Back in the day, video game consoles would be used for nothing but gaming. These days, though, the status quo has changed a lot.
Considering how modern consumer trends have advanced in different media, it is no surprise to see that modern video consoles come with a plethora of features.
Among these features, there is the option to watch movies and streaming services, such as Netflix, if you own a PS4. Streaming Spotify and listening to music is also one of the available features.
Of course, you should not treat your PlayStation as the be-all and the end-all device. If you are looking to convert MP4 to MOV or do image editing, such things are not available and have to be carried out on different devices.
That is not to say that we should not expect even more advanced features for PlayStation and other gaming consoles. For now, though, users have to stick to what they own.
If you want to explore your current setup and learn what video formats does PS4 support, this article should be a good reference.
Table Of Contents
Make Sure Your PlayStation Is Up to Date
One thing to note beforehand, though, is that if you find some issues running videos even though the format is supported, first check if the PS4 is up to date.
You should get the notification about a new version out automatically and be encouraged to download and install the update by your console, but just to be safe, do a manual search beforehand.
Missing the update causes various technical issues, such as performance hiccups, issues with the gaming controller, and failure to launch specific video games. Or, in this case, a video format.
Video Formats Supported by PS4
Now, let’s take a look at some of the most popular video formats and whether they are compatible with the PlayStation.
MKV videos are arguably the most common, and it should not come as a surprise that PS4 supports the format. The console comes with a dedicated media player that comes with pretty much all the basic features you would expect to find in a media player on a computer or a mobile device.
A similar thing can be said about MP4 files. Not only videos, though. In some cases, audio is also played using MP4, and you can listen to MP4 files while on your PlayStation 4.
Next, we have AVI files. AVI is a format that is not as popular these days because it gets overtaken by MP4 and MKV. Nevertheless, the format is available on a PlayStation, though do not be surprised to find AVI files to be lackluster quality-wise. While the file format is compatible with a PS4, it is not as clean in terms of converting, which causes quality problems.
H.264 is another video file format. Not used as commonly, it is a possibility for PlayStation users. Unfortunately, the file format is not supported natively, so if you want to run H.264, you will need to set up a third-party tool, which can be annoying.
Watching YouTube videos and YouTube TV on PS4
If you want to watch videos directly from YouTube, you can do so on your PlayStation 4. The console has a YouTube app that lets you enjoy videos without having to download them. Since you are most likely connected to the internet anyways, watching videos directly on YouTube should not be a problem, right?
In case you want to take things to another level, you can also consider setting up a YouTube TV account. It is another streaming service (yes, there are quite a few of those around these days).
First, you will need to sign up for YouTube TV. Once your account is created, launch your PlayStation and go to Home Screen. From here, select Media and open the application store. You can now download and install YouTube TV.
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Playing Media From External Drives
If you want to play video files from an external USB drive, for instance, you will first need to format the drive properly. Besides using compatible video formats, you will also need to format the external storage device.
Go with the exFAT format because it is superior to FAT32. It is likely that you will not know how to format the drive, so check one of the available guides online for it.
After the formatting is done, you can transfer media to the drive and plug the drive into your gaming console. To play media on PS4 from external drives, launch Media Player, and you will see the videos.
Those who want to play music files will need to use either FLAC or MP3 file formats. Also, be sure to name the music folder “Music” because your PlayStation will not recognize the folder properly otherwise.
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