Hobbies And Interests
Supported File Types
The PS3 has limited file support for video, music and photos. Video files supported on the PS3 include the AVI, MP4, WMV and MTS formats. Supported audio files inlcude MP3, MP4, ATRAC-3, WAV and WMA. You can view photos in the JPG, GIF, TIFF, PNG and BMP formats. The PS3 cannot play DRM-protected media.
PS3 Media Server
PS3 Media Server, available from Code.google.com/p/ps3mediaserver/, is a multiplatform media server that not only streams to the PlayStation 3, but also transcodes unsupported formats and codecs, such as the MKV and OGG formats. The files come in a compressed TGZ file, which you can open with your distributions archive manager. Copy the media server folder -- named in the format "pms-linux-1.31.1" where the number refers to the version you've downloaded -- to any folder you want on your computer. Turn on your PS3 and run the "PMS.sh" file on your computer. The media server will show up on your PS3 as "PS3 Media Server [computername]." Select it to navigate to media files on your computer.
MediaTomb
MediaTomb is a media server that lets you add files to be shared individually, rather than serving up your entire media library automatically. Available from MediaTomb.cc, the server must be installed manually from the terminal, a process explained in detail in the "INSTALL" file included in the download. If you run Ubuntu, install MediaTomb by running "sudo apt-get install mediatomb" in a new terminal window. Once the installation completes, enter "mediatomb" in a new terminal window and press enter; of the output, the last line should read "INFO: http://192.168.1.106:49152/" though the actual port number may vary depending on which port MediaTomb initializes as it starts. MediaTomb chooses "49152" by default, and will choose the next port -- 49153 -- if 49152 isn't available. Open the displayed address in your browser to add files to your MediaTomb server. Your media server will be listed on the PS3 as "MediaTomb."
Potential Streaming Issues
As with streaming video from the Internet, streaming video from your computer to the PS3 is subject to certain issues. If you're transcoding from an unsupported file format you may notice occasional lags or stuttering in the video and audio. This is also an issue when connecting via one or two wireless connections -- for the most reliable connection to your server, use a computer and PS3 wired into the router if at all possible. Do not let your computer go into sleep mode or turn off while streaming media; if you have power settings set to do this automatically, consider changing them while streaming. If other computers on your network are using a large amount of bandwidth, such as with games or downloads, you may encounter errors while streaming to the PS3.