"Does PS3 play Blu-ray? Can PS3 play Blu-ray? I just got a newly released Blu-ray disc and would like to play Blu-ray on PS3."

Yes, PS3 can play Blu-Ray discs. Sony Play Station 3, better known as PS3, is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is also a media player that could play back HD movies in high quality. It has the ability to receive games and other audio-video content over the Internet. In fact, all the games that come on PS3 are on Blu-Ray format. The Playstation 3 was the first Blu-Ray player commercially available on the market. It can also play DVDs and CDs as well.

Part 1: A few possible causes of the Blu-ray playback issue on PS3

1. Encryption key needs to be renewed

At times, you might get a notification from your PlayStation 3 when you try to play a Blu-ray disc and it will tell you that you need to renew the encryption key by updating the software. The encryption keys are constantly updated so when it reaches its expiration date, you need to renew it.

2. The Blu-ray disc is region locked

The PS3 itself is region free but some Blu-ray discs are region locked. Most region-locked discs can work on PS3 but sometimes there might be a problem for PS3 to load and play some of them. To solve this problem, you can try ripping the region-locked Blu-ray disc to MP4 and put the movie in a USB drive to play on the PS3. The PS3 can play MP4 videos directly from external storage media.

Here we just list some video/audio formats that are compatible with PlayStation 3. If you want to learn more about PlayStation 3 supported format, please refer to the official page of Sony PlayStation 3.

 

PlayStation 3 Supported Formats

Audio formats

MP3, MP3 Surround, WAV, Audio CD, MP4 Audio, MPEG-4 Part 3, AAC / AAC Low Complexity

Video formats

MPEG-1 (MPEG Audio Layer 2)
MPEG-2 PS MPEG2 Audio Layer 2
AAC LC, AC3(Dolby Digital), LPCM
MPEG-2 TS (MPEG2 Audio Layer 2), VC-1 (.wmv)
AVCHD (.m2ts / .mts), AVI, DivX, VOD, XviD
Motion JPEG (Linear PCM), MP4 Video
MP4 via DivX AVI, MP4 SP
MP4 AVC/MP4 H.264
DVD Video, BD Video format on Blu-ray Disc
BD Video format on DVD-ROM

 

3. The Blu-ray laser is burnt out and needs replacement

When PS3 is failing to play Blu-ray disc, it is that the Blu-ray laser might have burnt out. The solution is simple, you can seek tech support from Sony and get a replacement of the laser or directly get a new PS4.

Part 2: Direct Way to Play Blu-ray Movie on PS3 without Converting Blu-ray

play-blu-ray-on-ps3

Step 1: Insert Blu-ray disc into PS3's Blu-ray drive

Playing Blu-ray disc movie works exactly the same way as entering a game, except you need to head into the Video Tab in your PS3's home menu, rather than the Game Tab. Highlight the Blu-Ray and press X to start it immediately.

Step 2: Now the Blu-ray disc will load like a traditional DVD

Use your controller to access the menu, and use the D-Pad to select your option and press X to enter. When the media is playing, you can press triangle to open a mini-menu that will give you access to options such as subtitles, audio channels and volume. You can also access the main menu, using the arrow keys to navigate. Press triangle again to close this menu.

Tips: The L1 and R1 buttons on the controller allow you to quickly skip back and forward between chapters, while the L2 and R2 buttons allow you to fast forward and rewind at varying speeds. Press the buttons multiple times to cycle faster and press Start to return to normal speed. You can twirl the right analog stick in a circular motion to fast forward or rewind at more precise speeds. Finally, press the circle button to quit back to the PS3's home screen.

Part 3: Indirect Way to Play Blu-ray Movie on PS3 by Converting Blu-ray

Although PS3 can play Blu-ray disc directly, there are some who would like to convert Blu-ray to PS3 friendlier video formats like MP4 for various reasons. Some want to well protect the Blu-ray drive of PS3 while some don't want to see their precious Blu-ray disc get scratched. Therefore, they are looking for a good solution to convert Blu-ray to PS3. In order to convert Blu-ray to PS3, a third-party Blu-ray converter is needed.

Leawo Blu-ray Ripper is an easy-to-use Blu-ray to PS3 converting tool to help you rip and convert Blu-ray file to PS3 videos in only a few simple clicks. The below step-by-step guide would tell you the details on how to rip and convert Blu-ray to PS3 videos with Leawo Blu-ray to PS3 Converter.

Guide on how to convert Blu-ray to PS3 videos:

Step 1: Download and install Leawo Blu-ray to PS3 Converter

  • Leawo Blu-ray Ripper
  • Leawo Blu-ray Ripper

    ☉ Decrypt and rip Blu-ray/DVD discs with disc protection and region code
    ☉ Convert Blu-ray/DVD to MP4, MKV, AVI, MOV, FLV, and other 180+ HD/SD formats
    ☉ Convert Blu-ray/DVD main movie to videos for space saving
    ☉ Convert 2D Blu-ray/DVD movies to 3D movies with 6 different 3D effects
    ☉ Fast conversion with NVIDIA CUDA, AMD APP and Intel Quick Sync acceleration technologies

Step 2: Get source Blu-ray movies ready

Insert Blu-ray disc to the Blu-ray drive, or get source Blu-ray folders ready for loading and converting.

Step 3: Load Blu-ray sources

Click "Add UHD/Blu-ray/DVD" button on the program interface. This Blu-ray to PS3 converter would then guide you to browse source Blu-ray movies for loading.

Note: After loading source Blu-ray movies, you could select subtitles and audio tracks, play source Blu-ray movies, edit Blu-ray movies, snap screenshots, etc.

Step 4: Do output settings

Next to the "Add UHD/Blu-ray/DVD" button, click the dropdown box and select "Change". You will then arrive at the Profile setting panel to select output format from "Format" group or "Device" group. Select "MP4" from "Format" or directly choose "PS3" from "Device > Sony".

Optional settings: After you've set the output format, click the same dorp-down box and click "Edit" option and then you could adjust video and audio parameters of selected profile, including: video codec, audio codec, bit rate, aspect ratio, frame rate, channel, etc.