How To Play Incomplete Downloaded Video Files

Like the Roku and Chromecast, Sony's PlayStation iv can play video and music files from a USB drive or another estimator on your network. Your PS4 can even play local music files in the background while y'all play a game.

This is thanks to the "Media Player" app, which Sony added more than than a year and a one-half later on the PS4 was released. There's too a at present-free-to-use Plex app for streaming videos from another one of your PCs.

Supported File Types and Codecs

Here's a list of unlike video and sound codecs the PlayStation's Media Player understands, straight from Sony. If y'all desire to play a media file on your PlayStation, information technology must be in these file formats. If information technology isn't, you'll demand to transcode it to a supported 1 before information technology volition part on your PlayStation.

Music files can be in MP3 or AAC (M4A) formats. Photos  can be in JPEG, BMP, or PNG formats. Video files must exist in 1 of the following formats:

MKV

• Visual: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Loftier Profile Level4.2
• Audio: MP3, AAC LC, Air-conditioning-3(Dolby Digital)

AVI

• Visual: MPEG4 ASP, H.264/MPEG-four AVC High Profile Level4.2
• Audio: MP3, AAC LC, AC-3(Dolby Digital)

MP4

• Visual: H.264/MPEG-four AVC High Profile Level 4.ii
• Sound: AAC LC, Ac-3 (Dolby Digital)

MPEG-2 TS

• Visual: H.264/MPEG-iv AVC High Profile Level4.2, MPEG2
• Sound: MP2(MPEG2 Audio Layer 2), AAC LC, AC-3(Dolby Digital)
• AVCHD: (.m2ts, .mts)

These are some of the most common video file types, then you may not need to worry near it at all.

Use the Right File Arrangement on Your USB Drive

RELATED: What'southward the Departure Between FAT32, exFAT, and NTFS?

So you have the right files–now information technology'south time to get them to your PlayStation. To get started, plug a USB drive into your estimator. The drive must be formatted with either the exFAT or FAT32 file organisation, as the PlayStation iv can't read NTFS. If your drive is formatted with the NTFS file organisation, you'll run across an error after you connect it to the PlayStation 4. It just won't appear or exist usable.

To double-bank check, right-click the drive in Windows and select "Format." Format information technology to use the exFAT file system if it's currently using NTFS. This will erase all files currently on the drive, then support any files you care about before doing this.

Y'all Must Place Your Media Files in Folders

Sony doesn't mention this anywhere, so we bumped into this problem ourselves. If you only have a video file and dump it into the "root" folder of your USB drive, the PlayStation four won't run into it. Your files must be located within a folder on the drive or your PS4 won't be able to use them.

Sound files must be located in a folder called "Music" on the bulldoze for the PS4 to discover them correctly. Video files can exist in any folder, but they need to be in a folder and non on the root of the bulldoze. You could put them in a folder named "Videos", or create separate folders for different types of videos. Also, photos must also exist stored in folders if you want to view them, but any folder name volition exercise.

Employ the PS4 Media Player

Once yous're done, you can "safely remove" the USB drive from your computer and plug it into one of the USB ports on your PS4 — in that location are a few located on the front end that are commonly used for charging your controllers. Launch the PS4 Media Player app and your USB drive will announced as an choice.

You'll run across the PS4'southward "Media Player" app icon in the PS4's "content area" — that strip of icons on the primary screen. Select it with your controller and launch it. If y'all oasis't installed the media actor app even so, the icon will still appear here, merely information technology'll have yous to the PlayStation Shop where you lot tin can download the app for costless beginning.

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 lot can press the L2 and R2 shoulder buttons to rewind and fast forwards. Press the "Options" button to open a playback control panel, and press the triangle button to view data nigh the file.

When playing music, you can hold down the PlayStation button while in a game to admission the quick media player controls, allowing you lot to apace skip songs and pause playback.

Alternatively: Use a DLNA or Plex Server

If y'all don't desire to connect USB drives directly to your PS4 and ferry media files dorsum and forth that way, you can stream videos and music from a DLNA server to your PlayStation 4. The PS4 Media Player app volition detect compatible DLNA servers on your home network and offer them as options right aslope any connected USB devices when you open information technology

Use our guide to setting up a DLNA media server if y'all want to get this route. However, if yous're looking at streaming over the network, Plex is a more than full-featured solution you lot might want to look at. Plex recently became free-to-apply without a "Plex Pass" subscription on the PlayStation 4.

RELATED: How to Plow Your Reckoner Into a DLNA Media Server

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The PlayStation 4 also offers apps for streaming from Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Amazon, and other services, just sometimes you simply need to play dorsum some local media files. It took Sony over a year and a half to add together this option, but information technology's here now, so savour taking reward of it.

Image Credit: Leon Terra on Flickr, PlayStation Europe on Flickr, PlayStation Europe on Flickr

Source: https://www.howtogeek.com/239190/how-to-play-local-video-and-music-files-on-your-playstation-4/

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