PC, PS3, and UNPP

[Ast0reth]

I hate to jump into your lovely forum here and dump this giant question on you, but it's been rolling around in my head for a few days now and I just can't figure out what to do. I'll try to keep it as simple as I can.

Right now, I am streaming media from a desktop PC in my office to a PS3 in my living room over Poweline Ethernet using PS3 Media Server. I'd like make the following changes:

1.) Build a dedicated 'Media Server' that can run PS3 Media Server, run a BitTorrent client, and act as network storage (NAS-ish.)​

2.) Allow my other TV (without the PS3) to stream from the aforementioned media server without building a HTPC. (Looking for a cheap STB that will work with a UPNP DLNA Media Server like PMS.)​

A friend of mine will sell me a Mini-ITX formfactor server setup (X2 3800+ CPU, 2GB RAM, etc.) for real cheap, so I am looking for the best way to turn that into a NAS/Media Server. Should I just run a stripped-down XP, or a server-version OS on the server?

I have a few ideas, but you guys seem to have a lot of experience so I figured I'd pick your brains. Oh, and Merry Christmas!

-Arthur

 

[joecanadian]

I hate to jump into your lovely forum here and dump this giant question on you, but it's been rolling around in my head for a few days now and I just can't figure out what to do. I'll try to keep it as simple as I can.

Right now, I am streaming media from a desktop PC in my office to a PS3 in my living room over Poweline Ethernet using PS3 Media Server. I'd like make the following changes:

1.) Build a dedicated 'Media Server' that can run PS3 Media Server, run a BitTorrent client, and act as network storage (NAS-ish.)​

2.) Allow my other TV (without the PS3) to stream from the aforementioned media server without building a HTPC. (Looking for a cheap STB that will work with a UPNP DLNA Media Server like PMS.)​

A friend of mine will sell me a Mini-ITX formfactor server setup (X2 3800+ CPU, 2GB RAM, etc.) for real cheap, so I am looking for the best way to turn that into a NAS/Media Server. Should I just run a stripped-down XP, or a server-version OS on the server?

I have a few ideas, but you guys seem to have a lot of experience so I figured I'd pick your brains. Oh, and Merry Christmas!

-Arthur

Arthur,

I use a WNDR3700 (V1, with stock 1.0.4.75NA firmware) with an attached TB drive (Iomega USB desktop HDD) as a media server / (poor man's) NAS. I stream to a PS3 in the living room connected via powerline (Netgear XAV1004, XAV2001) as well as a Hauppauge MediaMVP-HD also connected via powerline in the bedroom.

The media server on the WNDR works quite well in my experience. I can run two simultaneous 1080p streams to each of my uPNP devices without problems. One thing about the MediaMVP-HD though, the built-in player is not that good -- I cannot seem to skip ahead any faster than 4X and the button layout on the remote is terrible! Other than that, it works quite well.

In terms of cost, the WNDR is worth about $130 here (have seen it on sale for $99); the MediaMVP-HD was $100 or so; the powerline ethernet gear I bought consisted of one Netgear XAVB2001 (two XAV2001's) for $100 and one XAVB1004 (an XAV1004 and an XAV2001) for $130. Oh, and I got the TB hard drive for about $70 on sale.

Another note about the powerline ethernet stuff - I have had pretty good luck with it (measured throughput with iperf ranged from 45 Mbps to 65 Mbps -- good enough for HD video streaming), but depending on your home's wiring, your results may vary.