Hi Craig - been awhile. Couple of things.
I was deciding between HTPC and PS3 a few months back and stumbled across that great thread Frank pointed you to. It will get you to a place where you can create a single.vob file (doesn't need to be renamed to "mpeg") that you can place on what ever storage you plan to use. (more on that in a minute).
Also, the fact that you can stream through the PS3 is great for music and pics; the DVDs can be iffy if you are using a wireless network.
I ended up use storage for my DVDs. In the thread you'll see that you will want to keep the .vob file you create from your DVD under 4GB (otherwise the PS3 won't see/play it.
For storage, you have a variety of good alternatives:
1) It is a simple (and relatively inexpensive) option to replace the internal 2.5" internal PS3 drive. YouTube has several videos to show how. Up to 320GB available (get the 5400rpm). You can put the internal you replace into an external case to use as backup as well.
2) There are network storage devices (NAS) available as well. The Linksys model gets decent marks.
3) I chose this option. My PS3 has 2 USB ports. I plugged a powered 7 port USB D-Link hub (high marks and Newegg has it with a rebate this month). I have plugged my external 750GB and 320GB hard drives into the hub. While I already had the external drives, I chose this approach for several reasons. First - the storage capability is unlimited (as well as more reliable/less expensive than NAS). Second, it takes the whole networking aggravation out of the loop for DVDs/movies. I also put my pics and music on one of the drives (total of only 6GB). Third (somewhat related to second), I don't need to have my PC turned on on the second floor while I am in the basement man cave. Fourth, the flexibility of ripping my DVDs over to the .vob files can be done over time and I can then unplug one of the externals from the PS3 hub, plug into the PC and move the DVDs to the hard drive - then plug back into the hub.
So far it's been working a treat.
As an aside, I was concerned about having to scroll through way too many DVD titles to find a movie I would want on that external Hard drive. I was pleased to find out I could put another set of folders in the VIDEO folder and organize the movies a bit easier. For example, I have a James Bond" folder (all 21 movies), a "Harry Potter" folder, a "Lethal Weapon" - you get the idea.
The audio playback is fine. You'll determine what audio (you can only get one choice - stereo, Dolby 5.1, DTS, etc.) you want when you create your .vob file.
Final point - the quality is better than you would expect with going through this process. I really don't see any difference between a .vob or it's DVD.
One other thing - unless you do something to change it, you need to use the PS3 game controller for a remote and it pretty much is not a good thing. There are several solutions available out there and
this threaD AT avsis long, but is a must read if you want to do something about a more elegant PS3 remote.
I ended up
ordering the PRO model. It will plug into that USB port for power and there is a full set of PS2 commands I can plug into my MX-900 remote. It is an IR solution vs. blue tooth and allows me to continue to use a single remote. Also, this puppy supports discrete codes for on and off.
Let us know what you decide.
