When you first get your hands on the PS4 console alongside a title worthy your game. You will wake up next to it, stay late into the early mornings next to it, and spend the entire day right next to it. Basically, you will just be wasting your time with the damn thing.
However, there will come a day when you will have finished all levels of the game. Sure, you can always start the game at the very beginning with a higher difficulty level, but let’s face it. The thrill is just never the same.
The next alternative would be to buy another gaming title, but the really good ones cost quite a bit of some money. I would advise you to take some time off playing video games, especially if you spent weeks after weeks playing the title you just finished. That way, you give your eyes, hands, and the rest of your body some much-needed rest from the TV and controller.
So what else can your PS4 console do?
So you now have your PS4 with no real interesting game to play on it. Does this mean it will be a fancy expensive brick in your living or bedroom? I most certainly hope not, because there are tons of other uses you can put it to:
#1 – Media Streaming device
You can create your own Netflix and SoundCloud on your local network by dumping tons of movies, music videos, and MP3 files on your computer to create a home server. Preferably computer no one uses for heavy tasks or doesn’t use that much.
Then connect it to your home network (wireless or wired), the same your PS4 is connected to. The download the Media Player application on your PS4 from the PlayStation Store; the same works for PS3.
The Media Player app on your console will stream a vast collection of files from your home server, including AVI, MKV, MP4, MPEG-2, MP3, AAC (M4A), JPEG, PNG, and BMP. That means video, audio, and picture files can be streamed from your home server (fancy name for computer) to your PS4.
#2 – Plex
Yes, the famous Plex is also available on PS4; and PS3. This app gives you in-depth and content rich media streaming service. One outstanding thing with Plex is that it converts any files your device may not naturally be able to play. It also sorts all your video into categories complete with cover art and rich metadata automatically. Though Plex on PS4 is not as advanced as what you would get on other platforms, such as Windows, it is more than enough to get your home entertainment going.
#3 – USB Playback
If you are not thrilled about leaving your computer on to work as home media server. You can just put all your movies, pictures, and mp3 files onto a USB flash drive or external hard drive. Then stick it inside your PS4 console and play media off it.
The drive must be formatted in either FAT32 or NTFS. It is recommended that you save your media files inside a folder, not just place it on top (inside the USB storage without a folder). That way, you make the work of your PS4 easier to find the media file you wish to playback off your USB storage device.
#4 – Bravia TV Player
For some Sony Bravia TVs, you can actually use the PS4 Controller as a remote control. That means you can easily switch from playing games to watching TV by a simple click on the Controller. Check out the list of supported Bravia TVs right here.
#5 – 3D Blu-ray player
Your PS4 can play Blu-ray and 3D Blu-ray disk. Wait, you probably already know this since all the games you bought on a disk are actually Blu-ray disks. Though it might have skipped your mind that it not only play disks for games but also Blu-ray disks for movies as well.
#6 Dolby Atmos
Here is where the PS4 really outshines the Xbox One, which is to say, the Xbox One does not have the Dolby Atmos soundtrack system. With the PS4, you can play discs with the Dolby Atmos support through compatible amplifiers and speakers for that rich and immersive audio experience.
#7 – TV Box sets
This news is to the cable cutters. You buy movies and series online from PlayStation Store just as much as you can buy digital copies of games. You can even find movies off stores such as HBO and stream latest movies and series such as Game of Thrones among others.
PlayStation 4 is just another family home entertainment center
So if you have a PS4 console, there is no need to buy smartTV-box, for those without smartTVs. When you are done with gaming, you can just turn your console into a media (video and audio) entertainment hub.