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Linux on the PS3
IreneDAdler
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So we've installed Yellow Dog linux on our PS3 and we've been trying to turn it into a sort of non-Microsoft Media Center, and so far, we're failing rather sadly. After some wrangling yesterday, we finally got Mplayer to play .avi's, and even then we couldn't resize the video without running into huge a/v sync issues. And today, I couldn't get it to even play a DVD. Obviously you can just boot into the PS3 OS to play the DVD, but it's the principle of the thing! Admittedly, I'm a linux noob, so each little problem seems insurmountable to me, but so far my dreams of having my multimedia empire consolidated on the PS3 seems unattainable, which makes me sad. 
So have any of you guys tried anything similar? Are there other builds out there that are more noob-friendly and have more functionalities? Or is having linux on your PS3 just a nerdy novelty that lets you surf the web on your TV?
So have any of you guys tried anything similar? Are there other builds out there that are more noob-friendly and have more functionalities? Or is having linux on your PS3 just a nerdy novelty that lets you surf the web on your TV?
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
IreneDAdler on
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There are a few guides online if you google the distro name and "PS3."
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
Debian Live PS3
Gentoo PS3 LiveCD Beta
The PS3 is using one of it's cores to lock out the kernel. Linux is actually running is a kind of virtual machine (Called a hypervisor) that you can not break through.
Not only this, they also block direct access to the entire graphics system. In a normal computer, when you write to video memory, the bits show up on your screen every refresh.
On the PS3, your video is being written to system memory. Every few cycles, the hypervisor takes this chunk of ram, and does byte-for-byte copy into a tiny "hole" that somehow gets on the screen. It's not only the fact Sony blocks RSX access, you don't even have direct access to video memory. Sony is activlely blocking any attempt to use any multmedia functions under the "Other OS" system. (They've pached the hypervisor when it was discovered that you could do block-writes)
Format your drive and use it for saving games. You can't access the PS3 side of the HD under Linux in the first place, so it's not like you can get anything over there anyway.
So it really is just a novelty toy/gimmick, then? That's kinda sad :P
Actually, it was a business ploy. Because the PS2 version of Linux existed, the system got a tax break in Europe due to a loophole that declared it a personal computer. That loophole has now closed, and, in fact, was on its way to closing when the PS3 came out. But Sony authorized Linux on the PS3 anyway to hedge their bets in case it got reversed.
Looks like everyone involved half-assed it.
I would suggest checking out tversity the only caveat with using tversity is that you'll need a working PC (which I assume you have since you're posting here.) with all you media files on it. Please note I haven't tried it with a PS3 as i don't have one yet. However I do have it setup for use with my 360 the great thing about it is it actually transcodes all files on the fly to be playable on the ps3/xbox. So my collection of .avi's, divx ect. files all play on my tv.
I recommend checking out the site and giving it a try if you'd like also if anyone has any problems getting it setup the forums on the site are an excellent resource.
It's people like you that make me feel so stupid, so insignificant. =(
But wait, so you are saying that Linux on the PS3 is completely pointless and not worth giving a shot at all?
I guess if you want to see what Linux looks like on a television set, more power to you. You can get the same effect by buying a TV adapter for a PowerPC Mac and running Linux on that. The only advantage is that you have access a multi-core CPU, (with one of the cores missing).
PS3 Linux itself does not use the multiple processors at all when you first start. Linux only runs on the the PPE. (The PowerPC "master core") So you have these 5 SPE sub-cores that sit idle unless you explicitly code for them. Normal Linux programs are not even aware of them and will not use them. The reason why is because the SPE cores are not compatible with the PPE. It's not like a dual-core PC where the OS will pick which core to run a program on. The only whiz-bang thing about this architecture is that the SPEs are attached via a very wide 64 bit bus, so they talk really fast to each other. It doesn't do a lot of good when they pretty much do nothing while you run Linux. Well, save for the hypervisor (core 6) that is actively blocking you from the hardware.
You must explicitly write code for an SPE to get them to work IBM has some examples. On a 9-core Cell, You can do a large fast Fourier transform.. On the PS3, they have examples of compiling a program to calculate the distance traveled given a speed in miles-per-hour and a time in hours using an SPE.
That's pretty much what you are limited to, multi-core CPU calculations, and then only if you program for that exact architecture. With the video system crippled, you are not going to be doing much else.
It was just Sony blowing smoke up our ass (again), telling half-truths and selling a crippled product. After I discovered that I can't even play PS1 games on my PSP without a $600 accessory, I quit buying their shit.
Hey Sony, when are we going to be able to download PS1 games directly to our PSPs? You know, the function you promised last year.. Oh you can't yet? Yea, that's what I thought, fuckers.
Ok, so I compared its performance with a 720p h264 mkv and a 720p XVID avi. The video in the mkv lagged horribly from the get go, but the video from the avi didn't lag at all, though there was some flicker. Both were played at 100% zoom, and had the same framerate. That would seem more consistent with a processing deficiency than a display deficiency, since the only significant difference that I know of between the two files is the codec, though I will freely admit that I have no clue what's going on in the box other than what you have told us so far
P.S. Oh, and the mkv was actually slightly lower resolution because it was 1280x544, whereas the avi was 1280x720.
Nerds!!!!
i wish it were more useful though,