Open Air Cinema Gaming System: Playing Video Files on Playstaytion 4®
From the Open Air Cinema archive. Originally published in 2015.
Congratulations! You are now the proud owner of Open Air Cinema Gaming System, with Sony Playstation 4® onboard. You can play video games on Blu-ray Discs or download them from the official PlayStaytion®Store.
Now did you know that PS4 allows you to watch Blu-ray and DVD movies? Plus with the June 2015 firmware update, you can play such media files as MKV. Or simply enjoy your favorite tunes as background music thanks to enabled MP3 playback. Supported File Formats listed on PlayStation official website.
How to playback video files on your PS4 via USB? 
Grab your FAT32 or exFAT formatted USB stick. We recommend exFAT to copy and play big chunky video files. Don't forget that when formatting the USB stick all your current files on it will be deleted. Take note that PS4 won't recognize your video files if you don't arrange them properly. You can paste your video files into any properly named folder on your USB stick -- say, Movies, Films, TV Series. To play MP3, you will need to name the folder Music. There is a built-in software music player (USB Music Player) on PS4 that allows you to listen to your favorite tracks while playing games.
Streaming from the media sever.
PS4 supports Plex. The Plex client app can be downloaded from PlayStaytion®Store. You can get the server app by visiting Plex website and selecting your operational system (Free). But to stream media, you would need to become a Plex Pass subscriber. At least for the time being. Plex vows to be working hard to have it ready for everyone very soon.
Streaming from the media sever.
PS4 supports Plex. The Plex client app can be downloaded from PlayStaytion®Store. You can get the server app by visiting Plex website and selecting your operational system (Free). But to stream media, you would need to become a Plex Pass subscriber. At least for the time being. Plex vows to be working hard to have it ready for everyone very soon.