Is anyone using Windows Home Server with a PS3. I am wanting to purchase a PS3 and also considering adding a WHS to my home network. Currently I use a HTPC for viewing pictures and watching home movies and occasionally to search the net. Will the PS3 work with WHS, if so it may allow me to get rid of my HTPC.

Mike

Hmm, I don't know exactly what Windows Home Server is, but I use Tversity Media Server and that works great.

I did use Windows Media Player 11 media sharing but Tversity seems far more robust.

It seems to play most everything I have and I have about a Terabyte of Hardrives.

I'm using an HP Mediasmart Server (it has Windows Home Server built in). I wasn't able to get ffdshow to work on it (TVersity crashes whenever I try to transcode), but I don't see other people that built their own WHS servers having the same problem. I think it's probably hardware specific problem...

Anyway, I installed Twonky on it today, and was able to stream most of my xvid to the PS3 very smoothly (TVersity without transcoding studdered a lot but not Twonky). While Twonky doesn't do transcoding, I am impressed with it that I immediately paid for a license. Now we just need to get the PS3 to work on the codec support!

Thanks for the reply, do you like the MediaSmart Server? This is the one I was considering.

I don't own a PS3 yet so maybe I don't understand it's capabilities. I was thinking it would work similar to a networked computer in that I could browse any computer on my home network for photos and videos, is this correct? Is it just a WHS (or MediaSmart) issue or do I not understand the capabilities of the PS3 when it comes to networking?

Mike

What you're describing is browsing network shares via SMB, which the PS3 doesn't do.

The PS3 access network share via the DLNA standard. Windows Home Server uses Windows Media Connect. It works fine for me for mp3s (I don't own any AAC...), but doesn't work at all for xvids - PS3 doesn't like it for some reason.

That's why I had to go get Twonky, which works great for xvid for me.

Edit: Oh, I do like the HP MediaSmart Server. I wish I was able to get Tversity to work with it, but I kinda doubt with its CPU that it can transcode very well anyway. It does what I need it to do, which is a network drive that I can access anywhere (like the .mac idisk) and be able to stream media to my PS3.

Anyway, I installed Twonky on it today, and was able to stream most of my xvid to the PS3 very smoothly...

When you say "on it", do you mean you installed Twonky on the actual server? Or did you install Twonky on your pc and simply point it to the server?

I'm very interested in streaming music, photos, and video from the Mediasmart Server. You have any links to Mediasmart Server forums? I'm looking to buy the server next month.

I meant on the actual WHS itself.

And sorry, I do not have any good links for an HP mediasmart forum...

I'm glad I found this thread, otherwise I was going to post one myself looking for experiences regarding PS3 with WHS, and in particular the HP MediaSmart.

FWIW, here is a very detailed posting regarding my first attempts to get the HPMS to stream audio to PS3 http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=971144 ,and I've followed-up extensively in the 'Streaming with no TVersity or TWonky' thread here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=969198&page=5

I'm a big fan of the HPMS. Before that I had an Infrant NAS NV+, and while it was a great unit I'm happy I traded out for the HP. But I'm still a little confused about what it will and won't do. Obviously, for streaming, which is all I really bought it to do, it's as easy as easy gets...especially with PS3; I mean, I just turn on media sharing and my PS3 sees its Windows Media Connect UPnP right out of the box (well, you know...with the standard network tweaking). And I've had no problem streaming formats native to PS3. Problem is, of course, there are still a ton of codecs PS3 does not support, for me namely FLAC, that present challenges.

If you read the above threads you'll see my approach and struggles in regards to the highly touted TVersity. I'm not neccessarily interested in going the extra mile and getting that process to work, because for me, it's kind of like letting the tail wag the dog; the PS3 plays nicely with the HP, so I'm not interested in any kind of difficult "tricking-out" just to get it to stream the files that are not native yet. I fully suspect PS3 will support FLAC and many others very soon and then I will have a very simple, very effective solution. However, should the need arise, my questions are more in regard to the HPMS at this point.

My opinion of the HPMS thus far, has always been...based on what I have read about others doing with WHS...that it didn't act as a "true" WHS server; more like WHS was the OS "backbone", but that HP's GUI limited some of the functionality. However, if you read this excellent review of the HPMS http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/whs_hp.asp ,it seems as if the HP should do everything any other WHS server can do and more.

