PS4 Pro's new super-sampling tested: big boosts for 1080p users

Eurogamer: With the arrival of the upcoming firmware 5.5, Sony has introduced a new option - system-level super-sampling. It addresses a key frustration for PS4 Pro users hooked up to 1080p screens: the lack of access to high resolution support on a range of games.

[affrogamer]

GREAT!

[Aceman18]

I know I wasn't frustrated as I Pro owner this wasn't there at first I still played my games, it is a games console after all lol.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Could you rephrase that?

[Aceman18]

@kwiet

What's there to rephrase? Obviously some ppl here knew exactly what I was getting at lol.

[starchild]

I seriously don't understand what you're trying to say. Aside from the mistakes I just don't understand what point you were trying to make. That we shouldn't care about graphics on consoles?

[ragnalamb]

@kwiet @starchild
Simple to you:
Me buy ps4 pro no enhaced games.
Sony no patch games, still fun.
Sony patch games, same, still fun.

Fun important to gaming.

[Aceman18]

@two geniuses below, not say

It means I have fun gaming whether the graphics are 720, 1080, 1440, or 4k. Graphics aren't everything, what makes a game great is its great gameplay

Can't believe I had to explain this 😒😩

[SuperSonic91]

Super Sampling Greatness Arrives! Thanks a kot Sony for not leaving me base PS4 behind

[Homunculus]

I disagree with DF/EGs article, having the option turn on and off supersampling how you like is better than Microsofts aprouch with the XBox One X, where 4K resolution is running all the time for 1080p users. Many games run better in 1080p on the Pro, and they could run also better on XBox One X if they would offer you the option.
The beta of MGS Survive is one example where the Xbox One X couldnt hit 60fps even on a 1080p TV as it tries to run the game in a higher resolution all the time, on the PS4 Pro tough its a rock solid 60fps as it is running in 1080p on a standard HDTV.

[jaymacx]

That’s why either way (mid gen consoles Pro or X) we need better hardware to take advantage of 4k/HDR. Hopefully next gen will give us more stable performance. I do agree however that having a choice to turn options on or off to improve performance is the better way.

[ClanPsi1]

I've always said this mid-generation upgrade is a waste of time and money. I don't understand why fanboys keep arguing over which is better, PS4 Pro or XBX, because they're both f*cking pointless.

[The_KELRaTH]

More PC like every day :)

[fathertime4464]

Wow you really are just a fan boy aren't you?! If you have a 1080p and don't plan on using super sampling than what's the point of the pro?

[Goldby]

Enhanced graphics, performance mode close to or at 60fps

[Teflon02]

Just Nier automata alone is a reason for me. Better framerate and added things like AA and so on. In some games the addons without res is fantastic. But I'd like the option bout to upgrade to 4k so it's nice to choose for now

[Bahamut]

@Goldby

He probably thinks resolution = graphics, but doesn't realize there are things like shaders, shadows, draw distance, anti-aliasing, etc. Some think 4k = good graphics, but you can run pong in 4k, it'll still be pong. Crystal clear pong.

[fathertime4464]

@goodbye
Obvios that your not to sharp, I said if you going to shut off boost mode.. It's obvious your talking about when it's on. It's ok I know fanboyatosis runs rampant here

[Goldby]

@fathertime

Except you never mentioned boost mode. Just spoke about turning off supersampling

[343_Guilty_Spark]

You make it sound as running 1080p 60 is a limitation of the X.

Konami simply didn’t include the mode.

[letsa_go]

Nice to see you have time for damage control. Maybe you should use that time to play games!

[343_Guilty_Spark]

The hell am I damage controlling? The X is more powerful than the Pro in every regard. The 1080/60 mode wasn’t included.

