Do You Need to Have the UPnP Enabled on Your PS3?

Of the many networking settings and features available on your PlayStation 3 console, uPNP is designed to help you achieve better media sharing over your network. You do not need to have uPNP activated to use your PlayStation 3, but disabling uPNP may impede your use of the PlayStation 3's voice and video chat within games. While uPNP is useful if you instead to share media to the PlayStation 3, you can enjoy media playback on your PlayStation 3 using USB drives and downloading media directly from the PlayStation Store.

Universal Plug and Play, abbreviated uPNP, is a media discovery service that does not require manual setup and is designed to simply work, no strings attached. uPNP offers a simple media management protocol and is built in to several services and devices that are compatible with your PlayStation 3. uPNP also handles port forwarding, which speeds up connection in certain programs by opening the connection between your computer and your device.

The uPNP function on the PlayStation 3 allows you to pick up on any photo, audio or video files on any computer over your uPNP-enabled network. You can access this content in the form of a DLNA media server. Some programs, such as Windows Media Player, are accessible with little to no initial setup. Other media servers can be downloaded for free online for any operating system.

To disable uPNP on your console you'll need to redo the network setup process. Go to the Settings menu on the XMB and scroll down the "Network Settings" > "Internet Connection Settings." Initiate the setup process, and select "Custom." Follow the on-screen prompts to set up your home network. When you reach the uPNP setting, select "Disable." Finish the Internet connection prompt and test your settings.

There are several programs designed to work with your PlayStation 3 console. The PlayStation 3 is able to see your Windows Media Player library when your computer is on and connected to the Internet. Additionally, PlayStation 3 Media Server offers a program that is not only dedicated to the PlayStation 3, but also supports transcoding unsupported file types for PlayStation 3 playback. Other media servers include Mediatomb and uShare.