Let's just start with the common theme of streaming: if Windows Media Connect is the UPnP for WHS...like WHS's version of WMP server...how could you access the config, on the HPMS box, to make changes? When I was messing with TVersity and having my troubles...I was fully suspect that some of the issues had to do with streaming from the HPMS, with WMP and TVersity on another box. Were WMC and WMP servers "conflicting", was there a share or permission issue, did it have to do with my 'Remote Access' setting on WHS? If I had wanted to bypass all of that, which ultimately I would have, could I have installed TVersity directly to the HP? How would you do such a thing, just copy the executible to the 'Software' share and run? Could I have installed the kind of codec pack that I needed to get WMP to play FLAC directly to the HP in order to get WMC to stream FLAC?

There aren't a whole lot of HPMS users out there yet, so I appreciate any feedback as to the experiences and discoveries others have had.

CD

I was a beta tester with WHS for quite some time and here is what I've done for my setup:

I disabled the built-in media sharing.
I followed a hack at forums.microsoft.com/WindowsHomeServer to install Windows Media Player 11.
I use Windows Media Player 11 to stream my audio, and to publish my photos
I use Twonky to stream my video.

I still haven't figured out which 'container' is best and what compression, etc to use for my video.

I've currently ripped my entire CD collection (over 800 CD's) to my WHS and would like to do the same with my DVD collection. I've been playing with different settings for AVI, MP4, and DivX and haven't really settled on a specific setting yet. It probably doesn't help that it is a very time consuming process.

I think the WHS - PS3 combo is great.

(I also have Tivo Desktop installed on WHS so I can share audio and pics to my Tivo's)

I was a beta tester with WHS for quite some time and here is what I've done for my setup:

I disabled the built-in media sharing.
I followed a hack at forums.microsoft.com/WindowsHomeServer to install Windows Media Player 11.
I use Windows Media Player 11 to stream my audio, and to publish my photos
I use Twonky to stream my video.

I still haven't figured out which 'container' is best and what compression, etc to use for my video.

I've currently ripped my entire CD collection (over 800 CD's) to my WHS and would like to do the same with my DVD collection. I've been playing with different settings for AVI, MP4, and DivX and haven't really settled on a specific setting yet. It probably doesn't help that it is a very time consuming process.

I think the WHS - PS3 combo is great.

(I also have Tivo Desktop installed on WHS so I can share audio and pics to my Tivo's)

Again, I personally love the simplicity of WHS sharing through Windows Media Connect, so rather than try and bend it too much, I'm going to take the other path which is to wait out file support from PS3.

Of course that's easy for me to say, at least on the audio side, because I've got an SB3 (and plan on adding a Duet) to handle those tasks, and in a much better fashion, in the meantime. Video is a different story.

I would like to be able to stream some DVD ripped and stored on the HPMS, to the PS3. I also need to do some testing with different containers, as ideally I'd love to "go native", but if it comes to it I'm still curious if there is a way to install and transcode directly on the HP box (by installing TWonky) or will I need to use a separate box and just point to the HP shares?

CD

if I may be "one of those guys" and throw in an alternative.. i setup a mythbunu box in like 1 hour with very little effort on my part to get the upnp working and its easily setup to share drives to windows over the network via samba. Its worth a try over a weekend for kicks...

pros: free, can use ps3 in linux as myth front end (tv tuner?)
cons: world's worst tree system for media in upnp, god help me if I need to make any changes to things that it doesn't do out of the box...

I'm seriously considering buying one of these HP MediaSmart Servers, but I have a few questions for those that have them. Thanks in advance for your help.

1.) I would be able to load Tversity onto this server and use it for streaming, correct? I'm not very interested in video at this point in time so that's not a big consideration for Tversity to work.
2.) Am I able to add other applications? I'm pretty much asking specifically about a program called uSirius which allows me to access Sirius's online Internet streams for playback through my PS3.

Thanks!

I have created a thread here that has already been mentioned that deals with streaming with no streaming software. It is extremely difficult to do. I am in desperate need of a new PC to be able to try different encoding methods with files to get them in a format that can play on the PS3 without any software.

I had to do an about face in the thread, but the link in my sig is going to be an ongoing guide. I going to keep posting my results in http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=969198&page=5 which has already been mentioned before. So if you can sift through that thread and can add anything, it will greatly help me out.

I'm seriously considering buying one of these HP MediaSmart Servers, but I have a few questions for those that have them. Thanks in advance for your help.

