Ever since owning a Sony Playstation 3, I wanted to use it as media center instead of just a gaming console. It already had the capability of browsing the internet with its built-in web browser and wireless/wired ethernet capabilities. It can handle formats such as Video CD’s, DVD’s and Blu-ray. It could also handle digtial formats like .avi, mpeg videos, etc. which you can plug a USB flash drive and play off of. However, I did not feel like constantly using the browser to watch YouTube videos.
Instead, a company called MediaMall came up with an awesome solution allowing me to stream video onto my videogame consoles such as the PS3, Xbox 360 or Nintendo Wii called PlayOn. Best of all, it allowed access to Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and other internet video sources. Being that I already am a Netflix member, I instantly wanted to try this software out. Luckily, they offer a free trial for 2 weeks typically with their software and I am sure you will be hooked right after you set it up.
The set up is simple enough. As long as you have a PC running a supported Windows platform such as XP or Vista and have Windows Media Player 11 installed. You will be able to install this software and run it. You will also have to have a Netflix account in order to log in and also have videos in your “Watch Instantly” queue. Also, having a decent internet connection is important because your PC will be the one doing all the downloading, processing and then uploading back out to your gaming console devices. Once you have it all set up on your Windows operating system, just turn on your gaming console and depending on which console, you will have to search for your “video” tab/section. If you already stream videos off your PC, then this will be easy enough to set up. Just choose the PlayOn server.
The whole operation is simple enough and I recommend anyone who owns a gaming console compatible to take advantage especially if you have a PC near by. What drives me nuts is the fact that Microsoft made Netflix available on the Xbox 360, but only to Gold members. That means I would have to pay twice for something that should already be offered to any Netflix member.
The price of the PlayOn media server software is $29.99 and it ends tonight, February 8, 2009. However, it is a one time fee and there is plenty of support on its forums. In addition, it looks like they just did an overhaul on the interface making it a lot more slicker than before. This is a good thing because these guys actually care about their software and are constantly releasing updates and if you purchase an account, you get these updates indefinitely. Thumbs up to MediaMall and their PlayOn software.