MythTV on Sony PS3
Introduction
If you have a Sony PS3 proudly hanging off your TV it makes a lot of sense to use it as a media centre. Here we show you how it can be integrated with a MythTV backend server for the control and playback of recordings.
Native MythTV Frontend
The Sony PS3 used to be a hacker's dream; running Linux using the built in "otheros" functionality. There was even a version of Myth Frontend which could run under several Linux distros, including Ubuntu, Yellow Dog and Gentoo. Unfortunately, Sony's paranoia has led them to disable the "otheros" functionality.
To be honest, the Myth Frontend which ran on the PS3 was limited. This was due to the meagre 200MB of memory Linux had to work with, causing slow startup. Access to hardware acceleration was also restricted, forcing all video playback to be done in software and making HD playback out-of-the-question.
Playback Using UPnP
Fortunately, there is another option; Universal_Plug_and_Play (UPnP) allows the PS3 to access the recordings on a MythTV backend. It should be enabled by default, but see the following guide if you have problems:
The backend will appear in the PS3's home menu under the Music and Videos. It should be displayed as "hostname: MythTV AV Media Server".
Note that this interface will not allow you to schedule recordings, but this can be done from the PS3's web browser if you have MythWeb running on the backend.