1.) I would be able to load Tversity onto this server and use it for streaming, correct? I'm not very interested in video at this point in time so that's not a big consideration for Tversity to work.
2.) Am I able to add other applications? I'm pretty much asking specifically about a program called uSirius which allows me to access Sirius's online Internet streams for playback through my PS3.

Thanks!

DBoss, that's been my question and no one seems to be able to answer it. I might have to call HP support, but I've been weary of long waits and "communication" issues. I wholeheartedly recommend the MediaSmart, for its ease of use, and feature set. It even streams incredibly easy, through WHS's UPnP Windows Media Connect, and the PS3 has no problem seeing it and playing files, but if you need to transcode I'm not sure what you can install directly to the box. Again, that's been my question because there are no "drives", only shares.

Like I said, I guess the only way to find out (unless someone speaks up) is to call HP support, or try it and see what happens.

CD

Check this forum as there may be someone that can help:

http://www.mediasmartserver.net/

Check this forum as there may be someone that can help:

http://www.mediasmartserver.net/

Thanks! I'll have to take a look and see what I can find.

Check this forum as there may be someone that can help:

http://www.mediasmartserver.net/

Yeah, I checked this out too. From what I was able to gather, if you connect to the HPMS (or MSS as they call it) through Remote Desktop Connection...which I hadn't bothered to try yet...you get a traditional Windows desktop and can install applications. Might see if I can get TWonky and Slim Server working there.

CD

I'm sorry that I haven't checked this thread for a while. I have been enjoying Twonky on the HP Mediasmart Server, since it was able to do everything I needed.

Just one thing about TVersity... I had a lot of problems with it even though I was fine running it on one of my desktop. FFDshow would crash TVersity everytime I attempted to transcode anything. At that point, TVersity didn't support the new firmware that well yet, but then I tried Twonky and everything was perfect. Right now though, with the TVersity new version, even though I haven't tried it, it will probably do as well.

My advice though, is Twonky. Feel free to ask any questions.

I'm sorry that I haven't checked this thread for a while. I have been enjoying Twonky on the HP Mediasmart Server, since it was able to do everything I needed.

Just one thing about TVersity... I had a lot of problems with it even though I was fine running it on one of my desktop. FFDshow would crash TVersity everytime I attempted to transcode anything. At that point, TVersity didn't support the new firmware that well yet, but then I tried Twonky and everything was perfect. Right now though, with the TVersity new version, even though I haven't tried it, it will probably do as well.

My advice though, is Twonky. Feel free to ask any questions.

Yeah, it's interesting...when I was starting out with trying to stream, and first learned about transcoding, everyone was raving about TVersity. So I tried it and had nothing but trouble. Now initially, some of it was learning pains (for example, I didn't realize that TVersity had to work in conjuction with WMP...I thought TVersity was like replacing WMP), but even after I armed myself with better knowledge, I still didn't think it worked very intuitively. Then I learned about TWonky and thought about giving that a shot, but didn't want to just keep jumping from product to product, rather than bearing down and making a good solution work. So I even posted a poll to see if anyone liked TWonky over TVersity...and TVersity won out overwhelmingly. But I'm starting to think it's because Interneters are traditionally cheap bastards and don't believe in paying for anything if they can make something free work. :D I, on the other hand, wouldn't mind paying for TWonky if I really felt like it was an easier solution, and I'm starting to hear some feedback as to that claim.

CD

I have the 120 day trial of WHS.

I have it setup and working but the media sharing sucks compared to Twonky but it has a lot of other advantages so I installed Twonky.

I cannot get Twonky to work. I get the Twonky config page but there are no hot links on it.

I edited the ini file to point to the right folders and nothing shows up on the PS3. The server shows but it says there is no media for each of the options.

I installed WHS, updated it, and thats it. Copied some stuff over to it and it shows fine using the Windows Media Connect but its way too slow and doesn't do MP4.

Did you do anything special to get it to work?

Did you do anything special to get it to work?

First thing, Media Sharing in the settings section of the Mediasmart Server has to be disabled. It uses Windows Media Connect and there's some conflict between that and Twonky. After doing that, there isn't really anything I did to make it work. It simply just...worked for me.

Of course, you'll have to go to the config page and set up your sharing folders:

http://(Your Mediasmart Server IP address):9000/config

What are your symptoms of Twonky not working? The PS3 not showing the server? or videos not working?

The server shows on the PS3 in fact both servers(WMC & Twonky) show so maybe thats my problem.

