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+--- Thread: Port XBMC to PS3 (PlayStation 3) to run on Linux ("Other OS") or natively on GameOS? (/showthread.php?tid=21849)
- TugboatBill - 2010-09-14
The number of PS3s that can be hacked will continue to decrease with Sony closing the doors on hacks. Essentially Sony has made this a dead platform for independent development.
So yes, it could be hacked if you have one that hasn't been updated. Finding a developer that's willing to put in a massive amount of their time to port to a dead end platform is another thing.
- davilla - 2010-09-14
If this thread continues to go off-topic, it will get locked. There will be no further warning.
- saratoga - 2010-09-15
ZombieRobot Wrote:i think a port to the ps3 is a great idea and inevitable just dont update firmware would definitely put a use to the two ps3 i have in my closet with broken bluray players and sure as hell got to preform better than apple tv imo
Scroll up and read the thread. Its basically never going to happen the way you're thinking because its an enormous amount of work for a system thats just not well suited to run XBMC. Pretty much everyone with a clue is going to buy a cheaper, more capable Ion system.
- ZombieRobot - 2010-09-15
g
- tigeredwards - 2010-09-17
The PS Jailbreak does not arrive
. My friends told me that he found another website -www.buyps3jailbreak.co.uk, offering a PS3 Break with good quality and better price. Hmmm…… this seems attractive. 
- cassius - 2010-09-26
Sorry to bring this thread up again guys, but rumour has it that the first custom linux OS has arrived for the PS3 http://www.ps3hax.net/2010/09/playos-first-custom-operating-system-for-ps3/
The PlayOS apparently includes hardwre acceleration.
Now for the noob question, does this make the Linux port of XBMC any easier to run on the PS3? or are we still faced with all the same issues?
- linuxluemmel - 2010-09-26
It is my guess that xbmc will never come back to a console of any kind ... (ps3,xbox360,wi) including hardware like Apple Tablets ...
- TugboatBill - 2010-09-27
It could happen, but only if someone were to take up the coding for it. The current developers haven't shown any enthusiasm for making another port and I can see why. Sony has made it clear they're going to do all they can to suppress any of these hacks to their platform. There are several devices out there that are less expensive, better devices for the purpose, and XBMC already runs on them.
- poofyhairguy - 2010-09-27
It funny, back when I had a PS3 and it had that "Other OS" option there was absolutely NO excitement about it being a media center. Even after that awesome SPU enable Mplayer was made back in 2007, there was no one who cared if it could be a decent HTPC.
Fast forward a few years when the "other OS" option is gone and the thing has to be hacked in order to install Linux on it, and suddenly there is a huge "demand" for media center software on it.
I know part of the difference is that its cheaper now (so more people have one), but I really think part of it is the "fun" of hacking something to do things it was never intended to do.
When it was easy, and Sony let you just install Linux straight on, no one wanted it. Back in 2007 holes were found in the hypervisor to enable real GPU support and few were interested. Now suddenly it is a hot topic again. I will tell everyone what I learned back then:
Don't expect a decent HTPC software for the PS3 anytime soon. Three things need to happen for XBMC to get on the PS3:
1. Someone needs to take that Mplayer from a few years back with SPU support, rip out that support and put it in XBMC's version of FFMPEG. Not at easy task to say the least.
The PSU's GPU has no x264 acceleration, so depending on it for decodes is a dead end.
2. The open source driver for Nvidia cards in Linux needs to take another jump or two. Sure the new hacks allow "access to the GPU" (just like we had in 2007), but Nvidia's closed source Linux driver is x86 only.
To get decent OpenGL support for the PS3's GPU (which is prerequisite for the XBMC interface) the Nouveau driver needs to take some steps up in the world.
The problem is that the Nouveau driver is easily the worst open source driver out there, because Nvidia makes such a nice closed source driver (so there is little reason to develop an awesome open driver). Nouveau is completely created from backwards engineering (Nvidia doesn't provide any help) and in my opinion is years away from being good enough for consistent OpenGL use.
3. Oh, and do all this with minmal ram. Since the hypervisor eats 64 megs or so, you have around 192 megs of RAM to do everything we do on ION boxes with a 1GB+ ram.
Ask anyone that has tried XBMC on a RAM starved AppleTV how nice that experience is compared to a real comp and you will understand that all this work will be done just to make a second class platform for XBMC thanks to the RAM issue.
In light of all that, if anyone out there still thinks a XBMC port is "inevitable," well you just aren't that smart honestly....
- Geeba - 2010-09-28
ION is fine if you have alot of time to get it working.... personaaly I dont.... subsiquently mine is winging its way back to the supplier now... for one it is a pain to setup.. I have to use windows which for me as a windows user isnt HTPC software... the footprint is to big, half way through a movie it decides to inform me of cr@p its doing in the background that I cant get rid of with the remote... keyboard time, I have no time or incling to learn linux, Dharma Live instal doesnt work, Camelot Live has no audio, remote controls I'm not even going there... the Mrs wont use it, and it went bang a month after I got it.... I'm back on old faithful the Xbox which in my experince trousers an AppleTV on everthing except native 720p.. smoother and way less clunky... and thats with 64mb RAM.
I pray for the day XBMC gets ported to a uniform platform - then the remote will work, audio will work and if I do run into problems people will have half an incling of what I'm going on about when I do get issues... maybe boxee... but why is it so ugly!
It would be nice if there was "Team XBMC" approved hardware.. ie this box, that remote, load this build and all will work etc. I'd buy it!
