PlayStation 4 (codename Orbis) technical hardware investigation (news and rumours)

[3dilettante]

I don't think anyone here is clamouring for an off setting for any other reason than 'LED off = longer battery life'.

Glare off some screens can be kind of annoying, particularly in lower light where the level of brightness doesn't need to be as high anyway.

 

[Lalaland]

Glare off some screens can be kind of annoying, particularly in lower light where the level of brightness doesn't need to be as high anyway.

True I was lucky to get a matte finish screen before the tv industry went off the deep end with clear coatings so even in low light I have no issues with this. In a small dorm room with a shiny coating I can see it being a problem, for me though it's all about the battery life. With my launch DS3 I could get a week on one charge with a few hours gaming an evening, the DS4 barely manages 2 nights turning off the light can only improve this.

 

[JPT]

Do we know that its actually possible to do by software?
The company I used to work for released a device that had a pulsating blue light as "key" feature to show that it was working. All end users wanted to turn it off, but we couldn't since it was not designed to do so. Ie they had to come out with a new version where the hardware was revisioned to support turning it off by software.

 

[3dilettante]

The light bars can change color, which means activating and deactivating different LEDs.
Turning it off would be taking things one LED further.

 

[Lalaland]

OK I found that NeoGAF thread again, in his testing he saw the current draw rise from 0.03A - 0.04A with LEDs disabled and 0.08A with them enabled. In his testing the DS4 w/light lasted 13-15 hours (2 hours between last check) and the one without 26-36 hours (went to bed and died during the night). They appear to be white programmable LEDs in the array so I want to see what happens if I send them #000000

 

[morphinapg]

The light bar isn't only for the camera. First and foremost, it is an indicator that tells you whether the controller is on or charging, and which player is assigned to the controller. Secondly, it can, and is, used as visual feedback for the games. I think disabling it entirely is a very bad move. I think the best option would be to add an optional setting to dim the light by 50-75% if no camera is in use.

 

[morphinapg]

OK I found that NeoGAF thread again, in his testing he saw the current draw rise from 0.03A - 0.04A with LEDs disabled and 0.08A with them enabled. In his testing the DS4 w/light lasted 13-15 hours (2 hours between last check) and the one without 26-36 hours (went to bed and died during the night). They appear to be white programmable LEDs in the array so I want to see what happens if I send them #000000

Yes the LEDs can be set programmatically, as they are done by many games. One custom made PC driver for the DS4 called DS4tool actually allows the user to test out this function themselves by setting RGB values for the LEDs. If you set them all to 0 the LEDs do turn off. So developers could actually add this feature into their games even if Sony never did.

 

[djskribbles]

The light bar isn't only for the camera. First and foremost, it is an indicator that tells you whether the controller is on or charging, and which player is assigned to the controller. Secondly, it can, and is, used as visual feedback for the games. I think disabling it entirely is a very bad move. I think the best option would be to add an optional setting to dim the light by 50-75% if no camera is in use.

Agreed. I like the LED and the little things devs do with it (ie mimicking a torch light flame in Tomb Raider, or changing green for night vision in Outlast). I just think it's a bit too bright for those purposes. I think they should give the option to dim it for games that the camera doesn't need to track the controller (ie most games).

 

[Grall]

The light bar isn't only for the camera.

I think we can conclusively state that pretty much the only legitimate use of the lightbar is for the camera.

First and foremost, it is an indicator that tells you whether the controller is on or charging

No. First and foremost, the lightbar is intended for the camera. Any other, indirect uses are contrived in retrospect to justify having the lightbar active all the time because it looks cool.

The lightbar isn't directly visible to the player, so using it as a power indicator, player designator et cetera is just stupid. The DS3 did not have a charging light - didn't really need it, did you, and using the whole of the lightbar as a charging indicator slows down charging due to the high power draw of the LEDs. I also think you can play multiplayer games just fine without the lightbar also TBH, again since the lightbar isn't directly visible to players.

Secondly, it can, and is, used as visual feedback for the games.

It's shitty for that purpose, since you can't actually SEE it. Relying on a reflection in the TV screen is just dumb, and depending on where you sit you may not even be able to see any reflection.

I think disabling it entirely is a very bad move.

I think disabling it entirely would be a most excellent move. It's simply redundant whenever the camera isn't doing motion tracking.

 

[JPT]

@yosp tweeted on the 14th of january that it would not be disabled in fw update and he claimed that it did not use a lot of battery.

