Time to move Past PS3 Media Server?

D

Deptacon

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 14, 2006
Messages
146
Ok Guys,

I have been using PSMS for years. I have a 8 bay driver tower in my home office with about 20tb of movies and shows almost all in mkv format in 720p and 1080p.

Now, I have been using PS3MS to stream it to my TV via hardwire run in the wall and now a mono price ethernet via power system http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=105&cp_id=10521&cs_id=1052102&p_id=9920&seq=1&format=2

Works great except for the highest quality digital files (18GB seems to be the bandwidth buster on the powerline device)

anyways....I have paid zero attention to what other options I have to stream and what else has come out over the past few years. is therte something better now? I must be able to play the current data I have (mkv in 1080) to play on my tv.

thoughts....ideas? better software....or hardware device besides using PS3MS to decode?
 
Deptacon said:
Ok Guys,

I have been using PSMS for years. I have a 8 bay driver tower in my home office with about 20tb of movies and shows almost all in mkv format in 720p and 1080p.

Now, I have been using PS3MS to stream it to my TV via hardwire run in the wall and now a mono price ethernet via power system http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=105&cp_id=10521&cs_id=1052102&p_id=9920&seq=1&format=2

Works great except for the highest quality digital files (18GB seems to be the bandwidth buster on the powerline device)

anyways....I have paid zero attention to what other options I have to stream and what else has come out over the past few years. is therte something better now? I must be able to play the current data I have (mkv in 1080) to play on my tv.

thoughts....ideas? better software....or hardware device besides using PS3MS to decode?
Click to expand...

Western Digital streaming media player. Does all that and more, uses a fraction of the power. Also has a nice interface.

For streaming services I use a Roku 3. For media storage files (especially MKV and 1080P w/ DTS-MA HD audio) I use the WD box.
 
I just wish one of them supported Hi10p. It's really frustrating how many folks are encoding in 10-bit when there's no actual benefit.

NUC is the most viable option these days.
 
jmilcher said:
Western Digital streaming media player. Does all that and more, uses a fraction of the power. Also has a nice interface.

For streaming services I use a Roku 3. For media storage files (especially MKV and 1080P w/ DTS-MA HD audio) I use the WD box.
Click to expand...

can I access my large 8 bay drive box via the network with the WD player?
 
Plex on a Roku 3 is pretty damn impressive for the size of the device. It uses a hell of a lot less power than a PS3 as well.
 
dandragonrage said:
Universal Media Server (a fork of PS3 Media Server) is where you should go. Plex works and lots here recommend it, but UMS is better if you don't want to pay for stuff. I've recommended Plex myself as an alternate to UMS, but I really recommend UMS.

http://www.universalmediaserver.com/comparison/
Click to expand...

Oh nice! I've been using PS3MS for years and was thinking it was time to move on as well.
 
NickJames said:
Plex
Click to expand...

I find plex to be very picky with certain mkv files, most of mine won't play yet play fine via PS3 Media server

PS3Media server for me just works and always had, never has issues with file formats or being picky about specific encode options unlike plex.
 
MrGuvernment said:
I find plex to be very picky with certain mkv files, most of mine won't play yet play fine via PS3 Media server

PS3Media server for me just works and always had, never has issues with file formats or being picky about specific encode options unlike plex.
Click to expand...

exactly why I am reluctant to move on after all these years. it works. but is there something that is better, easier, and more user friendly?
 
MrGuvernment said:
I find plex to be very picky with certain mkv files, most of mine won't play yet play fine via PS3 Media server

PS3Media server for me just works and always had, never has issues with file formats or being picky about specific encode options unlike plex.
Click to expand...

I have a library of over 14TB of mkv files and not one that Plex hasn't been able to play. The server component will transcode whatever you need based on the client asking for it - it's part of it's beauty. Oh and library management ++++.

:)
 
NickJames said:
Plex
Click to expand...

Plex on the roku 3 is nice for anything except direct blu ray ISO rips, or anything that had dts-ma HD audio. Because of limitations it cannot play them.

That's why I said the WD SMP. It plays high nitrate iso's and HD audio. Not to mention its stand alone unlike plex.

I use both though, they do different jobs.
 
I currently use Plex coupled with chromecasts on my TV's. Just sit down with my iphone or ipad, call up my video and sit back to enjoy. :)
 
jmilcher said:
Plex on the roku 3 is nice for anything except direct blu ray ISO rips, or anything that had dts-ma HD audio. Because of limitations it cannot play them.

