PS4 Pro Review

[razel]

Just picked mine up today. Original launch date was Nov. 8 on U.S. voting day which Sony wisely delayed to Nov. 10 or 11. I've been wanting to get one from a local B&M since where they pay for sales tax, but surprise. Sold out and they only had a few. I tried a few days ago again and it wasn't until this weekend where stock is plenty. That's probably the correct reason why Sony delayed. Not enough made to sell. Target's got some awesome deals this weekend. Ended up stacking my coupons (10% tech discount, 10% wishlist, 10% family member's employee discount, $5 off $25, 5% Discover Cashback) from Target and got a killer deal. Low $300s after taxes.

It's the same height as the launch PS4 which I was surprised. Every iteration of the PlayStation controller after the original PS3 Sixaxis, the plastics have gotten cheaper and cheaper feeling, but still sturdy. The new controller looks cheaper but the heaft and weight feels better. It doesn't weigh more, it feels like the weight is tweaked better. More centered.

I though of trying out that nice direct PS4 to PS4 LAN cable 'transfer' feature, but I already learned my lesson about backups. I did the usual PS4 backup to USB, then another separate game saves backup just in case. Downloaded the firmware, swapped the HDD in the Pro for the SSD from my old PS4 and booted up. I have a Vizio D series which someone off reddit mentioned had issues with HDCP 2.2, but mine didn't. Vizio did push out a update last month.

Once the 'XMB' showed, and screen output 4k, you can tell the difference up close with the font rendering and the resolution I the pictures. At 4k you can really get up close to the screen and see that it's displaying high resolution for the content pictures and icons. I now understand why Sony made changes to their display of content. On 1080p it sure seems like a waste of space, but is more fully fleshed out @ 4k. Game detail pages seem to show more info. XMB interface speed does seem more consistent. Not the that base PS4 was slow. Slow is Xbox One, actually XB1 is more just unresponsive, inconsistent.

I have no current PS4 Pro patched games to play, but do have Fallout 4 which 4k support for is upcoming. During install someone mentioned that the drive is loud. It is and stays loud even after completing installation. It stayed spinning fast the entire time downloading the patch for it. Luckily if you eject the disc, pop it back, it will read, spin down and eventually stop just like the base PS4. I think that is just a bug that Sony can fix. Playing, starting the game, disc behavior is the same as base PS4. Again, I think it's just a bug that after reading from the drive at full speed that Sony needs to properly spin it down or stop.

Output with Fallout 4 was 4k. The PS4 is upscaling from 1080p. That surprised me. I thought it'll just output 1080p for non-Pro pached games just like the base PS4. BluRay movies, I think was also 4k, but 24hz. Again, I'd rather have it output original resolution, but at least there was no funny business with BluRay movies. They still look accurate and the disc noise is the same as the base PS4.

My TV is not HDR. I don't recommend cheap HDR sets yet. Your TV must be calibrated for HDR to shine. You can spend another $200-$300 for a calibrator to do this or just buy a known calibrated TV. My D series isn't bad. There's enough off the user menus to get 85% there. THX's calibration app off iPad is fantastic as well. The android version of it for my Nexus 5, the color saturation was off, but all other settings matched the iPad and HTC One's results.

My favorite thing so far is the 4k streaming support. 4k is fully supported in Amazon and YouTube and the PS4s power shines with the interface. There is no lag, searches are quick. You do need at least 50mbps for 4k. I think 4k BluRay is 100mpbs. My connection is 70mbps and you need to give it a few seconds for 4k to display. Once it's at 4k it stays. Tons of hot k-pop videos in 4k off YouTube. Shame that on Xbox1s, YouTube isn't 4k yet. it's not even 1080/60. C'mon Google/MS seriously.

I'll be back for more impressions after enjoying it more.

 

[CurrentlyPissed]

Looking at buying either the PS4 Pro, or the Xbox One S.. But I only have a 1080 tv. And no 4k for awhile for me.

Which would you guys suggest I get? I only really mainly want them for FFXV and Kingdom Hearts 3. Should I save a $100 and get the Xbox One S?

