If you ’re here reading Gizmodo , there ’s a in force chance you have a hard drive full of video recording somewhere . And you also probably have a PS3 , Xbox 360 or Wii . If those two things are n’t working together for you in beautiful symbiosis , give up you to keep an eye on all of your downloaded or ripped video on your boob tube instead of hunched over a laptop computer CRT screen , well , this is the guide for you .
Now there are two oecumenical strategies you could take : physically re-create your files to a USB driveway , computer memory notice or CD / DVD , which is jolly straight , or streaming your video over the net , which is where things get more fun and interesting . So permit ’s plunge in .
First thing first , codecs . Now that you ’re all learn - ed on the ways of video encryption thanks toMatt ’s Giz Explains from this week , the issue of codecs will make a quite a little more sensory faculty . Thankfully , it ’s not something you have to worry too much about here , because all three consoles can handle a expectant numeral of the codecs you will ascertain commonly : AVI , MPEG ( 1 , 2 and 4 ) , H.264 , DivX / XviD , and WMV — and if a fussy format you want to play is n’t supported , it ’s often potential to convert it to work on the fly front . The PS3 also patronage AVCHD , a data formatting used by many HD camcorders . Not all format are supported with every streaming method though , particularly in the 360 ’s case , which we ’ll get to in a second base . Now , for flummox all those data file on the idiot box .
https://gizmodo.com/giz-explains-every-video-format-you-need-to-know-5093670
Note : if you need to re - encode a video in a dissimilar format because it wo n’t dally , nothing beats VLC ’s transcoding wizard . Here ’s a guide .
Xbox 360 : Streaming ( PC )
In typical Microsoft fashion , there are wads of different style to pull of streaming your video to the Xbox 360 — and the only one that ’s sincerely comprehensive , in our opinion , comes from a third party . TVersityis a spare UPnP medium server that can cope your video and music single file anywhere on your PC and stream them out to your 360 over the meshing . It will also kindly transcode just about any television you may throw at it into a codec your console can in spades read . You might have to install some extra codec ring here and there for Windows but for the most part , you’re able to blank out about worrying about codecs with TVersity . This also allows TVersity to address files not formally supported by the 360 , like MKV containers .
1 . GrabTVersity hereand install it.2 . Click the giant plus mark in the top left corner to “ sum up Your Media Source ” – namely , the folder on your microcomputer with all of your videos.3 . Under advanced option , set your transcoding preferences : “ When ask ” will verify most all of your single file play.4 . In the main TVersity menu , quality “ Start Sharing”5 . On the Xbox 360 , TVersity will now seem as a source in the Media brand or under My Xbox - > Video Library in NXE .
The other three options via Microsoft ’s own various software package result all have their own drawbacks , which we ’ll cover here briefly . Our advice ? employ them only if you already use the Zune software , Windows Media Player or Windows Media Center to manage all of your video recording .
Windows Media Player 11 : WMP 11 can stream out to the Xbox 360 moderately easily . Here is anin - deepness template . drawback ? Somewhat clunky format reenforcement . In our tests we could not stream Quicktime TV at all , and had inconsistent experiences with MP4 files . MPEG-4 and H.264 support are technically supported via third - party WMP codec add - ons , but even with those , we still had trouble — MP4 Indian file tended to toy fine on the WMP 11 end , but not show up as browsable on the 360 . Somewhat unbelievably , the Xbox 360 team in reality recommends youmanually rename your unsupported MPEG-4 and H.264 data file , adding the “ .avi ” container extension phone to fool WMP into roleplay them . This work occasionally , but not for every file and was more often than not inconsistent .
Zune Software 3.0 : Zune offers a much nicer user interface than WMP ( preferences - > Sharing - > Add is the extent of the apparatus ) , and thankfully indorse MPEG4 and H.264 much more consistently . Drawbacks ? No DivX or Xvid support , which means a huge chunk of your Torrented video plausibly wo n’t make .
Windows Media Center Extender : If you already have a Media Center setup honking on your web , there ’s a good prospect you wo n’t need this guide , but the Xbox 360 can of course pour your MCE content to your TV seamlessly ( acomplete guide is here ) . The user interface is really rattling . drawback ? The gimpiest codec support of the bunch : only MPEG-1 , MPEG-2 and WMV are support . So unless you ’re converting everything you have into those formats , you ’ll still require something like TVersity to play most data file you ’ll find up for download .
