PS3 to replace HTPC?

[0roo0roo]

3) It is now quite cheap.

4) the PS3 hacking scene is just ramping up, so normal HULU might be possible in the not too distant future.

Only sorta cheap.
plug and play doesn't count once you add all the transcoding and such, it becomes harder touse than a htpc with all the hoops you have to jump through to get it working.

You don't have to wait for the htpc, it is here already, and you don't have to look over your shoulder at sony coming after you or making trouble for your setup. Hacking the ps3 increases the difficulty above plug and play significantly again. in the end ps3 is a kludge solution, making something sorta work by force...not because it is really the best way to go about it.

 

[slackerinabox]

You know, I have a ps3 and it's nice (netflix + hulu plus + vudu), but I tried my dad's roku and it works very well. Smother neftlix/hulu experience. I'm not sure why but hulu on my ps3 crashes every now and then.

 

[d33pblue]

Thanks for the input guys. To be honest, I still haven't made up my my mind yet. I can get a used PS3 for $200. By comparison, a Blu-Ray drive plus software for my HTPC would be at least $120. So an extra $80 can get me a PS3 and all of the benefits that go along with that.

With all of the things a modern HTPC can do, I really only use mine for watching Hulu. I'm super busy with work and I just don't have much time to play with it. About all I do on it is watch Hulu while I eat dinner at night (30 min/day). I'd also like to play Blu-Rays when the girlfriend comes over.

The whole setup is in my apartment and I have a laptop and desktop to use if I want to browse the internet. As for Hulu Plus, I'm thinking of buying it anyway. $8/month beats the heck out of $60+ for cable TV - and that's all I would be paying on month to month services anyway.

Is there anything else I'm not thinking about?

 

[Nebor]

Amazon has a new 160GB PS3 for $299 with a $50 Amazon GC right now. Pretty slick deal.

An HTPC is really just something to tinker with and sink money into. I just bought 3DTV Play for $40 from nvidia, to go along with a $400 video card, just so I can play around with 3d games on my TV.

 

[Modelworks]

If you can wait Sigma is getting ready to release their new line of chips and the players that use those will be able to run things like XBMC. Sigma has already started to port it to the chipset.

MILPITAS, California — January 4, 2010 — Sigma Designs (NASDAQ: SIGM), a leading provider
of System-on-Chip (SoC) solutions for delivering entertainment and control throughout the
home, today announced that it has upgraded the customer’s front of screen experience with its
new SoCs: the SMP8910 and the SMP8670 Secure Media Processors™ (see related announcement
regarding Sigma’s SMP8910). The company also announced support for four exciting new TV
development environments: Adobe® AIR® for TV, the Espial Browser with support for Adobe
Flash® Player, a Hardware Accelerated Open GL ES 3D UI Framework, and XBMC (XBMC Media
Center). These solutions will be showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the
company’s private suite, located in the Las Vegas Hilton, room 2921.
“The TV has become a platform through which consumers desire to access a wider variety of
entertainment and media, including videos, games, user-generated content, music, and social
networking content,” said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst at Parks Associates.
“New development environments such as Adobe AIR for TV, and XBMC will enable consumers to
download applications, play games, watch HDTV and visit TV-optimized sites – all from the
comfort of their couch. A flexible and easy-to-use interface is a critical factor in how
consumers will enjoy these new experiences, and Sigma Designs is smart to provide OEMs such
a complete tool chest of rich user interface options.”
At CES 2011, Sigma Designs will showcase four state-of-the-art environments:
• Adobe AIR for TV running media-rich music and video applications
• A preview of Adobe Flash Player 10.1 for the latest Espial TV web browser
• XBMC with its rich user interface and ability to download applications onto the
platform
• A rich 3D graphics framework for next generation hybrid platforms
“The XBMC team welcomes Sigma Designs, a leading provider in the embedded player market,
to our list of working hardware platforms,” said Cory Fields, XBMC Business Relations Manager.
“Together we will give manufacturers a robust solution for development and innovation, which
will in turn bring our highly acclaimed user experience to a new audience of media
enthusiasts.”
The SMP8910 is the first studio-grade SoC for advanced connected media players. It integrates
the popular VXP post-processing technology used in most Hollywood post-production equipment
into mainstream media processors. This new high-performance chip delivers an unparalleled
full resolution 1080p 3DTV viewing experience, eliminates video artifacts caused by
compression and transmission, and can handle more TV platform features concurrently. At the
same time, it can decode more high definition videos than rival systems – leading to a better
viewing experience for consumers.
The SMP8670 is a new thin-client SoC optimized to run over-the-top application environments
such as the XBMC, Adobe AIR for TV, Adobe Flash Player and other graphically-rich
environments. The chip is 40% faster than previous Sigma thin-client solutions and dramatically
improves the responsiveness of these new, advanced user interfaces.

