Do you have met this issue: PS4 can’t play the MKV videos from NAS. What’s happening? What is PS4 supported video formats? How to play all MKV videos on PS4?
Issue: I have a NAS with loads of movies on it. They are mainly avi or mp4 (some are mkv and I know it won’t play them). My PS4 certainly played things fine before but now almost every file fails and says “cannot play media” . Bizarrely some play and I haven’t checked which format they are. But certainly most don’t play. As such I don’t think it’s the files themselves. What could the cause on PS4 and how do i fix?
MKV can hold any number or variations of audio, video and subtitle files, it will be the content within the MKV will be the issue. If the files play without issue on your PC then it’ll be the format. PS4 and Xbox for that matter can only play a limited number of video and audio formats. If your MKV has something that’s not compatible this will be the issue. Let’s review the PS4 supported video formats:
MKV
- Video: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High Profile Level4.2
- Audio: MP3, AAC LC, AC-3 (Dolby Digital)
AVI
- Video: MPEG4 ASP, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High Profile Level4.2
- Audio: MP3, AAC LC, AC-3(Dolby Digital)
MP4
- Video: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High Profile Level4.2
- Audio: AAC LC, AC-3 (Dolby Digital)
MPEG-2 PS
- Video: MPEG2 Visual
- Audio: MP2(MPEG2 Audio Layer 2), MP3, AAC LC, AC-3(Dolby Digital), LPCM
MPEG-2 TS
- Video: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High Profile Level4.2, MPEG2 Visual
- Audio: MP2 (MPEG2 Audio Layer 2), AAC LC, AC-3 (Dolby Digital)
As mentioned, if you want to play these you will need to find something to transcode on the fly to a format that’s compatible, or convert them to a container with audio and video formats that the PS4 can recognize. I recommend you the Pavtube Video Converter Ultimate, a powerful video converter for PS4, you can install this software on the Windows and Mac, this software even can work on the latest Windows 10 and macOS High Sierra. With the high stability, you don’t worry about the software interruption.
When you open this software, the user-friendly interface you will love it, you can load any videos to it, like the MKV, AVI, MP4, MOV, FLV, etc, this software provides you the 300+ videos, you can choose the PS4 supported video formats: MKV, MP4, MPEG-2. If you don’t want to convert the MKV videos, you also can adjust the MKV video codec and audio codec to PS4 friendly video formats, this software provides you the comprehensive video settings.
If you want to play the videos on other devices, you also can choose the device preset, like the PS4 Pro, Xbox One, you also can choose the iPad, iPhone, etc. Best of all, you can choose the MP4 video with H.264 codec, this software can take full use of the GPU acceleration, you can get the 30X faster speed than other video converter.
How to Convert MKV to PS4 Supported Video Formats
Step 1. Load the MKV video
After the video installation, you can open this MKV video converter and load the MKV videos by clicking the File, you also can drag the videos to this software. If you want to do the batch video conversion and load the folder, with the high stability, you can save much time and energy.
Tip: If you want to play the DVD on PS4, Blu-ray on PS4, ISO on PS4, you can also load the DVD and Blu-ray disc, images to this software and get the desired video formats.
Step 2. Choose PS4 supported video format
Click Format button to open the output video list, you can choose one video you want, like the MKV, AVI, MOV, WMV, etc, you also can choose the videos from the HD Video, Common Video, etc. You also can choose the video device preset if you want to play the MKV video on other devices, like the Apple devices, Android device, TVs, NLE software: After Effects, FCE, iMovie, Sony Movie Studio, etc.
3D Video is designed for the 3D fans, you can get the the 3D videos from the 2D videos, 2D DVD and 2D Blu-ray disc, create the multiple 3D library and enjoy the 3D videos on 3D TV, 3D projector.
If you want to get the fastest video conversion speed, you can choose the video with MP4 with H.264 codec, this software takes full use of the GPU acceleration, getting the 30x faster speed than other video converter. You also can adjust the MKV video codec, frame, video resolution, etc. For example: You can adjust the MKV video codec to H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High Profile Level4.2 , audio codec to MP3, AAC LC, AC-3 (Dolby Digital).
Step 3. Begin MKV to PS4 video conversion
After the video option and setting, you can click the Convert button to start the video conversion. When you are waiting for the result, you can watch the videos on the preview window.
After the videos conversion is done, you can upload the videos to MKV or save the videos in USB port, then you can use the PS4 to play the MKV video from the NAS or USB. By the way, you also can change other videos which are not supported by the PS4.