PS4 vs Xbox One: which is the better media player?

With the arrival of Xbox 360 and PS3, console manufacturers realised that games consoles could be so much more - they could be the media player that takes centre-stage in your living room, able to deliver movies and TV shows streamed from the internet as well as traditional disc-based entertainment. With the arrival of next-gen console, the potential is there to bring media integration to a whole new level

[BelkingOfSony]

xbox one - because microsoft revealed it as a entertainment console and the ps4 is a gaming console

[NewMonday]

but in the end PS4 even wins this category..

"it's clear that of the two next-gen machines, the PS4 offers the preferable experience right now"

[truefan1]

How about we wait for the update coming in March. MSFT is a software company and to be honest we wouldn't even be having this debate if not for the 360. I'm sure this upcoming software update will be huge for the XB1.

[alexkoepp]

X1 supports both TV as well as streaming videos from a PC, X1 easily takes this award at this point.

[georgeenoob]

Everyone, even playstation fans say that Xbox is the #1 multimedia console (In Sony's defense).

But now that we know X1 has a HUGE amount of AAA exclusives under way, it is now the #1 multimedia console and the #1 gaming platform. Sorry, but with exclusives of this amount there is no argument to be had.

[Conzul]

Sorry, PS4 is not a better media player than the X1. It lacks local media streaming; local mp4 or mp3 playback; FLAC or mkv support; or even media playback off of a usb stick.

Until these are patched in, X1 wins the media player category. I mean, come on, it's all they have at this point,

[hellzsupernova]

Lol allot of good TVs can be turned on with your voice that is not a great feature

[Master-H]

@edonus a glorified TV remote is nothing to brag about lol
On top of that a lot of smart TVs already does voice recognition so yea...

[UltraNova]

@above (1.1.1-1.1.5)

Jesus talking about defense forces! You guys make the US Army look like shit compared to your immediate counteractions!

LMAO!

On topic though, nice to see the PS3 is still king!

[Baccra17]

PS3. It can play blu-rays, mp4,avi and mp3's while streaming video from services not locked behind a pay wall. Not to mention the interface for playing mp4's and avi's is awesome and easy to use unlike 360. When the PS4 gets the firmware, if it ever gets it, to be an awesome player like PS3 I'll pick that. But till then, PS3 is the ultimate media player compared to PS4 and Xbone.

[UnholyLight]

I guess this is related but not on the disc subject of media...

When you watch Netflix on PS4 quite often it randomly thinks you're trying to use the few voice commands that are available to it if you have the Playstation Camera like I do.

THAT IS SO ANNOYING, Im trying to watch a show with a friend and when we are talking or sometimes even characters voices in the shows trips the voice command prompts on the PS4.

That is insanely pathetic I have to say. Otherwise I love my PS4, but for Media playback, the X1 is where it's at for the best experience

[Sammy777]

did you even read the article?
"it's clear that of the two next-gen machines, the PS4 offers the preferable experience right now" and this is from eurogamer

[BelkingOfSony]

I admit it, I did the n4g rookie mistake which was that I commented before reading the article

[scott182]

lol, at least you admit it.

[MASTER_RAIDEN]

how your comment sounds =

"the xbox one because microsoft said it was"

[Insomnia_84]

That's XBoners "logic".

Nowadays some people just can't think for themselves.

[iamtehpwn]

Neither tbh. Ps3 is still the best place to view all your media. The One and the Ps4 both have a while to go in my opinion before they can get up to where PS3 currently is for media.

[N4OGs]

ps4 wins because the blueray in ps4 is best and sony is bluray, also netflix on ps4 is free as well as other services like that. not to mention you can put your own hardrives into the ps4 and such and its just to awesome for the price as well. ps4 is cheaper and better with no cmera always watching you.

[mediate-this]

Sorry bub, netflix is not free on any system.

[Bathyj]

Well this is kind of amazing. If you want a console for media functions the choice is very clear. Get a Playstation 3.

