PS5 System Software Updates - SSD Info - Atmos, Discord And Streaming

[Kvally]

PS5: VRR Update Is Reportedly Coming in December

Sony is planning to introduce VRR update not only for the PS5 in December, but for all compatible TVs that will then also receive the upgrade.

technclub.com

Sony is planning to introduce the long-awaited VRR update not only for the PS5 in December, but for all compatible TVs that will then also receive the upgrade. The President of Value Electronics is now explaining why the whole thing is taking so long to come.


PS5 VRR update coming in December 2021?
In an interview with Robert Zohn, Founder of Value Electronics, who goes apparently deeper into the matter, some changes to the CEC protocol (Consumer Electronics Control) are coming up, including the CEC-Link, Arc, and eArc. Their specifications are updated within HDMI, which Sony would like to wait and see before finally implementing VRR etc.

“I spoke a little bit on the side about the long-awaited upgrade to Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) on the x900h and x90 and x95 and all the other 2021 TVs (most recent Sony TV models with HDMI 2.1), and that’s still on target for December this year”, said Zohn. “What they are waiting for is HDMI is going to be updating some of their specs on CEC. The CEC link is going to be changing and so is ARC (Audio Return Channel) and eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel). There will be some protocol changes in the way that HDMI is configuring that and Sony engineers want to wait and see. They have one firmware update for that.”

What is ruled out is that there are also problems within the chips here, as was the case recently with the HDMI boards of some audio manufacturers, which were actually due to the hardware. That definitely is ruled out by Sony. In this respect, buyers of the previous year’s XH-9xxx models do not have to worry about it.

As is so often the case, it is a problem of a lack of communication in which one simply leaves customers in the dark as to why the promised features are not being upgraded.

I have been waiting to replace my Sony 900E TV until the VRR updates came out. Sony is late to the game on the TVs in this regard. Once the update hits in December, it's time for me to buy a new TV!

 

[DriedMangoes]

I have been waiting to replace my Sony 900E TV until the VRR updates came out. Sony is late to the game on the TVs in this regard. Once the update hits in December, it's time for me to buy a new TV!

Almost 1 year from PS5 launch but better late than never. Thankfully VRR isn't really needed yet in most of the PS5 titles out now. When next gen only games start releasing in a year or two that is probably where VRR will play a much bigger role IMO.

Lucky you. I probably wait until at least mid gen console refreshes before thinking of buying a new one. My Sony X950g still looking amazing to me.

 

[Kvally]

Almost 1 year from PS5 launch but better late than never. Thankfully VRR isn't really needed yet in most of the PS5 titles out now. When next gen only games start releasing in a year or two that is probably where VRR will play a much bigger role IMO.

Lucky you. I probably wait until at least mid gen console refreshes before thinking of buying a new one. My Sony X950g still looking amazing to me.

Your x950G should support the VRR update, shouldn't it? My 900E won't. But I wanted 120hz support and VRR support, both of which my TV doesn't do.

I still love my 900E and it looks awesome. But I want MORE

 

[DriedMangoes]

Your x950G should support the VRR update, shouldn't it? My 900E won't. But I wanted 120hz support and VRR support, both of which my TV doesn't do.

I still love my 900E and it looks awesome. But I want MORE

No VRR but supports 120hz at 1080p natively. If I waited one more year for the x950H then yes VRR. Oh well haha. It was a good price at the time.

I much prefer 4k/60 over 1080p/120 for consoles since I don't play competitively on there so the increased resolution is better in this scenario for me.

 

[BUSTERMAN]

VRR support not coming to Sony PS5 and TVs until December sucks. I've been waiting on getting a new TV in the hopes that Sony would introduce VRR support a lot sooner. After all, they've been stating it as an included feature on their TVs since late last year which was obviously false and now we have to wait until the end of this year before it comes.

I mine as well wait until the Black Friday deals come around to see if the LG C1 I've been coveting is on sale at a lower price. I'm not waiting until December though so a new Sony TV as it stands now is out of the question. A shame really because their picture quality is great.