 

[uli2000]

What movies are you having trouble with? DVDs or Blu-Rays?


Also, is anyone having success with Hulu standard on the PS3?

I use PlayOn with my PS3 and it works well. I got it when it was $20 for a standard license. They don't do the standard anymore, just a premium thats $40/yr, but you do get like a 1 month free trial.

 

[d33pblue]

After some research, I'm leaning away from the PS3. I found out you need a PS Plus subscription ($50/yr) to be able to use Hulu Plus with the PS3. It also seems like the driving interface on the PS3 is this scrolling, folder and text base browsing.

Example:
Hulu > Videos > S > Simpsons > Season 5

To my understanding, the largely graphical interface of Hulu on a PC is gone. To be honest, that is a deal breaker for me. I guess I can deal with the HTPC a bit longer.

 

[A5]

And now you can run XBMC on a jailbroken AppleTV, so there's even less point

 

[d33pblue]

After much deliberation I think I'm going to sell the HTPC and go with a Roku + Blu-Ray player. That seems to be the best solution at this point.

 

[ChaoZ]

And now you can run XBMC on a jailbroken AppleTV, so there's even less point

Except for the cost.

 

[slackerinabox]

Except for the cost.

AppleTvs like $99! I love it, though I still have to put XBMC on it

 

[ChaoZ]

AppleTvs like $99! I love it, though I still have to put XBMC on it

Wow, those things really dropped in price.

 

[HeXen]

I do wish i could get WMC studio to work right. it wont let me insert game and app shortcuts without crashing. wish you could just drag and drop shortcuts but nooo, have to manually insert path ..then it crashes. awesome!!
XBMC similar issues. pain in the rear to do shortcuts for games/apps and then they never work right or xbmc crashes. can't multitask. Media portal is even worse, plus its really slow by comparison.

Actually, i would like to see something like WMC that actually replaces the desktop level...kinda like how bumptop does. So everything launched stays within the media center.
Cause really W7 is not a good interface for HTPC's or Touch screens like tablets...i have a tablet laptop and Explorer is just a horrible way to interact with stuff, i miss the target areas half the time.

After some research, I'm leaning away from the PS3. I found out you need a PS Plus subscription ($50/yr) to be able to use Hulu Plus with the PS3.

For any kind of entertainment like that. its pretty cheap imo. I wish anything else was only $50 a year.

 

[slackerinabox]

After some research, I'm leaning away from the PS3. I found out you need a PS Plus subscription ($50/yr) to be able to use Hulu Plus with the PS3. It also seems like the driving interface on the PS3 is this scrolling, folder and text base browsing.

Example:
Hulu > Videos > S > Simpsons > Season 5

To my understanding, the largely graphical interface of Hulu on a PC is gone. To be honest, that is a deal breaker for me. I guess I can deal with the HTPC a bit longer.

Hmm.. I don't have ps3 gold or whatever and use hulu plus on my ps3

 

[dehemke]

After some research, I'm leaning away from the PS3. I found out you need a PS Plus subscription ($50/yr) to be able to use Hulu Plus with the PS3. It also seems like the driving interface on the PS3 is this scrolling, folder and text base browsing.

Example:
Hulu > Videos > S > Simpsons > Season 5

To my understanding, the largely graphical interface of Hulu on a PC is gone. To be honest, that is a deal breaker for me. I guess I can deal with the HTPC a bit longer.

The requirement of PS Plus is not correct. I was a HULU+ subscriber for a few months and do not have PS+

 

[d33pblue]

The requirement of PS Plus is not correct. I was a HULU+ subscriber for a few months and do not have PS+

After looking back at it, it seems that requirement was only for the beta period of Hulu Plus. Now you don't need it.

Regardless, it's looking like the Roku box is a much better alternative to the PS3.

 

[slackerinabox]

After looking back at it, it seems that requirement was only for the beta period of Hulu Plus. Now you don't need it.

Regardless, it's looking like the Roku box is a much better alternative to the PS3.

The roku is better for hulu plus - my ps3 experience is pretty buggy for some reason. Obviously software related i'm sure it could be fixed in time...