Download Playback for Mac - Share media with PS3, Xbox 360 or other UPnP device. MacUpdate Mac Software Downloads

Playback allows you to share your media with any Playstation 3, Xbox 360, or other UPnP compatible device. It automatically integrates with iTunes, iPhoto, Aperture, Adobe Lightroom 2, Photobooth, EyeTV, and more. You can share all content from these applications or choose specific playlists and albums.

Playback can also share media stored in folders or even make entire disks available to your Playstation 3 or Xbox 360. By default, Playback will share almost any content on your system. No configuration required! If you prefer to tinker, you'll appreciate Playback's built-in access control list (ACL) and bandwidth throttling. The ACL allows you to control which devices have access to your media. Bandwidth throttling limits the transfer rate from your computer to your UPnP device so others on your network can still surf the web and check their email.

Of course, if speed is your thing, we've got that too. Playback was engineered for extreme speed. Your media is served via lighttpd. This is the same software that powers YouTube, Wikipedia, and many other popular sites.

Other features include Growl notifications, on-screen thumbnails powered by QuickLook, and much more!

Version 1.2.3:

New: Updated Playback components to use noticeably less Ram and CPU resources for an even smoother experience.

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TTC This is easily the best Media streaming server software for the Mac. I use it on a PS3 and it performs faultlessly compared to its rivals. All that is missing is native MKV which should be coming but in the meantime Yazsoft provide a simple workaround on their web site.

This software unlike the others is well supported both in terms of email feedback and also regular updates. For $15 this is excellent value for three licensees. Don't buy anything else when this excellent product does everything you need with a simple but great interface and works. No freezes, dropouts, unsupported formats etc etc.
(Version 1.2.3)

SCRAGS I don't review often but I was quite pleased to find that this software does what no other server software I've tried does - it works with my LG BD390 Blu-Ray disc player. I have only fiddled with it for a short while - in demo mode - but so far, while not perfect, it works well enough to impress. My player is wireless and connects easily to Netflix, Vudu, YouTube, and all of the other sites that come pre-installed. I've been looking for something to stream my iLife data to my HDTV. The other products I've tried either don't show up at all, or can be seen by the player but fail to deliver any music, video or photos. Playback worked pretty well. I was able to view my iPhoto collection easily. And the music seems to work as well. Unfortunately my iTunes Movies shows up as an empty folder, which it is not. The movies in it are not copy protected or purchased. They are ripped from DVD's, converted by HandBrake and imported into iTunes. Curiously, if I drag movie out of my iTunes Movie folder and into a folder on my desktop, the software sees it and I am able to stream successfully to my HDTV. Quirky. Also, I often get server error messages when moving from folder to folder (looking for content to display) which forces me to start from scratch. But once I start a stream it seems to work well. I'll play with it some more, see if I can work through the bugs, and probably buy it. Good work.
(Version 1.2.3)

GOESTAS I recently purchased a LaCie LaCinema Black Max Wi-Fi media server (available only in Europe, but this shouls also apply to the rest of the LaCinema line). The hardware, which I recommend highly, is packaged with Twonky Media Server, which I do not. In desparation I tried Playback, and am very satisfied. It is very stable under both OS 10.4 and 10.6 (I just upgraded), and most importantly for me mounts on and updates the data to the Black Max rapidly and correctly. Settings are easy to figure out and I am for the first time thoroughly enjoying my home media network. Support from yazsoft has been rapid and friendly (I also use their The Tube software). Very, very happy.
(Version 1.2.3)

CRUNC I tried to use this with my 360 to share my Handbrake produced H.264 files ripped from DVDs, but the videos only play for 10 to 15 seconds or so, and then they freeze up. They play fine on the Mac. Both the Mac and 360 are on a 802.11N wireless network. Is the problem here with Playback or with the 360's support of H.264 files?
(Version 1.2.2)

Replies:

Dec 14 2009

YAZSOFT SUPPORT Hard to tell; please email me directly at info at yazsoft dot com

I'll be happy to take a look with you.

Johnny
(Version 1.2.2)

COFFEE AT THE HELM Fantastic software and outstanding customer service (FIVE STARS for both). I had a really obscure problem with Playback and working with their technical support via email was almost like instant messaging. I literally had a new build with my problem fixed in less than a day. The software works great to stream video to an XBox 360 (haven't tried a PS3, but I suspect that works great as well). If you need to stream movies, music, or pictures to your gaming console, get this software.
(Version 1.2.1)

JAGOSILVER Excellent product backed up by amazing customer support. I bought Playback as it seemed more fully featured than Rivet that I had been using. Unfortunately I couldn't get it to work initially. Johnny from customer support was great, e-mailed lots of things to try and after a few e-mails had solved the problem. Now runs perfectly. Would highly recommend.
(Version 1.2.1)

ALEX KORNITZER Very Good app does what it says 5 STARS, very good company as well they reply to your emails virtually straight away :)
(Version 1.2)

MPATTERSON1 Playback 1.2 and my Seagate FreeAgent Theater+HD work very well. So far, I've streamed a .mkv file in 720p resolution (802.11N wireless network) and a song from my iTunes library. The quality and playback were great in both instances. Thanks for the great software.
(Version 1.2)

TONYPATILLAS99 Can anyone else get Playback to work with the snow leopard firewall on? It works fine with it off but I really don't want to have my firewall turned off to have playback function as it should.