That's why I said the WD SMP. It plays high nitrate iso's and HD audio. Not to mention its stand alone unlike plex.

I use both though, they do different jobs.
Click to expand...

I guess if you're an enthusiast then Plex wont do the job but for ease of use it is hands down the best home media player on the market. Although I have had no issues with full BD rips with MakeMKV. I can play 30-40GB rips just fine on Chromecast.
 
I moved from PS3m to Serviio and haven't looked back. I give Plex a try everytime there's a major release but always end up back with Serviio. I only use them as free versions, so I have no experience with any of the paid crap in Serviio or Plex.
 
Massamune said:
I just wish one of them supported Hi10p. It's really frustrating how many folks are encoding in 10-bit when there's no actual benefit.

NUC is the most viable option these days.
Click to expand...


Hi10p is actually a very solid benefit for animated material.
 
AFAIK it isn't supported on a ps3 but Plex works wonders, add a chromecast and you're set for $35. Best of all your phone is the 'remote' for the chromecast, making it really easy to start/stream shit.

Note you don't need any plex login to do things locally, only for their online portion/accessing it remotely
 
jmilcher said:
Western Digital streaming media player. Does all that and more, uses a fraction of the power. Also has a nice interface.
Click to expand...

If you have MKV files that were once split so they could fit on CDR media you won't like it as the player only sees the first half of the file and ignores the rest. Otherwise, it's ok.
 
The Donut said:
I have a library of over 14TB of mkv files and not one that Plex hasn't been able to play. The server component will transcode whatever you need based on the client asking for it - it's part of it's beauty. Oh and library management ++++.

:)
Click to expand...

Seem my sony BR player can only stream very "specific" mkv based files. can plex trancode on the fly to mp4 or something else?
 
lilfiend said:
AFAIK it isn't supported on a ps3 but Plex works wonders, add a chromecast and you're set for $35. Best of all your phone is the 'remote' for the chromecast, making it really easy to start/stream shit.

Note you don't need any plex login to do things locally, only for their online portion/accessing it remotely
Click to expand...

I have yet to pay anything to Plex, and use it to play media remotely. Is this a recent change?
 
boss6021 said:
I have yet to pay anything to Plex, and use it to play media remotely. Is this a recent change?
Click to expand...

The android client either costs $5 for the app or varying amounts for a plexpass

Recently installed plex here, my major complaint about it is that I can't get it to recognize my anime collection at all. Everything else (movies, TV series, cartoons) it picked up without a problem though.

I'll have to poke their forums, I do like the look of Universal Media Server better but it seems they're a bit more behind on the web ui/remote streaming stuff.
 
FnordMan said:
The android client either costs $5 for the app or varying amounts for a plexpass

Recently installed plex here, my major complaint about it is that I can't get it to recognize my anime collection at all. Everything else (movies, TV series, cartoons) it picked up without a problem though.

I'll have to poke their forums, I do like the look of Universal Media Server better but it seems they're a bit more behind on the web ui/remote streaming stuff.
Click to expand...

I see. I just use PCs exclusively for remote viewing. Check the naming convention used on the Anime files. The only times I have had issues with it picking up files was due to this.
 
FnordMan said:
The android client either costs $5 for the app or varying amounts for a plexpass

Recently installed plex here, my major complaint about it is that I can't get it to recognize my anime collection at all. Everything else (movies, TV series, cartoons) it picked up without a problem though.

I'll have to poke their forums, I do like the look of Universal Media Server better but it seems they're a bit more behind on the web ui/remote streaming stuff.
Click to expand...


I believe the Plex app on Roku also is $5... used to be free... so something I'll have to keep in mind, and not do a reset on my Roku 2 xs...if you have the app .. you get grandfathered in to keep it for free
 
boss6021 said:
I see. I just use PCs exclusively for remote viewing. Check the naming convention used on the Anime files. The only times I have had issues with it picking up files was due to this.
Click to expand...

Yeah.. my issue turned out to be permissions. Could have sworn I had all the directories +x in the anime folder but I missed the folder all of the series resides in.. (on Linux/BSD/*nix if the directory isn't +x then nobody can get a file listing)

still working at splitting up the various series I have in there as I was rather too lazy to do it the first go given they showed up as one giant "movie" on the disc when I encoded them. Thankfully they do have chapter markers so it's not too bad to do it with mkvtoolnix.
 