Wouldnt use either Next Gen console for a media player while I still have my PS3.

[Conzul]

Or hammer Sony until they put in the Ps3's media features that are inexcusably absent.

[nltsaved]

complete none sense you are obviously on drugs

[N4OGs]

No! you are if you spent more for less and got the xbox one lol.

[quaneylfc]

There is uproar on the article entitles: Quantum break vs the order, which is better? An article that had to be updated to say: Stop comparing consoles and choose the game, with every sole xbox one comment being blacked out for trolling or off topic and the sole sony comments being some of the highest rated. there is an inside argument on a site like that. This site is biased because of the amount of users with ps4s. if that gets mentioned people brush it off and name this site and xbox only sited stating that "Xbox fans start arguments over the consoles all the time" a quote that doesn't factor in the sheer amount of playstation owners making the argument starting ratio point in their favour. but as far as to go to say that the playstation is a better all round entertainment machine is absolute drivel, when the xbox one actually had a better score regarding the quality of the blu ray player (from bluray.com,) has more apps, voice commands and the hdmi in/out ports alone make the xbox more of an entertainment oriented machine and the thousands and THOUSANDS of past comments stating that the xbox is "an entertainment machine that cares about entertainment and TV doesn't care about gamers." that overstated quote alone says that the xbox is the better and more affiliated entertainment machine but the hypocrisy on this website churns out more biased shit each day, making even statistical numbering impossible to go by.

I own and have played on both consoles so believe me and before you black me out for trolling/off topic consider this: if being the entertainment machine is the worst option for a games console (which it is based on the comments given for the last year and a half) why do people who are proud of their console seem to think that theirs can do this, can insult the games industry and steer away from the things that matter: games.

The ps4 has some great entertainment apps, but it isn't designed for that so it will never be up to speed in that category .

[BallsEye]

according to sad n4g community ps4 is also a best lover. You guys are just incredible. Everyday writing articles how much xbox one sux and doing some kind of polls among each other with obvious results. It really starts to look like you guys have some kind of insecurity. I'm glad I'm not living in your tiny world.

[quaneylfc]

They play games on them but from time to time, they put IT in its bum

[Remy_S]

That's pretty sad when the media focused console still loses on that front, the bone is an absolute joke.

[YodaCracker]

And meanwhile, the PS4 was largely focused on games yet the Xbox One is sporting the better game lineup. Ah, the irony!

[cyguration]

What "better" game lineup?

Ryse? I have PC for "OMG grafix!"
Dead Rising 3? It's okay but kind of insipid.
Forza 5? With less content than Forza 4 and tons of microtransactions? Not by a long shot.

[Boody-Bandit]

YodaCracker

I have both consoles and I couldn't disagree with you more.

KI regardless of price isn't a full game. It's barely an XBLA game. Ryse is a pretty game but so simplistic mechanics and has some serious performance issues. Forza 5 is nothing like Turn 10 and MS showed at E3 2013 ( http://i.imgur.com/FHLgmd2.... )and is literally half the game Forza 4 was / is. Let us not forget how Turn 10 made the game harder to earn money to unlock cars just so they can try and micro transaction gamers to death.

Plus nearly every multiplat title looks and runs better on the PS4.

So how exactly is the XBOX ONE sporting the better game line up?

Oh and let us not forget how MS left the past 2 generations, especially the 360. The past few years the only exclusive games on the 360 were either Kinect titles or their tried and true not so fab 4 (Halo, Gears, Forza and Fable).

So what's make MS only consumers think MS wont do it a 3rd time after the way they tried to enter this new generation?

[Hicken]

Better on what front?

PS4 actually has more games.

PS4 has a larger variety of games.

PS4 has a higher rated library.

The only "better" the XB1 might have right now is in software sales, and I'm very certain that'd change if we could track digital sales.

