[Shapermc]

So, I have a 360 and PS3 now and I realized that I can get videos and put them on these consoles and watch them on my TV. I am very interested in doing this for a couple TV shows that I want to try out as well as just some other random videos.

I don't really know where to look for this, or even what the systems are capable of so I'm looking for some help. I assume that most videos I get are going to need to be converted in some manner, and I don't know what programs do this (hopefully free ones) or what kind of devices I can use to transfer them (usb sticks hopefully).

Any assistance or perhaps a point in the right direction. I tried doing a little research, but the info I got was a bit too generic for me to figure out.
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The bad sleep well at The Gamer's Quarter

[Corinth]

If you use your 360 you'll have to use a program on your PC to transcode in realtime to WMV - I think the Mac one is called Connect360, unless it's not and that's the PC one. If your PC is still your laptop this solution isn't very appetizing. I don't think my computer's fast enough to do this crappy lossy-lossy conversion with a high enough bitrate for me not to start vomiting. PS3 (I'm ashamed I don't know, actually) should play more things, since it supports the actual h.264 codec, or at least I assume it does since the PSP does. Most TV shows you download will be usually be XviD, unless you're getting them from "real thing" HD release groups, in which case they'll be h264!

Also, 802.11b isn't fast enough to stream most HD stuff, depending on bitrate. So there's that to consider, if you're doing things via a network instead of burning DVDs or plugging in USB drives.

[Corinth]

Oh, right. Yeah, both the 360 and PS3 can read media off of USB stuff. Xbox 360will only ever play WMV video, though, so you'll probably want to use your PS3. MediaCoder seems to be a decent Windows GUI program for doing transcoding - check it out, I guess. Recent x264 builds aren't VFW-compatible so there's no using VirtualDub with them, but you could always go the command-line route if you wanted to be hardcore about it.

If you don't have any HD content really the best thing to do would be to pick up an old Xbox and mod the sucker. Takes fifteen minutes to do that and toss XBMC on it, no opening required ;_;

[Predator Goose]

Yeah, that "360 will only ever play WMV file" really kills me. It makes the feature useless since I have exactly two files in WMF format and simply won't bother converting a file every time I want to watch it on the tely.
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I can no longer shop happily.

[Kappuru]

shaper, you have an original xbox right? just softmod it and run xbox media center, it runs great in 720p
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[Shapermc]

ok, seriously, I'm not going to soft mod my Xbox. I've been hearing this for years now and I'm just not going to do it. I should alter my sig to state this.

With that said: I just want to download a file, run it through some kind of encoder, put it on my HDD for a game console (probably ps3 just because it has enough room) and then watch it when ever I get around to it.

Anyways, I did a _bit_ more research and came up with some interesting stuff for the PS3 and figured I'd post it here for archive reasons:

Q: What video formats can be played on the PS3?
A: MPEG-4 SP (AAC LC)
H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Main Profile (AAC LC)
MPEG-1 (MPEG Audio Layer 2)
MPEG-2 PS (MPEG2 Audio Layer 2, AAC LC, AC3(Dolby Digital), LPCM)
MPEG-2 TS (MPEG2 Audio Layer 2)

Technically, more can be played using Linux, but the above mentioned are the ones inherently supported by the PS3.

Q: What audio formats can be played on the PS3?
A: Memory Stick Audio Format(ATRAC)
MP3(MPEG-1/2 Audio Layer 3)
MP4(MPEG-4 AAC)
WAVE(Linear PCM)
Windows Media Audio (WMA)

Technically, more can be played using Linux, but the above mentioned are the ones inherently supported by the PS3.

Q: What photo formats can be shown on the PS3?
A: JPEG, TIFF , BMP, GIF, PNG.

Technically, more can be played using Linux, but the above mentioned are the ones inherently supported by the PS3.

Q: How do I convert my video files to the PS3?
A: Check this thread: http://www.ps3forums.com/showthread.php?t=48290 (conversion of all kinds of file types), or this thread: http://www.ps3forums.com/showthread.php?t=51728 (conversion of QuickTime files).

Q: I have some multimedia stuff on an external storage device, but the PS3 doesn't show the files. Why is that?
A: For the PS3 to automatically show your pictures, movies or music files, they need to be in a specific folder in the root of the device. The folder names must be VIDEO , MUSIC, or PICTURE. To browse through folders with other names, press the Triangle button over the device, and select the "Show All" option. http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/ps3/current/basicoperations/changeview.html

If the files on the disc does not have a file extension (.gif, .mp3, .mp4, etc.) that is compatible with a format supported by the PS3, they won't be shown either.

Q: Some of the movies I downloaded or transferred from my PC have a 15 sec. preview running, when I browse through my video files on the XMB. Can I do this to all my movies?
A: Yes. Play the movie, and when you get to the point you want the preview to start as, pause it. Press triangle, and select the "Change Icon" option.

Q: If I buy a game from the PlayStation Store, can I play it at a friends house on his PS3? Can I share it with him?
A: Yes. The things you buy are tied to your account. You can log in on your friend's PS3 and download the game on his PS3. After you leave, he can still play the game. This can be done up to 5 times per game on different PS3 machines.
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The bad sleep well at The Gamer's Quarter

[Shapermc]

One more interesting item: this link will convert youtube and google video videos into PS3 format:

http://ps3mods.blogspot.com/2006/12/convert-youtube-or-google-videos-for.html
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The bad sleep well at The Gamer's Quarter

[Kappuru]

I'm just curious ; why not? Xbox Media Center is the BEST media player known to man. It plays any format you can throw at it.
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[Shapermc]

Because it involves modding something and using software/router stuff that I just don't feel like messing with.

I have the native ability to do this with two other consoles. I could also install Linux on the PS3 and it will run anything I throw at that if I really wanted.

I just want to download->convert with program->slap in hardware.
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The bad sleep well at The Gamer's Quarter

[gooktime]

It takes maybe, at a push, 30 seconds to get XBMC setup with no risk to your hardware. That's a lot less hassle than converting all of your existing media and the potential problems "vendor lock-in" can cause.

[Shapermc]

I don't see what's so hard about just answering questions as posted in the thread without giving me a hard time. I've seen the process done before. It takes way more than thirty seconds and it also takes hardware/games I don't have or ever plan to have.

shit
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The bad sleep well at The Gamer's Quarter

[Corinth]

[108]

step one: plug macbook pro in with DVI-->HDMI

step two: fuck yeah
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[Shapermc]

[Corinth]

So just pretend nothing exists in this thread other than the following:

USE A PROGRAM SUCH AS MEDIACODER TO TRANSCODE YOUR VIDEO FILES INTO H264. LEAVE THEIR AUDIO ALONE IF YOU CAN AND IT'S ALREADY SUPPORTED BY YOUR PS3, WHICH IT PROBABLY IS. PUT YOUR NEW FILE ON A MEMORY STICK OR WHATEVER. WATCH IT. WHEEE.

[Shapermc]

[Kappuru]

sneaker net = running around the house with floppies (dvds, cds) . your sneakers are the network.

and umm, tversity is pretty good, it's what my roommate uses, but it does have the tendency to crash and you need a FAST computer.
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[Shapermc]

I have a decent computer, but if I try to run anything over 720p (like 1080p) I get framedraw issues and crap, so that's probably not an option.
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The bad sleep well at The Gamer's Quarter

[Corinth]