The config page will not come up. I get the header, the images and all that but on the left hand side where you can pick the options they simply are not there. I'll have to take a screen shot and post it up. Kind of hard to explain

If it works that'll be great because I had a 2.8ghz P-IV Asus Terminator box that WHS works perfectly on. I just need some bigger drives and a gig of ram for it and I'll be good.

The server shows on the PS3 in fact both servers(WMC & Twonky) show so maybe thats my problem.

The easy way to test is to go into the services list and just stop the service and see if that fixes your Twonky issues.

First thing, Media Sharing in the settings section of the Mediasmart Server has to be disabled. It uses Windows Media Connect and there's some conflict between that and Twonky. After doing that, there isn't really anything I did to make it work. It simply just...worked for me.

Of course, you'll have to go to the config page and set up your sharing folders:

http://(Your Mediasmart Server IP address):9000/config

What are your symptoms of Twonky not working? The PS3 not showing the server? or videos not working?

I wonder if this might have been the thing that bedeviled me about getting TVersity working. I had TVersity on a separate box, but pointing at the MSS shares, and I could never get the darn thing to work. Maybe I just needed to turn off the media sharing on the MSS...hmmm

CD

I wonder if this might have been the thing that bedeviled me about getting TVersity working. I had TVersity on a separate box, but pointing at the MSS shares, and I could never get the darn thing to work. Maybe I just needed to turn off the media sharing on the MSS...hmmm

CD

I was never able to get TVersity to work with network shares. I read that in order for it to work, you had to run TVersity with a user with admin privileges and not "network services" but I was never able to get that working.

With Twonky, that was no problem - It was already running as the admin user in the Mediasmart Server and I was able to point it to a network share off of another machine using the config page.

Yeah, I checked this out too. From what I was able to gather, if you connect to the HPMS (or MSS as they call it) through Remote Desktop Connection...which I hadn't bothered to try yet...you get a traditional Windows desktop and can install applications. Might see if I can get TWonky and Slim Server working there.
CD

You can actually install an add-on that would essentially make the Windows Home Server console as remote desktop.

http://www.danno.ca/blog/WHS+Program+Launcher+12.aspx

I was never able to get TVersity to work with network shares. I read that in order for it to work, you had to run TVersity with a user with admin privileges and not "network services" but I was never able to get that working.

With Twonky, that was no problem - It was already running as the admin user in the Mediasmart Server and I was able to point it to a network share off of another machine using the config page.

Yeah, I ran into that as well. I did go into the TVersity properties to change the user from default to one with Admin privileges, but I found out later (when I was trying to access the MSS desktop through Remote Desktop Connection) that I was using the wrong User. The MSS doesn't actually list your Administrator in the 'Users' area, but if access it using 'Administrator' and your "master password" you can get in. I bet that was at least part of the problem setting up TVersity; the other part might have been this media share conflict.

CD

P.S. By the way Tongyang, if you ever wanted to try and change that TVersity User again, it's in the Services, Properties, under Log On (I think); TVersity uses a default, like you said "network services" user, so you just switch to a specified user that has Admin privileges.

I just got the MediaSmart Windows Home Server yesterday (my homemade HTPC died) and I am very impressed with this little thing and it works GREAT streaming audio to the PS3... pictures work gread too.

Also there is now an addin called PVConnect which I believe is Twonky. I've been copying over my huge cd collection so haven't had time to learn the thing inside and out but so far I am impressed.

How are people faring with Twonky and WHS? I just got a PS3 and plan to move my family server to the current WHS OS....

How are people faring with Twonky and WHS? I just got a PS3 and plan to move my family server to the current WHS OS....


Mine is working GREAT! I've got the HP Mediasmart EX475 and bumped the ram from 512MB to 2Gigs and bumped the AMD processor from the 1.8ghz to the AMD LE1640 (2.6ghz) and the thing is working great for my music, photos and docs and the backups it creates of all the computers on the network is invaluable. Very slick little box.

PV Connect (twonky) works great with my ps3's too... definately no complaints here. I recently installed orb so I can stream music over the internet and so far that is working great too (just did that like yesterday morning though).

How are people faring with Twonky and WHS? I just got a PS3 and plan to move my family server to the current WHS OS....

Works great. I have over 150 DVD's (movies), thousands of songs, and pics loaded onto the server and I use PVConnect to stream them to the PS3 with no loss in quality. Fantastic little box and by far one of the best purchases I've ever made. Just make sure you upgrade the RAM. Very cheap and its incredibly easy to do.