[G20WLY]

You should whine about it incessantly... That's bound to help.. 🤔

[deadfrag]

Games on Xbox one X at 1080p have supersample but have to be optimize by the developers because the supersample on the Xbox One X its build in the systems configuration,its not an option like on the PS4 pro.What this means is that on the PS4 pro when you turn supersample at 1080p you could run with problems like lower framerates... ,and on the Xbox One X you will never have problems with the framerates at 1080p supersample because developers have to optimize the games for 1080p with supersample since the feature is always active on the system developers can not turn off supersample on the Xbox One X they have to develop games with supersample in mind from the beginning and optimize them the best they can..So its obvious that the Xbox One X implementation is better since i know from the start that all games that run 1080p supersample on the Xbox One X are optimize by developers to run at better framerates and still look the better they can look.With the way the supersample is implemented on the Xbox One X what we can hope is that developers when developing for the PS4 pro will also implement supersample at 1080p the best the can by optimizing and not go the lazy way and hope that people will use the supersample option on the PS4 pro to do the work but possible getting worst performance.

[Teflon02]

Not actually correct. Supersampling has almost no draw on power or resources through these 2 consoles. What was referrenced by Sony is simple as the Last of Us 2 situation or what I believe was the situation for games like WipEout omega. When pro users where playing enhanced games. Because it wasn't forced, dev's would pick and choose what they prefer. Some games like the last guardian didn't give you the choice. Basically it was if you're in 1080p you get better framerate, if you're on 4k you get better res. 1080p had no choice. But now if you turn on super sampling, you now get the 4k framerate which may not or will not be the same as the pro cleaning up a framerate at 1080p. So now you have frame drops you're not usually having because your system is playing the version that had frame drops. WipEout, doesn't have drop issues but from my experience I seen that WipEout omega forced 1800p with motion blurr for me instead of 4k on 1080p. Now you can choose even though you might as well keep that option since it's super sampled anyways. Last of us had frame drops on 60fps and 4k modes on pro at first and at 1080p they forced you to play 1080p so you didn't have to experience the frame drops at all. They added the option to choose now but if that update didn't come recently. This would let you choose supersampling with those same frame drops from before and whatever the situation is now. Or 1080p locked framerates.

[littletad]

What the heck are you on about? The xbox x doesn't try to run the game at a higher resolution on it's own. That's not how it works.

[deadfrag]

All games on the Xbox One X supersample at 1080p because the system was build from the ground to do that.Its not an option.Yes the xbox X dont run games at a higher resolution on its own,games are coded to run at the resolution developers want them to run but the machine can run all games at resolution higher than 1080p and then supersample.

[rainslacker]

Isn't the option up to the developer though? I know it's usually game dependent on the PS4P which improvement you use, at least when it's offered like this. This seems like it's more for where the option isn't given.

[starchild]

Having the choice is definitely better.

[GamesMaster1982]

Nice guess i might not have to upgrade my TV to a 4K for a while now, More money towards games. I think 1080p looks good enough for me anywhere so i have no need really of a 4K TV, and now with this even less need.

[ocelot07]

4K is nice and all. But I personally don't think it's a big a leap from 1080p in terms of wow factor. Certainly not like jumping from 480p to 1080p.

[fathertime4464]

Very true, however 4k with hdr is truly amazing

[Nyxus]

@ Woolly: nice try, but you do know many Xbox One X titles are upscaled too? It's why Microsoft invented the term 'true 4K', which does not mean native 4K mind you.

[ocelot07]

Actually @Woolly_ you are somewhat correct. Yes I do play on a PS4 Pro. But I mostly game on PC using a GTX 1080ti. Playing games such as Battlefield 1, Dark Souls 3, PUBG in 4K solid 60FPS is very nice indeed. But if their is ever a game that is struggling to keep a solid 60FPS. Then I have no issue what so ever dropping down to 1800p, 1440p or even 1080p.

@Eidolon Am not sure if that comment is directed at me. If it was I have an LG B7 OLED with HDR premium (over 1000nit peak brightness). I still stand by my comment. There is a difference between 4K and 1080p I 100% agree. But it's not that big a difference where I simply refuse to revert back to 1080p.

HDR on the other hand. That has impressed me the most over the last few years. HDR is amazing and I wish every game would support it. If every game supported it I would never turn it off. It's something every PS4 owner can enjoy providing there TV supports HDR.

[thrust]

PS4 Pro is more suited for 1080p than it is for 4k!!!!

It runs games closer to 1080p than it does to 4k 🤭

[Razzer]

The real leap is to Sony first party on Pro. Nothing else on consoles compare.

