I realize this is an older thread/post but wanted to chime in for those like me that have thought of doing this.

As has been stated by Andrew - as far as I know since AF is Windows based. You can't use it for an After Effects render farm. But you can for other software as long as you have PS3 System software prior to 3.2.1 in which Sony removed the Add other OS feature from PS3. (Though that is up for debate as to whether you can get around it)
Quote:
Create an 3d scene in Max, Maya, Softimage, etc, export to Mentalray (Alias has an Mentalray Standalone for Maya), install Linux and the MentalRay standalone on PS3, open the exported file and: Rendering will go between the 12 and the 18 times faster then on the fastest singlecore p4 or Athlon.

Another quote:
With the advent of the Cell processor being available now in both console and computing platforms, the ability for it to be used for a distributed computing network is very real. The Cell is designed for massive network architecture and works best when running in sequence with other Cell processors. One possible future is using the idle power of the PS3 conmsole as a render farm for 3D animated movies. This is a possible direction.
The Cell Broadband Engine is a distributed computer processor capable of running instructions at upwards of 200 gigaflops or 200 trillion instructions per second. Although these would be fairly simple instructions, the speed of the Cell means it can process very complex information faster because it would break it down, process elements, then reassemble the finished product faster than a normal processor.
One possible future for the Cell is in the avenue of a render farm for 3d and computer animated films and television shows.
Here's how it would possibly work:
Get 6 PS3's
link them together with a 8 port high-speed ethernet switch capable of running 1000 base-t or gigabit ethernet speed. Connect a Linux computer to the 7th port.
8th port of the switch goes to high-speed internet.
Load a software application on the linux pc that can coordinate a distributed computing environment
Load a node application onto each PS3's linux kernel so they can run code sent from the central computer.
Then all that is needed is to run the program to begin the render engine. Load it with the frameset and let it pass the data onto the PS3 network so the Cell processors can go to work. The Cell is designed for graphical rendering and scaled linear data computing, which makes it nearly perfect for graphic processes of the type that a render farm would be best suited for.
A current project that would work for the Cell is BURP (Big and Ugly Render Project) as it is designed for both distributed computing and will run on the Linux kernel. By setting graphic files in a format able to be read by the Blender graphic program, they could be sent through BURP and processed by a dedicated PS3 network, and the resulting finished frames sent back to the central machine for assembly into a finished Computer Generated Animation.
The possibilities for the Cell are endless, but this is one that we expect to see within the next 12-18 months. I would be very surprised if this does not happen.

number 12. frame rate converter. i got so excited cause i have a couple old ones kickin' around. but i guess i'll just have to maintain rendering with my laptop.

Wow! That's pretty awesome, Jay

Actually, you can use your PS3 as a renderfarm. It requires the Yellowtag Linux OS for the PS3, Mental Ray Standalone (for Maya or 3DS rendering), and it helps if more than one PS3 is connected (up to 8 work together). The Cell processor chip is strong enough to work as a supercomputer if run in tandem with other PS3's.

Hey there, first of all, I want to note that I think it's a good website you have got here. And to the point, I haven't found out the way to include your website rss in my feed reader - where is the link to the RSS? Thanks

Andrew, Dude U roock ur Tuts have blown me away & evrytime I hear you've got a new product coming out I just want to get a hold of it.

Keep Up with the good work for VFX community say hello to SAM for me.

I ran everything out to my iPod and tried to use it as a render farm. It worked but now all my audio files are DRM'd and won't play back in my project. Plus all my video elements now have this crazy apple logo. Maybe I will try it on the iPhone. It does everything right? Love the tutorials Andrew.

I ran everything out to my iPod and tried to use it as a render farm. It worked but now all my audio files are DMR'd and won't play back in my project. Plus all my video elements now have this crazy apple logo. Maybe I will try it on the iPhone. It does everything right? Love the tutorials Andrew.

haha Andrew. Poor suckas !

Isnt there as linux distro for PS3 and doesnt it have a LAN port?

If so.... It can be used as a render farm

I heard rumors that they are working on the PS3 thing with the help of the Segaa team. But reports from Segaa are that they don't want to lose market share in their secret rendering business by helping out a clearly underpowered system. Segaa for life

Dissing sonic.

Never cool.

Will my Dreamcast work?

"Aha...I fart in your general direction!"

I wouldn't work on a MAC if you bought it for me Please don't tell me that you fell for those stupid mac adverts and went out and spent over 2 grand on one? Just custom build a nice fast PC and paint it white, also rename all your program shortcuts by inserting the letter i in front of everything :|

Wanna speed up rendering? By a MacPro and toss 10 GB Ram into it

I'm glad I'm not the only one who tried this. Wasn't there an article that said if you carry your PC around barefoot and dragged your feet around with 10 balloons in hand that you could render in real time... or was that the copper pipe and power lines RAM booster I was thinking of?

Aaah, Damn you Kramer....I love your tutorials and all, thanks, but this time you messed up. My computer short circuited after I put the wires of the genesis in a USB port... I will save some money, go back to school, get a good job, and when I save up enough money I will sue you for this....

Thanks for the great Tutos though!

Sega genesis is 16 bit fag, sega saturn is 32 bit ^_^ Nintendo 64 has a huge overhead causing it to give you the ring the rings of death.

I found that the Nintendo 64 seems to work so much faster than the 32-bit Sega! Render time was sliced in half, I guess that's what I get for using the SNES as a render farm!

Maybe I can hook up my Nintendo DS and use that Brain Training game to give my PC more memory

Wheres the firewire port on it? Is there something I'm missing? But I overclocked my sega genesis so it is ready to render.

Snicker...

is that a serial or USB adapter you use for the Sega?