What your PS3 can do besides gaming

Grumpypants

In light of the other AVI thread i thought it might be good to have a list of things the PS3 can do other than gaming and how to do it. I wrote this article that lists a few of the other tips i found.

Ive pasted some of it here too to get the thread going.

There are a few other options you may not be as familiar with so we are going to run through a few of the better ones we have found, like these other options for watching your favourite movies and TV shows. You may already know some of these but we hope you do pick up a few extra tips to get the best out of your machine.


Stream to your PS3: If you have your PS3 and PC connected to your home network then your PS3 can connect to you PC. If you have your movie files stored on your PC then you can stream them over the network to your PS3 by using programs such as Windows media player, or other software like TVversity or Twonkyvision.

Watch movies on USB or external Hard drives: This is much simpler than streaming as it requires very little setting up. Simply copy your files to the USB stick then plug your USB stick or hard drive into the PS3’s USB port. On the PS3’s XMB move across to select your USB hard drive and select the files you want to play.

Watch AVI files: Sometimes AVI files won’t show up on your USB stick when you first select it, but the solution is quite easy. Simply copy the AVI file to a USB stick as normal, insert it into the PS3. On the XMB go over the Video, select your USB stick and Press "Triangle" and select "Display all". This should show up your AVI file for you to play without much hassle.

Watch TV on your PS3: A few options are available here

1) Buy Play TV, attaching this add on to your PS3 turns it into a High Def digital set top box. You will be able to pick up the Irish digital channels as it now supports Mpeg4 thanks to a update. UK customers will be able to pick up the Freeview service. Watch pause and rewind live TV with no monthly subscription costs.

2) Using the Web browser: A number of TV Players have turned up recently including the RTE player on Irish PS3's but also UK PS3's got channel 4’s service 4OD. Although in Ireland you don’t get a direct link on your XMB, 4OD does still work in Ireland. The easiest way to get 4OD is to type this link http://ps3.channel4.com into the PS3’s web browser and save it as a book mark. At this time TV3’s catch up service which used to work requires a Flash update.

UK customers get access to the BBC iPlayer and the ITV player as well as 4OD and of course Youtube XL can be accessed through the PS3’s Web browser.

Vidzone gives you access to many music video’s all categorised into different channels such as top ten and alternative top ten. It has become a bit disjointed with adverts but can be handy to set up a play list for the sound track to your party.

Listen to the Radio Similar to the TV players the BBC IPlayer gives you access to all their Radio Stations so you can listen live or listen back to some great shows. At this moment it works in Both Ireland and the UK without any issues.

Remote play: This really is an amazing feature that is rarely used. It allows you to use your PSP to control your PS3 even if you are not at home!. As long as you are connected to the internet you can actually turn on your PS3 and watch video’s you have stored, check out your photos or music. If you are stuck at work when a new demo is released then you can turn on your PS3 and start the download from your office. If you have play TV on your PS3 then you can watch your TV channels from your PS3 on your PSP. Lying in bed while the missus watches sex and the city? No longer will you have to be subjected to having to sit through it, you can know watch your own channels in bed via your PSP&PS3.

BD-Live For those not familiar with BD-live it is a feature on some Blu-ray movies that allow users to go online and download new trailers, different language packs or behind the scenes footage. It can also allow fans to come together and chat while watching the movie.

Print Photos: Not only can your PS3 display your snaps on the big screen but you can also print from the PS3 as long as you have a wireless printer connected to your network or directly to the PS3. When you display your pic press “Triangle” and select print and your photo will print to the connected printer.

Put your controller to sleep Ok not the most amazing feature but if like me you are sick of the battery in your controller dying while you watch a 3 hour movie. Then you can set your controller to turn off if it hasn’t been touched for the previous 20mins saving that valuable charge. On your XMB go to settings, select “power save settings” and then turn on controller auto off. It will now switch off when not in use

RedXIV

Good idea, Would be nice to have a one stop shop to point people to when they ask what else the PS3 can do.

One thing though. It won't play ALL .avi files. Sorry, don't mean to be a naysayer but should be worth pointing out, especially since I got caught with it before. There's a technical reason for it....but I forgot

RangeR

RedXIV wrote: »

Good idea, Would be nice to have a one stop shop to point people to when they ask what else the PS3 can do.

One thing though. It won't play ALL .avi files. Sorry, don't mean to be a naysayer but should be worth pointing out, especially since I got caught with it before. There's a technical reason for it....but I forgot

I could be wrong but I think PS3 only supports DivX version 3.11 rather than DivX 5+ / xVid

Varik

RedXIV wrote: »

Good idea, Would be nice to have a one stop shop to point people to when they ask what else the PS3 can do.

One thing though. It won't play ALL .avi files. Sorry, don't mean to be a naysayer but should be worth pointing out, especially since I got caught with it before. There's a technical reason for it....but I forgot

It does play the AVI container but just cause it can use the container does not mean it can run either the video, audio or subtitles held within the container.

you can take a mkv that the ps3 does not support and just change the container keeping the video and audio the same without converting it and in a lot of cases it will play.

The ps3 plays most video and audio codecs but does not like odd combinations in certain containers.

RedXIV

Varik wrote: »

It does play the AVI container but just cause it can use the container does not mean it can run either the video, audio or subtitles held within the container.

you can take a mkv that the ps3 does not support and just change the container keeping the video and audio the same without converting it and in a lot of cases it will play.

The ps3 plays most video and audio codecs but does not like odd combinations in certain containers.

Thats the reason I forgot

Cheers, that was really annoying me!

exercise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPXucNe9FLA

Unregistered Migrant

...4OD used to work on my PS3 using the above address, but no longer does. It stopped working back when the PSN was hacked and hasn't worked since. No matter how often I clear the cache and cookies on my browser, 4OD stalls after I press the play button that appears just before the programme should start. 4OD also doesn't work on my brother's up-to-date PS3 but it does work on my brother-in-law's PS3 which I don't think has up-to-date firmware (V3.70 is the most recent I think).

Is the 4OD player working on other people's PS3s that are also completely up-to-date?

(There was an update issued today by the way if you haven't got it yet, although it is a completely useless and fumbled update which I imagine will be corrected in a few days. All it does is duplicate the icons in the TV sub-menu of the XMB with a pointless "my channels" icon.)

r3nu4l

UK owners can also subscribe to Lovefilm and download rented movies directly to the PS3 for playing Not all movies are available as downloads though