blitz6speed
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Ive gotten pretty experienced with streaming movies to my PS3 and thought many of you would enjoy seeing the easiest way possible to do it.
Before i begin, i need to mention that the 2 setups im using this in is a Gigabit WIRED LAN setup and a Gigabit/Wireless-N setup. Both work flawlessly for how i have things running.
Obviously this guide is not 100% complete, but it is pretty solid and as ive stated, works darn well. With that said, if you choose to use Wireless-G, i cannot guarantee anything performance wise. In the Wireless-N setup, i have the internet next to the PS3, going to a D-Link 655 Wireless-N router via Gigabit lan, and the PC upstairs using Wireless-N PCI-E card to the router. So the PS3 is connected to the network via 1000m network, and the PC is connected via 300m Wireless-N. I tried working with Wireless-G early on and gave up, but you may have better luck.
Here are the main things to remember about the PS3.
1. Does not play VC-1 under any circumstances when streaming.
2. Very picky about containers, and especially Audio codecs.
3. Does not allow DTS on dashboard, BUT, a workaround has been found.
With this knowledge, we know that anything VC-1 will not work, period. We know that we have to know exactly what containers and audio codecs are allowed, and that DTS does not work natively at all.
Now, here are some of the main benefits of the PS3 for streaming.
1. Works absolutely great when everything is setup properly.
2. Incredible PQ/SQ.
3. Awesome stability, hardly ever any hardware issues, updated constantly.
4. Kick booty game system to boot.
5. The amazing Bluetooth remote. This thing rocks so hard and puts all other remotes to shame.
So here we go. First off, you need to know what can and cannot be streamed. AVC and MPEG2 can be streamed no problem, as long as the video is L4.1 or lower, which all blu-ray movies are. AC3 audio can be streamed no problem, DTS can with a workaround, but ONLY in a MKV container. More on this later. If you have a HDMI receiver, you can convert any lossless audio (TrueHD/DTS HD MA/PCM) into a .pcm file and the PS3 will play it perfectly streamed. I do not have any experience with this as both of my receivers being used are not HDMI audio.
The PS3 likes the .ts and .m2ts containers for native streaming. MKV is only supported via a program called PS3 Media Server, or PMS for short. PMS re-muxes the mkv into a .ts on the fly, and lets you play them on the PS3 WITHOUT any re-encoding what so ever. Now, what special about PMS, is if the PS3 cannot play the movie (AVC level too high, unplayable codec, VC-1, etc), it will Re-encode it ON THE FLY to MPEG2, which allows the PS3 to play it perfectly. Now, this is a hefty process that takes a lot of CPU power, so i do not suggest it myself. I will go into my reasons why later.
Now, main thing you want to do is get your movies setup properly. Here is how i do it.
1. HDTV Satellite/Cable Caps. These are easy. As long as the audio is AC3 or AAC, and it is in a .ts container, the PS3 plays these 99% of the time without any issues and flawlessly. They work natively, even if they're 25p, they play perfectly and no effort. Also, you can put these into a MKV Container with DTS Audio and they work great that way also. A+++, highly recommended.
2. Blu-ray rips. HD DVD has a crappy header, so PMS doesnt play them regardless of what you do to them container wise. Ontop of that, most HD DVDs are VC-1 anyway and will not play, so do not even bother. Even Transcoding to MPEG2 on the fly doesnt let them play properly from all ive tried, the 29.97 nature of them isnt industry standard and not supported since its dead. For blu-ray rips, all you need to do is re-mux the main m2ts into a new m2ts with TSMuxer, and make sure it has AC3 audio. DTS will not play, as the PS3 does not support this natively. Most blu-rays with DTS HD-MA have a AC3 track on the disc, if not, then use eac3to to convert the dts into a .ac3, its simple. Once done, the PS3 will stream it natively and works 100% of the time. Now, if you have a HDMI receiver, you can use a PCM file or lossless AAC and it will work, but i have no experience in this. A side note, but, putting blu-ray AVC/MPEG2 into a MKV with DTS does not work, i get corrupted video, only works in a m2ts container. Just a heads up.
3. Re-encodes. Ahh, the wonderful x264 codec. Well, as long as its L4.1, any re-encode works flawlessly on the PS3. And since most re-encodes use the MKV Container with DTS Audio, PMS makes them work perfectly. Note that a lot of re-encodes do not come with L4.1, and are sometimes L5.1. Those are out of the scope of the PS3 and you will not be able to remux those on the fly. PMS automagically can tell if a movie can play remuxed on the PS3 and will not remux it if it is out of level. You can transcode them to MPEG2 on the fly tho. That is up to you.
4. DVD Movies. These work well as long as they are a ISO image. All you do is open the ISO image when streaming and go to the playlist. Choose the one you want to play (usually longest one is the movie, or if its a TV Show series, just choose one of the 30min-1hour long playlist). Its simple and works great. It will use MEncoder to play, but its NOT re-encoding, so dont freak out.
