PS3 Media Server, HELP!

I have to say it's a wonderful thing. Since the PS3 is hooked into my plasma and surround sound system, having it be the device to access the music photos and movies residing on my PC makes things so simple.

I've got one device that easily pumps tunes over my nice speakers, allows me to watch the home videos I take of my kids, and lets me set up a photo slide show. I experience no skipping or anything like that. Combine it with the NetFlix instant service, plus the blu-ray aspect, and oh yeah the gaming, it's pretty much the best device ever.

I never had a problem setting up the media server. In fact I came upon it by accident when my PC suddenly showed up under the video tab. Since then it's been something that I've enjoyed having, if nothing more then to put movies on my hard drive. Right now I got Amelie and .REC saved to watch at a moments notice. It really is awesome how many random things the system can do.

PS3MediaServer does it all- stick with it (its barebones structure consumes way less memory than TVersity, so your computer has more power to transcode hi-defs to the PS3. I use it to stream .avi's, .mp4's, .wmv's and transcode for .mkv hi-def rips.

I have it set up on my Mac, but i'm sure it's not all that different on a PC. If you just want to look at your pics, you just have to power up the PS3 and then open the application on your computer (I usually do it in that order).

In terms of configuration, you have to specify which folder(s) on your computer you want the access on the PS3- there's a "General Configuration" tab on PMS where you can set that up (if you have multiple subfolders within a directory, go ahead and choose the directory... that way you can include multiple folders at once).

You only have to mess with the other settings if you plan on watching hi-def video. The Transcoding Settings tab: My CPU has 8 cores, but I set the core field to 2 or 4 (I've found that more can stagger the video, for some reason). Keep transcode buffering to 400.0 or lower to 390.0. If you're watching a 720p .mkv, be sure to check the box that enables hi-def transcoding. There's also a drop down menu that shows five or six preset quality settings for video- use "best quality" for dvd-quality video and lower; use the option titled "Good for hi-def" for anything better.

When you navigate the PS3's interface (after you've opened PMS on the computer), just go to either Videos, Music or Photos- then select the PMS icon. The folders you set up earlier can now be accessed on your PS3.

If you run into any problems, just ask. I've been using this for a while now (and be sure to look for new builds... it's pretty much open-source, so users are always improving it). Check the forums for any issues you may have:

PMS Forums (http://ps3mediaserver.org/forum/index.php)

This worked great for my needs! Thank you!