 

[razel]

More thoughts after gaming:

- Uses same firmware file for both PS4, PS4 Pro.
- Fans are quieter, but slightly more heat comes out.
- Can switch resolutions in the XMB between 4k and 1080p without closing Fallout 4. I found no difference in delay with the PS4 upscaling vs. TV upscaling. As long as you have much of the unnessary processig turned off on your TV, this will be nearly always be true.

It's a no-brainer to buy the PS4 Pro if you already don't own a PS4. It's actually overall quieter than launch PS4, nearly the same size. I'm sure as time passes and Sony ramps up production you'll see 4k game bundles. Those at $400 will be unbeatable, at least until the MS Scorpio comes out.

I'm looking forward for Black Friday to pick up Rise of the Tomb Raider and Darksiders Warmastered native 4k version. Digital Foundry even put up an interesting video about Arkham Aslyum/City remastered. It is not officially patched for the Pro, but playing on the Pro seems to unlock the frame rates. It behaves the same as when you upgrade your video card. Same graphics fidelity, just higher frame rates. I hope Sony eventually encourages all game developers to set such 'flags' in their patches for all games. That feature along with 4k bundles @ $400 then sales will fly. Ever since Xbox1s released, MS has outsold PS4.

 

[sze5003]

More thoughts after gaming:

- Uses same firmware file for both PS4, PS4 Pro.
- Fans are quieter, but slightly more heat comes out.
- Can switch resolutions in the XMB between 4k and 1080p without closing Fallout 4. I found no difference in delay with the PS4 upscaling vs. TV upscaling. As long as you have much of the unnessary processig turned off on your TV, this will be nearly always be true.

It's a no-brainer to buy the PS4 Pro if you already don't own a PS4. It's actually overall quieter than launch PS4, nearly the same size. I'm sure as time passes and Sony ramps up production you'll see 4k game bundles. Those at $400 will be unbeatable, at least until the MS Scorpio comes out.

I'm looking forward for Black Friday to pick up Rise of the Tomb Raider and Darksiders Warmastered native 4k version. Digital Foundry even put up an interesting video about Arkham Aslyum/City remastered. It is not officially patched for the Pro, but playing on the Pro seems to unlock the frame rates. It behaves the same as when you upgrade your video card. Same graphics fidelity, just higher frame rates. I hope Sony eventually encourages all game developers to set such 'flags' in their patches for all games. That feature along with 4k bundles @ $400 then sales will fly. Ever since Xbox1s released, MS has outsold PS4.

Does it really require a 60" TV to take advantage of the 4k? I've been reading that somewhere. I really want a 55" as they are easier to find and a bit cheaper in the HDR range. Heck I don't even have hd cable so this system would be the only 4k device to use the TV width. But deciding what tv to go with would make it easier for me too when picking out a tv stand.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Does it really require a 60" TV to take advantage of the 4k? I've been reading that somewhere. I really want a 55" as they are easier to find and a bit cheaper in the HDR range. Heck I don't even have hd cable so this system would be the only 4k device to use the TV width. But deciding what tv to go with would make it easier for me too when picking out a tv stand.

This varies from person to person but I have a 55" and it's fine but I only sit about 6feet from the screen. The further away the harder it is to notice resolution differences. However when you are playing HDR content you can tell the difference at nearly any distance.

 

[sze5003]

This varies from person to person but I have a 55" and it's fine but I only sit about 6feet from the screen. The further away the harder it is to notice resolution differences. However when you are playing HDR content you can tell the difference at nearly any distance.

That's what I thought too, I'm only about 6-7ft away myself. Living right next to the third largest mall in the world, black Friday is going to be a pain so I'll try and get something after if there is anything left.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

It's a no-brainer to buy the PS4 Pro if you already don't own a PS4. It's actually overall quieter than launch PS4, nearly the same size. I'm sure as time passes and Sony ramps up production you'll see 4k game bundles. Those at $400 will be unbeatable, at least until the MS Scorpio comes out.

