iTunes/iPhoto streaming to your Xbox 360 and now the PS3. Yes!

[shanewalker]

So, I've used the fantastic software by Nullriver in the past. Recently they've been on a real tear w/ some great inexpensive solutions for serving your iTunes music collection, iPhoto pic library and movies from a remote Mac to your next gen gaming console & A/V center.

I've been running their solution for the Xbox 360, called 'Connect360,' for almost a year now and it works flawlessly. Took 2 minutes to install and get up-and-running. I've recommended it many people online and around the office and they've all come back to say they're thrilled w/ its ease of installation and that it 'just works.' Not bad for a quick download and $20 via Paypal.

Well, color me ecstatic that the same folks have developed a similar solution for the Playstation 3, called 'MediaLink.' Same deal...quick download, $20 registration (after you test it out to see if all works--it will), and bingo, UPnP media serving to the PS3. It even displays cover art from your iTunes coverflow artwork library. Nice. The only caveats w/ 'MediaLink' are that it requires OS 10.4 or later, and you must have the latest version of the iApps (iTunes is free, but the latest iPhoto only comes on newer systems or part of the iLife '08 retail package). It also requires you to have a couple of ports open on your Mac's firewall (if activated)...which, again, takes two seconds and is outlined in the apps succinct FAQ.

So, go get it.

Nullriver Software ~ Products ~ MediaLink for PS3

And enjoy.

 

[shanewalker]

Quick follow-up.

I've been noticing that my older laptop (6yr-old PowerBook G4 DVI 667mhz) occasionally has 'issues' wherein the connection to the PS3 is dropped. These issues do NOT occur on the newer laptop (but still 2yr-old, PowerBook G5 1.8Ghz). The other difference between the systems is the newer laptop is running OS 10.5 (Leopard), while the older is running 10.4 (Tiger). I believe that the MediaLink runs better in Leopard for whatever reason. I'm sure this will be addressed moving forward, but there you go.

Also, after putting iLife '08 on both systems I 've had a chance to test out photo sharing, and I have to say that the iPhoto integration works great--best way to show digital slide shows to your family is definitely on the big screen while sitting on the couch.

 

[goaliebob99]

Shane, Thanks Im going to have to look into this as this may be nice for playing games and listening to music. Does this work with purchased music?

 

[shanewalker]

Shane, Thanks Im going to have to look into this as this may be nice for playing games and listening to music. Does this work with purchased music?

No, as of the moment it doesn't work with DRM-protected purchased music (neither does Apple lossless or iTunes Plus music--not sure what the PS3 incompatibility is, I believe its a codec support issue of some kind). I've made a habit of buying music on one machine and burning a backup CD, then moving that into the main 'jukebox' system that serves the A/V rack via my 360 and now my PS3.

Again, I'm hoping these functions get added down the line...its a very new solution. But definitely worth checking out (and definitely worth the meager $20 if it works for you, imho).

 

[goaliebob99]

Thanks thats good to know... I have migrated what ever I could to Itunes Plus DRM free. But that sucks that its not supported. wich tells me its a codec issue. They probebly just need to get with apple and get some support going.

 

[shanewalker]

Goaliebob/All: Remember that the download is fully functional and free...only limits you to 30 mins. of use at a time. No commitment/risk to give it a whirl and see what happens (and it literally takes a couple of minutes to install)--they've updated the software a few times in only a couple of months (and they've already added AAC support to the original in the process), so who knows what it will do in the days to come.

Of course, it seems that the lack of Apple lossless and iTunes plus is a Playstation 3 support of the codec thing...oh, those license fees. Khaaaaaan!!

 

[digiblur]

An old school XBox loaded with free XBox Media Center offers so much more. Very cheap solution given that the Xbox 1 is a dime a dozen now.

 

[shanewalker]

An old school XBox loaded with free XBox Media Center offers so much more. Very cheap solution given that the Xbox 1 is a dime a dozen now.

I've no complaints with that, as I've enjoyed using my 360 w/ 1) local media attached via USB HDD, 2) Media Center extender functions serving from my XP laptop, 3) Streaming iTunes from my office 'jukebox' Mac running Nullriver's Connect360. I found that the latter was much more convenient overall as iTunes is where I motherload all my tracks, but of course, YMMV.

I mention the Nullriver solutions to those who are iTunes-on-a-Mac based (I'd love for them to come up w/ a couple of similar Windows apps, I just don't want to migrate all my media to WMC, I like iTunes), but don't necessarily want to buy expensive dedicated streaming hardware/software solutions...as they already have these next-gen gaming consoles in their main A/V setup. For them, I say check these cheap well-made apps out, as they are simple and they work. But, yes, there are lots of other solutions out there.

 

[dont24]

I've been using Connect 360 for about a year or so. Great software!