July 1, 2009 2:37 PM

Right now I'd say C and D, all of the above, and none of the above. I'm afraid there isn't enough info there to really give you a clear indication. It would be helpful to know more about your MP4 files (h.264, DiVX, etc), and the resolution and bitrate, and also helpful to know more about your host PC.

Also, have you tried eliminating the wireless network and test it hard wired?

July 1, 2009 3:31 PM

It's probably converting them to HD h.264 files, which is probably a bit much for a Wireless G connection. I'd try a wired network connection first. It may turn out your laptop can stream a single h.264 file just fine.

December 8, 2009 8:49 AM updated: December 8, 2009 9:23 AM

Matt Pomroy said: Hey everyone, Looking for advice. I haven't pulled the trigger on a media server yet b/c I'v had very limited success streaming any MPEG4 video wirelessly from my PC to the PC3. I've tried WMP and Google Media server. When I get around the occasional DLNA protocol errors, videos lag terribly and it is unwatchable. So, I'm wondering is it a) My host PC (not the best) b) Wireless network (linksys wireless G) c) All of the above Also given this setup would replacing my host PC with a media server have any impact? Thanks!

I recently purchased the new EX495 and the new PS3 and have been generally pleased with wireless N streaming performance.  I am able to stream WMA files perfectly. HOWEVER, the files in the converted video folder stream with lots of hesitations, like 2 seconds than pause, etc.  I wish I had the solution to that problem.  Conversions are done by the standard Video Convertor built into the EX495 to MP4 format which I configured.  ALSO HOWEVER, the EX495 streams these converted videos (MP4) wirelessly to my laptop perfectly.  So is this a PS3 problem?

Note, the built in video converter does not convert AVI.  Plus it has problems converting the video originating from my iMac.  That is happening as I speak so I will comment on that later.

December 8, 2009 3:27 PM updated: December 8, 2009 3:39 PM

pardizzone said: Most likely the MP4 files have a bitrate that is too high for the PS3 (your laptop can live with it as it will adjust it's buffer(s) on the fly). You will either need to hook the PS3 up via a wired connection or reencode the files to a bitrate that the PS3 can handle wirelessly.

Thanks, being new to the MediaSmart server and video formats, bitrates, etc, I now see that I can adjust the bit rate on the output of the conversion file.  Now I am wondering, Can I adjust the buffer(s) (size?) on the PS3?

My EX 495 spent hours converting my videos using the formats I specified so now I have to understand a few things before I do it again.

My primary streaming destination will be to the PS3 downstairs so Unfortunately it has to be wireless.  So now I think I should choose HD 720 for my preset setting but that needs 100mbs. Lots to learn about video packages and formats, bitrates, buffers!!!!  Any articles/books to help me learn?

I bought the Media Smart Server and the PS3 together because I read that the best devices were the XBox 36o and the PS3.  I chose the PS3 because it supported Wireless out of the box and did BluRay.  It would seem to me that the Media Smart Server converter should have a profile for wireless PS3 so it could take care of the conversions settings automatically, ie bitrate settings, buffers, etc.

I just did some research on other blogs and learned that video streaming to the PS3 wirelessly has problems!  But the PS3 streams movies wirelessly from the sony store and Netflix perfectly.  So this means the Media SMART Server's Media Conversion tool has to be expertly configured to automatically take care of the various video file format it finds and converts them so that the PS3 can play them without stuttering. 

December 8, 2009 6:13 PM

i have the ex470 and I have all my ripped dvds streaming perfectly to my wireless ps3. The files are full VOBS and range from 4-8GB each... very easy to do using anydvd and clonedvd mobile from slysoft

December 30, 2009 2:41 AM

I've read here several times, and also elswhere on the net that the PS3 only takes certain file types. I've tried to find out where i can learn what exactly this special file type is, in detail. But no luck.
On my EX490 i've got lots of video files: AVI, MP4, HD files from Canon HD cam, etc.
My PS3 is wired, and some file types play, while other do not. Seems that via the 490 all HD files now play. But on the others it's hit and miss.
The reason this is important to me is that recently i've begun to try and rip some old VHS tapes. We've got dozens of old movies from when our kids were young, and i'd like to put these on a server.
But, when i rip them, using programs like Nero, some of them play via the 490/PS3 solution, but most do not.
So, back to the 1st question, what is the exact best file type (i.e. ripping) specification so ensure that things will play on the PS3?
Any ideas? thanks.

