Samsung's high-end 2020 LCD TVs are currently unable to play 4K120 with HDR from PlayStation 5 over HDMI 2.1, according to owners and a report by Forbes.
Affects Samsung 4K & 8K TVs
PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are the first consoles with HDMI 2.1 and it has not exactly been smooth sailing. The latest reported issue is related to PS5 connected to Samsung's high-end 2020 TVs, which are also the company's first TVs with HDMI 2.1.
- "... neither Samsung’s premium 2020 4K TVs - the Q70T, Q80T, Q85T, Q90T or Q95T - nor the brand’s Q900R and Q950T 8K TVs, appear to be able to live up to their promise of playing 4K resolution at 120Hz frame rates from a PS5 while also delivering HDR. Even though the same TVs CAN, as expected, play 4K 120Hz HDR from the Xbox Series X," reports Forbes.
It effectively means that owners of PS5 and a 2020 Samsung TV are forced to play in either 4K60 with HDR or 4K120 with SDR, even though 4K120 with HDR should be supported. PS5's 4K120 HDR output works correctly with other HDMI 2.1-enabled TVs, including LG's TVs. Samsung's TVs also work correctly with 4K120+HDR from Xbox Series X.
PS5 supports 4K120 + HDR but it is not currently working on Samsung TVs
The issue is being discussed on various forums including the Samsung's community board. It is unclear what the cause of the issue is but it appears to be a bug related to HDMI 2.1 – either on the console or in the TVs.
Also read: First HDMI 2.1 receivers reportedly have faulty HDMI 2.1 chip
To engage 120fps output on PlayStation 5 you must select the game's 'performance mode'. Only a handful of games support 120fps output at this time. An in-depth evaluation can be found in FlatpanelsHD's PlayStation 5 review.
Neither Samsung nor Sony PlayStation have commented on the issue.
- Source: Forbes, Samsung Community (2)
