Back in 2005, about a year before the Playstation 3 (PS3) was released, Sony released a mighty, little, handheld gaming console called the Playstation Portable, or what we now so lovingly call the PSP. Being the gadget (and at the time, video game) lover that I am, I bought one immediately and immersed myself in something way cool in a way small package. At the time, however, the PSP truly shone while playing games and browsing the internet. Onboard WiFi was a plus, but lightly used and not implemented past the browser experience. You could watch movies via the Memory Stick or a UMD disc, but both formats were somewhat clunky and it was difficult to compress video for the device at the time.

Fast forward almost 5 years. Video and audio are everywhere, and many people have large digital libraries. It’s easy to reformat any kind of media using simple programs on any computer. The Playstation 3 is available everywhere, and to this day is still the most popular Blu-Ray disc player on the market. But the PS3 has some other features that, while often times overlooked, make it one of the most powerful devices in the home. Namely the fact that every PS3 comes out of the box with UPnP support. Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) is a protocol designed to allow the streaming of media over standard network connections in both the home and office, allowing easy access to lots of media. If you’d like to read more about UPnP, check out the Wikipedia article. When combined with a UPnP compatible storage device you’ve got an amazing way to enjoy your music in your home theater.

So here’s the setup I’m using currently: I have a high-speed wireless router connected to my XiVA musicm8 that comes standard with Twonky Media Server. This streams music and movies wirelessly to my PS3 and allows me to play any of the content that is stored on my musicm8 through my home theater. Cool. I can then control my PS3 through my PSP, using it as a kind of visual remote to cue up the next song or movie. Even cooler.

So what does this mean? Through two devices, Sony provides you with a way to play music without turning on your TV or finding 73 remotes to get your home theater turned on. Simply pick up your PSP, use it to power up the PS3, choose your tunes that are streamed wirelessly to the device, and enjoy.

Tagged: Hardware, Playstation, Sony, Streaming, UPnP