Works great. I have over 150 DVD's (movies), thousands of songs, and pics loaded onto the server and I use PVConnect to stream them to the PS3 with no loss in quality. Fantastic little box and by far one of the best purchases I've ever made. Just make sure you upgrade the RAM. Very cheap and its incredibly easy to do.

How do you have your DVDs encoded? Vob, mp4, avi? I'm thinking about getting an HP media smart but I want to make sure I can have full quality DVDs with intact surround sound streamed to my PS3. If anyone else can answer this question please do.

Also, how much does PVConnect cost? Is it easy to install?

How do you have your DVDs encoded? Vob, mp4, avi? I'm thinking about getting an HP media smart but I want to make sure I can have full quality DVDs with intact surround sound streamed to my PS3. If anyone else can answer this question please do.

Also, how much does PVConnect cost? Is it easy to install? I use a program called VOB2MPG (http://www.videohelp.com/tools/VOB2MPG) to convert the VOB files to an MPEG2 file with no quality loss. I tried using the VOB files alone and just renaming them .mpg, but I had problems with certain movies not playing correctly on my PS3 so I use this program to complete the extra step and everything works great.

Also, PVConnect is free when you purchase the media server. I was automatically prompted to download it the 2nd day the server was connected to my network. IMO, this program works a lot better than the default Windows Media Server package. With PVConnect you can fast-forward, rewind, etc. which is not possible with the other package. My only minor complaints with the program would be that it doesn't support video thumbnails and it doesn't index the video files like it does for your music files. When you have a lot of DVD's on the server, these features would really make finding those movies much easier.

I use a program called VOB2MPG (http://www.videohelp.com/tools/VOB2MPG) to convert the VOB files to an MPEG2 file with no quality loss. I tried using the VOB files alone and just renaming them .mpg, but I had problems with certain movies not playing correctly on my PS3 so I use this program to complete the extra step and everything works great.

Also, PVConnect is free when you purchase the media server. I was automatically prompted to download it the 2nd day the server was connected to my network. IMO, this program works a lot better than the default Windows Media Server package. With PVConnect you can fast-forward, rewind, etc. which is not possible with the other package. My only minor complaints with the program would be that it doesn't support video thumbnails and it doesn't index the video files like it does for your music files. When you have a lot of DVD's on the server, these features would really make finding those movies much easier.

Thanks for the response. PVConnect sounds pretty decent. I'll have to give VOB2MPG a try. How long does it typically take to encode a single VOB file of, say, 5 gigabytes?

Also, when you say it doesn't index your movie files does that mean there is no way to organize them? With Tversity I have my own file structure set up. Is that not possible with PVConnect? If not, does it at least alphabetize your collection?

Thanks for the response. PVConnect sounds pretty decent. I'll have to give VOB2MPG a try. How long does it typically take to encode a single VOB file of, say, 5 gigabytes?

Also, when you say it doesn't index your movie files does that mean there is no way to organize them? With Tversity I have my own file structure set up. Is that not possible with PVConnect? If not, does it at least alphabetize your collection?

Well, it can depend. When I loaded my collection onto the server, each DVD took about 1.5 hours for the entire process, but a lot of this is based on the PC you're using. When I was adding my collection I would run DVDFab at the same time I was processing the previous film through VOB2MPG, and at the same time I was moving the most recently processed MPG file to the server from my laptop. So with all of those processes running I'd estimate 1.5 hours for a single DVD. However, if you just run a movie through DVDFab, it typically takes 45 min. or so, and the VOB2MPG process really only takes about 15 min. on its own. Also, the move to the server really depends on how you have everything wired. If you have everything hard-wired via Gigabit it shouldn't take long at all. Unfortunately, my Dell laptop connection maxes at 100Mbps so I was stuck using that for the move to the server which added additional time to the process. I can't imagine how long it would take for a typical wireless G connection.

One note, I'd suggest breaking up the DVD into multiple VOB files. If I remember correctly, VOB2MPG wouldn't process a single VOB file.

As far as your file structure, you can set-up the folders as you want, and PVConnect will display them that way. It does seem, to me at least, that PVConnect adds a few additional folder layers that you have to dig through to get to your files, but that's not a problem, just kinda annoying. As far as the indexing comment, what I mean't was that PV indexes your music files, meaning it has the ability to group artists into folders such as, folder ABC, DEF, etc. So if I want to listen to Linkin Park, rather than scrolling down through each artist folder I can just go to the LMN folder, and scroll to Linkin Park that way. It just makes the navigation a lot simpler and easier.