[rainslacker]

High quality 4K content does have quite a noticeable difference from 1080. Neither of the systems provides really high quality 4K. The resolution can be there, but there are other things which actually make up picture quality which are much more noticeable, which is why a 1080 image can look better than 4K images. In many cases, a 1080 high quality image upscaled to 4K can look better than a 4K image which has lesser image quality.

Granted, these improvements are not the substantial jump like we saw from 480 to 1080, but it can be impressive with a great source. Some of the UHD's out there really show off what UHD can be....like Wonder Woman and Spider-Man Homecoming are excellent transfers with amazing audio quality. You won't see that kind of improvement from games on the mid-gens yet though.

HDR is quite impressive though when used well. Takes away the biggest problem with games, which can be where objects kind of blend together due to having similar colors....typically in the blacks.

[Eidolon]

You would see more of a difference from upgrading to a newer set with better capabilities, like higher contrast and color, local dimming, etc. 4K isn't a huge difference after that, you'll notice but it isn't like you can't go back, add HDR and by itself same thing. Together even better. All 3(with upgraded capabilities). I think that's what people are comparing to their old sets, not just the 4K, if they say they can't go back.

[GamingSinceForever]

The 4k isn’t that dramatic of a leap, however HDR is incredible.

[hadowajp]

This really depends on screen size and viewing distance. My pc "only" has a 34" screen but I sit maybe 2 ft from it at most, in this scenario 4k to 1080 is a large difference. But if you have a 50 in set that you sit 6+ft away from 4k means nothing but hdr would still have an effect.

[starchild]

That's somewhat true of movies and video (depending on screen size and seating distance), but videogames are rendered in real time and suffer from visual artifacts (such as aliasing) that are reduced or eliminated with higher resolutions.

[chiefJohn117]

Depends on tv size. I'm on a TV 50+ 4k is a bigger jump from 1080p than 720p to 1080p but smaller jump than 540p to 1080p

[chris235]

that‘s a typical reaction of someone who is not even looking at what 4k can do to improve the experience.

[MH63043]

Yet the X1X is still better according to the same article..smh

[elveter2018]

It's strange to read comments from people who do not have both PS4 pro and Xbox one X and mostly a 4K TV arguing which is better in terms of 4K, I own the 2 consoles and a 4K TV and the games are still noticeably better on PS4 pro over the X. Deal with it.

[cellfluid]

Sony has been Doin great this Gen by listening to its supporters

[B1uBurneR]

Ps4 pro finally living up to its full potential which is a better 1080p system.

[MasterCornholio]

I was thinking about getting a Pro with a 1080P monitor so this is good news for me.

It's going to be great playing GoW using supersampling.

[ion666]

just got one yesterday. What perfect timing!

[OpenGL]

Glad that they did this but I'm still satisfied with my launch PS4. I just use it for exclusives and Sony's first party games already do a good job of taking advantage of the launch hardware.

[Venoxn4g]

Will this mode improve PSVR? I really hope so ( even now it looks good..but any extra is welcome) :)

[Lokii]

The world's greatest console just got better

[Donnie81]

1080p ewwwwww!

[nitus10]

Well, we have 8K (4320p) with HDR available now which makes 4K (2160p) ewwwwww! 😎

Of course, you can always enjoy the household fight (compromise) over who gets to use/watch the 4K TV and for how long. Personally, I stick to a monitor, no compromises there. 😎

Still, I would rather have 1080p @ 60fps than 2160p @ 30fps for faster paced games.

[Skankinruby]

Make another limited edition pro! God of war or spiderman could be awesome ones

[hiawa23]

Awesome news!!!

[BlaqMagiq1]

Pro keeps getting better and better.

[ReBurn]

Time to upgrade

[OffRoadKing]

Nice!

[Nu]

Big boobs for 1080p users

[Viryu]

I have PS 4 Pro and a 4k TV. To be honest, I prefer to play with lower resolution and a stable/higher framerate. FF XV and Nioh for example have these options, and playing a game smoothly gives a better overall experience.

[watchem]

Just give us 1440p as an output option!