Ubuntu on PS3

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rb85

115 posts

Master Geek

# 37680 17-Jul-2009 08:59

Hi all,

Before I go ahead and upgrade my PS3 HD and install Ubuntu is there anyone out there that has has done this already?

I am not to familiar with Ubuntu let alone the capability on a PS3:

What I want to do is:

- Store and stream media to my PS3 (Yes I am aware you can do this via standard PS3 OS) and possibly from?
- FTP to and from my PS3
- Will Ubuntu play back high definition content (.mkv etc)

Ideally I would like to do on my PS3 what my hacked Xbox with XBMC can do - with added High Definition capability. I would like the network capability work more efficiently also.

If you have done this to your PS3 would be great to hear back from ya!

Thanks

garvani

1874 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 84

Trusted

# 236361 17-Jul-2009 09:40

I brought my ps3 primarily for the purposes you specify, i too installed ubuntu for this.. However it was all a pipe dream. Basically out of that list you will be able to do the ftping and thats about all.
There is no driver for the RSX (ps3 graphic card), because of this there is no way to decode high definition videos, even SD movies were fairly average. Also in linux you only have access to one or two cores, so the other 5 or so sit there doing nothing. Its a fairly neutered experience, well it was when i tried it last year, i dont expect much has happened since then.
You would be better to install xbmc on your pc (be it windows, ubuntu or mac) as i have done.. www.xbmc.org. It runs beautifully! I have no need for my ps3, it sits gathering dust, i havnt used it in over 9 months.. LOL

rb85

115 posts

Master Geek

# 236378 17-Jul-2009 10:19

Thanks Garvani - that answers most of my questions and potentially saved me time money and hassle.

Are you able to tell me if the content I FTP to the PS3 will be visible to the PS3 OS?

I love my PS3 and use it for gaming and media but would love to extend its capabilities - oh well...

hemihua

13 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 1

# 237332 21-Jul-2009 00:18

I did a bit of research into this myself and found the general consensus to be 'too slow'. garvani is partially incorrect regarding the disabled cores - out of the 8 available SPEs, the PS3 hardware disables 1 and one is reserved for the hypervisor leaving 6 for Linux running atop the hypervisor.

From what I can see the whole PS3 / Linux thing is a cool research toy, you can probably do some uber fast parallel calculations for your 3rd year physics project, but it ain't gonna let you emulate a sega at decent speed or play 1080p mkvs.

freakalad

220 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 2

# 237441 21-Jul-2009 12:53

I loaded Ubuntu on the very first day the PS3 was initially release (same morning, in fact), but it's a pretty bust move, unless you have some specific application, like brute-force code-breaking or clustering DIY supercomputing.

It'll run, but not well. You won't get any video larger than 640x480, since sony have not been very forthcoming with the video drivers or in any form of cooperation.

YellowDogLinux was punted as the "official" distro of choice for the PS3.
Ubuntu is still an excellent choice, and I suspect most of the current development may be in that area

Some references:
http://www.ps3linuxworld.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_on_the_PlayStation_3
http://psubuntu.com

FLOSS'er