So , in the end , TVersity gain ground handwriting down as the easiest and most elegant streaming apparatus for the 360 . But do keep in mind — if you ’re playing a format that your Xbox ca n’t handle ( MKV being the most common of these you ’ll detect ) , TVersity will have to transcode , which means you will lose a bit of quality .
Xbox 360 : Streaming ( Mac ): UPnP support — the networking standard used by both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 in various flavors to spiel connection - streamed video , music and exposure — is not natively supported by OS X yet . And unluckily , there is n’t a stellar all - in - one free package like Windows ’ TVersity .
Nullriver , however , makes an incredibly sleek piece of software program calledConnect360 , which easily streams all of your iLife libraries or any folder full of telecasting on your Mac to the 360 . Unfortunately , it ’ll be you $ 20 . There is a spare trial version that supposedly shuts off after 30 minutes of sharing , but sometimes it seems to blank out and lease you play longer . But even so , $ 20 is n’t bad for the convenience divisor here . No transcoding , but it will handle every codec the console itself can play back .
1 . Download and instal the Connect360 preference pane.2 . In System Preferences , start up Connect360 sharing . Here you’re able to also add pamphlet for more sharing.3 . get to the Connect360 beginning on your Xbox in the common means . Done .
Xbox 360 : Physical Media1 . If cyclosis is n’t for you , and you do n’t take care hauling a storage equipment back and onward between your calculator and Xbox , then this is exceedingly easy : Insert Flash disk / USB / cadmium / videodisc and browse it with the Media sword or the Video Library division of NXE ( under “ My Xbox ” ) . delight .
Playstation 3 : Streaming ( PC)TVersity : Again , Tversity is your friend . It works just as well for the PS3 as it does for Xbox 360 ( see above for apparatus ) .
1 . With Tversity set up up and share-out reverse on , just browse to COMPUTERNAME : TVersity in the XMB and you ’ll see a listing of all your shared files .
Windows Media Player 11 : Just like for Xbox 360 , you’re able to use WMP11 ’s build - in DLNA / UPnP serving capabilities to stream to the PS3 , too — but with the same codec funkiness as observe above .
1 . In the Media Sharing preference box with your PS3 powered on and touch base to the web , select “ Unknown machine”—that ’s your PS3.2 . Your library should now show up in XMB .
Playstation 3 : cyclosis ( MAC)Mac : Nullriver did n’t just hook up 360 owners — Media Link is the version especially for PS3 . It cost 20 bucks , but will give you completely unseamed and painless streaming of all of your iLife subroutine library ( picture and music too ) as well as file in any pamphlet you’re able to access with your Mac , whether it ’s on a electronic internet or local .
1 . Operation is just like Connect360 — with sharing enable in the Media Link preference panelling , just surf through all your file under the “ Media Link ” rootage in XMB .
Playstation 3 : Physical Media1 . gentle as Proto-Indo European . If you ’re using a USB flash or hard disk or an SD or CF card , just dump all of your videos into a folder key out VIDEO on the root of the drive and they ’ll show up automatically in the XMB.2 . you could also browse the full drive or disc by pressing triangle and choosing “ Display All ” to find telecasting that are n’t in the VIDEO pamphlet .
Wii : Physical Media
For playing video on your Wii , physical medium is the way to go , which is easy to draw off with somehomebrew hacking . There are tidy sum of services that will transcode your television and ouput it in a Flash player that you’re able to look at through the Wii ’s Opera web internet browser ( likeOrb ) , but you ’ll take a hit quality - wise and it ’s not as soft as just play the informant files directly with Mplayer .
1 . add the Homebrew Channel and Mplayer on your Wii . We ’ve got you covered here with ourcomplete Wii homebrew guide — but hopefully you have n’t set up the former System Menu update . In that lawsuit , you ’ll have to hold off for a workaround , but it likely wo n’t be long .
2 . Install Mplayer via the Homebrew internet browser ( alsocovered in our guide ) .
3 . Now , you’re able to use Mplayer to bring file off or even an attached USB drive ( as long as its arrange in FAT16 or FAT32 , which most are ) . The interface is not nearly as nice , but it get the job done .
4 . Mplayer for the Wii covers a short ton of codecs , but unhappily , the Wii ’s mainframe choke on HD substance . If you ’ve draw HD files , you ’ll need to transcode them into a low declaration with VLC .
And that ’s about it . Now , no more huddling around your laptop screen or fiddling with television receiver and audio - out cables . Welcome to the good living .
Daily Newsletter
Get the right tech , scientific discipline , and finish news in your inbox daily .
News from the future , delivered to your present tense .
You May Also Like