[NeoTribe]

Where exactly is this better lineup? Ps plus alone is pumping out more awesome games while your still stuck on forza, ryse and dead rising... im pretty sure the ps4 actually has more playable games at the moment, some of which are very good. Are you guys really gonna try the "sony has no games thing again?" Remember what happened last time right?

[Bathyj]

You know, just cos you guys keep saying that, doesnt make it true.

[memots]

Oh the irony ?

Check this list out

http://m.ca.ign.com/wikis/x...

Now tell me what console has the better line-up ??

[BallsEye]

It only loses in tiny n4g sony fan community. Go in a group of women and ask if men are smarter or women. Then go in a group of men and ask the same. But hey ! Whatever makes you feel better about your purchase.

[WitWolfy]

PS4 cant play any media what so ever ATM. So this article is just plain pointless

[Kryptix]

Not sure if you know this but Blu-ray, DVD, and CD playback are also in the media category. You also have Netflix which the PS4 does better in according to tests mentioned in the article.

[GameSpawn]

I would also point out the fact that any new feature Netflix adds to their streaming app shows up on the PS3/PS4 first. The PC app, Android, and iOS follow shortly after they get feedback/metadata from the PlayStation users. This is to be expected as Netflix has said themselves that a majority of their streaming viewers are streaming through their PlayStations.

A couple features that stand out are Max, multilingual audio (important if you watch anime or foreign films) and 5.1 audio - from what I can remember my PS3 had access to these before they showed up in the web browser app and on other platforms.

[WitWolfy]

By media I meant any compressed media.. should of been more specific :P

[LAWSON72]

All I need is DLNA which ever one has that wins. If neither still dont the PS3 wins

[n4rc]

Personally I find 360 to be a bit more capable.. Seems to play more common codecs and doesn't have the cinevia protection..

The codec issue may be hit and miss.. Guess all I can say is the 360 played more of my media

[LAWSON72]

PMS and PS3 = best thing since sliced bread

[n4rc]

What's PMS? Other then the obvious.. Lol

I run a media server and both my ps3 and 360 worked.. But the ps3 couldn't play a bunch of stuff the 360 did.. Or the cinevia Protection or whatever its called kicks in after a minute

But the ps3 has bluray so that's a big one..

[CrowbaitBob]

I've been using PLEX with both PS3 and 360 and there have been several instances of the PS3 blocking audio half way through a movie while the 360 plays the files just fine. Aside from that everything's been the same for me on both.

[jimjam3442]

XBOX ONE = multimeda device
PS4= gaming machine

[LAWSON72]

Thats weird I thought the PS4 had multimedia applications and the Xbone had games.

[CryofSilence]

And yet they both do nearly identical media services (possibly even superior on PS4 currently) with the notable exception of TV out for X1.

[CrowbaitBob]

They both do both, so I feel like your math may be off a bit.

[BubbaCleveson]

My ps3 is a better media machine ;)

[LAWSON72]

The PS3 is an excellent media machine, and it is one of the reasons I may buy another one. The XMB IMO works perfectly for media file browsing and the Netflix app is superb and the Amazon one is a bonus but is not very great (not really good on any platform)

[Eonjay]

According to the article, the winner is PS3. it important to remmeber that an entertainment hub created to deliver world class media to the world can't be handicapped by region. The One Guide on Xbox One has no support out of the US and it doesn't support the 50Hz standard in Europe. This renders the added "value" of the premium retail price null and void. This is a huge reason why the PS4 is destroying the Xbox One internationally. You probably wont find value in something that you can't use in your region.

[Shad0wRunner]

Um...surely, computersaysno has to realize that the PS4 HAS NO media capabilities beyond Netflix, Music Unlimited and a handful of Apps. o_O

Once Sony starts integrating MP3 playback, DNLA support, External USB HDD support, video file support for AVI, XVID, MP4, MKV, etc, video file and audio file copying to PS4 HDD, and well...just pretty much everything the PS3 does with media functionality...Sony's PS4 will definitely win the media player war.