From the earlier linked thread with modding/discussion from another site.

 

[Lefungus]

I don't know about other people, but I only see the light bar when it's reflected on the tv panel. I can affirm it doesn't help immersion ^^
It's very annoying for some people, hence the need to have an option so both parties can be pleased.

 

[novcze]

OK I found that NeoGAF thread again, in his testing he saw the current draw rise from 0.03A - 0.04A with LEDs disabled and 0.08A with them enabled.

It is double or more with LED enabled. Not acceptable.
I looked at teardown of the DS4 and it looks like board with LED array is accessible right after you remove backside (4 screws). My plan is to check what wires goes into LED array (probably 3 if it is RGB LED) and isolate them on the ribbon cable ... well I don't really need to check, it is visible on this photo quite clearly.

 

[Lalaland]

It is double or more with LED enabled. Not acceptable.
I looked at teardown of the DS4 and it looks like board with LED array is accessible right after you remove backside (4 screws). My plan is to check what wires goes into LED array (probably 3 if it is RGB LED) and isolate them on the ribbon cable ... well I don't really need to check, it is visible on this photo quite clearly.

Pin 14 is power on that cable according to the NeoGAF poster

 

[Deleted member 13524]

The lightbar is also used to identify the gamepad to the player.

But geez people aren't you getting a bit too extreme? The light is turned towards the screen, not the player so why is it such a bother? And even if it is, you can use that excellent and fast method that doesn't void warranty or risk the gamepad's functionality which is to cover it with duct tape.

But cracking the gamepad open to cut away the LED connections? What an overkill..

 

[McHuj]

As soon as Sony decided not to bundle the camera, they should have made the light optional. If the camera is plugged in, the light turns on by default.

Personally, I don't see the light unless it's bouncing off the screen or the bezel. And that's annoying enough.

 

[Lalaland]

The lightbar is also used to identify the gamepad to the player.

But geez people aren't you getting a bit too extreme? The light is turned towards the screen, not the player so why is it such a bother? And even if it is, you can use that excellent and fast method that doesn't void warranty or risk the gamepad's functionality which is to cover it with duct tape.

But cracking the gamepad open to cut away the LED connections? What an overkill..

Does duct tape improve battery life?

All of the other 'uses' for the ridiculously bright LED array are incidental to it highlighting the player for the camera. It wouldn't be that hard to pulse a colour on the pressing of the PS button for the same purpose, for example, without draining the battery to no useful end.

 

[Deleted member 13524]

Does duct tape improve battery life?

All of the other 'uses' for the ridiculously bright LED array are incidental to it highlighting the player for the camera. It wouldn't be that hard to pulse a colour on the pressing of the PS button for the same purpose, for example, without draining the battery to no useful end.

You think that LED has a substantial impact on battery life?
It doesn't... it shouldn't take any more than ~10% of the whole charge, so why bother?

 

[novcze]

You think that LED has a substantial impact on battery life?
It doesn't... it shouldn't take any more than ~10% of the whole charge, so why bother?

Yes it has, if the power draw from baterry is 40 mA without LED and 80 mA with LED it is twice as much ...

 

[MrSpiggott]

You think that LED has a substantial impact on battery life?
It doesn't... it shouldn't take any more than ~10% of the whole charge, so why bother?

How are you coming up with that 10% number?

The least they should do is turn the light off when you're watching a blu-Ray. The pads not being used for input for a couple of hours and yet it's burning it's way through the battery.

 

[Lalaland]

Well as in prior linked investigations it is drawing as much power again as the entire pad (0.03A-0.04A for the pad and 0.08A for both pad and LED array) and less than scientific testing suggests the pad lasts at least 80% longer with the LEDs disabled. I'm not going to void my warranty to achieve that longer battery life and there is no practical reason to deny me the option to disable them.

They don't need to be permanently on for any of the reasons cited by Sony take my simple stabs at fixing the issues they raise

Identifying users: Set up the 'disable light' option to only work when one pad is connected, if another is connected the light is enabled on both pads or just on Pad 2 and up.

Indicate power on/off: Pulse the light at a slow rate or at least dim the thing. Personally I'd prefer if they just forced the user to enable power saving on the active pad and allow the user to decide if a big glow light is all that necessary. I understand if someone has multiple pads that this is handy but why force it for every user?

Indicate Charging: Enable the light when charging, the system knows when the pad is plugged in so just have the colour go from 'off' to 'amber', it's plugged in so it being on doesn't impede charging anyway.