PS5 will fix the PS4's awful media streaming problem: Here's how

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Please get rid of the terrible ads

PlayStation 5 Media Experience
(Image credit: Sony)

Sony has revealed new details about the media streaming experience on the PS5. In a PlayStation Blog, the company explains how users will interact with the console to gain access to apps.

If you're like me, you've probably spent the majority of your time with the PlayStation 4 using YouTube, Twitch and Netflix. It's important for these apps to be as quick to access as possible on the PS5, especially since the PS4 features an abhorrent media experience.

In the PlayStation Blog, Sony confirmed that the console will launch with Apple TV, Disney+, Netflix, Spotify, Twitch, and YouTube. The blog post also claims that "additional streaming apps" like Amazon Prime Video, MyCanal, Hulu and Peacock will also be coming to the PS5, though we're unsure if these will appear at launch.

Sony is already taking the necessary steps to make watching TV shows or listening to music as important as gaming on the PS5. Media will receive its own designated space, which will (hopefully) function similarly to the Games tab. 

The PS4's primary issue is that the apps you use are never immediately available to access. Whenever you entered the TV & Video tab, you have to scroll through shameless advertisements along with a number of apps you never use or even downloaded.

YouTube, Twitch, Netflix and Crunchyroll were the primary apps I use, yet they were typically tucked away in a corner. Instead, stuff like the NBA app took up this space.

Andy Cortez on Twitter put together a hilarious video (warning: explicit language) showcasing this issue.

The PS5's media section needs to abolish the randomness seen on PS4 and allow players to only install the apps they need. 

Thankfully, Sony is streamlining the download experience by allowing the Media space to provide access to these apps. Sony will also be launching a Media Remote that will have buttons for Disney+, YouTube, Spotify and Netflix.

Claire Tabari
Claire Tabari
Contributing Writer

Self-described art critic and unabashedly pretentious, Claire finds joy in impassioned ramblings about her closeness to video games. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Media Studies from Brooklyn College and five years of experience in entertainment journalism. Claire is a stalwart defender of the importance found in subjectivity and spends most days overwhelmed with excitement for the past, present and future of gaming. When she isn't writing or playing Dark Souls, she can be found eating chicken fettuccine alfredo and watching anime.