One of the unanswered questions after the PlayStation 4 announcement was if 4K would be supported. Sony mentioned nothing about it at the press event but has now confirmed that PS4 will indeed support 4K for video – but not in games.
PlayStation 4 to support 4K video
Sony will release its new 65 and 55” Ultra HD TVs this summer and PlayStation 4 will help kickstart the 4K revolution. 4K / Ultra HD has for times the pixels compared to Full HD.
Sony will introduce its 55 and 65” Ultra HD TVs this summer. Combined with the PlayStation 4 you can enjoy movies in fantastic 4K resolution
Sony has now confirmed that PlayStation 4 will support 4K for still images and video, but how Sony plans on distributing the format is yet unclear. Blu-ray does not support 4K resolution (but they are working on it) so we are most likely talking about internet distribution via either download or streaming.
Sony did not say if they will have support for higher frame rates (HFR) such as the format used in the Hobbit and the coming Avatar movies. And nothing was mentioned about 3D 4K video support either.
PlayStation 4 will not support 4K gaming, Sony says. It is probably a combination of too weak hardware and the fact that games are outputted in higher frame rates than movies. If the latter proves true HFR for movies could be in jeopardy, too.
- "The official answer is that the PS4 supports 4K output but for personal contents, like photos or videos. Not games. PS4 games do not work on 4K." says Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Worldwide Studios, to Polygon.
Learn more about the PlayStation 4 in our big feature.
So, it appears that the PlayStation 4 will be one of the first 4K movie players, just like the PlayStation 3 was one of the first Blu-ray players. Is that alone enough to make you invest in a PS4?
- Source: Polygon
PlayStation 4 to support 4K video but not 4K gaming