The demo worked fine then when I purchased the product it stopped working. Now I can't get playback to work at all. Very frustrated...

Any advice gratefully recieved!
(Version 1.1)

Replies:

Nov 2 2009

YAZSOFT SUPPORT Tony,

As mentioned in our FAQ, and my email responses to you; this is not currently possible simply because the SL Firewall does not give you access to all the services that you need to let through. When you activate the firewall, they are OFF by default.

If you have a router on your network, a firewall on you Mac is a little redundant.

If you'd like to discuss this further, I welcome you to join our forums:

http://www.yazsoft.com/f/

The MacUpdate comment section is not really the best place for this type of discussion.

Johnny
(Version 1.1)

Nov 3 2009

TONYPATILLAS99 Hi Johnny,

I haven't received an email stating snow leopard firewall is not compatible with Playback. Just a link to a forum post about what ports to open which you cannot do with Snow Leopard Firewall.

It might be worth stating this in your sites FAQs under 'Is Playback compatible with Snow Leopard's Firewall?'.

Also I would also welcome the opportunity to continue this conversation on your forums but I have been waiting since the 24th October for an administrator to activate my account. For now I just get the message 'The specified username is currently inactive. If you have problems activating your account, please contact a board administrator.' I have sent a second request to activate my account but still nothing. Hence my posting on mac update for help resolving the my playback issues, which for someone who has parted money for this software is totally appropriate if I am unable to find answers elsewhere.

Apologies for my tone but I am somewhat frustrated with my experience of using Playback so far.

Regards

Tony
(Version 1.1)

Nov 3 2009

YAZSOFT SUPPORT Tony,

Email me at info at yazsoft dot com.

Also, please make sure that none of my emails are being caught in your spam folder. In your email, also provide the username you have chosen on the forums. Ill activate your account manually.

Johnny
(Version 1.1)

Nov 3 2009

RUDHY I've the same problem, but luckily for me I've also license for Rivet which is working just fine with SL, Firewall turned ON and even Stealth mode enabled. I don't understand why Playback can't where Rivet is doing great. For now Rivet is my choice.
(Version 1.2)

Nov 3 2009

NAVDEEP BAINS @RUDHY I don't understand it either. I should also add that I can't reproduce the firewall issues being reported on any of my machines. There's only one way to bind a socket to a port, so in that respect, Playback and Rivet are exactly the same. There's no special technique to employ; no magic trick that I'm aware of at least.

Take a look at the Rivet forums and you'll see that Rivet users are also having problems with the Snow Leopard firewall. Both Yazsoft and Cynical Peak are being blamed for Apple's buggy code.

It's not Yazsoft's fault that the Mac OS X firewall implementation is flaky. It's not Cynical Peak's fault either. There really is absolutely nothing we can do to solve these issues on our end.

Thanks,

Navdeep Bains

Playback Developer
(Version 1.2)

Nov 3 2009

MAC-ADDICT Hi Tony,

My problems with Playback in the end turned out to be a problem with LittleSnitch, running so silently in the background I'd forgotten all about it's use. However, unlike you I was using Leopard, maybe this solution could help solve your issues, but it would include needing LittleSnitch.

If you go to the following:

http://yazsoft.com/products/playback/faqs/

Look under the question "Is Playback compatible with Little Snitch?" here you'll see my solution as was so kindly helped and provoked by the Yazsoft staff, who I've gotta say where fantastically on the ball with their support. In the end I took their help and went a little further until I found what exactly needed to gain access to the network for Playback to function perfectly. Also I have NetBarrier running but not the built-in Firewall.

Hope this helps you out, I know it is seriously frustrating when this software doesn't work, but it really is soooo much better than Rivet it's not fair to compare them.

All the best,

Ryan.
(Version 1.2)

ALECALIXTO This is a perfect media server software for Mac with PS3 and XB360, for some reasons:

1. Very VERY easy to use interface

2. Opens specific files such as iPhoto library and iTunes playlists

3. Light software/service (low resources consumption)

4. Right price for 3 licenses

Extremely recommended!!!
(Version 1.1)