I moved from PS3MS + PS3 to Plex + Roku, and think it was an upgrade. The Plex app on Roku isn't quite as good as it is on a PC, but it's much better looking than the PS3's massive text-based media lists. Agree that there are occasionally a few things that won't transcode, but I had that problem a lot more often with PS3MS. Roku is hopeless at playing files directly though (ie. from USB). Then again, so is the PS3.

Plex also acts as a upnp server, so you can shut down PS3MS, and fire up Plex on the same machine, then try it out on your PS3 as a first step. If it's at least as good as PS3MS, try the Plex front-end out on a PC. If you like it, then buy a Roku. Low commitment experimentation.
 
Is there anything wrong with the Amazon Fire TV? I'll contribute the current state of my research:

http://www.reddit.com/r/fireTV/comments/23z1mw/list_of_sideloaded_apps_for_firetv/ - list of sideloadable apps for Fire TV.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2703716 - actually this may have more information overall.
http://www.kevinbrotcke.com/android/amazon-fire-tv-tips-tricks/ - some mice / keyboards seem to work over USB / bluetooth. USB port cannot be used to read storage.
http://hd-report.com/2014/04/24/what-channels-can-you-get-on-amazons-fire-tv/ - current channel list?

From what I'm reading:

- Fastest Hardware by far (snapdragon 600 SOC - QuadCore + Adreno 320 GPU + 2gb RAM like Samsung Galaxy S4)
- It has many channels, but not as many as it should. (Lacks HBO-Go (sideload app), Vudu, Spotify). May also lack CBS... probably a lot of other popular stuff... Crunchyroll can be sideloaded, but needs an official app for HD-content.
http://www.roku.com/channels/#!browse/movies-and-tv/by-popular - Here is the Roku channel list for comparison. It looks good. But, for instance, the CrunchyRoll app listed is also limited to 480p.

- Local Network streaming = sideload ES file Explorer + sideload MX player. Can also install XBMC if desired. These 3 apps seem to work fine. Can also transfer files via AirDroid (I assume to the internal 8GB).
- Users complain that the interface isn't great yet, and there is no search-filtering for Amazon Prime content (probably deliberately)

I'm looking for something easy for my parents. My mother can use android, so she can use the sideloaded apps. My father will still be able to use the streamed channels, and more if he is motivated to learn.

I'll have to ask them what channels they want... that's probably going to be the deciding factor.
 
Last edited:
Archmage said:
Is there anything wrong with the Amazon Fire TV? I'll contribute the current state of my research:

http://www.reddit.com/r/fireTV/comments/23z1mw/list_of_sideloaded_apps_for_firetv/ - list of sideloadable apps for Fire TV.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2703716 - actually this may have more information overall.
http://www.kevinbrotcke.com/android/amazon-fire-tv-tips-tricks/ - some mice / keyboards seem to work over USB / bluetooth. USB port cannot be used to read storage.
http://hd-report.com/2014/04/24/what-channels-can-you-get-on-amazons-fire-tv/ - current channel list?

From what I'm reading:

- Fastest Hardware by far (snapdragon 600 SOC - QuadCore + Adreno 320 GPU + 2gb RAM like Samsung Galaxy S4)
- It has many channels, but not as many as it should. (Lacks HBO-Go (sideload app), Vudu, Spotify). May also lack CBS... probably a lot of other popular stuff... Crunchyroll can be sideloaded, but needs an official app for HD-content.
http://www.roku.com/channels/#!browse/movies-and-tv/by-popular - Here is the Roku channel list for comparison. It looks good. But, for instance, the CrunchyRoll app listed is also limited to 480p.

- Local Network streaming = sideload ES file Explorer + sideload MX player. Can also install XBMC if desired. These 3 apps seem to work fine. Can also transfer files via AirDroid (I assume to the internal 8GB).
- Users complain that the interface isn't great yet, and there is no search-filtering for Amazon Prime content (probably deliberately)

I'm looking for something easy for my parents. My mother can use android, so she can use the sideloaded apps. My father will still be able to use the streamed channels, and more if he is motivated to learn.

I'll have to ask them what channels they want... that's probably going to be the deciding factor.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that sounds ready for Prime Time.
That was sarcasm.
 
Fire Tv is great and with XBMC installed is more than enough for my needs. XBMC runs very well and doesn't seem to have any probs streaming 1080p content wirelessly either.
 
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