OT: PS3 or X360? Convince me

4eyes wrote on 12/25/2007, 8:32 AM

I was reading the Playstation Blog and found out that this is a specific problem with the 2.10 firmware release. The streaming of HD content over the wire was working fine with 2.01 and it seems that something changed with the latest release - quite a few people pretty hot about it... imagine that.Yes, I have problems with the file format recognition. Streaming hd-mpeg2 still works fine but streaming avc/h264 video files in various containers isn't working correctly as in previous firmware updates.
Usually on the Nero Home Media Server my files will use an extension of .mpg. I've had to do this because the Nero Media Server (in passthrough mode) doesn't grab and serve out the other extensions like .m2t /.m2ts/.mts etc. Then when the PS3 reads the mpg files it determines all it's parameters. So renaming a xxxx.m2ts file to xxxx.m2ts.mpg has worked in firmware 2.01 and the PS3 plays the files back and recognized them as avc/h264 video. Now the video shows up as bad format or similar wording, if I copy it to the PS3 local harddisk it plays fine. Mpeg4 files also play fine. So they have to fix this.

Will have to wait for the next firmware update.

I was given the Blu-Ray Complete Versions of Planet Earth for xmas. What a stunning piece of work in high defintion.

p@mast3rs wrote on 12/25/2007, 8:48 AM

It turns out its the Xbox 360 Arcade, NO HDD, so downloading content will not happen unless I shell out for the hdd add on, not worth it. Will the 360 let me play back media files from DVD-R? That might be the way to view some high def content without having to FAT32 one of my externals.

p@mast3rs wrote on 12/25/2007, 10:43 AM

Good news is it plays WMV from DVD-R right out of the box. Havent gotten it online yet to download dashboard updates as it is set up in another room currently. Would have liked to have had the HDD but for media play back right now, not a bad gift at all.

Houston Haynes wrote on 12/25/2007, 3:00 PM

That's great - it's pretty much "six of one, half dozen of another" with these units. I plan to add an XBOX 360 when/if my bonus comes in May. I just grabbed some old demo footage in WMV and DivX formats and put them out on the NAS and they streamed in to the PS3 just fine - though I've not encoded anything for HD playback. I've read enough about how picky the PS3 can be on formats it was great to see my first few attempts work right off the bat. The next step will be to try a few encodes at various resolutions with the right aspect ratio and see how it looks and feels on the screen. (and sounds in surround). Time to recalibrate the surrounds in the studio. Life is good.

fldave wrote on 12/25/2007, 5:15 PM

PS3 it is for my son (and I!) 80GB model. The 40GB model is not backward compatible to PS2, which was important to me (for him), plus I don't like dumbed down machines/software. Extra controller, HDMI cable, remote control.

Easy setup to my wireless network, though I need to upgrade my 4-point wired router to an 8-point so I can hard wire it in.

There were still a lot of the 80GB models here in NW Florida.

InterceptPoint wrote on 12/26/2007, 8:33 AM

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. It convinced me to go out and buy the PS3 that I now have up and running. What a machine. It even played my very first try at rendering a Blu-Ray disk out of Vegas 8.0a.

Life is good.

p@mast3rs wrote on 12/26/2007, 5:06 PM

Wow, got the latest dashboard update installed, tried the vista media center and had minimal success. Then I burned some training titles that were 5fps, encoded from Vegas with H.264, and man, it looks FREAKIN AWESOME!!!! 720p training! H.264 AVC as well.

Ok, so its not the PS3 and I dont have BD playback, but man, HD is so sweet. I feel like an idiot for always relying on my pc for any type of HD viewing. If 720p is that impressive, I can only imagine just how awesome 1080p is.

JFJ wrote on 12/26/2007, 6:11 PM

I'm sorry to butt in, but why is it we're talking about the PS3 and xbox 360? Wouldn't it be wiser for any videophile/editors/etc to either save up and put this $ into updating/building upon their editing systems/monitoring systems (and a standalone player)?

Or, if you're really into getting it for just watching HD video, maybe saving and applying that $ to a nice big, quality HDtv and standalone player purchase is something that might provide some serious "wow" for ya in the long run?

Or is it also about the bonus of gaming ?
* in which case I can't help but tell ya the 360 would more than edge out given the nature and base set in their "Live" service. It really does make a deciding difference to most when we're talking ps3/x360 (besides the fact it has more interesting game titles out and coming out).

either way it sounds like a "wonderful dilemna" to have ;)
good luck

4eyes wrote on 12/26/2007, 7:15 PM

I'm sorry to butt in, but why is it we're talking about the PS3 and xbox 360?The PS3 (and interest to videographers) is a standalone player. Besides playing dvd's, avchd & Blu-Ray Disks it's also a multi-media player for individual file playback, streaming etc. You can test/preview your media files on the PS3 before authoring them. You can also test your authored media on the PS3.

John_Cline wrote on 12/27/2007, 8:09 AM

From eMedialive.com on the new v2.10 firmware update for the PS3:

PS3 system software 2.10

PS3 system’s value as a gaming and home entertainment center will be expanded with the PS3 system software 2.10 upgrade. Consumers will be able to playback videos in the popular DivX format. DivX is the format of choice for uploading personal video content to a PC or downloading content from the Internet because of its high visual quality and small file sizes. Many PS3 users may already have DivX videos stored on their PC, and now they’ll be able to enjoy this content in their living rooms on their PS3. Consumers will have the option to access DivX videos stored on their PC over Wi-Fi via PS3 system’s Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) technology.

