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[boredandlazy]

Geez Sony... What a stupid omission.
Surely this can be patched in though with a firmware update? They managed it with the original PS4 after all.

 

[stpfarms]

Geez Sony... What a stupid omission.
Surely this can be patched in though with a firmware update? They managed it with the original PS4 after all.

I don't think it can, for the following reason. All of the 2016 SONY Sound Bars have 4K HDR pass through. All of the 2015 SONY Sound Bars do not have 4K HDR pass through. I bought the $1500 HT-ST9 Sony Sound Bar and I had ABT phone Sony and contact the Sony Rep to ask if they would be updating the sound bar via firmware to play 4K HDR via pass through and they said there would be no update. The 2015 HT-ST9 is still their premier sound bar so its not that Sony is trying to sell the 2016s.

 

[Reallink]

I'm not convinced that is the whole point of the powered processing unit.

Although people have been saying this since it was first announced, it's not a passthrough box by any measure at all and there is no mention of it being such a thing in any of the documentation they've released. It is, in Sony's own words, a "processing unit" that runs on an external power brick and it's there to process the signal rather than be a passive box that connects two cables together.

Clearly, people can decide to do what ever they want to try and do with the processing unit but I am genuinely surprised that other people are wanting to leave it and it's external power brick on when it's completely redundant as they're not using it for anything.

EDIT:
TClarify, I know the information that this whole thread is about mentions pass through. What I'm attempting to suggest is that this is new, this is not something that has ever been marketed as a passive passthrough box, only as an external processor so expecting it to do what a passive passthrough box does and then being disappointed when it doesn't because that isn't what it is, doesn't make any sense to me.

You done reached so far with that you went to the moon and back.

 

[MassiveNights]

What a mess.

 

[DOWN]

PSVR Gen 2 wait vindicated

 

[User123456]

Pretty sure HDR is way overblown anyway, like people don't understand what it actually is or what it does.

HDR doesn't give you more vivid colors, that's just marketing bullshit. All it does is give you smoother transitions between colors. The color "vividness" is the same between standard 8bit colors and "HDR" 10 bit colors if you configure your TV for standard color mode, because the TV will convert the maximum standard 8 bit values to the maximum color values the TV can output.

Think of Limited vs Full black level, it does a similar thing. How many of you actually notice the difference when you set the TV and the console to Limited?

The average joe will look at the brightness and contrast improvements that the TV's panel brings and be all like "wow, look at all this HDR! It's so bright!" for properly configured non-HDR content just the same.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Edit: just wanted to clarify that I'm not saying HDR isn't better or desirable. Just saying you're probably not going to notice much of a difference unless you are an eagle eyed videophile, in less than totally optimal lighting conditions and especially not when engaged in a game.

 

[Metfanant]

I don't think it can, for the following reason. All of the 2016 SONY Sound Bars have 4K HDR pass through. All of the 2015 SONY Sound Bars do not have 4K HDR pass through. I bought the $1500 HT-ST9 Sony Sound Bar and I had ABT phone Sony and contact the Sony Rep to ask if they would be updating the sound bar via firmware to play 4K HDR via pass through and they said there would be no update. The 2015 HT-ST9 is still their premier sound bar so its not that Sony is trying to sell the 2016s.

wait, you did WHAT!?

 

[DJ Lushious]

Pretty sure HDR is way overblown anyway, like people don't understand what it actually is or what it does.

HDR doesn't give you more vivid colors, that's just marketing bullshit. All it does is give you smoother transitions between colors. The color "vividness" is the same between standard 8bit colors and "HDR" 10 bit colors if you configure your TV for standard color mode, because the TV will convert the maximum standard 8 bit values to the maximum color values the TV can output.

Think of Limited vs Full black level, it does a similar thing. How many of you actually notice the difference when you set the TV and the console to Limited?

The average joe will look at the brightness and contrast improvements that the TV's panel brings and be all like "wow, look at all this HDR! It's so bright!" for properly configured non-HDR content just the same.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Edit: just wanted to clarify that I'm not saying HDR isn't better or desirable. Just saying you're probably not going to notice much of a difference unless you are an eagle eyed videophile, in less than totally optimal lighting conditions and especially not when engaged in a game.

You're wrong.

HDR is luminosity only and independent of Wide Color Gamut (WCG).

It's confusing, I know, but the UHD specification is actually the culmination of three independent technologies: HDR, WCG, and a 3840x2160 resolution.

