Stuttering on PS3

[wjfisk]

I am converting my DVDs to hard disk. My goal is to eliminate DVDs and be able to play them in our family room on a PS3. I use DVD Decrypter to rip the DVDs and then encode them with Handbrake. I have tried several formats and have found MKV to work the best for me. I have two problems: 1) getting the DVD functions to work (i.e. scene selection, etc.); 2) stream pausing for buffering. MKV seems to suffer less than other formats but still does somewhat. I suspect the problem is my wireless network. I have my router on the second floor of our house and the family room is in the basement. I have installed a range expander on the main floor to allow the PS3 access to the wireless network. Anyone have any experience or thoughts about what I'm attempting?

[Baldrick]

1. Not possible if you want to store on hdd and stream.
2. Have you tried stream using the PS3 Media Server ? Or maybe you are already using it.

[parlitu]

1. what dvd functions you are talking about? the dvd you just "destroyed" by converting it to a single mkv file?

2. It depends on the video file size, router speed...

[wjfisk]

I forgot to mention, I am using PS3 Media Server. As to "destroying" the DVD, if you have a better suggestion that minimizes the buffering, I am open. I have been using MKV because I am a noobie and I have found it to cause less buffering.

[wjfisk]

Also, I am using a Netgear RangeMax WPN824 wireless router and also a Hawking Technologies Range Expander. I realize most of the problem would likely disappear if I ran a network cable, but that isn't possible right now.

[parlitu]

ok... there are many many options available, some of them:

1. Decrypt the original dvd on your hard disc as ISO file that you can mount at any time on a virtual drive without loosing any quality or menu features

2. Save the DVD streams as mpg using vob2mpg, keeping the original quality but loosing the menu features

3. Reencode the DVD to any format you like that will reduce the size of your final video file but you will loose quality...

Why don't you save your video file to PS3 using media server and then play it from there?

[wjfisk]

I thought about saving it, but the time it takes is significant and you have to plan ahead for a video. If I were to decrypt it as an ISO file, how do I access it from the PS3? If I use vob2mpg, won't I still have the buffering problem?

[t0nee1]

Yeah why convert the DVDs at all ?.. PS3 Media Server supports "DVD ISOs images / VIDEO_TS Folder"....

[wjfisk]

I tried the VIDEO_TS folder, but buffering was really bad then. I haven't tried the ISO image, so I don't know how bad the buffering would be on that and how you get the PS3 to run the ISO image.

[bmo]

From my experiences with PS3 Media Server, the buffering is really bad when using wireless. I think that 802.11g just isn't fast enough to stream SD, let alone HD content in mkv containers because of the transcoding needed just to play mkv.

However, I think what may help alleviate your buffering problems is converting to a format that's natively supported by the PS3. For example, try converting your DVDs to an mp4 container (h264 video, aac audio). A program called RipBot264 is perfect for this. Yes you will lose DVD functions like scene selection, but being able to rewind/fast forward is better than nothing.

Also, I believe you're having bad buffering problems because of using the mkv container. Not to say that mkv is a bad container, but since the PS3 doesn't support it natively, PS3 Media Server has to transcode it first which significantly increases file sizes, and consequently the streaming process is bottlenecked by the wireless-g network you're using (since PS3 is limited to wireless-g). For example, let's say you have a DVD movie you've converted that is 1.36GB (2 CD size) after conversion to an .mkv container. Also, let's say that hypothetically you were able to save the transcoded file that's made by PS3 Media Server to stream to your PS3. The transcoded file size would be many times greater than the original 1.36GB for the same length movie and would just end up bottlenecked by your wireless-g network because it would have to push more data through the same sized "hole" to achieve the same result.

Sorry if that got a little too wordy but as a recap, try converting to a format the PS3 natively supports and forget about DVD functions. Or if possible in the future, get a reallllly long ethernet cable. If you really want DVD functions, just play the DVD

[wjfisk]

I appreciate your suggestions. I did try mp4 and avi and both buffered worse than MKV. Given our current home, a long ethernet cable is out of the question and I know that have the range expander also slows things down. The reason for doing all this is to eventually get rid of all CDs & DVDs. I have already converted all my CDs to mp3 (approximately 3,000 CDs!) and they work fine. Video is a little tougher. We have our house on the market and in a new home, I will not use wireless for the PS3.