PS3 system software 2.10 also includes the BD Profile 1.1, making PS3 one of the first Blu-ray players on the market capable of advanced features for movies, such as secondary video and audio decoders for picture-in-picture viewing and interactive audio commentary. The first BD movies to take advantage of BD Profile 1.1 are slated for release in January 2008, making PS3 owners among the first consumers who will be able to enjoy the enhanced movie-watching experience that Blu-ray technology makes possible.

All PS3 systems play high-definition Blu-ray movies out-of-the-box, and with 70 percent of PS3 users stating in a recent survey that they own at least three BD movies, it’s clear that Blu-ray movie playback is a key benefit for PS3 owners. Because of PS3’s ability to upgrade its system software , the 1.1 Profile and future BD updates can easily be delivered to users, enabling the system to remain current as BD technology advances.

System software 2.10 also adds support for playback of videos in VC-1 format, including WMV content. Additionally, a new Voice Changer setting for voice and video chat enables high and low-pitched tones to be adjusted to five preset levels.

Houston Haynes wrote on 12/27/2007, 2:45 PM

I'm sorry to butt in, but why is it we're talking about the PS3 and xbox 360?

http://www.hardcoreware.net/playstation-3-vs-xbox-360-one-year-later/

Multimedia

Here’s one area that my friend didn’t really consider last year, as he is mostly concerned with making games for the systems, and not watching movies on them. I bought my XBOX 360 around the middle of 2006, and my PS3 at launch, so I am talking about my personal experience here.

For movies, the PS3 wins hands down. Not only does it have integrated Blu-Ray capability, it is a far superior movie player to begin with. We also must consider that the PS3 can be had for as little as $399, while an XBOX 360 with HD-DVD player will cost at least $530 (Arcade Edition notwithstanding, since nobody in their right mind is going to buy an XBOX 360 without a hard drive).

Regardless of comparing playback image quality, sound quality, and interface, there is one thing that gives the XBOX 360 an automatic “zero” in every category - it is excruciatingly LOUD. There is ONE thing that I HATE when I try to watch a movie, and that’s background noise. I alway go out of the way to make sure my living room is utterly quiet when I sit down to watch a movie, and the sickening screech of the 360’s DVD drive and fans makes this completely impossible.

PS3, on the other hand, is completely quiet during movie playback. Whether you are watching a Blu-Ray, DVD, or other video format, the PS3 isn’t going to make a peep.

I also much prefer the PS3’s interface to the bright, flashy, sluggish interface of the XBOX 360. Turning on the PS3 to watch a high-definition movie feels like a classy, almost ‘high end’ experience. In contrast, fire up the XBOX 360 and you are treated to a whining fan, screeching DVD drive, and bright flashy colours on your screen. The console itself looks more like a ‘toy’ and the external USB drive required for HD-DVD only extends the ‘low end’ feel.

Then you have the other media formats. XBOX 360 was only ever meant to be an ‘Multimedia Extender’. In other words, it was expected that by this time, most people would have a PC dedicated to hosting multimedia using either Windows Media Center or Vista Home. The 360 would pull the files off this dedicated media PC over the network. Therefore, the 360’s multimedia capabilities are actually quite poor. It supports MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and MPEG-4 AVC (h.264), but only in the WMV, MOV, and TS container formats. It supports DLNA, so is able to discover files on DLNA software like Windows Vista.

Playstation 3 was intended to be an all-in-one media center, and the design shows. At first, it did not support DLNA, but we broke the story when DLNA-supporting firmware was released, allowing multimedia to be streamed from Vista to the Playstation 3. All the major codecs are supported by Playstation 3; MPEG-1, MPEG-2, Motion JPEG (commonly found with digital cameras) through AVI, MOV, MP4, and TS container formats. It will even play AVCHD files directly (M2TS files - the same format Blu-Ray uses).

MP4 support is seen as the future of video, and the PS3 has very good support of this. It supports MPEG-4 AAC audio, MPEG-4 Simple Profile video, as well as Main and High profile (also known as h.264). In a big story last week, it was announced that the PS3 would soon be supporting the DivX codec, through the AVI file container. This will be the first time a non-modified console supports this highly popular format. Here’s hoping for MKV h.264 support! ;)

Audio playback is close, with the PS3 having the minor advantage of supporting SACD, although this is no longer supported with the 40GB version. It’s been sad to see Sony drop many of the advantages they held over the 360 in the past year. Playstation 3 will always be better as a standalone music player since it doesn’t sound like a jet engine, but the 360 has the great advantage of being able to access music from within any game.

I have viewed photos on both consoles, and find the PS3 to be a more pleasant experience. Again, the XMB is so much better than XBOX 360’s tabbed Dashboard, and it’s nice to view pictures without noisy fans blasting away in the background. The PS3 supports some printers directly, which may or may not be useful (I can’t imagine using it as a photo printer, but someone might. probably someone in Japan)

So there ya have my reasoning in the a nutshell. For me, putting $400 on a hi-definition video player with great standard def upconversion is a no-brainer when you throw game play, media center and networking into the mix.

To me, there's something really sheik about being able to render a project to a network drive, and be able to stream it directly to my 52" plasma display in the next room without having to drop another $500 for a HD burner for my computer. I have to admit, I'm more in the school of thought that there's a better way to use technology within the media industry, so putting gear into more stuff with knobs and switches to impress clients is not at the top of my list.

YMMV