First off I have to say that I do love me my PS3. And this ain't a "I love PS3, hate Xbox 360" thread

If you own a PS3 and have it networked to a computer, here are two apps that I've been using to great success:

PS3 Media Server (free)
http://code.google.com/p/ps3mediaserver/downloads/list

PlayOn (free trial / $30 1 time license fee)
http://www.themediamall.com/products

The first one will allow you to view any folders on your computer via the XMB bar. So right now I have one set up for Music and one for Anime / Videos. Anything I have on the computer can be played through the PS3 and damn, the sound + video is awesome! Well worth it and it's FREE. Set up was a breeze - took a few seconds. If you don't have all of the goofy-ass codecs that people have created videos or MP3 with then you might need to do some huntin' and uh searchin'

PlayOn is a tool that I use almost daily. Once installed you can then have access to Hulu, Netflix, ESPN, CBS, YouTube, CNN and some other stuff. They have been working constantly on upgrading the package and if you fork out that $30 then you get free updates and unlock a few things.

PlayOn has excellent quality. We have watched the entire run of "30 Rock" and were surprised at the quality of the video / audio, especially since it was "on demand". Hulu also had excellent quality, however it did choke once while watching a full-length movie. This was more likely due to a combo of bad weather + Saturday Night + Time Warner cable doing it's usual quality drop in the evenings.

Do yourself a favor and get these two - you won't regret it!

so that second application will allow you to view your netflix instant queue?

has anyone tried using nero mediahome? i tried it out lastnight and the ps3 sees the server but there isnt any media showing up. i shared a few folders and checked all the transcoding options and they all seem fine but still no luck.

i might try that ps3media server thats linked. hopefully that will work

So the PS3 doesn't have a built in media server????

Sounds cool, I'll probably check these out later when i get home

I have used Nero but it seems to lag at times. One nice thing about Nero is that you can copy the files over to your PS3 and it will convert it to the proper format. I just use Windows Media Player. It works just fine and there's no lag going from PC to PS3. As far as not seeing files, it has always worked for me and if it didn't, it was just a matter of restarting both the PC and the PS3, in that order.

Yeah, the second one (PlayOn) has access to the "Watch Instantly" Netflix queue. You just go and add a bunch via the browser then watch them!

The PS3 has built-in networking opportunities however the settings never did seem to sync up with my laptop (which is new). With the two different programs you bypass the need to have special network settings or even windows media player.

now what was cool was the first app converted media files over automatically, so if I couldn't read some DiVX or Xvid file the server gave me the option and blamo - video with no lag.

I will say that I have everything networked directly - no WiFi. If you are using WiFi there might be lag......

I'm wired...no WiFi for my bro and I. I'll check out that Media Server over the weekend.
2008 brought a whole bunch of great games and I need to catch up on them this weekend since it's a 3 day weekend with Martin Luther being observed at work.

i gotta try restarting my computer. thanks bert. hopefully itll work after restarting. if not then i will try out that ps3 media server. i bet its going to lag since im wireless =\

Can anyone recommend a good 3rd party media streaming solution for Mac to PS3 to TV?

Well, for Mac --->PS3 you could try:

Media Link

and I did read that some users had success with Eyeconnect

Those were the two that people on PS3 forums were mentioning. Hopefully that works for you!

Thanks, much appreciated. Will have a look at them and report back.

tried that ps3 media server(first link) this weekend. worked great, easy to set up. thanks for the help guys

+1

I had been using Tversity for PS3 streaming and it was always a fight to get what I wanted out of it. PS3 Media Server works way easier and so little problems. (The problems I had were sub and synch issues which were resolved in under two minutes.) Thanks for the heads up on that program CCP.

Also tried it. Its not bad but Windows Media Player seems to be a bit smoother when you fast forward or rewind. The only problem is that you have to put your files in the default WMP folders...only a problem if you have 2 separate drives really. Playback on both is the same.