So, there are your major setup types and what you need to know. Now, lets configure PMS. Download PMS newest beta from here:
http://ps3mediaserver.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3217
Once it is installed, here is the config i use:
Go to General Configuration, and under Network Settings, Forcenetwork on interface, and choose the network device you will be using.
Then go to the Navigation/Share settings tab, and uncheck Thumnails generation. I find it lags everything down and is simply unneeded.
Then go to Transcoding settings tab. Under Common Transcode Settings, make sure the number of cores matches your CPU. 1 for a single, 2 for dual, 4 for quad. Under audio settings, click the box for: Keep DTS Audio In Stream, Remux when audio track is AC3. If you have a HDMI receiver, choose the DTS/FLAC->LPCM Remux, although i have no experience with that. At the bottom under Misc Options, click Definitely Disable Subtitles. If you use subtitles for ANY movie you play, it will do a re-encode to MPEG2, which defeats the purpose of this entire process IMO.
After that, click on MEncoder on the left hand window under Video File Engines. Click the boxes for: Enhanced Multicore Support (as long as you have a dual/quad core CPU), and Deinterlace Filter (This is for DVD ISO movies). A/V Sync alternate and Switch to TS Muxer when compatable should be checked by default. I also uncheck the ASS/SSA Subs and Autoload .SRT/.SUB options on the bottom.
After that, click on TsMuxer on the left window under Video File Engines. I click the box for Mux All Audio Tracks, but not sure if thats needed or not. Force FPS should be checked by default. After you do that, then click save at the top, then quit, then re-open the program.
After that, just go to your directory where the movies are through the Video icon of your XMB on the PS3 itself, and everything should play properly. AVI files like divx movies work well and many other codecs work great. Just try it and you'll find out. Also, you can go into the directory where the program is installed, and there is a web.conf file, where you can put URLs to streaming tv shows, radio stations and more from the internet. Works great. Ive tried it with a few radio stations and they all come up just fine. One more thing! Once you are watching your first streamed movie, press Triangle on the PS3 remote/controller, and go to video settings and DISABLE all 3 DNR settings. This is essential since the PS3 has DNR on by default. Also, in this same menu, make sure that the audio volume is not changed (in the middle).
Now, i know this is a ton of info and i tried to make it easy for people to understand, but ive been doing hd movie stuff for years, so a lot of this stuff might be confusing for a lot of you. Whatever questions you have, let me know and i'll answer them the best i can. Keep in mind that i hardly watch anything SD anymore, although i DO still watch some, and they also work great for me. But i stick to HD for the most part. Also, please no talk about where to get the movies. Everyone has a google machine.
Ive gotten pretty experienced with streaming movies to my PS3 and thought many of you would enjoy seeing the easiest way possible to do it.
Before i begin, i need to mention that the 2 setups im using this in is a Gigabit WIRED LAN setup and a Gigabit/Wireless-N setup. Both work flawlessly for how i have things running.
Obviously this guide is not 100% complete, but it is pretty solid and as ive stated, works darn well. With that said, if you choose to use Wireless-G, i cannot guarantee anything performance wise. In the Wireless-N setup, i have the internet next to the PS3, going to a D-Link 655 Wireless-N router via Gigabit lan, and the PC upstairs using Wireless-N PCI-E card to the router. So the PS3 is connected to the network via 1000m network, and the PC is connected via 300m Wireless-N. I tried working with Wireless-G early on and gave up, but you may have better luck.
Here are the main things to remember about the PS3.
1. Does not play VC-1 under any circumstances when streaming.
2. Very picky about containers, and especially Audio codecs.
3. Does not allow DTS on dashboard, BUT, a workaround has been found.
With this knowledge, we know that anything VC-1 will not work, period. We know that we have to know exactly what containers and audio codecs are allowed, and that DTS does not work natively at all.
Now, here are some of the main benefits of the PS3 for streaming.
1. Works absolutely great when everything is setup properly.
2. Incredible PQ/SQ.
3. Awesome stability, hardly ever any hardware issues, updated constantly.
4. Kick booty game system to boot.
5. The amazing Bluetooth remote. This thing rocks so hard and puts all other remotes to shame.
So here we go. First off, you need to know what can and cannot be streamed. AVC and MPEG2 can be streamed no problem, as long as the video is L4.1 or lower, which all blu-ray movies are. AC3 audio can be streamed no problem, DTS can with a workaround, but ONLY in a MKV container. More on this later. If you have a HDMI receiver, you can convert any lossless audio (TrueHD/DTS HD MA/PCM) into a .pcm file and the PS3 will play it perfectly streamed. I do not have any experience with this as both of my receivers being used are not HDMI audio.
The PS3 likes the .ts and .m2ts containers for native streaming. MKV is only supported via a program called PS3 Media Server, or PMS for short. PMS re-muxes the mkv into a .ts on the fly, and lets you play them on the PS3 WITHOUT any re-encoding what so ever. Now, what special about PMS, is if the PS3 cannot play the movie (AVC level too high, unplayable codec, VC-1, etc), it will Re-encode it ON THE FLY to MPEG2, which allows the PS3 to play it perfectly. Now, this is a hefty process that takes a lot of CPU power, so i do not suggest it myself. I will go into my reasons why later.
