Playstation 3 | Electronically Obsessed: A tech addict's guide to using the Internet to streamline your life

16Nov/090

Break free from (and cancel!) your cable or satellite subscriptions (Part III): Netflix on the Playstation 3

Internet Streaming vs. Blu-ray

The Playstation 3 is more than just a game console - it's actually a Trojan horse. In 2006, Sony used the Playstation 3 as a weapon against Toshiba in the Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD high-definition video war. By equipping each Playstation 3 with a Blu-ray drive (and selling them at a loss), millions of Blu-ray-capable players were installed in homes all over the world. While Blu-ray offers some of the best video quality for the home market, Internet streaming services such as Netflix's Watch Instantly (which allows on-demand streaming of thousands of movie and television titles) are not far behind.

Netflix Watch Instantly on the Playstation 3

Last week, Netflix released the Playstation 3 Netflix Watch Instantly disc. If you are a Netflix subscriber and own a PS3, this disc enables your PS3 to stream movies from Netflix and display them directly on your television. I received my disc on Friday and have been really impressed by the streaming quality. I didn't notice any dropped frames, stuttering, or synching problems between the video and audio (all of these were issues with Media Mall's PlayOn Digital Media Server). However, the best part of the experience is that the Watch Instantly service offers some movie and television titles in HD! Watch out Blu-ray!

Action items

Subscribe to Netflix. Get at least the $8.99/month plan for unlimited disc rentals (one-movie-at-a-time) and unlimited Watch Instantly streaming.
If you don't already have a Playstation 3, this is the best time to buy one. Click the following Amazon.com product link to buy one now --> PlayStation 3 120 GB. The newly-redesigned PS3 is only $299. This is a great deal because a standalone Blu-ray player can easily cost $200.
Order your Netflix Watch Instantly PS3 disc here.
Load up your disc in your PS3, select a movie or television show, and enjoy!

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Tagged as: cancel cable, Netflix, playstation 3 No Comments

12Nov/090

Break free from (and cancel!) your cable or satellite subscriptions (Part II): PlayOn Media Server

TV on the Internet

While Internet TV can be used as a replacement for cable or satellite subscriptions, most people like to enjoy their television programming in their living rooms. For some, watching television on their computer screens is just not as satisfying. Enter Media Mall's PlayOn Digital Media Server!

Quick Take:

MediaMall's PlayOn Media Server streams web video to game consoles (Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and now, Wii) for display on televisions. Cautiously recommended due to impressive video quality (for web video) and easy setup (due to uPnP).

However, PlayOn suffers from inconsistent availability. Frequently, these outages are outside of Media Mall's control. Customer service (in addressing the outages), on the other hand, is stellar. Media Mall has a very active user forum. They are also known for addressing outages quickly. Cost: Initial 14 day free trial, with a one-time charge of $39.95 after the end of the trial period.

Detailed Review:

Hulu

I've been a huge fan of Hulu since the service became available to the public in March 2008. I had actually signed up for the private beta test by submitting my email address, but didn't receive an invite until after the service went public. Not only does Hulu allow me to catch up on previous episodes of some of my current favorite television shows like NBC's "The Office", "Chuck", and FOX's "Dollhouse," I've also been able to watch older shows that I missed during their original broadcast like FOX's "Arrested Development."

Slow Computer Blues

While I initially didn't mind watching Hulu on my Windows Vista HP laptop, I felt that it would be great to enjoy my favorite shows on the couch, in front of my HDTV. Until recently, my standard Hulu setup involved a direct connection between my laptop and the PC input of my television. Unfortunately, my laptop's integrated graphics card (NVIDIA GeForce Go 6150) just couldn't handle the task of displaying full-screen video without jitter and distracting stutter. I tried everything: updating the drivers, downgrading to Windows XP, installing a clean install of Windows Vista Ultimate, adding a USB key in hopes of taking advantage of Vista's ReadyBoost memory feature. Nothing worked.

I was ready to give up until I read an Engadget post about MediaMall's PlayOn Media Server.

Media Mall's PlayOn

PlayOn is a Windows-only (XP or Vista) media server that downloads video from Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, and other Internet video sites and streams that content to a Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii or any other DNLA (Digital Living Network Alliance)-compliant networked media device. When the service is operating, the results are absolutely stunning. The video is crisp and clear, with no detectable jitter or lag. To my eyes, the quality is somewhere between standard-definition TV and DVD. Setup was a breeze too, thanks to Universal Plug and Play (uPnP). All I did was download the program, install it on my PC, turn on my PS3, select the "PlayOn" icon under the "video" option in the PS3 menu, and seconds later, I was watching "Chuck" on my HDTV. Brilliant.

After the installation of PlayOn, my PC and PS3 share the responsibilities of providing the content to my television. The PC downloads and transcodes the content into a format that the PS3 can understand. Then, the PC streams the content to the PS3 over the home network. Both wired Ethernet and wireless (802.11b, g, and n) connections are supported, but my setup allows me to have both the PC and the PS3 connected directly to my wireless router.

Plug-ins for More Content

Upon installation, PlayOn enables streams of Hulu, CNN, ESPN, Netflix, CBS, YouTube, and Amazon Video-on-Demand. Downloadable unofficial plugins (which are not supported by MediaMall) from PlayOnPlugins bring even more content (Revision 3, The Food Network, GameTrailers, HGTV, NBA, etc.) to your television.

PlayOn has a 14-day trial period where you can truly test the software to see if it's a good fit. After the trial period ends, you have to pay a one-time charge of $39.95 to continue using the software.

Action Items:

Go to http://themediamall.com and download the free, full function trial software.
Interface your PC with your Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Wii (or any other DNLA-compliant media client)
Enjoy Internet video on your TV
Purchase PlayOn when your 14 day trial is up!

Note: This post is an edited version of a post originally featured on the original Electronically Obsessed site.

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