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Engadget details remaining uses for the PlayStation 3 as app support fades

Engadget details remaining PS3 uses: disc playback, PC media streaming, CD ripping and some retro games.

AI News Feed · 2026-10-19 22:41

The console is well into its end-of-life phase. Engadget said the PlayStation 3 has been around for two decades, sold 87 million units and is two generations behind. Most third-party services have ended support, with Crunchyroll pulling its app in 2022, Plex following in 2023 and Netflix in March 2026, according to the report.

Engadget said the disc drive can play audio CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays out of the box without custom firmware or secret menus. The console has a built-in upscaler that can improve standard-definition DVDs to HD up to 1080p when connected by HDMI. Users can turn on upscaling through Settings > Video Settings > BD/DVD Upscaler and choose Normal, Double Scale, Full Screen or Off. For Blu-ray playback, the report said the console needs Advanced Access Content System updates, which Sony still issues about once a year; offline users can download the update to a USB drive and install it from there.

The PlayStation 3 also supports DLNA, a home networking standard that lets it stream content from another device on the same network, Engadget reported. To enable it, users go to Settings > Network Settings and turn on Media Server Connection; shared libraries then appear under the Photo, Music and Video columns in the main menu. On Windows, Windows Media Player can be used but is limited to file formats the PS3 supports. Engadget said the free Universal Media Server converts unsupported files in real time and runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. A USB flash drive is another option: the drive must be formatted to FAT32, with root folders named VIDEO, MUSIC and PICTURES. Engadget noted that FAT32 caps individual files at 4GB and video quality is limited to 1080p.

For retro games, Engadget said every PS3 model is backward compatible with PS1 games, but only early fat consoles can play PS2 discs. Other models must rely on official Digital PS2 Classics from the PlayStation Store, which is still available on the PS3 but no longer accepts credit cards or PayPal, requiring a PlayStation gift card. Engadget said users can also run emulators for other retro consoles, including the Super Nintendo and Sega CD, but doing so requires jailbreaking the PS3, violates Sony's licensing terms and can brick the console.

The console can also rip CDs without a PC, secret menu or custom software, according to Engadget. Users insert a disc, go to Music, highlight the CD icon, press the triangle button and select Import. Tracks are saved to the console's hard drive and can be sorted into playlists. Engadget said some copy-protected CDs are not supported and all formats are lossy; by default, tracks are saved as 128 kbps AAC files.