I don't think it is. I will be running on 1080p so I'm probably buying the Slim. I can get it for $270 after tax from GameStop with Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us. To get those two games with the Pro (and those are two games I will 100% buy) would cost me $480. Either way I'm going to be playing games at 30 fps. Paying an extra $210 just for supersampling doesn't seem like a good deal to me. It's not like in the pc space where an extra $200 would get me a GTX 1070 that's night and day better than an RX 480. It's unfortunate because the PS4 Pro should be night and day better even for 1080p users, but it doesn't seem to be right now and I'm not going to buy something based on future promises.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

Now if Sony had sold the PS4 Pro at $500 with Zen cores instead of Jaguar it would be a no brainer, since you'd have the cpu power to run 60 fps. Then the PS4 Pro would be able to offer the choice between 4k 30 fps gaming and 1080p 60 fps gaming. But with Digital Foundry showing Rise of the Tomb Raider drops to about 40 fps in the high framerate mode when in the Geothermal Valley, I don't have much faith that upcoming games I'm interested in like Days Gone, Red Dead Redemption 2, or God of War are going to hit 60 fps on those weak Jaguar cores. Another negative is this is a mid generation refresh. The platform is already 3 years old. What are we, maybe 3-4 years from a PS5?

 

[sze5003]

Now if Sony had sold the PS4 Pro at $500 with Zen cores instead of Jaguar it would be a no brainer, since you'd have the cpu power to run 60 fps. Then the PS4 Pro would be able to offer the choice between 4k 30 fps gaming and 1080p 60 fps gaming. But with Digital Foundry showing Rise of the Tomb Raider drops to about 40 fps in the high framerate mode when in the Geothermal Valley, I don't have much faith that upcoming games I'm interested in like Days Gone, Red Dead Redemption 2, or God of War are going to hit 60 fps on those weak Jaguar cores. Another negative is this is a mid generation refresh. The platform is already 3 years old. What are we, maybe 3-4 years from a PS5?

That's the way they will be moving forward. Seems like every 2-3 years there will be some console refresh. Keeps it closer to a medium range PC. Despite the new tech, the pro doesn't offer drastic changes at 1080p, at least visually.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Now if Sony had sold the PS4 Pro at $500 with Zen cores instead of Jaguar it would be a no brainer, since you'd have the cpu power to run 60 fps. Then the PS4 Pro would be able to offer the choice between 4k 30 fps gaming and 1080p 60 fps gaming. But with Digital Foundry showing Rise of the Tomb Raider drops to about 40 fps in the high framerate mode when in the Geothermal Valley, I don't have much faith that upcoming games I'm interested in like Days Gone, Red Dead Redemption 2, or God of War are going to hit 60 fps on those weak Jaguar cores. Another negative is this is a mid generation refresh. The platform is already 3 years old. What are we, maybe 3-4 years from a PS5?

All the current games are made for the base model and patched for the pro. Newer titles will have more time for optimizations and such. It's not a guarantee of 60fps but there will be better optimization.

 

[kn51]

Well I picked up a Pro with a 10% off coupon. This might ramble a bit but will address the 4K TV thing as well.

About 1.5 weeks ago my ten year old DLP 56" Samsung needs a new bulb. A week or so prior it started to shut off at random. Not bad, but livable. I already replaced the ballast, fans, etc. a couple years ago to keep it on life support. So was staring down around $100 for a new bulb and possible further mechanical type parts. I also had around $100 in Best Buy cards that I haven't used because of well...not my favorite store.

Before this I was hoping another year out of use from the thing so standards and bugs can settle down. Between HDR, HDR metadata/Dolby Vision, etc. and looking at major players pricing I resigned myself to thinking dumping 1K+ into something that would be totally obsolete didn't sit well. Hence, I went with the elcheapo option of picking up a Hisense 55" H8C to fill the void until it all gets sorted out and technology matures.

So for $500 you get a 54.5" 4K, HDR TV. After using some basic calibration settings this bad boy has exceeded my expectations.

As for how HDR looks on PS4 games, looks damn good. It stands out.

Has its faults, inbuilt apps don't do HDR yet. It has some HDMI handshaking issues. Off angle viewing is abysmal but it is bright. Almost too bright. But firmware is a continuous improvement that they have been addressing and hell of a lot of sets have problems with the PS4. (LG)

tl;dr...For $500 the Hisense out of the box will work with your PS4 Pro with no issues. Also has a 4 year in-home warranty (which I haven't read anyone testing their service.)