Sony software engineers really need to get it together, they are constantly behind others in adding new features and its going to and most likely has cost them market-share.

Not all games with 60fps on console hold that target and when they don't it can be quite annoying and distracting. VRR can really help with that which is why I want it supported so badly and yet it'll come to the PS5 a year after launch.

 

[karmakid]

So they delayed the implementation on their TVs until they figured it out for the PS5? Lame I think there’s other features that are missing, I think hdr10 and something else… TeKPhaN knows

 

[Ricker]

For a second there I thought this was about PS5 VR headset ...

Its about time ,its not supported on my Sony 900E and I dont plan on buying a new set this year anyway but its nice that its coming.

 

[Viktor]

I have the 900h suckers! (I really like it so whatever their next version is should be just as good)

 

[DriedMangoes]

No doubt the list will expand as this becomes official.

The Best PS5 SSDs in 2024: Speedy NVMe storage for your console

Our tests show the best PS5 SSDs to buy

www.tomshardware.com

 

[karmakid]

I have the 900h suckers! (I really like it so whatever their next version is should be just as good)

Rollins

 

[DriedMangoes]

Very interesting results from the Verge. Almost identical load times with a slower 3.9GB/S read / 3.2 GB/s write speed SSD.

Also apparently Sony is throttling the internal SSD's write speed. Even when you're using a supposed slower SSD, it is faster to transfer games over to the expansion SSD vs the other way around.

The PS5 worked fine with the slowest compatible SSD we could find

Is Sony throttling performance?

www.theverge.com

The verdict? Surprisingly, even the slowest compatible SSD we could find had near-identical load times to the one Sony includes in the box. Sometimes it’s a second slower, sometimes a second or two faster, but basically it’s a total wash. Hopping through dimensions in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, I saw no appreciable difference with the slowest SSD.

On average, I saw write speeds of around 1,100MB/s transferring my five test games to either of my add-in M.2 drives, but just around 220MB/s sending those same games back to the PS5. Both of those are far better than the 141MB/s average transfer speeds I saw sending games to the Seagate HDD and the 97MB/s I saw beaming them back — it took over half an hour (31:24) to transfer the Final Fantasy games’ 176.5GB back to the internal SSD. But the slower internal SSD write speeds are weird, and Sony didn’t have a comment when I asked.

 

[JinCA]

Xbox owners can use what they want soon and will still just be a case of plugging it in.

You'll still need SSD's that meet a certain requirement, there's a reason you can't play native XSX games off of an external SSD other than the seagate one now and it's not just the exclusivity deal. They'll need proprietary cards made or maybe some kind of adapter but you are making it sound as if any old SSD will be able to run games and that's only true for back compat games, new games still require the newer specs. Plus plug and play at 1TB is fine and all but anything over 1TB and you'll need to start remembering which games are on what drives etc, you can hook up a 4TB SSD in the PS5 if you want to be insane and spend that kind of money and never worry about unplugging anything, you also get a 5 year warranty on most of these PS5 compatible SSD's the one for Series consoles is only 2 years.

I know the two indie games that have come out recently don't take very good advantage of the SSD speeds, elevator loading screens in the Ascent seem long now that I'm used to the quick loading of current gen games and Deaths Door isn't all that snappy either. Those are indie games though so I'm not sure how much time the devs had to optimize the game code for the SSD's but seeing characters pop in when you first get into the elevator and then having it still take over 10 seconds seems long when you consider a game like Spider-Man remastered or Miles Morales will have you fast travel all the way across the map in 2 seconds at most.

 

[JinCA]

Very interesting results from the Verge. Almost identical load times with a slower 3.9GB/S read / 3.2 GB/s write speed SSD.

Also apparently Sony is throttling the internal SSD's write speed. Even when you're using a supposed slower SSD, it is faster to transfer games over to the expansion SSD vs the other way around.

