Sony has revealed that it is launching a new PS4 Media Player today, which should finally bring a vital piece of functionality to the console.
In amongst all the new gaming announcements at Sony’s E3 show, it was perhaps easy to overlook this little piece of news. However, the launch of a dedicated Media Player app addresses a major flaw that’s afflicted the PS4 since its launch a year and a half ago.
Unlike the PS3 before it, the PS4 is a lousy media player. Or at least, it used to be.
Media Player for PS4 is available to download now. You’ll notice that the icon will have appeared in the PS4 content area, and you just need to click it to download.
The new app enables you to play a variety of media file types on your PS4 console. This can be done both over a home server and by plugging in a USB stick containing the media files.
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Sony has outlined the media files supported in the new Media Playing app. These include MKV, AVI, MP4 and MPEG-2 TS on the video side; MP3 and AAC (M4A) on the music side; and JPEG, BMP, and PNG on the photo side.
Essentially, it means that you can now use your PS4 as the media hub you always assumed it would be, and which you probably used your PS3 or Xbox 360 as.
Microsoft added these features to the Xbox One towards the end of 2014 – still way too late, but way ahead of Sony at least.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.