I have made various attempts to get media streaming in our house from a server in cellar to clients set up in various other rooms. So far the only system that has really worked well has been the Squeezebox (Logitech, previously Slimdevices). They have dedicated server software that runs very well in a Linux server and integrates perfectly with the well designed player, both over Wi-Fi as well as Ethernet. Otherwise, no luck. Now, after investing to a Sony PlayStation 3, I got dedicated enough to try and solve the media streaming issues to really use this high-powered gaming console as a network-enabled home media center. It turned out that it was finally impossible to get PS3 to connect to anything without investing to more hardware: our home network has been build gradually, connecting piece to piece, and universal plug-and-play and other necessary media discovery protocols did not work if PS3 was connected wirelessly into a separate Wi-Fi router, and that was connected to another ADSL-modem-router (plus external switch) combo that I had piled up in our network cabinet. After getting rid of the old ADSL-modem and Wi-Fi box, and instead getting a combined Wi-Fi-modem-router device (Telewell TW-EA514, pictured), the problems appear to be solved. Now PS3 can at least see the Vista machine downstairs having a Windows Media Player 11, and connect to media shared through it. Several steps were, nevertheless, yet required before anything else beside music files could be seen through the media player. I am still unsure whether the settings in Control Panel/Network and Sharing Center/Media Sharing, or the paths added into the Media Player Library, or paths in the Windows Media Center finally did it, but now I seem to be able to access all my media also through the PS3. (Oops, while writing this, Vista crashed, lets see whether anything at all works after this…) Only thing I can say is that the era of effortless, transparent home networking and media device interoperability is not yet here.
frans goes blog 
Funny enough, the PS3 really showed me how easy it should be – granted, with a much simpler setup. I have a Windows XP computer and a Zyxel WLAN/ADSL device. Upon powering up the PS3 for the first time, it automatically showed the computer on the LAN and asked me if I wanted to stream media from it. Sure enough, all I had do was say “yes” to both the PS3 and the PC, and that was all there is to it. So far everything’s worked just peachy.
Now, the Xbox 360 on the same LAN is a different story. I’ve spent so many nights trying to get it to even acknowledge the existence of the PC, to no avail.
One word, tversity. That is all….