The PS5 worked fine with the slowest compatible SSD we could find

Is Sony throttling performance?

www.theverge.com

The verdict? Surprisingly, even the slowest compatible SSD we could find had near-identical load times to the one Sony includes in the box. Sometimes it’s a second slower, sometimes a second or two faster, but basically it’s a total wash. Hopping through dimensions in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, I saw no appreciable difference with the slowest SSD.

On average, I saw write speeds of around 1,100MB/s transferring my five test games to either of my add-in M.2 drives, but just around 220MB/s sending those same games back to the PS5. Both of those are far better than the 141MB/s average transfer speeds I saw sending games to the Seagate HDD and the 97MB/s I saw beaming them back — it took over half an hour (31:24) to transfer the Final Fantasy games’ 176.5GB back to the internal SSD. But the slower internal SSD write speeds are weird, and Sony didn’t have a comment when I asked.

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I wouldn't buy any of these slower drives until we see how they work with games that are designed around the speeds that PS5 games will be down the road. Loading times are one thing, if they need these high speeds for streaming assets that could cause a big problem and none of these people testing them have access to games like that yet. R&C may be the closest thing but even that isn't taking full advantage of the PS5 ssd.

Also that article mentions having to go through the whole logo screen etc sometimes, that's pretty much only after a game update or some other kind of update, usually once the game has gone through that once you don't have to see it again.

 

[Viktor]

I didn't think I'd need to add a drive as I'm fine working with the 800GB or so free space, but if the extra drives end up faster and it makes sense to add one, I may end up doing so.

 

[DriedMangoes]

I wouldn't buy any of these slower drives until we see how they work with games that are designed around the speeds that PS5 games will be down the road. Loading times are one thing, if they need these high speeds for streaming assets that could cause a big problem and none of these people testing them have access to games like that yet. R&C may be the closest thing but even that isn't taking full advantage of the PS5 ssd.

Also that article mentions having to go through the whole logo screen etc sometimes, that's pretty much only after a game update or some other kind of update, usually once the game has gone through that once you don't have to see it again.

Yeah, no I definitely don't recommend going for slower than recommended specs if you're expanding but nonetheless interesting results.

Insomniac did say they are not close to maxing out the SSD and I/O's potential so maybe that's why no discernible difference really.

 

[DriedMangoes]

I didn't think I'd need to add a drive as I'm fine working with the 800GB or so free space, but if the extra drives end up faster and it makes sense to add one, I may end up doing so.

Yeah me too. I am good so far still with just deleting games I've finished playing and installing new ones. Rinse and repeat. I'm not the type that would replay a story driven game anyways.

Only ones with replayability would be multiplayer focused or a sports game like NBA 2k. Otherwise 825GB is plenty for me.

If it turns out future titles would take advantage of these faster spec SSD's then I would maybe upgrade if I find a good deal on a 1TB. Hopefully that means prices will have go down significantly then.

 

[The Wolf King]

You'll still need SSD's that meet a certain requirement, there's a reason you can't play native XSX games off of an external SSD other than the seagate one now and it's not just the exclusivity deal. They'll need proprietary cards made or maybe some kind of adapter but you are making it sound as if any old SSD will be able to run games and that's only true for back compat games, new games still require the newer specs. Plus plug and play at 1TB is fine and all but anything over 1TB and you'll need to start remembering which games are on what drives etc, you can hook up a 4TB SSD in the PS5 if you want to be insane and spend that kind of money and never worry about unplugging anything, you also get a 5 year warranty on most of these PS5 compatible SSD's the one for Series consoles is only 2 years.

I know the two indie games that have come out recently don't take very good advantage of the SSD speeds, elevator loading screens in the Ascent seem long now that I'm used to the quick loading of current gen games and Deaths Door isn't all that snappy either. Those are indie games though so I'm not sure how much time the devs had to optimize the game code for the SSD's but seeing characters pop in when you first get into the elevator and then having it still take over 10 seconds seems long when you consider a game like Spider-Man remastered or Miles Morales will have you fast travel all the way across the map in 2 seconds at most.

