PlayStation 4’s firmware 2.0 is coming soon, with Sony hinting that it’s “just around the corner.” According to Sony, it’ll add things like share play and the ability to upload videos directly to YouTube. What it won’t add, is the oft-requested ability to stream media from a network, or even more rudimentary things like play MP3’s. Instead, it looks like that functionality is being added to the Vita and its sibling, the PlayStation TV.
In a rather large FAQ-styled infoburst on the impending PlayStation TV, Sony revealed that the Vita and the PSTV would be on the receiving end of s networked media playing-app.
Will PS TV support media servers or DLNA support in order to stream videos or movies from a home PC?
The Network Media Player (coming soon to PS TV and PS Vita) can be used to access media servers over a network. The Network Media Player can be used to view photos and stream music and videos from a media server located on your home network. You can also copy photos, music and video files from the media server to your system.
This is one of the most requested features since the systems release, and it’s astounding that there’s nothing of its ilk yet has been announced for the PS4. It does, however, make the PlayStation TV a little more desirable. A network-streaming, PlayStation 4 remote play extender that can play Vita, PSP and PS1 downloadable games? Sold. It’s out in Euro regions on November 14. We have no idea what the thing may cost here.
Interestingly, just yesterday the makers of Plex – one of the more robust network streaming software suites – announced it was releasing versions of its client software for the Xbox One and even Xbox 360.
[Thanks to Androgynous Spiky Blue Hair for the tip]Last Updated: October 8, 2014
WolfyZA
October 8, 2014 at 07:54
Well thats BS. Xbone here I come, even though I dont use Plex I can still atleast use the Xbone’s HDMI out to connect my XBMC server and use the PiP feature while I play games
Hammersteyn
October 8, 2014 at 08:19
I have two TVs, seemed easier than having to squeeze everything into one screen
WolfyZA
October 8, 2014 at 08:30
Yeah no doubt, but at least you have in game custom sound tracks then 😉 At this moment it feels like Sony doesn’t give a DAMN about their customers. Last gen they said one of the reasons we couldn’t get in game MP3’s was due to RAM limitations.
This gen they just plain out ignore one of the 5 top most wanted features without acknowledging its popularity and what they plan on doing about it. At the moment MS is pulling out all the stops when its coming to features, sure its not as powerful as the PS4 but at least their listening..
albatrosMyster
October 21, 2014 at 15:16
Your wish is now granted, they’ll let us use the USB player (their name) to play MP3 in the background in firmware 2.0… however Sony has not said anything else than “autumn” for the release date of the firmware in question :-/
I wonder what they’re waiting for the DLNA thing, as far as I understand porting apps between Vita and PS4 is pretty easy, why don’t they just make a media player PS4 app that we can download from the PS Store like NEtflix etc? :-/ I don’t even care for playing music in the background, I just want to watch my movies without having to use my htpc computer directly…
and NO I will not use Sony’s services, they suck.
WitWolfy
October 21, 2014 at 15:21
“Sony services”? We dont even have any “Services” available to us in RSA.
DLNA is taking ages, if i’m not mistaken Xbone will be getting it in their Nov system update if im not mistaken.
Jenovo
October 27, 2014 at 06:14
You choose a console based on DLNA support? Comical. No offense, but it’s nearly 2015. Most current TV’s have DLNA, so a gaming console having it is redundant. And who actually uses a gaming console to play mp3s anymore? The PS4 is a more powerful gaming console, great exclusives, and better performance for multiplats. Listen, I like DLNA as much as the next guy, but I can’t base my GAMING console decision on a non-gaming bell and whistle.
WitWolfy
October 28, 2014 at 09:35
Dude I dont need it as a DLNA either but If I could have the option to stream music from my XBMC server then WTH not??
Andrew Markham
January 14, 2015 at 00:17
You could just use the original Xbox then. It will stream your junk. WTH not right?
WitWolfy
January 15, 2015 at 10:46
Already have Openelec. But thanks for the suggestion.
Cadis Etrama Di Umar
October 8, 2014 at 08:07
lolz………………………Spiky Blue Hair
ANYWAY!!……Weird that the PS4 is being left in the dark here….but in anycase, now I really want a PSTv
WolfyZA
October 8, 2014 at 08:17
The only crappy thing about PS TV is the PS4 DS isnt compatible yet, so you wouldn’t be able to play games like LBP Vita and Uncharted Golden Abyss to name a few which has touch screen actions.
And I think the only Reason Sony doesn’t want to bring DLNA to the PS4 is because in 1st world countries they have all these streaming services like Sony music and Sony movies that require a paid sub to use. Would be kinda pointless having those services if people can just listen to their music and watch their movies for free now, wouldn’t it?
oVg Definitive and Remastered
October 8, 2014 at 08:59
If somebody told me 2 years ago that Ill be playing kick as games on the PS4 while being forced to use my xbox 360 to watch VLC,MP4,MLV and listen to music CDs I would have laughed at them.
