Being an owner of both a Mac and a PlayStation 3, I stumbled across a great piece of software called PS3 Media Server, a free way to stream various media types from your Mac to your television, via a PlayStation 3. Hereβs how to set it up.
Hardware wise, all you need is your Mac and PS3 turned on and connected to the same network, be it WiFi or wired. Personally, I have my PS3 connected to a network switch, as a wired connection is naturally more stable. My MacBook Proβs on the WiFi, but since theyβre on the same network everything runs smoothly enough.
Once youβve downloadedΒ and installed PS3 Media Server, launch it from Applications. Hopefully youβll be greeted with a big green tick after a few seconds, meaning the PS3 has been found by PS3 media server and is connected:
If, as opposed to the green tick above, you encounter a red cross and the status βNo renderers foundβ, firstly double check everything is on and connected β you can test your PS3βs internet connection via Network Settings on the console.
If the PS3 is definitely online and the problem persists, obtain the IP address from the PS3 (From the PS3βs βNetwork Settings menuβ, select βSettings & Connection Status Listβ β the IP address is listed in here). Back in PS3 Media Server, navigate to the βGeneral Configurationβ window. Under βNetwork settings (advanced)β, find βForce IP of the serverβ and type in the PS3βs IP address. This fixed my initial issues with setting up PS3 media server and by the looks of things is quite a common problem:
Next, youβll need to setup what on your Mac will be shared. To do this, navigate to the βNavigation/Share Settingsβ window within PS3 Media Server. At the bottom of this window is the βShared foldersβ section, from where you can select directories. Click on the green plus sign and youβll be able to choose what to share:
As you can see, Iβve set my Desktop and Downloads folders to shared, meaning any files within these two directories can be accessed and viewed on my PS3:
From the PS3, navigate to the βVideoβ menu. From here you should be able to access your Macβs shared directories and in turn the files within them β from jpegs to mkv videos, PS3 Media Server can render most media types, meaning they can be viewed on your television without any further configuration.
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Thanks β worked a treat
Putting the IP of the PS3 in the βForce IP of the serverβ field should lead to an error. The server should not be able to bind to the IP because the PS3 is using it. The PS3 is the client. Your computer is the server. You should set that IP to the IP of your computer if you are having trouble, but you should have a static IP address if you want this to always work.