[ # ] Turn PS3 into a Media Server with TVersity
/* Posted June 22nd, 2008 at 4:35pm *//* Filed under How-To, Movies & Shows, PS3 */
An oft forgotten and little known feature of your Sony PS3 is its media server capabilities which allows it to stream videos off your computer and display it on your TV. Too bad, because those who’ve overlooked this feature are missing out on, in my opinion, one of the best features about the PS3 besides its Blu-Ray playing and awesome DVD upscaling capabilities. What prevents people from using their PS3s as media servers is not anything to do with the PS3 itself, but rather they don’t know that they need their PCs involvement to act as the media server and they don’t know how to turn it into one to begin with.
Let’s rewire your preconceptions a bit before proceeding. You need two things to enable media server playback on your PS3: your PS3 and your PC. What your PC acts as is the actual media server; the PS3 is not the media server. With the appropriate software, TVersity - we’ll get to that, your computer acts as the host server for any client media streamer to connect to and stream video from, and that is your PS3. In other words, your computer must act as the media server, your PS3 is just a media streamer that connects to your media server (PC) to stream video, audio, and even pictures onto your television. As long as you wish to stream movies, both the PC and PS3 need to be on.
Now that you’re finally seeing the light, it’s time to turn your PC into a media server:
- Download TVersity. TVersity is a freeware program that can turn any PC into a media server and supports a wide range of media streamer clients including the PS3, PSP, Xbox 360, and heck even the Nintendo Wii and iPhone among others.
- Run the executable and install TVersity.
- At some point, you will be prompted to install codecs that maximize playback compatibility between TVersity and your media files. I’ve done installations with and without this option selected without seeing any real difference in playback compatibility so the choice is up to you. If you’ve already got a comprehensive number of codecs already installed and you don’t want to affect your current playback, then you may want to uncheck this option. Otherwise it’s recommended you leave it checked to maximize compatibility.
- After installation completes, start up TVersity. Then click Advanced -> Start Sharing.
- All that’s left now is to add something to the library. Click the green “+” plus sign and click Add File…
- Browse to a movie file and double click it to add it. Note that it’s possible to add entire folders and other media like mp3s and pictures as well as tag files and create playlists. I’ll let you play with this on your own.
- Open up Windows Firewall (or your firewall software) to add TVersity to the exception list. To get to Windows Firewall, go to Start -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Security Center. Then click on Windows Firewall.
- Add the program MediaServer.exe in the directory where you installed TVersity to the list of exceptions.
- Determine your computer’s IP address by typing “ipconfig” in the DOS prompt.
- Enter your router setup and enable port forwarding of 41952 to your computer
- Test that everything’s set up by visiting http://localhost:41952/. If it’s working you should see a web page with the TVersity icon.
Everything’s done on the PC side. Now turn on your PS3. I’ll assume you’ve already got it set up to work on your network either wired or wirelessly.
- In the Sony XMB, look for Video -> Search for Media Servers
- The PS3 will start looking for a media server and it will find your PC.
- You will now get a new icon under Video with the TVersity icon. Click on it (it should have your PC name).
- Browse to your video file.
- Simply load the video and sit back and enjoy your new PS3 media server!
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11 Responses to “Turn PS3 into a Media Server with TVersity”
How does it work if I try to play a video file that has dolby digital audio in it? Will the 5.1 come through my receiver?
As long as you are not letting TVersity transcode the file then it should work. This is assuming you’ve hooked up your PS3 correctly to get 5.1 sound from your receiver.
Hi, although it does not cover TVersity it does cover a few alternatives: ps3mediaserver.net
worth checking out
Great! Only you are describing how to set up the PS3 as a media CLIENT, and NOT a SERVER!
Cool post… I have one doubt. Where do the files actually get played? My desktop has a P4-2.4GHz, 512M of memory. So it can’t play HD trailers and stuff. So can i stream HD content from my pc to play on the ps3?
wow thanks the whole TVersity works really well i didnt have to do that ip stuff it just worked thankyou it is quit useful i dont have to waste cd’s or use USB ny more thankyou.
HI,
I can see the Tversity home page from http://localhost:41952/
But when I use my PS3 (80Gb) to look for media servers, it comes back with “No media servers found”. I have tried restarting the laptop and the PS3, but no change.
Please advise.
THanks
AT
AT:
There’s probably something wrong with your network setup. You need to be able to see the laptop from your PS3 so they need to be on the same subnet and you might need to configure your router so that other machines in the same subnet can see each other. The problem is compounded when one is on wired and another is on wireless as well. Also make sure that TVersity has been started (not the GUI, the actual server) on your laptop.
Bc:
Depending on the media format, if it is natively supported by the PS3, it will play back in HD resolution regardless of whether your computer can display it or not. Any media that does not have to be transcoded by TVersity will display at its original resolution.
hey my ps3 still doesn’t recognize my computer as a media server, ne suggestions?
I am a bit of a novice, but I had no problem setting up tversity and having my ps3 find it. However, I am still trying to figure out how to watch streaming Real audio and video files from some media sites.
Do I need to somehow save the files into the server before I can watch them on my ps3, and if so, how. I was hoping to watch and listen to some live streams too - is that possible?
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