But considering these 400gig hard drives are being gobbled up by 40-50gig Blu Ray games I understand why SONY do not want the PS4 as a multi-media HUB.
FoxOneZA
October 8, 2014 at 09:16
Or is it that they don’t want the console running 24/7 for 10 years? It’s easy to make such statements but it’s mind boggling that Sony never pushes Sony Entertainment Network as a VOD service on every device they manufacture.
harald himmel
October 9, 2014 at 16:51
This has absolutely nothing to do with not adding streaming capabilities.
jake
November 6, 2014 at 07:59
Please tell me that no one here understands why the “1 teraflop drive” comment is retarded?
Mabenito
October 8, 2014 at 09:42
DLNA Audio Components cost from R2500.00. I bought one recently and thank goodness I did. Was worried about PS4 not having this feature, but I don’t want it any longer.
1)Power On Component, -auto power on TV
2)Power On PS4, -auto power on component and TV
3)Right-Click media content on PC to play via component
I’m sorted.
Kikmi
October 8, 2014 at 10:37
CALLED THAT SHIT!
Kikmi
October 8, 2014 at 10:43
It is a disgusting money grab though. After such a great PS4 launch it seems slowly but surely Sony is boiling over to their good old ways of over charging and under delivering. I don’t understand why or how. How can your previous iteration gain acclaim for its outstanding media capabilities only to walk on blindly with the latest? Then add insult to injury give the functionality to a portable system?
I love the idea of the Vita TV, I think its high time an AFFORDABLE QUALITY console was released. And it fits the description perfectly. Cheap games, cheap console easy to maintain and does media too? Booyah. Oh wait what it streams GAMES TOO?? FUCKING AWESOME.
Then the elephant in the corner. The most expensive of the 3 has the least features? Wait what? Seriously? A console that came out just shy of 8k, boasts superior graphics and power over its rivals can’t do something as rudimentary as as stream media? Not decode, not store, just fucking stream. No. Sorry. We just cant
But please feel free to jump on the cash camel once we’re done!
Brady miaau
October 8, 2014 at 10:48
Ok, this is just crap.
Or is this a movement to try and control the market? Make it more and more difficult to essentially download (illegally) what you want to watch and watch it when you will and get the punters on easy to use paid for services. I would pay a few dollars or rands a month for a proper streaming service that allows me to watch what I want, WHEN I want. Yes, I will do setup and say in this week I want to watch x, y and x.
As it is the wife and I buy a bucketload of DVD’s (series) and immediately rip them to home computer and then watch on Xbox 360 (whose dvd open close function is steadily breaking anyway). We do this to get choice. Also DSTV catchup, on PC, not decoder, is nice but crap at the same time.
Elvin
October 27, 2014 at 06:16
It’s 2015. Buy a better HDTV. I have a crappy HDTV manufactured 2 years ago with DLNA built in and haven’t used my 360 in months. Why are people still looking to a GAMING console to provide DLNA and MP3 playing? Ridiculous.
Guild
October 8, 2014 at 11:12
I’m failing to understand why is it so important for the PS4 to have DLNA support?
I use the PS4 for gaming, that’s what it was designed for and marketed as. If you want an entertainment system then buy the XBox one since it’s marketed as one.
WitWolfy
October 8, 2014 at 14:44
Get out of here Don Mattrick. Just because you dont want it doesnt mean others do too.
Guild
October 8, 2014 at 15:08
Never said I didn’t want it. It just doesn’t make a difference to me whether it is in or not
Josh Melton
October 8, 2014 at 20:57
Haha, Don Mattrick how have you been ;p
Guild
October 9, 2014 at 10:05
Meh, could be better. Would nice if the company share price would go up again. 😛
Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim
October 9, 2014 at 06:35
Many people don’t follow gaming news religiously. They were’nt aware the PS4 was billed as a gaming only machine. They’d have sold their PS3’s and then replaced them with PS4’s, under the rightful assumption that it could do everything a PS3 could do, and more. IK mean, it has a 4 instead of three…that means it must be better!
For those people, having the PS4 incapable of doing the most rudimentary media playback a year after release is just not forgiveable.
Guild
October 9, 2014 at 09:55
Problem with your statement is “rightful assumption”. People should never assume that all functionality of a PS3 should be available on the PS4. And selling a PS3 to buy a PS4 without checking whether the functionality you want is there, is a bad decision. The PS4 was purely marketed as a gaming console, same as XBox One is marketed as a entertainment system. We can chat more about it over a drink on Saturday and I would seriously love to hear why you need it and what purpose this serves for you.
Riocaz
October 9, 2014 at 14:13
The point still remains that the PS4 is also marketed as the “next iteration” of the PlayStation line however. A few months of marketing can’t erase the previous 13 years of branding the “PlayStation” as central to your TV/media set-up starting with the PS2.
Particularly when NONE of that marketing has explicitly addressed this. Yes it’s focused on gaming, but have you seen a single ad where they’ve said “Oh but BTW here are all the things our new system can’t do that the old one excelled at”?