Well yeah no ones said it didn't have to be an SSD to get the full next gen upgrades but come November you can use which ever one you want rather than just the official one that's out now.

 

[hrudey]

Very interesting results from the Verge. Almost identical load times with a slower 3.9GB/S read / 3.2 GB/s write speed SSD.

Also apparently Sony is throttling the internal SSD's write speed. Even when you're using a supposed slower SSD, it is faster to transfer games over to the expansion SSD vs the other way around.

I don't think it's weird at all (or throttling). They're not using super-new SSD hardware technology, they're using a custom hardware controller that allows them to read more channels and that probably introduces some overhead on writes. (Please note I'm typing this from memory, I'm probably greatly oversimplifying and possibly using the wrong terms, and I'm saying that for what they're aiming for, that's a better design than a bog standard SSD since you play more often than you write to SSD so don't get it twisted).

 

[DriedMangoes]

I don't think it's weird at all (or throttling). They're not using super-new SSD hardware technology, they're using a custom hardware controller that allows them to read more channels and that probably introduces some overhead on writes. (Please note I'm typing this from memory, I'm probably greatly oversimplifying and possibly using the wrong terms, and I'm saying that for what they're aiming for, that's a better design than a bog standard SSD since you play more often than you write to SSD so don't get it twisted).

We won't know until we get further tests exactly why the write speeds are significantly slower than the expansion ones.

The read speeds are the most important anyways for games streaming data so maybe Sony did some optimizing where reading is much faster than the write speeds of the internal SSD.

Edit: By the way, Cerny in his talk said that the PS5's internal SSD has 5.5Gb raw speed and an additional 4 priority Levels in comparison to normal Nand nvme Drives that come with 2. So PS5's SSD can use 6. Just a little later Cerny stated that in order to be on par with PS5's internal SSD the Third Party SSD would need to have some additional Speeds to even out the missing 4 Priority Levels. Probably the Kraken Controllers job to synthesize 4 more priority lvls with the additional speed. Which is probably part of the reason Cerny endorsed the WD SN850 with 7gb/s read speed. Some overhead from the faster speeds.

 

[JinCA]

Well yeah no ones said it didn't have to be an SSD to get the full next gen upgrades but come November you can use which ever one you want rather than just the official one that's out now.

How exactly are you going to plug them in? they have a specific port for SSD's that Series X games can be played off of you can't just plug any SSD into that port it's proprietary. I've been looking and can't find a single place where they say any SSD can be used the same way the seagate one can. I've read that more will come but that is up to 3rd parties to make a proprietary SSD for that one product that has a special plug in. You won't get those speeds through an SSD plugged in through USB.

 

[karmakid]

You'll still need SSD's that meet a certain requirement, there's a reason you can't play native XSX games off of an external SSD other than the seagate one now and it's not just the exclusivity deal.

*pushes glasses back* you can’t play native ps5 games on an external ssd….*calls upon the spirit of zoolander to imitate his voice* does Sony have an exclusivity with itself?

 

[DriedMangoes]

Well yeah no ones said it didn't have to be an SSD to get the full next gen upgrades but come November you can use which ever one you want rather than just the official one that's out now.

Those other companies also have to be proprietary, no? So you can't just pick one out on the open market that can do at least raw 2.4gb/s read speed like the internal Xbox one. It would have to be the special proprietary version.

 

[JinCA]

Those other companies also have to be proprietary, no? So you can't just pick one out on the open market that can do at least raw 2.4gb/s read speed like the internal Xbox one. It would have to be the special proprietary version.

It would have to be made to fit the port in the Series X/S I'm sure, they didn't design their console with that in the back just for seagate so I don't think he's understanding it properly.

 

[JinCA]

Well yeah no ones said it didn't have to be an SSD to get the full next gen upgrades but come November you can use which ever one you want rather than just the official one that's out now.