 

[AgeEighty]

There are probably less than 100 GAF members with 4K, HDR capable HDTVS, so yeah expect a giant "meh" from most posters in these topics for a while.

If people said "This doesn't apply to me" that's fine, it's the "LOL who cares about HDR?" from people who know nothing about it that makes it douchey.

Pretty sure HDR is way overblown anyway, like people don't understand what it actually is or what it does.

HDR doesn't give you more vivid colors, that's just marketing bullshit. All it does is give you smoother transitions between colors. The color "vividness" is the same between standard 8bit colors and "HDR" 10 bit colors if you configure your TV for standard color mode, because the TV will convert the maximum standard 8 bit values to the maximum color values the TV can output.

Think of Limited vs Full black level, it does a similar thing. How many of you actually notice the difference when you set the TV and the console to Limited?

The average joe will look at the brightness and contrast improvements that the TV's panel brings and be all like "wow, look at all this HDR! It's so bright!" for properly configured non-HDR content just the same.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Edit: just wanted to clarify that I'm not saying HDR isn't better or desirable. Just saying you're probably not going to notice much of a difference unless you are an eagle eyed videophile, in less than totally optimal lighting conditions and especially not when engaged in a game.

You're wrong. HDR is not about colors, it's about luminosity depth. It's a big, noticeable difference when you're watching content that supports it on a compatible television. It's far and away a bigger upgrade than 4K resolution.

 

[PLASTICA-MAN]

So it means no HDR for VR games on PS VR and also in order to have HDR enabled for normal games, you have to unplug the PS VR and its processor unit to play normally with HDR otherwise it blocks the feature even for non VR games when plugged?

 

[Caayn]

This sounds like a design oversight.

 

[JP]

You done reached so far with that you went to the moon and back.

Sorry, not sure what you mean?

 

[Piccoro]

I don't think it can, for the following reason. All of the 2016 SONY Sound Bars have 4K HDR pass through. All of the 2015 SONY Sound Bars do not have 4K HDR pass through. I bought the $1500 HT-ST9 Sony Sound Bar and I had ABT phone Sony and contact the Sony Rep to ask if they would be updating the sound bar via firmware to play 4K HDR via pass through and they said there would be no update. The 2015 HT-ST9 is still their premier sound bar so its not that Sony is trying to sell the 2016s.

Some 2015 4K Sony TV's were updated to accept HDR, though...

 

[Socky]

This has nothing to do with Pro, considering standard PS4 is also now HDR capable, lack of current support not withstanding.

This seems like a design omission in PSVR development, but a damn regrettable one - continually switching cables is never a decent solution to a problem because it's inconvenient and likely to cause wear and tear damage. It's also a further inconvenience to using VR and that tech doesn't need further issues preventing people wanting to use it, mild though that inconvenience might seem.

The likelihood of a firmware update seems remote (even if it's possible), splitters are probably rife with issues, so it looks like the only reliable way to get around this for those with HDR capable TVs (an increasing number of people and those first-adoptors most likely to splurge on VR I'd wager) is swapping cables, which is not great and will require different solutions for each persons setup. I think I've come to the best solution I can personally find, but it will mean swapping cables in/out of the back of the PS4 every time I want to switch from TV to VR, every damn time, with the associated wear and tear to the HDMI port.

Poor work Sony, even if it might have been difficult to avoid with the timing of PSVR's design.

 

[User123456]

You're wrong.

HDR is luminosity only and independent of Wide Color Gamut (WCG).

It's confusing, I know, but the UHD specification is actually the culmination of three independent technologies: HDR, WCG, and a 3840x2160 resolution.

Still, doesn't what I said still apply? If HDR means a higher range of luminosity values, it won't actually give you whiter whites and blacker blacks on a properly configured display, but a higher range of available transitional values between the two.

I don't have an HDR compatible value but I seriously don't understand why this wouldn't be the case.

Edit: Either way, since this is a problem with the breakout box only and I doubt most people will buy into HDR capable displays for some time, I'm sure they can release a standalone box that supports HDR for cheap (since most of the box's components should become cheaper to produce). IMO, if you don't yet have an HDR capable TV, this sacrifice should be worth it for experiencing PS VR now, even if you intend to buy an HDR TV later like I do. Should have enough time to save up and I can scratch the VR itch in the meantime.

Edit 2: Thinking about HDR and crushing it into SDR (like Full to Limited RGB), I guess it could cause calibration problems for the intermediate values. I guess I won't be able to talk about this with any authority until I buy a set myself. I have trouble differentiating it mentally from WCG and I never noticed much of a difference with that (which my TV supports).