Now, main thing you want to do is get your movies setup properly. Here is how i do it.
1. HDTV Satellite/Cable Caps. These are easy. As long as the audio is AC3 or AAC, and it is in a .ts container, the PS3 plays these 99% of the time without any issues and flawlessly. They work natively, even if they're 25p, they play perfectly and no effort. Also, you can put these into a MKV Container with DTS Audio and they work great that way also. A+++, highly recommended.
2. Blu-ray rips. HD DVD has a crappy header, so PMS doesnt play them regardless of what you do to them container wise. Ontop of that, most HD DVDs are VC-1 anyway and will not play, so do not even bother. Even Transcoding to MPEG2 on the fly doesnt let them play properly from all ive tried, the 29.97 nature of them isnt industry standard and not supported since its dead. For blu-ray rips, all you need to do is re-mux the main m2ts into a new m2ts with TSMuxer, and make sure it has AC3 audio. DTS will not play, as the PS3 does not support this natively. Most blu-rays with DTS HD-MA have a AC3 track on the disc, if not, then use eac3to to convert the dts into a .ac3, its simple. Once done, the PS3 will stream it natively and works 100% of the time. Now, if you have a HDMI receiver, you can use a PCM file or lossless AAC and it will work, but i have no experience in this. A side note, but, putting blu-ray AVC/MPEG2 into a MKV with DTS does not work, i get corrupted video, only works in a m2ts container. Just a heads up.
3. Re-encodes. Ahh, the wonderful x264 codec. Well, as long as its L4.1, any re-encode works flawlessly on the PS3. And since most re-encodes use the MKV Container with DTS Audio, PMS makes them work perfectly. Note that a lot of re-encodes do not come with L4.1, and are sometimes L5.1. Those are out of the scope of the PS3 and you will not be able to remux those on the fly. PMS automagically can tell if a movie can play remuxed on the PS3 and will not remux it if it is out of level. You can transcode them to MPEG2 on the fly tho. That is up to you.
4. DVD Movies. These work well as long as they are a ISO image. All you do is open the ISO image when streaming and go to the playlist. Choose the one you want to play (usually longest one is the movie, or if its a TV Show series, just choose one of the 30min-1hour long playlist). Its simple and works great. It will use MEncoder to play, but its NOT re-encoding, so dont freak out.
So, there are your major setup types and what you need to know. Now, lets configure PMS. Download PMS newest beta from here:
http://ps3mediaserver.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3217
Once it is installed, here is the config i use:
Go to General Configuration, and under Network Settings, Forcenetwork on interface, and choose the network device you will be using.
Then go to the Navigation/Share settings tab, and uncheck Thumnails generation. I find it lags everything down and is simply unneeded.
Then go to Transcoding settings tab. Under Common Transcode Settings, make sure the number of cores matches your CPU. 1 for a single, 2 for dual, 4 for quad. Under audio settings, click the box for: Keep DTS Audio In Stream, Remux when audio track is AC3. If you have a HDMI receiver, choose the DTS/FLAC->LPCM Remux, although i have no experience with that. At the bottom under Misc Options, click Definitely Disable Subtitles. If you use subtitles for ANY movie you play, it will do a re-encode to MPEG2, which defeats the purpose of this entire process IMO.
After that, click on MEncoder on the left hand window under Video File Engines. Click the boxes for: Enhanced Multicore Support (as long as you have a dual/quad core CPU), and Deinterlace Filter (This is for DVD ISO movies). A/V Sync alternate and Switch to TS Muxer when compatable should be checked by default. I also uncheck the ASS/SSA Subs and Autoload .SRT/.SUB options on the bottom.
After that, click on TsMuxer on the left window under Video File Engines. I click the box for Mux All Audio Tracks, but not sure if thats needed or not. Force FPS should be checked by default. After you do that, then click save at the top, then quit, then re-open the program.
After that, just go to your directory where the movies are through the Video icon of your XMB on the PS3 itself, and everything should play properly. AVI files like divx movies work well and many other codecs work great. Just try it and you'll find out. Also, you can go into the directory where the program is installed, and there is a web.conf file, where you can put URLs to streaming tv shows, radio stations and more from the internet. Works great. Ive tried it with a few radio stations and they all come up just fine. One more thing! Once you are watching your first streamed movie, press Triangle on the PS3 remote/controller, and go to video settings and DISABLE all 3 DNR settings. This is essential since the PS3 has DNR on by default. Also, in this same menu, make sure that the audio volume is not changed (in the middle).
Now, i know this is a ton of info and i tried to make it easy for people to understand, but ive been doing hd movie stuff for years, so a lot of this stuff might be confusing for a lot of you. Whatever questions you have, let me know and i'll answer them the best i can. Keep in mind that i hardly watch anything SD anymore, although i DO still watch some, and they also work great for me. But i stick to HD for the most part. Also, please no talk about where to get the movies. Everyone has a google machine.
that), right? I was hoping my system wouldn't be bogged down while watching a movie from my PC-PS3...