Some of the ways I've seen people group their DVD's is to combine box sets, sequels, trilogy's, etc. into their own folders. For example, if I scroll to my DVD folder you'd find folders named 007, Bourne, Die Hard, etc. with individual movies available in alphabetical order once you scroll through those folders. Does that make sense?

I've read this whole thread with a thirsty eye, because at my home, I have the 1TB WMS sitting in an unopened Amazon.com box. I also have a PS3 that I've been using to stream movies from my main PC. These are almost entirely Xvid and DivX files from eztv.it. I have my fingers crossed that I'll be able to simply dump my entire video archive onto the WMS, set up either the native windows media streaming, or some add-in to continue watching all my tv episodes in the same, stress-free manner that my PC+TVersity combo has been allowing thus far.

My question to the veterans is this: what advice would you give someone who's on the cusp of a WMS install? I read somewhere else a tidbit about making sure my router's port forwarding is set up (80 for web requests, 443 for SSL, 4125 for Remote desktop) to allow for remote access through the internet. That's something I definitely plan to do, but is there anything specific that I should do/avoid considering my prior video streaming setup? Someone here mentioned making sure to turn off the TVersity running on another system in the network. Sounds like good advice.

I've read this whole thread with a thirsty eye, because at my home, I have the 1TB WMS sitting in an unopened Amazon.com box. I also have a PS3 that I've been using to stream movies from my main PC. These are almost entirely Xvid and DivX files from eztv.it. I have my fingers crossed that I'll be able to simply dump my entire video archive onto the WMS, set up either the native windows media streaming, or some add-in to continue watching all my tv episodes in the same, stress-free manner that my PC+TVersity combo has been allowing thus far.

My question to the veterans is this: what advice would you give someone who's on the cusp of a WMS install? I read somewhere else a tidbit about making sure my router's port forwarding is set up (80 for web requests, 443 for SSL, 4125 for Remote desktop) to allow for remote access through the internet. That's something I definitely plan to do, but is there anything specific that I should do/avoid considering my prior video streaming setup? Someone here mentioned making sure to turn off the TVersity running on another system in the network. Sounds like good advice.

Couple of things that I've done, I found some websites with information on the MediaSmartServer. The forums have a lot of helpful info. Check them out here:

http://www.wegotserved.co.uk/
http://www.mediasmartserver.net/

Also, if you use PVConnect it does sometimes have problems seeing the PS3, however there is a pretty easy fix for it found here (http://forum.wegotserved.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2878&hl=ps3+pvconnect). Since PVConnect works so much better for me, I disabled the default Windows Server that comes with the WHS OS so the PS3 wouldn't pick it up.

The only other thing, if you have a lot of movies, etc. that you want to move to the server make sure you check out Newegg.com for some decent deals on hard drives. I started with 500GB, and I'm now at 4.5TB of storage. I still have a little under 2TB left, but once I get into backing up my BD's, that will go VERY fast.

If you just need to stream content from a Windows PC to a PS3, I think the PS3 Media Server is the uPnP server of choice at present:

http://ps3mediaserver.blogspot.com/

If you just need to stream content from a Windows PC to a PS3, I think the PS3 Media Server is the uPnP server of choice at present:

http://ps3mediaserver.blogspot.com/

While I do think this app has tremendous potential going forward, I do think its still a little slow and buggy in a few areas, which is to be expected given that its so new.

I have both PVConnect and the PS3 Media Server installed on my MMS and PV's performance right now is just a lot faster at the moment. When using PV its as if the actual DVD is in the PS3 because when I FFW, RW, etc. it works perfectly. However, when I use the PS3 MS app I get many pauses and stuttering when using the same features. Its pretty easy to see as well if you go to your music on the XMB and watch each app as they load the songs, thumbnails, etc. PV's loads are just plain faster at the moment.

Hopefully once some of these bugs get fixed and the code is tuned a little more, we'll see the perfect app to use for streaming to the PS3.

dboss,

Thanks for all the help and information so far. I am inching closer and closer to buying a media smart. This info is really helping me out. I have a round of new questions for you.

