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ps3 vs xbox 360 as a media player

K

kalster

Diamond Member
I have a 50" panny plasma with a 5.1 setup in my home theater room. I also have a Windows home server with all my media (ripped dvd's , tv shows etc) that will be connected over ethernet to the media player. I want to stream sd content , 720p content and music. Between the xbox 360 and the ps3 which is better suited for this. I understand the ps3 also has a br player which is a big plus.
 
I say the PS3. It's still one of the best BR players out there and many audio output options. I use it to stream music on my setup (although the wireless streaming isn't so hot). I have yet to try video, so I cannot comment on that.
 
If you take out the Blu-ray player, both are about even when it comes to streaming music and media. The PS3 gets a leg up because of the Blu-ray player though.

360 has an advantage by being a Windows Media Center extender though if that is important to you. It's really improved with the release of Windows 7.
 
PS3 Media server lets you stream pretty much anything to your PS3 it is really fickle with wireless though so just go through a wired connection and it should be fine
 
The PS3 streams multi-channel audio better than the Xbox 360, too. I had my PS3 running wirelessly, but just too many hiccups with anything at a bitrate in the double digits. Wired it to a switch connected to a wireless bridge running draft "N" and it streams 1080p flawlessly. I wouldn't even think twice about using an Xbox 360 anymore, especially since the Blu-Ray player in the PS3 pretty much completes the package. As soon as the Netflix thing gets all cleaned up, it will be close to perfect in my eyes. Tversity + PS3 = awesome.
 
If you don't own a blu ray player already, a PS3 is the better buy. Otherwise, they perform around the same for media streaming.
 
I'd say the PS3 because it has a Blu Ray player.

However, I have both, and the XBox's interface is FAR easier to navigate. So if you don't car about the Blu Rays or already have a BR player, I'd go with the 360.
 
I own both and use them both for media playback. Personally I prefer the 360 because of the better GUI. The short of it is that it depends on what kinds of media you'll be playing the most.

If it's primarily BD and DVDs, go for the PS3 since the 360's DVD controls are horrid and BD is nonexistent.

If it's AVI, DIVX or some other compressed format, I'd get the 360. The 360 plays almost everything I've ever thrown at it, while the PS3 pops up a "corrupted data" screen on some DIVX files that the 360 will play. I don't think I've run across any situations where the opposite was true.

If you're looking for a Media Center Extender, it's 360 all the way. While the PS3 can play MS-DVR files (much to my surprise when I found that out), it doesn't do so very well resulting in a choppy mess from what I've observed on a wired connection with everything set up correctly.

Extras: PlayOn works equally well on both and from what I've read the 360's Netflix integration is better (although I haven't actually used the PS3's version).

EDIT: Forgot about music playback. If you're concerned about visuals and GUI, the PS3 wins hands down. The 360's music player is just pathetic and hasn't been improved since launch (only reskinned).
 
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I use my Xbox for streaming simply cus of the Media Center. It makes it easier but if I had neither I'd get a PS3 cus of Blu-Ray.
 
I have an Xbox 360 and a PS3 both set up to stream stuff from my computer. I like the interface on the Xbox 360 but I like the ability to copy stuff to my PS3 hard drive. All things equal, the PS3 is better solely as a Media Player since it has a built-in Bluray player. If you are buying it for gaming as well I would lean more towards the 360.
 
kalrith said:
What file format do you use for your media? I would lean toward the PS3. Before I got my HTPC, mine worked great with ps3mediaserver. It took about 5 minutes to set up and streamed everything I threw at it. There's an extensive thread on avsforum about it: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1085772
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If transcoding is necessary I would use the ps3 now since it was much easier to setup using ps3mediaserver. While media center on the 360 is nice getting transcoding right with the 360 was a pain requiring many extra steps. PS3mediaserver was really easy. If you use mymovies or media browser the album art shows up at least on the ps3.
 
I can't speak for the 360, but I use my PS3 99% as a media player and I am very happy with it for that purpose. I don't have a media streamer set up, but it's super easy to throw stuff on a flash drive and just plug it in.

My understanding is that the PS3 is a lot quieter than the 360, which is important for media, IMO.
 
manimal said:
If transcoding is necessary I would use the ps3 now since it was much easier to setup using ps3mediaserver. While media center on the 360 is nice getting transcoding right with the 360 was a pain requiring many extra steps. PS3mediaserver was really easy. If you use mymovies or media browser the album art shows up at least on the ps3.
Click to expand...

Actually, transcoding isn't anymore difficult with the 360 than it is with the PS3/PS3mediaserver. You can use either tversity or PlayOn. PS3mediaserver even works with the Xbox 360.

Also, if you have Windows Media 7 with , you don't have to transcode anymore because WM7 natively supports the newer codecs now.
 
Question - how's MKV playback on the PS3? I had a first gen one that I sold and am thinking of picking up a slim.

My xbox 360 using either PS3mediaserver or tversity kinda sucked for mkv playback - no seek, no 5.1 sound, choppy.... So I used to compromise by converting to MP4 (native playback, no transcoding) but still lost 5.1 sound.

I use an asus o!play that plays mkvs perfectly, but I hate having to use 3 devices (one for netflix streaming, one for blurays, one for mkv/xvid playback) so a ps3 might just be the ticket.
 
Are you going to use these just as a media extender, or for games as well? If it's the former, then you might be better off with a dedicated media extender like the Popcorn Hour.
 
freedomsbeat212 said:
Question - how's MKV playback on the PS3? I had a first gen one that I sold and am thinking of picking up a slim.

My xbox 360 using either PS3mediaserver or tversity kinda sucked for mkv playback - no seek, no 5.1 sound, choppy.... So I used to compromise by converting to MP4 (native playback, no transcoding) but still lost 5.1 sound.

I use an asus o!play that plays mkvs perfectly, but I hate having to use 3 devices (one for netflix streaming, one for blurays, one for mkv/xvid playback) so a ps3 might just be the ticket.
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my PS3 handle's MKV fine however I have not tried any MKV's with 5.1 sound as I don't really watch blu-ray rips or the like. What I watch is mostly anime. But it plays 720p MKV files fine.
 
mchammer187 said:
my PS3 handle's MKV fine however I have not tried any MKV's with 5.1 sound as I don't really watch blu-ray rips or the like. What I watch is mostly anime. But it plays 720p MKV files fine.
Click to expand...

When did PS3 start supporting .mkv? I am gonna kick myself if I've been converting to .mp4 and .m2ts for the last eight months for no reason.
 
Yeah, that's what I thought. I think I used the transcoding feature of TVersity once and decided it was just better to just remux into an .mpg or .mp4. Been really good friends with mkv2vob lately. Don't wanna lose quality from transcoding.
 
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smitbret said:
Yeah, that's what I thought. I think I used the transcoding feature of TVersity once and decided it was just better to just remux into an .mpg or .mp4. Been really good friends with mkv2vob lately. Don't wanna lose quality from transcoding.
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PS3 media server will remux certain file types at no quality loss so you can stream on the fly but I am not sure if MKV is one of the supported file types since I am not in front of my machine right now.

I think if there are subtitles you have to go through transcode though but don't quote me on that.
 
Queasy said:
Actually, transcoding isn't anymore difficult with the 360 than it is with the PS3/PS3mediaserver. You can use either tversity or PlayOn. PS3mediaserver even works with the Xbox 360.

Also, if you have Windows Media 7 with , you don't have to transcode anymore because WM7 natively supports the newer codecs now.
Click to expand...

I havent tried it with ps3mediaserver in a while. Will try this out when I have time.
 
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