I'm writing this for PS3 users who want to connect their PS3 to their lossless music collection on their PC. You don't have to look any further than Media Center to find a really good DLNA server to play your music collection.
Last month I Googled high and low to find a good media server for my PS3 and Media Center didn't appear in the search results which is a shame. So I tried Windows Media Server but it doesn't support flac files, and eventually I found PS3 Media Server which supports flac but required too much effort to get it to work and stay in sync with my music library. Cover art didn't always appear and artist/albums weren't always in alphabetical order, and I had to run a long library update process periodically. I don't like to bash hardworking software developers, PS3 Media Server is a good attempt at delivering a free DLNA server for the PS3, but if you value your time then Media Center is a far better choice.
As a past Media Center user I had stopped using MC several years ago in favour of iTunes. No, I don't like iTunes but I found it easier to keep my iPod in sync with iTunes than MC which was my priority at the time. Now that I'm re-ripping my CD library to flac, quality of playback on the home stereo and MC's superior library management tools are the priority.
So I upgraded to MC 15 when I noticed that DLNA is built into it now. My PS3 recognized MC immediately and all of the cover art, artists, albums and smartlists I had created in MC were instantly accessible through my PS3. It's freakin' magic! I'm now able to play my tunes on the home stereo from my PS3 in high definition... and it sounds great! My photo and video library are equally accessible, but weren't a priority for me, nevertheless the feature is there for those who want to display pictures and video on thier TV's.
Great job guys!
Author
Topic: PS3 audio playback is well supported by Media Center using DLNA server (Read 5906 times)