Last of Us looks damn good,

 

[cmdrdredd]

For the record, HDR10 will not be obsolete. If you buy a TV with Dolby Vision it also does HDR10 and both will coexist just fine. It's already been announced that when dynamic metadata comes to HDR10 that current HDR10 TVs will still be getting HDR from the content.

 

[Lil Frier]

I picked up a new TV yesterday, but my Target was sold out of PS4 Pro. I was looking forward to taking advantage of the 10% off coupon and 5% off Redcard offering, but couldn't Now, I'm waiting for the next $360 (or less) sale to pop up, or for my Target to get more Pros in-stock (when I'll do the Wish List and Redcard).

 

[Lil Frier]

Well I picked up a Pro with a 10% off coupon. This might ramble a bit but will address the 4K TV thing as well.

Hence, I went with the elcheapo option of picking up a Hisense 55" H8C to fill the void until it all gets sorted out and technology matures.

So for $500 you get a 54.5" 4K, HDR TV. After using some basic calibration settings this bad boy has exceeded my expectations.

As for how HDR looks on PS4 games, looks damn good. It stands out.

Has its faults, inbuilt apps don't do HDR yet. It has some HDMI handshaking issues. Off angle viewing is abysmal but it is bright. Almost too bright. But firmware is a continuous improvement that they have been addressing and hell of a lot of sets have problems with the PS4. (LG)

Where'd you get the PS4 and TV? Just curious, because I went to Target with the 10% off coupon for my TV. I got the KU6300, which was on-sale for $550, for $500 after the 10% off and Target Redcard discount. Since it'll just be a gaming TV for me, really, the low input lag of the Samsung drew me in, even though I'm not their biggest fan.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Someone said amazon dropped pricing for a few hours and they ran to Best Buy and had them do a price match. Keep an eye out on amazon and such I guess. Was the same price as target would have been.

 

[sze5003]

I picked up a new TV yesterday, but my Target was sold out of PS4 Pro. I was looking forward to taking advantage of the 10% off coupon and 5% off Redcard offering, but couldn't Now, I'm waiting for the next $360 (or less) sale to pop up, or for my Target to get more Pros in-stock (when I'll do the Wish List and Redcard).

Does the tv have HDR? I can pickup any 4k 55 inch pretty much from my choice of stores here but many at Walmart or Target don't have HDR and since ps4 does support it I might as well have it if I'm going to get a new TV.

 

[Lil Frier]

Someone said amazon dropped pricing for a few hours and they ran to Best Buy and had them do a price match. Keep an eye out on amazon and such I guess. Was the same price as target would have been.

Yes, I was going to go that route, but the sale ended late Sunday night. I was going to go to Best Buy and price match, but it ended before the Target sale--which was sold out at my store. The Pro was then $380 on Amazon yesterday while I was at work, but off-sale by the time I was off work (though I wouldn't have gotten it for $380 anyway).

Does the tv have HDR? I can pickup any 4k 55 inch pretty much from my choice of stores here but many at Walmart or Target don't have HDR and since ps4 does support it I might as well have it if I'm going to get a new TV.

Yes, it does. Like the H8C, though, it doesn't have the full specs (Wide Color Gamut, high-nit brightness) to fully utilize it, but it is functionally there.

H8C: http://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/hisense/h8c

KU6300: http://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/samsung/ku6300

 

[sze5003]

Yes, I was going to go that route, but the sale ended late Sunday night. I was going to go to Best Buy and price match, but it ended before the Target sale--which was sold out at my store. The Pro was then $380 on Amazon yesterday while I was at work, but off-sale by the time I was off work (though I wouldn't have gotten it for $380 anyway).



Yes, it does. Like the H8C, though, it doesn't have the full specs (Wide Color Gamut, high-nit brightness) to fully utilize it, but it is functionally there.

H8C: http://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/hisense/h8c

KU6300: http://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/samsung/ku6300

Nice, wish I had more time at work to look at these deals. I'd prefer to buy something before black Friday just to not deal with the traffic here and the headache.

