Media Review - PS3 PlayOn

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Today I'm going to review one of my favorite pieces of software PlayOn. It's a piece of software that runs on a computer which gives you access to Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, YouTube and other online video sites on your XBox360, PS3 or Wii. While it works with DLNA-compatible devices, the focus has been on consoles. In this review I'm going to focus on the PS3 version, and leave the Wii for another time.

If anyone wants to donate their XBox360 to me so I can review on that platform as well, I'd be more than happy to take it.

Getting back to the review, there are a few sites PlayOn does out of the box, including Amazon VOD, Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, ESPN, CBS and now "My Media". "My Media" allows you to add local files, music and pictures to stream to those other devices, so you can have one version of the truth (rather than copies of every picture on every machine).

But let's suppose you wanted to watch video from the ridiculously named "SyFy" website? While the program doesn't support every site out of the box, there's a site with third party plug-ins, including Crackle, SyFy, Cartoon Network and so on.

PlayOn is written in .Net and MediaMall has opened up their APIs to developers so they can make plug ins for any site that's not supported by default.

Great so now we have an idea as to what PlayOn does, how does it work?

Well, like I said, PlayOn runs on your computer. It is important that this computer is hard wired to your internet connection and your console to get proper performance. Additionally the computer has to be reasonably beefy, as here's what happens. The computer plays the video, and in real time re-encodes it into a mpeg stream. It streams that to the PS3, allowing you to watch just like any other video (using the same controls I might add). Since this is a stream FF/Rev don't always work properly and you can have issues where the computer hasn't streamed enough (or the connection to the website is dropped) leading to playback issues. Also, since everything is done on the computer, you don't have to worry about DRM issues on your console.

So on the PS3, PlayOn integrates into the video list. It acts like a folder, letting you browse which service and then the different ways a site has organized their video. While for Netflix I'll stick with the PS3 Disc, it does fairly well on sites such as Hulu and YouTube.

The problem comes in when Hulu or YouTube changes their site. Every time the site changes, there needs to be a new update to your PlayOn software and it may not always work properly. That said, when it does work, you could almost leave cable and other TV services behind for this.

Oh and did I mention, because it is a stream you can at least fly through the Hulu commercials at 1.5x speed? As for picture quality, the HD video is indistinguishable from over the air HD to me. And the audio for HD on Hulu? For now it seems to be stereo, but that could change in the future easily enough.

PlayOn is not free, but you do get a 14 day trial.

Oh and the next review of PlayOn will be through the Wii. It accomplishes this through the web browser.

Ratings:

• Video Quality - Superb
• Audio Quality - OK (Stereo)
• Controls - Great (Just as expected)
  
• Selection - Wonderful (Almost enough for me to give up cable)
• Streaming Issues - Yes (Streams break, SW Updates)
  

Overall Rating 7/10

Media Review - Netflix on the PS3 - A Second Look

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In my haste to review Netflix on the PS3 I didn't wait for the second disc. Upon testing with the second disc, several new items came to my attention.

Good news every body!

First the good news, streaming to both PS3s seemed to work just as well as streaming to one.

The other shoe drops.

Now here's the bad news. So the first test was removing the disc while a movie was playing. When hit eject, I immedately got a screen saying "invalid disc". Not the worst thing in the world, since Netflix will send you multiple discs, but annoying none the less.

Now we hit a sore spot with me, I have on PS3 connected via HDMI and one via component to different TVs. If I play a BluRay disc or game I get at least 720 p resolution. The Netflix disc loads up in 720 p; however, on the TV with component connections when I played a movie, the resolution dropped to 480 p, and the aspect ratio changed. Not only did I not get full screen video at a supported resolution, but the image was wrong (forcing a 16:9 image to 4:3 by stretching). I looked for an option on the PS3 to explain this and failed to find anything. The only explanation I can come up with is that Netflix wants an encrypted signal to the TV and won't do analog HD. A crying shame for customers, and I'm removing a full point from my last review.

Ratings:

• Video Quality - Superb over HDMI, Crappy over component
  
• Audio Quality - OK (2 channel DD, No different than standard Netflix streaming)
• Controls - Meh
• Selection - So so (Missing new releases)

Overall Rating 6/10

Media Review - Netflix on the PS3

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Movies on demand

Getting Started

So I got my disc yesterday in the mail. Came with the same speed as normal Netflix movies. The envelope was a little different to help keep people from sending back the disc.

I set out on getting provisions for my movie night.

With the proper provisions secured I put in the disc and was presented with the standard loading screen. After the disc loaded up, I had to take a code from the disc and entered using a computer to link the accounts. While entering that information I also ordered the second disc for my second PS3. In talking with Netflix, they are not placing any restrictions on the number of PS3s which you can stream on. You can request another disc when registering your current disc.

So with the code secured, the menu loaded up.

Video

The picture quality is awesome. Even in SD the picture is far better than standard cable. Also, I have yet to see any streaming/buffering problems. All video playback has been smooth.

Audio

Like any other Netflix streaming the audio is Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. That said, it still sounds good.

Control Scheme

This leads me to the first place I wasn't impressed. This doesn't use the standard PS3 video controls. Irritating to say the least, I frankly expected forward and back to fast forward and rewind. Instead it goes into a paused mode where you can select the scene you want. Using L2/R2 rewind and fast forward work, but the interface is a little funky.

Additionally, hitting pause can take several seconds to pause the stream which is annoying.

Finally, using up while video is playing will take you back to the menu, saving your position. Quite clever if you ask me, so that earns a thumbs up.

Watching a Series

So here's another annoyance. Netflix will go to the next item in a series only when you run though to the end credits. You'd think if there was less than 3 minutes left when you exited playback the next show should be automatically selected.

Selection

Netflix doesn't put the latest releases up to stream on demand. I can't even get the latest X-Men movie. I can get them through the PS3 video store, though it'll cost me a lot more.

Ratings:

• Video Quality - Superb
• Audio Quality - OK (2 channel DD, No different than standard Netflix streaming)
• Controls - Meh
• Selection - So so (Missing new releases)

Overall Rating 7/10

Comparison with PlayOn

I've used play on for months. I've had streaming problems with Netflix and the audio isn't as good. That said, the control scheme is standard using PlayOn.

Other Items

Remember for ~$10/month you can get unlimited streaming + Blu-Ray discs.