Right now, were all kinda looking at Sony and hoping they get this crap underway, asap. But until then...it's not really fair to include the PS4 against the XB1, when we all KNOW the PS4 cant do crap but play games, right now.

Kind of a pointless article. LOL.

[fenome]

They definitely need to patch in external and audio/video file support, but it does still play bluray and dvds, so I wouldn't say it has NO media capabilities..

[captainexplosion]

I want 3D blu ray support!

[wooferine]

Me too!!

[jimjam3442]

i swear people get their balls wrapped up in this console war way too much, i have a ps4, i like the games it has, is it my favorite console of all time? NOT BY A LONGSHOT, the 360 is, the ps4 ui is horrible, its very frustrating when i try to go the the ps store and it never loads in, and the way trophies work is awful, is the xbone a better console? maybe, for some people, for me it isn't, they took everything i loved about the 360 and gave me the middle finger. the point is that these game consoles are made by companies, the ps4 is not a person, so why do you all defend it to the death??? i like my ps4, but at this point im bored with it, i only have 4 games (bf4, kz shadow fall, ac4, and tomb raider) plus some digital only games (flower trine 2 and the free ps plus games) and none of these games are really that good. i hope things better because at this point im very disappointed in the next gen consoles.

and you know what irritates me the most? after reading all theese comments and my own, im disgusted. why cant we all just get along? why do we have to make a war out of every stupid thing on earth? mcdonalds vs bk, obama vs mccane, afghanistan vs usa, i mean why the fuck cant we get along????

to all xbox one owners i hope you enjoy the FUCK, out of your console. because at this point the xbox one people act much more mature than the ps4 community. and i am not proud to be categorized with the rest.

[Shad0wRunner]

Chill out, JimJam. LOL.

Competition is GOOD for the industry, no matter what team you support. If these companies didnt have us cheerleaders and fanboys...they wouldnt have the motivation or drive to maintain a healthy competition with their competitors.

We love what we support and we support what we love. If I bought a Dodge Viper and you bought a Corvette, I'd be the same way. "Screw your corvette, yo! My Viper straight SMOKES it, dawg! In yo face!" LOL.

Stop trying to get us all to hold hands and sing Kumbaya around campfires, Jim. We love our console wars. LOL.

It's what keeps the industry entertaining. ^_-

[jimjam3442]

i respect your opinion, but the wars dont help, we are not cheerleaders, were not even considered as much of a "fan" as someone who roots for their hometeam in football, i mean you rarely hear sports players diss each-other, its poor sportsmanship, we should respect the competition, and honestly, Microsoft and Sony are not direct competitors this time around, xbone is like an ipad, it does lots of thins and does them all very well and reliably, ps4 is a gaming console, the true hardcore gamers are not going to buy an xbox one, they are going to buy a ps4, people who want a machine that can do alot of different things buy xbone.

and plus man, i dont feel the need to put people down in my life for any reason, im not the richest, most popular, handsome man on earth, and i know putting others down isnt going to get me there. so im just going to enjoy my time for what its worth.

[BabyTownFrolics]

I could not disagree with you more

[LAWSON72]

There is this thing about humans they have their own thoughts and they are not always the same, leading to conflict. There will always be arguments because alot of the time their is no middle ground. Think of issues like abortion, gay marriage, and war. Some people think these are okay others do not, why should those apposed to these ideas have to accept them as the right idea?

There is also the good ol fashion my toy/idea is better than yours, which oftens leads to offensive and defensive maneuvers from both sides and even superiority complexes. There will always be arguments in society and even the best of friends can have very different ideas. IT just comes down to how much the idea/thing actually matters to someone.

Some people may feel the need to justify the purchase of their expensive PCs or console that cost them a fair penny. We all want our purchases to be good ones and for many people they feel the need to convince themselves that it is the best by telling everyone it is by pointing out the pros of their machine and then the cons of the competing machine.