 

[Lil Frier]

Nice, wish I had more time at work to look at these deals. I'd prefer to buy something before black Friday just to not deal with the traffic here and the headache.

This is what I went with: http://www.target.com/p/samsung-55-class-2160p-4k-smart-uhd-tv-black-un55ku6300fxza/-/A-17220013

Not sure if Target's Wish List coupon will work on TVs or not, but if so, you could get exactly what I did--that TV for $500--because of that Sunday deal.

 

[sze5003]

This is what I went with: http://www.target.com/p/samsung-55-class-2160p-4k-smart-uhd-tv-black-un55ku6300fxza/-/A-17220013

Not sure if Target's Wish List coupon will work on TVs or not, but if so, you could get exactly what I did--that TV for $500--because of that Sunday deal.

Best buy has a curved version of this one for $100 more or so. I didn't see HDR listed as part of the specs for this one in target. I think I'll still be able to find one with hdr for a similar price even after Friday.

 

[kn51]

Where'd you get the PS4 and TV? Just curious, because I went to Target with the 10% off coupon for my TV. I got the KU6300, which was on-sale for $550, for $500 after the 10% off and Target Redcard discount. Since it'll just be a gaming TV for me, really, the low input lag of the Samsung drew me in, even though I'm not their biggest fan.

Best Buy had it for $500 and was in stock. As for the PS4, Meijer had a 10% general merchandise thing over the weekend (and also basically gave me another $7 off my next shopping trip. mPerks is great if you have a Meijer nearby).

If it weren't for the fact I was facing a bulb replacement and had a couple gift cards along with that 10% off coupon I wouldn't have pulled the gun. I definitely don't regret the purchase.

Does anyone know if the Pro streams HDR with Netflix and Youtube?

 

[Lil Frier]

Best buy has a curved version of this one for $100 more or so. I didn't see HDR listed as part of the specs for this one in target. I think I'll still be able to find one with hdr for a similar price even after Friday.

Yeah, it's an extra $100 at BB to go from the flat screen to the curved, but the flat screen is also $50 cheaper at Target. And, again, if you can get the Wish List coupon to work, it's $500 at Target for the flat, vs. $700 for the curved at BB. That's the only reason I mention it. Neither the 6300 nor the 6500 truly supports HDR, that's probably what Best Buy is getting at, but Rtings reported that both can take an HDR10 input and give it a bit of improvement, but doesn't get bright enough or offer Wide Color Gamut to fully utilize HDR. The 6500 is really just a curved 6300, so unless you really like curved screens (like my dad), there's going to be little, if anything different between the two.

Best Buy had it for $500 and was in stock. As for the PS4, Meijer had a 10% general merchandise thing over the weekend (and also basically gave me another $7 off my next shopping trip. mPerks is great if you have a Meijer nearby).

If it weren't for the fact I was facing a bulb replacement and had a couple gift cards along with that 10% off coupon I wouldn't have pulled the gun. I definitely don't regret the purchase.

Does anyone know if the Pro streams HDR with Netflix and Youtube?

Damn, wish I knew that with Meijer, I'm really close to one (it's about 2 minutes from Target). Could have been my backup when Target failed.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Let us know how the 6300 does with the PS4 getting hdr if you decide to go that route. I know some members on AVS had problems with the Vizio M not getting HDR because of the lack of bt.2020 color support(wide color gamut) and vizio is working on a firmware update to hopefully fix that. I am curious if the Samsung has the same problem.

 

[sze5003]

I'm going to try to go for a model that has full HDR support. The 6300 would be something I would buy if I can't get a real HDR model. I haven't had much time to browse through certain deals but tomorrow there are less people in the office so I'll do some browsing.

Im leaning more towards best buy since I have their credit card and I'd like to use the credit as I rarely use the card anyway and besides I also just moved and got all new furniture so it would make all the payments easier.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Best Buy has the 55" KS8000 for $997 which is about $400 off. That's a full hdr10 tv (about 95% dci.p3 color space)with excellent input lag results in hdr, about 21ms. That's faster than my tv is at 1080p and is the lowest hdr input lag available currently. You don't have to wait for Black Friday either, that's the current price.