Your video game console PS3 or PS4 is great for playing games, but you might not realize they are also one of the best media centers around. With proper setup, you can easily stream videos and music to them right from your computer. But before you do that, let’s first have a glance at what PS3/PS4 supported file formats, then we will show you how to stream and play local media on PS3/PS4.
Type of files can be played on PS3
Memory Stick Video Format
– MPEG-4 SP (AAC LC)
– H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High Profile (AAC LC)
– MPEG-2 TS(H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, AAC LC)
MP4 file format
– H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High Profile (AAC LC)
MPEG-1 (MPEG Audio Layer 2)
MPEG-2 PS (MPEG2 Audio Layer 2, AAC LC, AC3(Dolby Digital), LPCM)
MPEG-2 TS(MPEG2 Audio Layer 2, AC3(Dolby Digital), AAC LC)
MPEG-2 TS(H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, AAC LC)
AVI
– Motion JPEG (Linear PCM)
– Motion JPEG (μ-Law)
AVCHD (.m2ts / .mts)
Divx
WMV
– VC-1(WMA Standard V2)
Type of files that can be played on PS4
PS4 uses the Media Player to enjoy videos, photos, and music saved on USB storage devices and media servers.
You can play the following types of files:
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)
AVCHD
Stream local video, music on PS3
Option 1: Windows Media Player
If you don’t want to download any extra software? Windows Media Player is all you need. The first thing we’re going to set is your computer’s sharing settings. Without this, no matter how hard you try the PS3 will never see your computer or play what it finds. To get things running, follow the steps below, starting with the Network and Sharing Centre.
. In Windows 8: Open your start screen and type ‘Network and Sharing’. Click on ‘Settings’ on the right hand side, and finally click ‘Network and Sharing Centre’.
. In Windows 7: Click on your start button, and click ‘Control Panel’. On the next page you will see ‘Network and Sharing Centre’, if not, click Network and Internet and then you’ll see the option.
. Along the left hand side of Network and Sharing Centre, there will be a title saying‘Change Advanced Sharing Settings’
. For the profile you are using, first make sure Network Discovery is turned ON. Without this, your computer won’t show up on networked devices, such as your PS3.
. Next, make sure File and printer sharing is ON. Without this, won’t be able to access any of the media on another device.
Next, let’s turn on the Media Streaming Sever. There is an option for Media streaming further down this page, click it then click Choose Media Streaming Options. When you click this, you will see a button saying ‘Turn on Media Streaming’. Click it! This needs to be on for the whole thing to work.
Congratulations! You can now leave your PC and go to your PS3. Turn on your PS3, and go to either the Audio, Video or Music section, and your PC will be listed there as a media source. Select it, and all the media available on your PC will be there to use.
Options 2: PS3 Media Server
If you’re using Microsoft Windows, just visit the PS3 Media Server website, click on the Windows logo, then click pms-setup-windows.exe (there will be a number there too, which is a version number).
Once the file has been downloaded, open it up from your downloads folder and follow the next couple of steps to install the program.Once opened, you should see this:
To access your media, find and click on the PS3 Media Server icon from your PlayStation’s menu. The folders you’ll see on the PS3 are the same as the ones on your computer! To get to your My Documents folder you must go in to C:\Users, click on your username, and then My Documents. Your music, videos and pictures will be listed here. You can change this to only show certain folders, but this is how it is set up as standard.
To make it so only certain folders are shown on the PS3, follow the instructions below:
– Click the “Navigation/Share Settings” tab.
– At the bottom you’ll find a “Shared folders” section.
– Remove where it says
– Click the folder with a green plus to add a folder.
– Once you’ve added a folder to this list, it will appear on the PS3.
The other really good thing about PS3 Media Server is that it converts your media while you watch. This means that files which normally won’t play on a PS3 because they aren’t supported are changed into files that will play, as you’re watching them! This is done automatically, and it usually doesn’t require any additional loading time either.
Play local media on PS4
Thanks to the “Media Player” app, PS4 can play video and music files from a USB drive or stream videos from another one of your PCs with the now-free-to-use Plex app.
Options 1: USB Drive
If you have PS4 media player app supported files right in hand, now it’s time to get them to your PlayStation. To get started, plug a USB drive into your computer. The drive must be formatted with either the exFAT or FAT32 file system.
Make sure to place your media file in Folders or your PS4 won’t be able to use them. Audio files must be located in a folder called “Music” on the drive for the PS4 to detect them correctly. Video files can be in any folder, but they need to be in a folder and not on the root of the drive. You could put them in a folder named “Videos”, or create separate folders for different types of videos. Likewise, photos must also be stored in folders if you want to view them, but any folder name will do.
Once you’re done, you can “safely remove” the USB drive from your computer and plug it into one of the USB ports on your PS4 – there are a few located on the front that are usually used for charging your controllers. Launch the PS4 Media Player app and your USB drive will appear as an option.
You’ll see the PS4’s “Media Player” app icon in the PS4’s “content area” – that strip of icons on the main screen. Select it with your controller and launch it. If you haven’t installed the media player app yet, the icon will still appear here, but it’ll take you to the PlayStation Store where you can download the app for free first.
Select your USB drive, browse to the music or videos you want to play, and use the buttons on the controller to control playback.
While playing a video, you can press the L2 and R2 shoulder buttons to rewind and fast forward. Press the “Options” button to open a playback control panel, and press the triangle button to view information about the file.
When playing music, you can hold down the PlayStation button while in a game to access the quick media player controls, allowing you to quickly skip songs and pause playback.
Option 2: Use a DLNA or Plex Media Server
If you don’t want to connect USB drives directly to your PS4 and ferry media files back and forth that way, you can stream videos and music from a DLNA server to your PlayStation 4. The PS4 Media Player app will detect compatible DLNA servers on your home network and offer them as options right alongside any connected USB devices when you open it.
If you’re looking at streaming over the network, you can stream media to PS4 via Plex Media Server which is free-to-use without a “Plex Pass” subscription on the PlayStation 4.
Stream/Play unsupported media on PS3/PS3
If the file formats that you are going to stream or play on PS3/PS4 do not meet the standard listed above, you can use a third-party media conversion tool such as Pavtube Video Converter Ultimate for Windows/Mac (best video converter ultimate review) to rip region locked Blu-ray or DVD disc or other unsupported file formats such as ISO, AVI, MP4, MKV, VOB, MTS, H.265, etc to PS3/PS4 supported file formats listed above or directly assists you to output PS3/PS4 preset profile formats for playing with best results.