 

[aygomyownroad]

brb setting up psvr

Sad thing is that I am setting up everything and it looks like this.

5.1 Surround sound system with AV receiver, WiiU, Xbox One with Kinect, PS4, TV, Cable box, Router, Ethernet Cables. Once it is all done and everything moved back it would be nigh on impossible to switch cables on a whim.

I don't have 4K or HDR, but the idea that down the line I may need to swap about everything makes me shudder.

I expected 4K UHD Bluray player and HDR in PS4Pro (Never got 4K UHD player), getting HDR in normal PS4 was nice, but Sony has been dropping the ball a bit here.

 

[Oblong Schlong]

Still, doesn't what I said still apply? If HDR means a higher range of luminosity values, it won't actually give you whiter whites and blacker blacks on a properly configured display, but a higher range of available transitional values between the two.

I don't have an HDR compatible value but I seriously don't understand why this wouldn't be the case.

I think you're wrong, HDR displays have the potential to put out a greater range of luminosity values.

Not a whiter white, but a brighter white. Not a blacker black (Spinal Tap reference), but a darker black.

Think of it as brightness/shadow range, not a calibrated grayscale value.

 

[User123456]

I think you're wrong, HDR displays have the potential to put out a greater range of luminosity values.

Not a whiter white, but a brighter white. Not a blacker black (Spinal Tap reference), but a darker black.

Think of it as brightness/shadow range, not a calibrated grayscale value.

I get what you're saying, but I don't think I'm properly gonna be able to grasp it until I have an HDR set to experiment with. I know what you mean but it's hard to visualize it.

But thank you all who educated me though. Very informative!

 

[stpfarms]

Some 2015 4K Sony TV's were updated to accept HDR, though...

Yes pretty much the entire SONY 2015 line of tvs have firmware updates to support HDR so there is that glimmer of hope. If it is hardware my guess is they ordered everything for PSVR last year so far in advance that it was to late to change. I have a built in cabinet behind my TV and I very much always have to have the best quality so swapping these cables get HDR is going to seriously suck. It just seems like the whole no 4k BluRay and lack of HDR Pass Through is very short sighted and irritating.

 

[stpfarms]

wait, you did WHAT!?

Crazy I know, but I definitely did not pay full retail.

 

[ReBurn]

Crazy I know, but I definitely did not pay full retail.

Did you buy the 2015 model when the 2016 model released?

 

[Jumeira]

Holy shit! 3 sockets as well?

This looks like a nightmare. As someone that treats cable management seriously this monstrosity would not be allowed anywhere near my setup.

I have 5 HDMI's, 1 for surround sound ARC, 1 Xbox, 1 PS4, 1 for external HDD (for recording TV shows) and 1 for cable box. Each device is only entitled to 1 slot, any more than its a huge design flaw.

LOL @ people trivialising how bad swapping HDMI cables is. What happens when your not home and others want to watch some HDR content? I'm quite precious over my setup and my family would have to wait until I'm present. I don't have that problem now as no company in their right mind would ask this. You should never be expected to tinker your config. It's a ludicrous expectation.

 

[Caayn]

Holy shit! 3 sockets as well?

The PSVR breakout box requires its own power source, so you'll lose an extra socket.

 

[f@luS]

Holy shit! 3 sockets as well?

This looks like a nightmare. As someone that treats cable management seriously this monstrosity would not be allowed anywhere near my setup.

I have 5 HDMI's, 1 for surround sound ARC, 1 Xbox, 1 PS4, 1 for external HDD (for recording TV shows) and 1 for cable box. Each device is only entitled to 1 slot, any more than its a huge design flaw.

LOL @ people trivialising how bad swapping HDMI cables is. What happens when your not home and others want to watch some HDR content? I'm quite precious over my setup and my family would have to wait until I'm present. I don't have that problem now as no company in their right mind would ask this. You should never be expected to tinker your config. It's a ludicrous expectation.

It's more that I would put my psvr cable in when I use it and other times my setup will be as usual for me or anybody. And I know psvr will just be for me so it's ok even though it's not the best

 

[stpfarms]

Did you buy the 2015 model when the 2016 model released?

I actually bought the best 2016 model with HDR pass through but it was only 2.1 channel and I wanted a fuller sound for my large room so I went with the 2015 highest end one, HT ST9 after knowing it would never get HDR pass through. I absolutely love the sound bar, and to get around no HDR I just have all my inputs go directly to the TV and then send audio to the sound bar through the ARC port. That lets me get HDR and use the sound bar with 5.1. The only downside of that setup is ARC only supports Dolby and DTS and not full PCM plus some other DTS/Dolby advanced modes but I doubt I can really notice its still just a soundbar.