[wooferine]

It's the people showing their passion man! But unfortunately some also mix in ignorance, immaturity, arrogance and insecurities, which clouds the message of their passion. Kinda like the tea party.

[mediate-this]

Hey man I totally agree with alot of what you said, these systems need firmware updates. My psn store takes forever to load, my xbone is a mind rape in terms of navigating my friends list and the ui.

[CrowbaitBob]

Don't confuse the N4G community with the PS4 community. In the real world all gamers tend to be open to enjoying gaming without freaking out about console war BS.

I've yet to meet anyone in real life that acts anything like so many of the N4G crowd. I guess that's what the internet is for though. Unfettered stupidity.

[annus]

No MP4, AVI, MP3, photo viewer, 3D blu-ray. Disgrace of a media player.

[somedude342]

ps3 obv

[SLUG]

XBOX ONE IS THE BEST OUT THEIR
ps4 has no good games at all
we are getting a update for xbo more games are coming soon on march 9 we will see new games a moba game and other games too

[bunfighterii]

there*

[stragomccloud]

Xbone might be the best for now, but I think that PS4 will take the cake after a few firmware updates.

[lenn777]

Is this site a being paid for by Sony? I find the reviews at times to be so bias.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Xbox One > PS4

PS3 > Xbox 360

It's weird to see them switch places. The PS4 is a horrible media player. Truly horrible. The PS3 is fantastic, especially if you bought the original model.

[SMcNu715]

It really boils down to what you use it for. I used my XB1 for it's play to functionality, and my $400 Resogun machine I use for Resogun. As far as media goes though, XB1 is a way more streamlined experience.

[bunfighterii]

PS3>PS4>Xbone

I still watch my blu rays on PS3 despite having a PS4 - PS4 needs a few more updates to make the experience smoother.

[BigBwana82]

Im sorry if this is a dumb question in advance but the OCD in me NEEDS to know the answer so I can stop trying to look up and read a bunch of articles I do not unerstand.. Anyhow, I currently have both systems & have a blu ray I just purchased that I have been literally dying to see. I am curious to know though which of the two, "xbox one & ps4," truly plays back blu ray movies better?? Since only the ps4 allows 1080p gameplay, i figured it had to be that. Than I thought about it realizing that blu ray is meant to be 1080p so it should not make a difference. Any help is greatly appreciated..

Also, one thing that has been driving me insane is the actual noise that the ps4 puts out. I understand its the fans doing there job but is my system defective? It literally gets hotter than any other machine i have ever owned pretty much within 15-30min. Mybe even sooner.. Than xb1 is dead silent and since its hooked up to my cable box, literally on all the time. I understand i am not the most tech savy guy in the world and accept it. But its my bday, got a new tv & just want to kick back, relax and be amazed!

So sorry for anyones time & the amatuer question, quite simply dont know what to do..

Thank You all & have an amazing week

[SirBradders]

I Couldn't give a toss what plays what did better or streams this or that I bought my console for games not all this gimmicky sh*t my TV and PC have had for 5+ years now.

[jacksjus]

I couldn't agree with you more. Skype, Netflix, etc was working just fine with my sources long before these systems dropped. If multimedia is what you seek it makes more sense to stick with last gen because they did it right. Especially the PS3 without the paywall.

[tommygunzII]

Agree completely.

[t-hall785]

damn shame...they both suck.

[Tzuno]

PC.

[TheKayle1]

an eurogamer (neogaf/n4g/dualshockers/edge) article that put down the xb? ...:O whats the news?

[tommygunzII]

You think they would stop coming to these sites, but Microsoft fans are used to abuse and probably like it by now.

[jacksjus]

To be honest my Samsung TV can do more than both the X1 and PS4 combined right now.

[Surt]

XBOX ONE Exclusives.. LOL

[tommygunzII]

Maybe if we held a "which is heavier" contest the X1 might win. Other than that it doesn't stand a chance against PS4 in any contest, except as a remote control maybe.