is why I think this is the single most useful site for your port forwarding needs.
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[Zhou]

Good good, I'll integrate everyones tips and notes tonight after work. Need a mouse. <_<
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[Buttmouth]

Hey, sorry to bump, but I've been using Nero Media Home as a media server for a while now.
It seems a bit more stable than TVersity for me, probably because its had a bit more funding
behind it. Anyways just though I'd mention that there's that option - for people who already run Nero.

Also, would it be possible to get this thread stickied?
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[nugget]

I also have a question and +1 to this being stickied.

I tried to stream my music to my ps3 from WMP my PS3 found the server and all of its sub folders but it showed none of my music. Most of it is mp3 which im sure the ps3 is capable of playing.

So im not too sure what's happening here.

[Zhou]

^ I find that wmp is a bit picky of files that it will or will not play.

Try shortening the file names for a start, and as a test, find a file that you cant access, just put it into the main folder.. for example.

C:
Music
--> test01
----> test.mp3

See if it will find that..

If after that it doesnt work, try using either tversity, or as boomboom suggested, use Nero Media Home.

p.s Boomboom your suggestion will be added to the main post Thanks for the heads up, I'll take a look at it later tonight.
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[Buttmouth]

It might also be that there are too many folders for the PS3 to look in.

It's unfortunate but it can only see files within 1 or 2 folders. So if you have a
MUSIC> ARTIST > ALBUM> set of folders on your computer, it can confuse the PS3.

At least that's what I've found.

To fix it you might have to rearrange some things...
And don't forget to index the files...

Ugh.. too much to think about. It should just WORK.
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[Zhou]

I think we should get this thread stickied, seems a lot of people have been asking about streaming media lately, and perhaps this can be the catch all thread for it?
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[nugget]

I tried adding a song that i put in the C drive of my comp and it still says there is no tracks?

[Zhou]

does it show up in your wmp media library? What version of wmp are you using? Try putting it into a playlist, then access the playlists option from the ps3..
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[nugget]

[Zhou]

by subfolders in your post a few posts above, did you mean the default pics/music/vid folders?

In any case, WMP is a bit hit and miss. Try upgrading your wmp to the latest version. If you have the Nero suite installed, try using the Nero Home media server as BoomBoom suggested, or try tversity.

Another thing that comes to mind is, have you disabled firewalls? Especially windows' default one, which imo is the most fail firewall around. Certain antivirus and other programs have been known to block the ps3 from accessing your music.
_________________

My flickr
i7 930 | 6gb ddr3 Ripjaws 2000 | GTX 560 | 1tb 7200rpm WD |

[Zhou]

by subfolders in your post a few posts above, did you mean the default pics/music/vid folders?

In any case, WMP is a bit hit and miss. Try upgrading your wmp to the latest version. If you have the Nero suite installed, try using the Nero Home media server as BoomBoom suggested, or try tversity.

Another thing that comes to mind is, have you disabled firewalls? Especially windows' default one, which imo is the most fail firewall around. Certain antivirus and other programs have been known to block the ps3 from accessing your music.
_________________

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[nugget]

Well its a specific playlist as i know Tversity works its just that i can play a set list from it same as nero. Nah the music is in my L:/.../.../etc/ music. But I also had it in just my C:/ to no avail.

[Buttmouth]

^ Can you do the "Press Triangle" > "View all media" trick?
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[nugget]

Nah seems to only work on USB devices.

[brad_sickness]

Does this "local streaming" use up our internet bandwidth? I'm assuming so.

[Felonioustub]

No it shouldn't, your just transfering between two devices, you're not downloading it.
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[brad_sickness]

I might try it, if not just to listen to music through my surround sound.

[Felonioustub]

I'm using my PS3 to watch the new episodes of Fringe as it's been canned here already.
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[melike]

Wow, i cant believe how easy this was to set up...I mean, i just bought a mediagate a month ago! (Although, i'll still use that as it has more storage space and all but still!)

BUt yeah, this is great - i thought thered be a bit of lag time or something but it runs beautifully! Been watching all my tv over the last week or so this way!

Bah - cant vote for posts older than a few weeks apparently!
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