It’s been almost two years since the PlayStation 4 (PS4) was released worldwide. One of the biggest concerns at the time was the lack of media play. Microsoft’s Xbox One launched without the same features, but quickly added them to support USB playback of popular audio, video and photo formats.
That has changed now, however, with Sony releasing a media player app for the console. It’s a free app you can download with your PlayStation 4 and use it to play videos, music and photos from a connected USB storage device. The media player can also display media content from DNLA media servers located on the same network as the PS4 system.
(See also: Sony PlayStation 4 gets dedicated media player app)
There are only two main steps to using your PS4 as a media center. Here are the steps you need to follow.
Install media player on PS4 system
1. Turn on PS4. Make sure you are connected to the internet.
2. Select media player On the home screen or in the library. Press X.
3. Select download. Press X.
After downloading and installing the file, you can launch the media player.
Play content
1. Select media player from the home screen. If you have a USB storage device or DLNA media server on the same network, it will be detected and displayed automatically.
2. Select the USB storage device or media server to which you want to play content. Press X.
3. Select the content you want to play. Press X.
Just like that, in just two simple steps, you can listen to your favorite movies or watch your movies on PS4.
You can continue listening to background music even if you are playing a game. To do this, press the PS button to return to the home screen, then launch the game, browse the web, or run any other application normally. Your music will continue to play.
If you hold down the PS button for at least one second, you can pause playback, adjust the volume, or change screen settings. As you might expect, background music is not allowed when watching video clips or broadcasts. At the time of writing, the PS4 media player supports the following formats:
If you use a USB storage device, you must save the files to a folder so that the system can recognize them.
MKV
Visual: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High Profile Level4.2
Audio: MP3, AAC LC, AC-3 (Dolby Digital)
AVI
Vision: MPEG4 ASP, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High Profile Level4.2
Audio: MP3, AAC LC, AC-3 (Dolby Digital)
MP4
Visual: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High Profile Level4.2
Audio: AAC LC, AC-3 (Dolby Digital)
MPEG-2 transport stream
Vision: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High Profile Level4.2, MPEG2 Vision
Audio: MP2 (MPEG2 Audio Layer 2), AAC LC, AC-3 (Dolby Digital) AVCHD (.m2ts, .mts)
photo
If you use a USB storage device, you must save the files to a folder so that the system can recognize them.
JPEG (DCF 2.0/Exif 2.21 compliant)
bone morphogenetic protein
papua new guinea
music
If you use a USB storage device, you must save the files to a folder called “Music” in order for the system to recognize them.
MP3
AAC (M4A)
An updated list of supported formats is always available on the PlayStation website.
