How to play large (> 4GB) video files on PS3?

[OCNewbie]

How would one play a large video file (greater than 4GB) on a PS3? I had hoped to be able to copy a ~15GB video file onto a flash drive (the flash drive formatted to NTFS), and just plug that into my PS3 and play it that way, but apparently the PS3 is incompatible with the NTFS file system, and exFAT too, correct?

So, what are the alternatives? If the PS3 and my desktop are physically connected to the same router, is there a way to stream the video file from my computer to the PS3? If so, what is the best application/method for doing that?

Otherwise I'll have to just plug an HDMI cable from my video card (GTX 660) to my TV (or maybe my receiver?), and I'm under the impression that's not the best route to go.

BTW, when I say "I", this is actually for a friend.

 

[purbeast0]

I stream large video files from my of to ps3 with ps3 media server.

 

[mmntech]

Yep, streaming with PS3 media server is the best option. I did this for years before I got a proper HTPC.

I think the PS3 file system itself supports files larger than 4GB. So you should be able to transfer files over network to the hard drive. You just can't use an external drive that's not FAT32.

Nothing wrong with plugging your computer into the TV/receiver either aside from cable swapping. If you install XBMC, it will play most files and has a TV friendly interface.

 

[lamedude]

You can copy via DLNA but the network speed is capped at a little over 100Mbps. Creating a HTTP server and downloading with the browser is the fastest way. This is what I used.

 

[Mushkins]

Bottom line: current gen consoles, for all their "one device, center of the entertainment cabinet!" marketing, are absolutely terrible at media playback. As in "dont waste your time" levels of terrible. They barely support a handful of containers natively, and streaming/transcoding solutions over DLNA are touchy at best and require a reasonably powerful backend PC running something like Twonky or Plex.

The best solutions for local playback are a dedicated HTPC, or a WDTV Live. If you don't want a dedicated device, a laptop with HDMI out is a pretty good choice too, just plug it right into the TV and play the file.