- teaguecl - 2010-09-29
Geeba Wrote:It would be nice if there was "Team XBMC" approved hardware.. ie this box, that remote, load this build and all will work etc. I'd buy it!The closest thing would be the Gen1 ion Revo's. By far the most popular platform and very well supported. It sounds like you're not really looking for a hobby project though - but more of a consumer electronics appliance. You have lots of choices (Roku, Popcorn Hour, Boxee Box, Apple TV, WD Live, Google TV). But you can't have the rock solid CE appliance setup and ease of use while also getting enthusiast level flexibility. That's the trade you make.
If you want it to be easy to use (high WAF) then your options are:
1. spend a lot of time setting up and maintaining a custom htpc with xbmc or similar
2. buy a good commercial solution, and live with it's limitations.
- tigeredwards - 2010-09-30
I got the email from Gadget Asia today. They have begun to dispatch the original PS Jailbreak. Cheers!!!!!!!!
Dear Customer,
The psjailbreak has arrived! First, we would like to apologize for the delay. We would like to thank for your understanding that it was the distributor who keep delay us.
We are sending this email to make sure you will receive it as soon as possible, please read the following carefully.
1. For all customers who tell us you are willing to wait for this device, or not yet reply our previous email, you are the first batch of customer who will receive your order. Once you receive your tracking number, please wait 1-2 days until it works as the courier needs time to update. Please try NOT to send us email as our email has been overloaded.
2. For customers chosen refund but now change your mind, please DO reply this email and quote your order ID, we will also arrange shipment immediately.
3. For those customers who stays with a refund decision, please DO reply this email and quote your order ID for a refund. We will do that but please allow sometime.
http://www.gadget-asia.com
- Geeba - 2010-09-30
teaguecl Wrote:The closest thing would be the Gen1 ion Revo's. By far the most popular platform and very well supported. It sounds like you're not really looking for a hobby project though - but more of a consumer electronics appliance. You have lots of choices (Roku, Popcorn Hour, Boxee Box, Apple TV, WD Live, Google TV). But you can't have the rock solid CE appliance setup and ease of use while also getting enthusiast level flexibility. That's the trade you make.
If you want it to be easy to use (high WAF) then your options are:
1. spend a lot of time setting up and maintaining a custom htpc with xbmc or similar
2. buy a good commercial solution, and live with it's limitations.
Naaa I've had a hobby for many years xbmc wise - I've been hacking xboxes pretty much since they came out...
Its just the hardware diversity now is throwing a spanner in it for me...
- poofyhairguy - 2010-09-30
teaguecl Wrote:The closest thing would be the Gen1 ion Revo's.
Amen. Now that they aren't being made anymore is why there is a problem.
- squarepusher - 2010-10-04
Just went to the effort of registering here to say I'm kinda disappointed by the attitude the devs are taking here. You should not forget about your roots, and no, simply saying 'Get an ION, it will probably do a better job at it anyway' is not a satisfactory answer to give anyone - it's simply a more diplomatic way of saying 'Shut the hell up about you wanting a PS3 port, I honestly could not care'.
Also, in what way was the Xbox GPU 'very powerful' for the time? It's no more powerful when compared to the main GPUs of, say, 2004/2005 than the Nvidia RSX is compared to the main GPUs of today. There was nothing powerful about the Xbox - it was a bogstandard Celeron 733 with a custom Geforce 3 and a hard drive.
PS3 would be a great host platform for XBMC - I don't even see the logic of preferring an Nvidia ION-based system in this case. The main processor is not as slow as some here are making it out to be - it's a PPC PowerPC-based CPU (called the PPU) running at 3.2GHz. As far as the custom Nvidia graphics chip is concerned, if you don't want to bother with libGCM, there's an OpenGL ES derivative that you could use. (called PSGL).
XBMC compiles on PPC and it makes use of OpenGL/OpenGL ES - both requirements are covered. The PS3 has got a built-in HDD - it's got a Gigabit NIC - it's got an HDMI port - the only thing that might be even remotely offputting might be the segmented RAM (256MB which is designated as 'Main', and 256MB of which is designated as 'Local' and meant for the RSX - but you can shuffle that around).
On top of that, the main Level 2 GameOS supports all HID USB joysticks, HID USB keyboards, you name it, on top of support for wireless native PS3 joypads. You don't have to program this in - it's all provided to any application that is running inside the Level 2 GameOS.
I do hope the current devs will not forget the roots of XBMC (or even XBMP - Xbox Media Player - before the rewrite). Yeah, you'll need a leaked SDK to be able to do anything on the PS3 - so what? Whether you guys were around there or not, this software began with people getting it to work on a closed system using illegal leaked SDKs (XDK) - so I think I'm not going to listen to conscientious objections of the kind that 'oh, I'm so above getting a leaked SDK and trying to get this to compile', since your forebears did not seem to mind that much either.
XBMP/XBMC was the killer app for Xboxes and homebrew in general. It defined a generation. XBMC on PS3 could be again.
There's nothing hard about coding with the leaked SDK. The people saying the RSX and the SPEs are so hard to program for are making it sound more complicated than it really is. Most of it is pretty well documented in the official documentation. All I'm seeing here is apathy and a general lack of willingness - but that should not be confused with 'impossible to port', because it honestly isn't.
If the official devs do not want to do it, then someone else is going to take up the baton. But do I get this right that if we do get our PS3 port, the official devs are going to disown it? That would be even more disappointing and narrowminded.
Honestly, I'm kinda shocked by the attitude - out of all the homebrew projects, I was expecting this the least from XBMC - given where it comes from.