This is a PS5 thread so we shouldn't be discussing this here but since you brought it up this is from the xbox.com page

• Custom NVME SSD: The foundation of the Xbox Velocity Architecture is our custom, 1TB NVME SSD, delivering 2.4 GB/s of raw I/O throughput, more than 40x the throughput of Xbox One. Traditional SSDs used in PCs often reduce performance as thermals increase or while performing drive maintenance. The custom NVME SSD in Xbox Series X is designed for consistent, sustained performance as opposed to peak performance. Developers have a guaranteed level of I/O performance at all times and they can reliably design and optimize their games removing the barriers and constraints they have to work around today. This same level of consistent, sustained performance also applies to the Seagate Expandable Storage Card ensuring you have the exact same gameplay experience regardless of where the game resides.

You won't be able to just use any SSD you are going to need SSD's made for the Series X/S console. You can already use external SSD's for BC games but anything made for the Series X needs to run at a certain spec and will need to be made to fit the consoles plug in bay.

 

[Kvally]

Those other companies also have to be proprietary, no? So you can't just pick one out on the open market that can do at least raw 2.4gb/s read speed like the internal Xbox one. It would have to be the special proprietary version.

Jesus Christ. The card inside is a standard size. The slapped a piece of plastic on it to make it consumer friendly. The vast majority of gamers aren’t looking to find more space for their console that they can move back and forth with a PC. The price will and also drops, has different manufacturers coming, more sizes, similar performance with XVA as the PS offering and in many cases is already lower in price.

Sony fan will defend Sony offering. Xbox fan will support Xbox offering.

This should be in the console war thread not here.

 

[DriedMangoes]

Jesus Christ. The card inside is a standard size. The slapped a piece of plastic on it to make it consumer friendly. The vast majority of gamers aren’t looking to find more space for their console that they can move back and forth with a PC. The price will and also drops, has different manufacturers coming, more sizes, similar performance with XVA as the PS offering and in many cases is already lower in price.

Sony fan will defend Sony offering. Xbox fan will support Xbox offering.

This should be in the console war thread not here.

So it's a repackaged SSD in a proprietary format like I said. I wasn't wrong.

Yeah I'm not sure why Wolf King brought Xbox SSD's in a PS5 SSD thread.

 

[Frozpot]

So they delayed the implementation on their TVs until they figured it out for the PS5? Lame I think there’s other features that are missing, I think hdr10 and something else… TeKPhaN knows

Hdr10 is definitely on my Sony TV. Noticed it last night. Had to switch it on. Not sure when it was added

 

[TeKPhaN]

So they delayed the implementation on their TVs until they figured it out for the PS5? Lame I think there’s other features that are missing, I think hdr10 and something else… TeKPhaN knows

all the hdr modes work since day one

 

[TeKPhaN]

I have the 900h suckers! (I really like it so whatever their next version is should be just as good)

x90j is worse overall

 

[karmakid]

PS5 September System Software Update launches globally tomorrow

Includes new UX features and customization options, 3D Audio for built-in TV speakers, and M.2 SSD storage expansion

blog.playstation.com

PS5 September System Software Update Features​

PS5 UX Enhancements​

The PS5 September Update features new UX enhancements that make it easier than ever for players to view, personalize and manage their game content and console experience:

• Control Center customization.Players can now customize their Control Center more freely by rearranging or choosing which controls to hide or unhide at the bottom of the screen.
• Enhanced Game Base. Players can now easily view and write messages to friends and Parties directly from Game Base in the Control Center.

While viewing Game Base in full screen, players can also see how many of their friends are online, busy, or offline, as well as accept, decline or cancel multiple friend requests at once.

• Game Library and Home Screen updates. If you have PS4 and PS5 versions of the same game installed, they’ll now appear separately in the “Installed” tab of the Game Library and on the Home screen. Each game’s tile now also clearly indicates its platform.
• Screen Reader controls. Players can now pause or resume Screen Reader (Press “PS + Triangle buttons”) and have it repeat anything it reads (Press “PS + R1 buttons”).

