Sideloading

Although we support a majority of main stream formats make sure we support the content type and layout you're interested in here.

Again, although most video encodings are supported, make sure we support the video encoding of the content you're interested in here.

The Rad TV app's VR version supports the playback of many types of videos as well as video playback via an external USB stick or hard drive when you are logged in to your Rad TV account. There are a few simple steps that must be followed to get videos to play back correctly; please read the instructions below and reach out if you have any questions.

Rad TV Sideloading Tutorial

External Drive Setup

1. If your drive is not already, format your drive as exFAT or FAT32, other formats will not work. NOTE: This will erase all files on the drive! Ensure you've backed up all important data on your drive before performing this step.

   • How to check a drive's format for Windows
   • Guide on how to format for Windows
   • Guide on how to format for MacOS
   • More about what is formatting
2. Once formatted, create a folder named "rad" at the root (top-level directory) of the drive.

   • For example, while you have your drive inserted in your Windows machine, it will have the file path: D:/rad, E:/Rad, or Z:/RAD. Notice the drive letter does not matter and the folder name is case-insensitive.

   • Next, create another folder named whatever you prefer for your organization "Videos" > all videos need to be placed in this folder or they will not be able to be read by the app.

   • The app supports nested folders inside of the top-level folder, so you can have something like D:/rad/360/ or D:/rad/360/stereoscopic/sbs/.

   • Currently, the app does not automatically detect the layout of the video you are trying to play, so you will either need to set the content type and layout using the media player settings pop out submenu after starting a video OR you will need to name your file with the following naming conventions.

   

   View of the media player settings' pop out submenu.

Known Issues

• Multiple drives can cause video reading issues so it is recommended to only use a single drive.

• Videos should not contain "sbs," "ou," or any of the other phrases above unless they are intended to let the player know which type of video it should try and render.

• If you are formatting your drive on macOS, you will need to enable Master Boot Record (MBR), otherwise, your videos may not show up.

• Sometimes formatting your drive on macOS can cause duplicate files on the application, this is a hidden metafile generated by macOS that ends up being recognized by the PS4. One of these is the actual video and can be played back where the other is not and will not load.