Does PVConnect support album/dvd cover art for your files? This isn't a deal breaker for me or anything, but I'd like the feature if possible. Also, do you use your Media Smart as an Itunes server? I'm not a huge fan of Itunes but I have an iphone and and ipod so there's no getting around it. I'd like to use my media smart as an itunes server, if possible.

Also, how do you access your media smart? Does it have a web interface that you can connect to through another PC on your network or do you have a monitor attached to it with a keyboard and mouse?

Thanks again for your help. If anyone else has any other information on PVConnect or Windows Home Sever please post it, as it is greatly appreciated.

dboss,
Does PVConnect support album/dvd cover art for your files?

Yes

Also, do you use your Media Smart as an Itunes server? I'm not a huge fan of Itunes but I have an iphone and and ipod so there's no getting around it. I'd like to use my media smart as an itunes server, if possible.
I don't use that feature but it definately appears to be there. You have the option to:
"Setup Server to Stream iTunes Music"

Also, how do you access your media smart? Does it have a web interface that you can connect to through another PC on your network or do you have a monitor attached to it with a keyboard and mouse?

I can access my mediasmart server from the office via the web interface by typing in xxxxxxxx.homeserver.com and at home I can access the shared folders by typing in \\hpserver or right clicking on the icon in the bottom right corner or I can access the interface at home by double clicking the mediasmart icon in the tray.

I also now can access my mediasmart server through my yellow dog linux install on my PS3 by using the terminal server client and typing in the ip address of the homeserver box.

Note that the Mediasmart Server does NOT support a monitor, keyboard or mouse.

Yes


I don't use that feature but it definately appears to be there. You have the option to:
"Setup Server to Stream iTunes Music"



I can access my mediasmart server from the office via the web interface by typing in xxxxxxxx.homeserver.com and at home I can access the shared folders by typing in \\hpserver or right clicking on the icon in the bottom right corner or I can access the interface at home by double clicking the mediasmart icon in the tray.

I also now can access my mediasmart server through my yellow dog linux install on my PS3 by using the terminal server client and typing in the ip address of the homeserver box.

Note that the Mediasmart Server does NOT support a monitor, keyboard or mouse.

Just a couple of clarifications...the MSS does support cover-art for music, and photos, but not videos so you wouldn't be able to see the cover-art for DVD's loaded on the server using PV.

In addition to using the web interface or the software app provided by HP, you can also use your home-pc to remote connect to the MSS. In order to install PV and get it working on your PS3, you'd HAVE to do this because there is a file that needs a minor modification in order for PV to recognize the PS3. I posted a link to that information in one of my earlier posts. I've also used remote connect to disable the default Windows Server provided with the MSS, because the PS3 will also pick-up this server and since I'm already using PV there isn't much use for that application to be running.

I'm also in the same boat as Jerz as I've not set-up the iTunes server at this point, but its definitely possible. Although, now that SiriusXM is going to charge for Internet access, I'm probably going to look into this functionality a lot more. If you wanted to listen to your iTunes music remotely, I THINK the app that you would need to install is called FireFly, but I need to check into that a little more closely.

Found this link for streaming your iTunes collection over the net.

http://www.mediasmarthome.com/article/10822/Streaming-Your-Itunes-Music-Library-Over-the-Internet-From-Your-HP-MediaSmart-Server/

If you wanted to listen to your iTunes music remotely, I THINK the app that you would need to install is called FireFly, but I need to check into that a little more closely.

I listen to my music remotely via orb and for me it seems to work very well (I buy cd's not iTunes) but there may be other software that works better....

I have been trying to get everything working. I have everything working for my computers. I can stream music to itunes, save files, access the server remotely.

The one problem I have is trying to stream ALAC to the PS3. I set up Tversity and I can stream standard iTunes stuff but I get an error that the folder could not be found on the server when I try to stream ALC.

I am going to try out Twonky tonight to see if there is any change. Otherwise it is pretty useless since this is the #1 thing I want to do since I have 90% of my music collection in ALAC.

.... bummer... I don't use ALAC, typically just MP3 at 320kbps and have no issues.

No luck on ALAC.

I converted them all to 320kbps AAC.

I am still looking into ways to stream the ALAC.

Well, I did it....

I just order my HP Media Smart. It should be here by next Monday. If anyone reading this thread is interested in ordering one in the near future try using coupon code SV0708. The code got me 15% off. After that and the $50 instant rebate I saved about $130 on the EX485.

So, I've come up with a new question. If you use remote desktop to access your HP then that will let you install applications such as PS3 Media Server, correct?

