Home >> Internet Games >> PlayStation 3

How to Play Movies From an External Hard Drive on PlayStation 3

If you're tired of watching movies on your small computer screen, you can watch them on your home entertainment system using your PlayStation 3 (PS3) and an external hard drive. The PS3 can easily recognize an external hard drive and can play back a wide range of video formats. The hardest part of the process is simply formatting the hard drive so that the PS3 will play nice.

Things You'll Need

External hard drive
USB cable
PlayStation 3
Video files

Instructions

- 1
  Connect the external hard drive to your computer via USB cable. Make note of the drive letter within Windows Explorer.
- 2
  Open the Command Prompt by typing "cmd" into the Search box within the Windows Start menu. On Windows XP, select "Run" from the Start menu and type "cmd" to open the Command Prompt.
- 3
  Type "format /FS:FAT32 A:" (replace "A" with the drive letter assigned to the external hard drive) and hit "Enter." Allow the utility to format the drive by typing "Y" to confirm the action. It will take a few moments to complete. Once done, exit the Command Prompt.
- 4
  Open "My Computer," right-click the external hard drive and select "Explore."
- 5
  Select "File>New Folder" and name the folder "VIDEO."
- 6
  Move all the video files you wish to watch on the PS3 into the "VIDEO" folder. It will take some time to copy the files over. Once it has finished, disconnect the external hard drive.
- 7
  Connect the external hard drive to the PS3's USB slot via USB cable. Turn on the PS3. You will be able to browse the external hard drive via the PlayStation's XMB (menu system). Navigate to the video file you'd like to play and press "X" on the PS3 controller to begin playback.

PlayStation 3