David wants to know how he can stream movie files from his computer to his PlayStation. Leo says he can cast to the TV, but probably not PlayStation. If the TV or projector has an HDMI port, he can plug in a Google Chromecast and then cast it from the computer. ScooterX says he can put PLEX on Playstation and then it becomes a media server to cast from the computer.
If you want to give a holiday surprise to a technology geek in your life, consider giving a simple gift card. It may seem lazy or low-effort, but they will undoubtedly find use in it via stores like Newegg or Amazon. Just be careful with gift cards for specific music services (like iTunes) or gaming gift cards for platforms they don't play on (get a Playstation gift card if they use a PS4).
Black Friday Deals are looking very good this year:
Kim is a gamer and is tired of buying new computers to keep up. Would a console allow her to play the massive multi player online games? Leo says that some MMORPGs are on Xbox and PS4 consoles. It depends on if the games she plays are available, and chances are, they will be. But even then, it comes down to what console she likes best. PlayStation is more popular, and that means it's more likely to have the titles she likes to play. They also have an active community. On the other hand, an Xbox would allow her to stream the games and play them from her Windows 10 PC.
Kyle wonders what the future holds for game consoles like the PlayStation. Will there be a new version like a PS5 or will it just keep with incremental improvements like the PlayStation Pro? Leo says that the PS4 has a very powerful processor, and console game systems have a life span of about 10 years before they move to the next platform update. So Leo would imagine we'll see updates during that time, and we hear there will be serious revisions this year. We'll probably see the end of optical media in favor of downloads.
The Sony PlayStation VR comes out this week. If you have a PlayStation 4, all you'll need is the headset, Move controllers, and camera. It'll be the easiest way yet to get into virtual reality gaming. Leo has tried all of the virtual reality headsets, and so far he hasn't found any to be exciting for very long. He does think that as companies evolve the technology, we may see something miraculous years down the road.
Rick says that Leo should give Playstation Vue a try for streaming online. For $55, it has cable over the internet via the Playstation 3 or 4 console, Roku, etc. There are a ton more channels than Sling.
Leo says it looks interesting but you don't really save anything over paying for cable or satellite. So from a cost saving cord cutting perspective, there isn't much point to it. It is worth a try if you want to cut the cable, though.
Cynthia is having issues with streaming HBO Go on her PS3. Is this a bandwidth issue? Leo says it likely could be. But if she's streaming Netflix with no problem, then she'll have to look elsewhere. She should try using another streaming option like Roku. Cynthia should log into HBO.com and see if she can stream from her laptop. If she can, then it's an issue with the PS3. She should also connect her hardware via ethernet and see if it will stream from there. Another issue may be congestion when she's streaming wirelessly.
Dave wants to know why he can't watch YouTube in higher resolutions through the PS3. He only gets 240. Leo says that's ugly. The issue could be bandwidth.
Dave may want to try using the YouTube app, and not the browser. He can download the YouTube App from the Sony Playstation store. That will always do better than the browser.
Hybrid drives combine both Solid State Drives and Hard Disk Drives. Since SSDs cost more per gigabyte, it's expensive to buy an SSD big enough to hold everything. So the idea behind hybrid drives is that it would combine the speed benefit of SSD with the capacity benefits of the traditional, spinning drive. It puts both drives in one enclosure and uses smart software to determine what data should go on the SSD and what should go on the hard drive.