I was a beta tester with WHS for quite some time and here is what I've done for my setup:

I disabled the built-in media sharing.
I followed a hack at forums.microsoft.com/WindowsHomeServer to install Windows Media Player 11.
I use Windows Media Player 11 to stream my audio, and to publish my photos
I use Twonky to stream my video.

I still haven't figured out which 'container' is best and what compression, etc to use for my video.

I've currently ripped my entire CD collection (over 800 CD's) to my WHS and would like to do the same with my DVD collection. I've been playing with different settings for AVI, MP4, and DivX and haven't really settled on a specific setting yet. It probably doesn't help that it is a very time consuming process.

I think the WHS - PS3 combo is great.

(I also have Tivo Desktop installed on WHS so I can share audio and pics to my Tivo's)

huh !! ripped 800 cds ? how ? what is the easiest way to do that ? which cd2mp3 ripper u use ? i am in such a process + also i am converting my old cassette tapes to mp3. any good tagger ? can WHS run tversity satisafactorily ? thanks, ksmani.

Hi,

I have a Playstation 3 and was thinking of getting a Windows Home Server. But rather thean getting a pre-configured HP MediaServer, I was thinking of getting a Dell PowerEdge T110 server (now on sale for $399 with 2GB memory and Xenon processor, no less) and a 1TB Drive ($89 from Tiger Direct) and Windows Home Server ($99) for <$600. I am thinking of doing this for several reasons i) PowerEdge Server should be more reliable and long-term ii) Xeon vs Celeron processor faster response and better for high def streaming iii) I have had such painful experiences with HP software in the past there is no way I can possibly imagine their add-on software as helping more than hurting (though their hardware is generally good.)

Questions: i) does anybody see any problems with this approach? ii) can all of this PlayStation 3 interaction described in this thread work on non-HP Windows Home Server?

Hi,

I have a Playstation 3 and was thinking of getting a Windows Home Server. But rather thean getting a pre-configured HP MediaServer, I was thinking of getting a Dell PowerEdge T110 server (now on sale for $399 with 2GB memory and Xenon processor, no less) and a 1TB Drive ($89 from Tiger Direct) and Windows Home Server ($99) for <$600. I am thinking of doing this for several reasons i) PowerEdge Server should be more reliable and long-term ii) Xeon vs Celeron processor faster response and better for high def streaming iii) I have had such painful experiences with HP software in the past there is no way I can possibly imagine their add-on software as helping more than hurting (though their hardware is generally good.)

Questions: i) does anybody see any problems with this approach? ii) can all of this PlayStation 3 interaction described in this thread work on non-HP Windows Home Server?

Well...As far as server's go, there isn't a bad thing I can say about HP's server's and the software they have available for it. Everything is incredibly thought out and the add-on's available aren't only developed by HP, but by user's in the HP server community as well.

Anyways, as far as the PS3 as a media player, I ended up getting a dedicated media player not long after I began using the PS3 as a media player. My DVD collection just became too large for the PS3 to handle. Also, the PS3 won't stream BD files either which became a problem for me when I began adding BD's to my server collection. I ended up purchasing a Popcorn Hour media player and, combined with my HP server purchase, they're probably the two best electronic's purchases I've ever made. Unfortunately my requirements just outgrew what the PS3 was able to handle and it honestly became a huge headache to move my media to something the PS3 was able to handle. I'm not sure if anything has changed related to the media types the PS3 supports, but I would guess it hasn't. Anyways, I'd check to make sure the PS3 supports the type of media you're thinking of streaming before deciding on using the PS3 as your media player.

I dont run a Windows Home Server, but do run the Twonky media server on a Linux server. AFAIK, Twonky is the same one that HP uses. I stream music, photos, DVD and Blu-Ray rips. All of them work great.

Just setup my WHS to store a couple movies and TV episodes I have on something that can be on full time. I noticed that I can't pause, rewind, or do anything else but play the movie straight. Am I doing something wrong? Have always just used WMP 11 to share videos. I don't care about anything fancy and have really enjoyed using WMP to stream.

Just setup my WHS to store a couple movies and TV episodes I have on something that can be on full time. I noticed that I can't pause, rewind, or do anything else but play the movie straight. Am I doing something wrong? Have always just used WMP 11 to share videos. I don't care about anything fancy and have really enjoyed using WMP to stream.

You can't do that with the standard streaming software on the WHS. You need to install PVConnect and use that as your streamer and then it should work.