My love/hate relationship with the PS3 makes me keep hoping that one day I will be able to access my photo's, music & videos on my network shares from my PS3 using its media player. I have seen the rumored updates coming in march but have'nt heard a peep about this functionality.

And, yes, I know you can use Orb or another web based streamer to see your media folders but you have to use the PS3 browser and not the built in media apps. I would like to use the cool photo slideshow app on the PS3 or its audio player.

Maybe the PS3 will never be a full fledged Media center...

-Alex-

I can at least tell you it will never support Windows shares. If you want additional HTPC support you're better off installing LINUX than waiting on something that might never be added.

Thanks for the quick reply...

My shares are samba via an unraid server...

Any hope for this?

-Alex-

I've had no problems accessing Samba shares via Yellow Dog (as to be expected), but booting into LINUX is a pain. I definitely wouldn't rule out Samba shares in the XMB via an update, but that could be years down the road and at that point you might not care anymore.

I can at least tell you it will never support Windows shares. If you want additional HTPC support you're better off installing LINUX than waiting on something that might never be added.

Windows network shares use SMB (which SAMBA is an implementation of). If you can get to a SAMBA share, you can get to a Windows share, unless you have an intentionally gimped client.

Speaking of using Linux - is anyone working on an optimized player (mplayer or other) for the PS3 so that it can handle HD video? My current understanding is that since mplayer isn't optimized for SPEs it barfs on 720p/1080i media on the PS3.

If it can do this with a nice front end (like Xbox Media Center currently), I'm sold all day long. Sony is also welcome to update their native client but I don't have high hopes for much in the way of codec support.

A "PS3mediacenter "type of program would be great.

However, as I understand it, without access to the GPU this isn't going to happen.

So much potential in the PS3. Just drives me crazy when I think about what it could be. Kind of like how I felt with my old Roku unit.

Lets hope the PS3 has better luck than that!

-Alex-

I'll take codecs of the norm before home networking anyday. Who's with me?!
*hi-fives first person*

So much potential in the PS3. Just drives me crazy when I think about what it could be. Kind of like how I felt with my old Roku unit.

Long before release of the 360 I saw some advance stuff that seemed to separate the video streaming from the photo/music. I was instantly suspicious and what do you know, they required Win XP MCE for video streaming rather than just pulling off a darn network share - how dumb is that. From that point on I knew hoping for media center functionality out of a non-hacked console was something not to get too excited about.

MSFT butchered what I wanted with the 360 and when I kind of let myself hope that Sony or even just a damn linux installation on the PS3 would pull me through, it was even more hobbled. I check every once in a while but I am wedded to XBMC on my hacked xbox and eventually a HTPC unless someone can hack or get this stuff running properly. They have a perfect model of what everyone wants in XBMC, and they produce this garbage gimped crap. What a waste.