 

[Bill Rizer]

Is it different connecting PSVR to vanilla PS4 or to PS4 PRO? Should I keep my old PS4 just to have it connected to PSVR and have PS4 PRO connected to tv?

 

[stpfarms]

Is it different connecting PSVR to vanilla PS4 or to PS4 PRO? Should I keep my old PS4 just to have it connected to PSVR and have PS4 PRO connected to tv?

They connect the same way, I would only keep your old PS4 around for a second TV, you will always want to play all games regardless of whether it is VR or regular since both will look better on the PS4 Pro.

 

[Bill Rizer]

They connect the same way, I would only keep your old PS4 around for a second TV, you will always want to play all games regardless of whether it is VR or regular since both will look better on the PS4 Pro.

So also PSVR games will be better on PS4 Pro??

 

[infinityBCRT]

This sounds like a design oversight.
There are probably less than 10 GAF members with a PS4Pro and/or a PSVR, so yeah a giant "meh" from most posters in these topics for a while.

There were 172 people who posted (posters, not just posts) in the KS8000 thread alone. So... I'm guessing the number of people who are interested in having an HDR TV or have one right now is much higher than 10 . And if you're an early adopter for 4K HDR, I'm guessing you may be interested in being an early adopter for VR as well. Everyone I know who has an HDR TV either has a PC VR headset or is going to be getting a PSVR.

 

[Sithlord77]

Will the hdmi cable supplied with the psvr be 4K compatible at least?

 

[jobrro]

Holy shit! 3 sockets as well?

It's not as bad as it looks.

1 Socket for PS4
1 Socket for PSVR.
1 Socket for TV.

Not sure what Sony was thinking lacking Hdr passthrough though.

Also really should have added a rear USB port for PSVR onto the PS4 Slim, not just the Pro.

I wonder why they couldn't just use the Camera port for VR, and plug the camera into the breakout box. Can only speculate that port is based on USB 2 so maybe there isn't enough bandwidth.

 

[ffvorax]

Wow, so much hate for a feature that is mostly new, that we don't know how many games will support, and that need an HDR capable TV (how many does have it?)

I suppose there is a technical limitation if it's like that... so, waiting for PSVR2?

 

[Pantz]

It's a bit annoying but I'll probably just insert tv hdr cable into psvr box when wanting to play psvr and then pull it out and put it in samsung box sitting right next to it when wanting to play normal hdr games unless there is a real hdr 4k splitter that works good. My ps3 and 360 shared an hdmi cable without protection through the years and turned out ok.

 

[Caayn]

There were 172 people who posted (posters, not just posts) in the KS8000 thread alone. So... I'm guessing the number of people who are interested in having an HDR TV or have one right now is much higher than 10 . And if you're an early adopter for 4K HDR, I'm guessing you may be interested in being an early adopter for VR as well. Everyone I know who has an HDR TV either has a PC VR headset or is going to be getting a PSVR.

I interpreted Sho_Nuff82's post incorrectly. So I stupidly wrote a parody post on it. Removed it from my previous post. Sorry.

 

[RichiRamjag]

Holy shit! 3 sockets as well?

This looks like a nightmare. As someone that treats cable management seriously this monstrosity would not be allowed anywhere near my setup.

I have 5 HDMI's, 1 for surround sound ARC, 1 Xbox, 1 PS4, 1 for external HDD (for recording TV shows) and 1 for cable box. Each device is only entitled to 1 slot, any more than its a huge design flaw.

LOL @ people trivialising how bad swapping HDMI cables is. What happens when your not home and others want to watch some HDR content? I'm quite precious over my setup and my family would have to wait until I'm present. I don't have that problem now as no company in their right mind would ask this. You should never be expected to tinker your config. It's a ludicrous expectation.

Yuk. I was pissy about using an extra socket for my Kinect adapter when I got my one S, this is too much. It may not be a big deal for some, but I hate all that cable clutter.

 

[stpfarms]

Will the hdmi cable supplied with the psvr be 4K compatible at least?

Yes most definitely, it will be High Speed which all HDMI cables that are released now are.

 

[stpfarms]

So also PSVR games will be better on PS4 Pro??

