The Sony PlayStation 4 still doesn't have a dedicated remote control, but you can use your HDTV's remote. Here's how.

The Sony PlayStation 4 ($306.98 at Amazon UK)(Opens in a new window)  has come pretty far in the last year and a half. It's a very capable media hub and Blu-ray player, and with the launch of PlayStation Vue, it can even be your cable box. And yet despite its multimedia prowess, Sony still doesn't make a remote control. You have to browse your media services using the DualShock 4 controller, or get a third-party remote with a USB receiver. Fortunately, there's another way to control your PS4: with your HDTV remote.

The PS4 supports HDMI-CEC, which stands for Consumer Electronics Control. It means you can tell it to obey your HDTV remote's commands. Because the PS4 doesn't have an infrared (IR) sensor, it can't accept remote commands directly, but instead gets instructions sent from your HDTV through the HDMI cable. This isn't enabled on your PS4 by default, and you need to tell your HDTV to send instructions to it as well, but it's simple to set up.

That's it! The PS4 is now ready to accept commands from your HDTV. Enabling it on your HDTV is a similar process, but it varies between different brands and models. Search your HDTV manufacturer's Web site for support for HDMI-CEC. It might be named something different depending on the brand; Sony calls it Bravia Link or Bravia Sync, Samsung calls it Anynet, LG calls it SimpLink, Panasonic calls it Viera Link, and Sharp calls it Aquos Link. If a menu option has "Link" in its name, it might be another term for HDMI-CEC.

Once you've determined what your HDTV calls HDMI-CEC, you can look for it in the settings menu. Enable the feature, and it will list any connected devices that support it. Your PS4 should show up on that list.

When HDMI-CEC is set up, you can use your remote's navigation pad to flip through your PS4's menus and browse videos on Hulu Plus, YouTube, PlayStation Vue, and other services. Depending on how well the service supports remote input, you can also control video playback using your remote's playback control buttons. It isn't always a perfect system, but it sure beats using your game controller.

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I’ve been PCMag’s home entertainment expert for over 10 years, covering both TVs and everything you might want to connect to them. I’ve reviewed more than a thousand different consumer electronics products including headphones, speakers, TVs, and every major game system and VR headset of the last decade. I’m an ISF-certified TV calibrator and a THX-certified home theater professional, and I’m here to help you understand 4K, HDR, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and even 8K (and to reassure you that you don’t need to worry about 8K at all for at least a few more years).

Home theater technology (TVs, media streamers, and soundbars)

Smart speakers and smart displays

I test TVs with a Klein K-80 colorimeter, a Murideo SIX-G signal generator, a HDFury Diva 4K HDMI matrix, and Portrait Displays’ Calman software. That’s a lot of complicated equipment specifically for screens, but that doesn’t cover what I run on a daily basis.

I use an Asus ROG Zephyr 14 gaming laptop as my primary system for both work and PC gaming (and both, when I review gaming headsets and controllers), along with an aging Samsung Notebook 7 as my portable writing station. I keep the Asus laptop in my home office, with a Das Keyboard 4S and an LG ultrawide monitor attached to it. The Samsung laptop stays in my bag, along with a Keychron K8 mechanical keyboard, because I’m the sort of person who will sit down in a coffee shop and bust out not only a laptop, but a separate keyboard. Mechanical just feels better.

For my own home theater, I have a modest but bright and accurate TCL 55R635 TV and a Roku Streambar Pro; bigger and louder would usually be better, but not in a Brooklyn apartment. I keep a Nintendo Switch dock connected to it, along with a PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X so I can test any peripheral that comes out no matter what system it’s for. I also have a Chromecast With Google TV for general content streaming.

As for mobile gear, I’m surprisingly phone-ambivalent and have swapped between iPhones and Pixels from generation to generation. I favor the iPhone for general snapshots when I need to take pictures of products or cover events, but I also have a Sony Alpha A6000 camera for when I feel like photo walking.

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