New Gaming and Social Experience Customizations​

• PlayStation Now resolution selector and connection test tool.PlayStation Now subscribers can choose between 720p or 1080p (depending on individual game) to accommodate their preferred video resolution for game streaming. A streaming connection test also helps them identify and troubleshoot any problems with their connection.
• New Accolade Type: “Leader.”Following an online match, players can award others with a fourth accolade type, “Leader,” which is visible on players’ profiles.

• Automatic capture of “personal best” videos. When players compete in challenges for a better time or a higher score and set a new personal best, a video clip of the action will automatically be recorded. Players can also share clips of their personal bests directly from the challenge card in the Control Center, or from their Media Gallery. Players have direct control over this functionality via their Captures and Broadcast settings.

• New Trophy tracker. We’ve added a new Trophy Tracker that lets players quickly access up to five trophies per game through the Control Center.

3D Audio Support for Built-In TV Speakers​

The PS5 September Update adds support for players to experience 3D audio through their built-in TV speakers. Once enabled in the Sound menu, this feature transforms standard two-channel TV speaker audio into three-dimensional sound, heightening the sense of gameplay immersion.* Players can measure the acoustics of their room using the microphone on their DualSense wireless controller to apply the 3D audio setting that’s optimized for their room.**

3D audio via compatible headsets on PS5 has been a popular feature among fans and developers. We’re thrilled to bring this feature to life for players directly through their built-in TV speakers, in addition to the headset support that’s been available since launch.


In addition, players with a Pulse 3D Wireless Headset now have access to equalizer settings within Sound Controls, allowing them to customize the sound profile according to their preference.

M.2 SSD Storage Expansion​

Starting tomorrow, PS5 players around the globe can expand their storage capacity with an M.2 SSD, a type of high-speed solid state drive that can be installed in the PS5 console or PS5 Digital Edition console.

Once installed in the PS5 or PS5 Digital Edition console, M.2 SSD storage can be used to download, copy, and launch PS5 and PS4 games, as well as media apps. You can play PS5 and PS4 games directly from M.2 SSD storage and freely move games between storage options.


Important: M.2 SSDs must meet the minimum performance and size requirements outlined on this page. Using an M.2 SSD also requires effective heat dissipation with a cooling structure (such as a heatsink) that meets the dimensional requirements. Please read the page linked above carefully before purchasing any M.2 SSD or cooling structure for use with PS5.

Here’s a look at how to install an M.2 SSD in your PS5 console:

Play Video

PS Remote Play App and PS App Enhancements​

• PS Remote Play App over mobile networks
  • With the PS Remote Playapp, players have enjoyed the ability to remotely stream and play PS4 and PS5 games, switch between games, and browse their console’s menus on any compatible device connected to their broadband network.*** Now, players using the mobile app for iOS and Android have the option of using a mobile data connection when WiFi is not available.
  • Broadband internet with at least 5Mbps is required for PS Remote Play. For the best experience, we recommend a high-speed connection with upload and download speeds of at least 15 Mbps.
  • To help manage the amount of data used through a mobile connection, players can select their preferred video quality for mobile data streaming.
  • Please note the quality and connectivity of your Remote Play experience may vary depending on your mobile carrier network and network environment.

• View Share Screen broadcasts on PS App
  • Starting next Thursday, Sept. 23, a PS App update will begin rolling out globally and give users the ability to view their friends’ Share Screen broadcasts together.
  • To start, join a party voice chat from your mobile device with a friend who’s playing on a PS5 console. Then ask your friend on PS5 to start their Share Screen broadcast. Please note, only players on PS5 can broadcast via Share Screen.
  • The Android version of the update is a phased release and may take one week until the update is available on your mobile device.

PS4 Console Enhancements​

We’re also introducing some new features for PS4, including the ability for players to view their PS5 trophies on their PS4 profile and Trophy list. Players can also view other players’ PS5 trophies on PS4. On both PS4 and PS5 consoles, Party owners now also have the ability to disband a Party without having to remove players individually.