Yes, I think a lot will be better with PS4 Pro. Farpoint for example doubled the resolution: “Across the board, it’s more crisp. That’s because we are rendering roughly twice as many pixels. So absolutely everything will look clearer,” said Greg Koreman, co-founder of Impulse Gear, the studio behind PS VR exclusive first-person shooter, Farpoint.

 

[Thabass]

Minor inconvenience. This is not worth getting crazy over. Just unplug it when you're not using it or buy a splitter.

 

[Pantz]

So will someone here post a splitter that really works with HDR? I feel like a lot of them would put HDR in their title weather it supports it or not.

 

[boredandlazy]

Minor inconvenience. This is not worth getting crazy over. Just unplug it when you're not using it or buy a splitter.

But it's a completely unnecessary inconvenience. This should be a damn obvious inclusion.

 

[ElNino]

Holy shit! 3 sockets as well?

This looks like a nightmare. As someone that treats cable management seriously this monstrosity would not be allowed anywhere near my setup.

I have 5 HDMI's, 1 for surround sound ARC, 1 Xbox, 1 PS4, 1 for external HDD (for recording TV shows) and 1 for cable box. Each device is only entitled to 1 slot, any more than its a huge design flaw.

LOL @ people trivialising how bad swapping HDMI cables is. What happens when your not home and others want to watch some HDR content? I'm quite precious over my setup and my family would have to wait until I'm present. I don't have that problem now as no company in their right mind would ask this. You should never be expected to tinker your config. It's a ludicrous expectation.

I agree that it can be a ridiculous assumption that you should swap your HDMI connection between uses. The entire point of the breakaway box is that it is connected all the time, and now it can't be (in some scenarios).

That being said, if you are sending audio back from your TV via an ARC connection that would suggest you are using an AVR. Are you sending your Xbox/PS4 to the TV directly or through the AVR? If you are going through the TV then you might not be sending the full audio signal back as I don't believe most TVs allows full pass through via ARC.

 

[Colbert]

I interpreted Sho_Nuff82's post incorrectly. So I stupidly wrote a parody post on it. Removed it from my previous post. Sorry.

My initial thought about your comment was "sarcasm" all along from the beginning, tbh!

 

[DjMystix]

I'm sorry if this has been answered already but has anyone found an HDMI splitter that can do both 4K and HDR?

I found this but not sure if this is the right one to get:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017QCKC7U/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[stan423321]

Minor inconvenience. This is not worth getting crazy over. Just unplug it when you're not using it or buy a splitter.

Do we have confirmation that processor unit works well with a splitter between it and PS4? I wouldn't be surprised if it introduces perceptible lag rise to be honest

 

[tearsintherain]

Man Sony is really just telling early adopters "just don't buy this stuff, we haven't figured it all out yet". EA's love 4k, HDR, VR, etc but between no UHD support and now no pass through HDR its really so easy to pass on PSVR and PS4 Pro.

I hope they get their shit together with PS5 or whatever they announce next year, otherwise Scorpio is going to eat them alive.

 

[MazeHaze]

Minor inconvenience. This is not worth getting crazy over. Just unplug it when you're not using it or buy a splitter.

Except there isn't a splitter that exists that would solve this problem. If one end of the chain doesn't support HDR pass through, the device won't be able to output hdr to either display.

 

[rothbart]

I'm sorry if this has been answered already but has anyone found an HDMI splitter that can do both 4K and HDR?

I found this but not sure if this is the right one to get:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017QCKC7U/?tag=neogaf0e-20

That is an HDMI 1.4 splitter. HDMI 2.0a is where HDR support was added.

 

[MazeHaze]

Do we have confirmation that processor unit works well with a splitter between it and PS4? I wouldn't be surprised if it introduces perceptible lag rise to be honest

That won't work if you plan on doing any 4k gaming.


From what I understand, even if you get a splitter that is hdmi 2a, if one end of the signal chain doesn't support HDR or 4:2:2/4:4:4, the device outputting (ps4) will default to non HDR 4:2:0.

The amount of people with no experience or knowledge on this subject posting "buy a splitter" is ridiculous.

 

[DjMystix]

That is an HDMI 1.4 splitter. HDMI 2.0a is where HDR support was added.

Thank you! so it seems this may be the right one but if yes, don't think it is worth $60 vs unplugging PS4 and re-plug to PSVR whenever I want to use it:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LC8JE14/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[MazeHaze]

Thank you! so it seems this may be the right one but if yes, don't think it is worth $60 vs unplugging PS4 and re-plug to PSVR whenever I want to use it:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LC8JE14/?tag=neogaf0e-20

See my post above. This still wouldn't solve this particular problem.