They admitted in _November_ last year that they were surprised that people were so upset over the lack of Audio CD/MP3/DNLA support and promised that this functionality would be added in updates after launch.
Well it’s almost a year later… And we still don’t have it.
Guild
October 14, 2014 at 09:35
I agree it is marketed as the “next iteration” but that doesn’t mean they have to implement every feature from older technology.
The only reason I really support no DLNA with the PS4 is it stops people pirating movies/music, etc. It honestly sucks if you were legitimately going to use the PS4 as a media server where you owned all the movies/music you put on to it but majority are people crying about it because they can’t watch the movie/series they stole.
mojavan
October 13, 2014 at 17:46
Prior to the PS4 we were using the PS3 as a mediaserver in the living room and was quite happy with this. Now the kids have started a bit of gaming and it really makes sense to move the PS3 along with their games to their room upstairs. We were planning on having the PS4 replace the PS3 as mediaserver/gamingconsole downstairs. Then a few weeks after delivery the truth dawns: there IS no DLNA-support! At first that very fact was rather hard to find any info about at all. Then after this got more widely known Sony started making comments that could very well be interpreted as DLNA “coming soon”. And now? They come out confessing that they never really wanted to give their customers this feature at all. I feel damn cheated. It’s not like they have been honest regarding this.
Guild
October 14, 2014 at 09:33
The only reason I really support no DLNA with the PS4 is it stops people pirating movies/music, etc. It honestly sucks if you were legitimately going to use the PS4 as a media server where you owned all the movies/music you put on to it but majority are people crying about because they can’t watch the movie/series they stole.
Guest
October 9, 2014 at 15:25
Wait, so is the PS4 not getting DLNA support at all or is the Vita and PS TV just getting it sooner?
Elvin
October 27, 2014 at 06:24
Lost. For the PS4 to not have the functionality of basically every hdtv sold in the last 2 years is NOT A BIG DEAL. I have a low-end HDTV manufactured over 2 years ago and it has DLNA built in. And for the record, the “masses” don’t care about DLNA – it’s the vocal minority that likes to download videos they likely never paid for and stream them. I’m by no means judging your for that (I’ve been known to dabble in it lol), but don’t assume the majority of consumers in the market for a gaming console CARE about that functionality.
Most humans on the planet assume a gaming console is a gaming console. The majority of PS3 buyers didn’t even use the streaming functionality, and if they did, they stopped using it eons ago when HDTVs started including it and/or they have since moved on to an appleTV box or similar product. Whether you like it or not, there was absolutely nothing “wrong” with omitting DLNA to cut costs – just like it wasn’t a problem losing CD playback (WHo the hell uses a console to play music CDS? WHo uses CDs???) Sheesh.
Scott Searls
December 9, 2014 at 01:47
I have a high end HDTV Projector and if you are not aware, projectors do not have tuners. I rely on my individual systems to provide me with the media access I desire. I do not steal my movies either, I buy Bluray discs with the download option and put them on my Server with multiple terabytes of space for my movies and cd’s. the code cannot be that much of an effort to include in the platform, if you do not need it, then great, I am happy for you! different strokes, for different folks.
MindFever
October 9, 2014 at 20:49
DLNA and local media playback was one of the most important reasons why I won’t buy a PS4. It’s okay I have a huge game library for the ps3 that I barely started to complete. I can wait a year or two. Sony will see the importance of this when they start losing revenue big time.
Exohobbit
November 17, 2014 at 06:21
Over the last several years, I have painstakingly ripped and converted all of the several hundred DVDs that my family owns, resulting in a big, central library on my PC containing literally all the video content we have ever purchased, all of it in carefully crafted mp4 files that we can watch on every PC or iPad in the house, as well as either of our two PS3 systems. This was not a small undertaking, but worth it in order to have a “kid proof” video library where no media is lost due to unfortunate interactions between physical media and small children armed with sharp objects. 🙂
So… I’m firmly in the “will buy a PS4 when, and ONLY when, it has DLNA support” camp. Yes, many modern HDTVs have it built-in, but so what? It’s an HDTV, not a bookshelf from Ikea — it’s not disposable. I expect to have my current HDTV for many more years, and it’s ridiculous to suggest that someone should replace their TV in order to accommodate a gaming console that’s missing a feature.
I’m a big Sony fan, still have my PS1 in a drawer somewhere — but this is an obvious money grab and not worthy of a company with their legacy. Hopefully they see the light soon.
Amin Abdulla
December 5, 2014 at 15:30
Sony realised with the PS3 that people were watching their own downloaded movies and not buying movies from the Sony store. They removed this feature from the PS4 in the hopes of reviving their rip off, overly expensive sony store. They figure no one will complain and if some do, well, we’re still too popular for a few customers to have an effect on our profits. At least Xbox listened to their cusotmers and removed the game restrictions they initially planned.
Whosecter
June 22, 2015 at 13:24
< ??????.+ spectre+ ********* ….. < Now Go Read More
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