EX490 w/1TB+1.5TB+1.5TB, 7270 Fritz router, 7170 Fritz Wlan extender, PS3, Kathrein UFS910 (networked)

December 30, 2009 9:40 AM updated: December 30, 2009 9:40 AM

zgadgeter said: I've read here several times, and also elswhere on the net that the PS3 only takes certain file types. I've tried to find out where i can learn what exactly this special file type is, in detail. But no luck. On my EX490 i've got lots of video files: AVI, MP4, HD files from Canon HD cam, etc. My PS3 is wired, and some file types play, while other do not. Seems that via the 490 all HD files now play. But on the others it's hit and miss. The reason this is important to me is that recently i've begun to try and rip some old VHS tapes. We've got dozens of old movies from when our kids were young, and i'd like to put these on a server. But, when i rip them, using programs like Nero, some of them play via the 490/PS3 solution, but most do not. So, back to the 1st question, what is the exact best file type (i.e. ripping) specification so ensure that things will play on the PS3? Any ideas? thanks.

If it were me, I'd convert using h.264 in a MP4 container with AAC audio. However, I'd convert with Handbrake over Nero, or let the HP Video Converter handle the conversion.  If you choose the latter, set your video converter settings to the full res profile, but back down the audio to 160kbps and the video bitrate somewhere around 1250kbps (should be more than enough for VHS quality). Try one, and then test it out on the PS3. If you use handbrake, the Normal profile should work fine, but uncheck the option to create chapter markers, and add ":weightp=0" to the end of the advanced coding box. It will make the end file generally more compatible with various media streamers.

December 30, 2009 9:53 AM

Everyone keeps mentioning HD streaming... Is everyone referring to ripped bluray or hddvd... what applications is everyone using to do this... just Nero or Handbrake?

December 30, 2009 10:09 AM

ahylton said: Everyone keeps mentioning HD streaming... Is everyone referring to ripped bluray or hddvd... what applications is everyone using to do this... just Nero or Handbrake?

Not necessarily. HD home and portable camcorders are commonplace these days. HD streaming can also refer to content from these devices.

December 30, 2009 2:08 PM updated: December 30, 2009 4:11 PM

ahylton said:

Everyone keeps mentioning HD streaming... Is everyone referring to ripped bluray or hddvd... what applications is everyone using to do this... just Nero or Handbrake?

HD streaming is a very abused phrase. High Definition is usually defined by the resolution which is incomplete. The rest of the story is the bitrate and that is where the real challenge is for streaming and playback. Bitrate is a big hammer when it comes to PQ.

When someone says they wirelessly stream HD video you have to ask what the bitrate of the HD video is. In nearly all cases when this claim is made the video has been re-encoded to have HD resolution but has lower than SD bitrates.

I doubt whether anyone in this thread that is espousing HD streaming wirelessly is doing so with full BD or HDDVD video. The word full means no re-encoding to a lower bitrate.

Handbrake and MeGUI are two freeware apps that many use to re-encode full BD, HD DVD or HDTV to lower bitrates as h264. Many BDs are already H264 but some are VC-1, however their bitrates are around 22-23Mb/sec.

I have used both Handbrake and MeGUI and both can produce excellent results. Handbrake is easier to use but has fewer user options than MeGUI. MeGUI has more user selectable options but has a steeper learning curve.

TMPGenc Movie Style is a payware app that works quite nicely and has a selection for PS3 encoding. It accepts just about anything and is fairly fast. The knock is that it does not have many encoding options. What they do have is more than sufficient for most folks. It also has a folder monitoring feature that I have found to be quite handy.

December 30, 2009 4:10 PM

MitchSchaft said:

Have you guys checked out MakeMKV? I'm not sure if it'll do bluray, but for regular DVDs it'll rip it straight to a single MKV file.
http://www.makemkv.com/

It does BD!

December 30, 2009 6:52 PM

i am not an mkv fan... there isnt enough things that play it... i use anydvd products as well as wondershare and tunebite. they give you a ton of capability and flexibility

February 15, 2010 1:36 PM

ahylton said:

i am not an mkv fan... there isnt enough things that play it... i use anydvd products as well as wondershare and tunebite. they give you a ton of capability and flexibility

I prefer .M4v files created with the Apple TV preset available in Handbrake- with the exception of clicking off the "Large File Size" it produces videos with great picture quality to be streamed to several devices. I stream my video library to my: Apple TV, Xbox 360, an iMac-2 macbooks and 2 windows PCs via iTunes, the same PCs via Windows Media Player or WMC, in addition, I just picked up a PS3 and it streams to that too. The downside to that file format is that the audio is down converted to 2 channel Pro-Logic, if you dont mind that, its perfect.

In addition, Star Trek (2009) is down to 2.51GB and a 1 hour TV show is down to 600MB-1GB in size.