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

[novcze]

Ok, I just disabled LED array on my DS4, I looked for easiest and reversable way to disable it.

If I go by pin numbering used on this picture, I insulated pins 13, 12, 11 right on the flat cable. I used very thin insulation tape and insulated flat cable on the other side than is showed on the picture (better access).

 

[taisui]

black electrical tape.

 

[novcze]

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.

If you open DS4 you are not losing warranty, there is no warranty sticker or anything.

 

[Lalaland]

Ok, I just disabled LED array on my DS4, I looked for easiest and reversable way to disable it.

If I go by pin numbering used on this picture, I insulated pins 13, 12, 11 right on the flat cable. I used very thin insulation tape and insulated flat cable on the other side than is showed on the picture (better access).

Nice job! I'm reluctant to pull apart my DS4 though, my 'projects' like this rarely end well

 

[Strange]

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.

One thing to note is that there are other things that drain battery life other than

1. pad
2. LED.

Yes, it appears that the pad eats up 0.04A and the LEDs also eat up 0.04A. However, this is strictly a reading with nothing done except leaving it on. When you add rumble and start to input commands forcing the controller to jack up the communications and utilize the motor, the LED power ratio will invariably go down.

In any case I don't think having ~10 hour battery life is something that makes any of us worried about battery life. Just remember to plug the controller in between sessions and it doesn't really turn into an issue.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

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

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

As mentioned, the LEDs are draining battery. That means more wear and tear on the internal battery and a quicker death of it. If replacement batteries aren't available, when the battery doers die you'll need to buy a whole replacement controller at considerable cost. So it's a reasonable choice to axe the LEDs IMO for those who are confident they'll never need the feature.

Sony should absolutely have it disableable like rumble, and just have software notify the user when it's needed.

 

[Nesh]

As mentioned, the LEDs are draining battery. That means more wear and tear on the internal battery and a quicker death of it. If replacement batteries aren't available, when the battery doers die you'll need to buy a whole replacement controller at considerable cost. So it's a reasonable choice to axe the LEDs IMO for those who are confident they'll never need the feature.

Sony should absolutely have it disableable like rumble, and just have software notify the user when it's needed.

Yoshi when was asked about the possibility of adding the option to turn it off he said that this wouldnt happen but perhaps they might add the option to dim it. Perhaps they have something in mind or want devs to use the lightbar as creatively as possible and people would experience it as a feature of differentiation rather than ignore it

 

[hesido]

Yoshi when was asked about the possibility of adding the option to turn it off he said that this wouldnt happen but perhaps they might add the option to dim it. Perhaps they have something in mind or want devs to use the lightbar as creatively as possible and people would experience it as a feature of differentiation rather than ignore it

Therefore, a game that actually uses the functionality could turn it on (on a per game basis), instead of turn it off (on a per game basis).

The lightbar would turn on momentarily when the user presses the playstation button to remind people of their player number etc.

But I agree with your reasoning that Sony's policy is to use the lightbar as a differentiator from competition so they probably won't going down that route where they allow you to turn the led off in a system wide setting.

 

[Grall]

It's a piss-poor differentiator, 99+% of the time all it does is glow and look flashy and run down the battery. Or a lot of you guys are playing with the wittle robots in the fking showroom app all the time?

...No, I didn't think so either. There aren't even any decent camera titles yet for chrissakes and that damn thing's glowing all the time? It's the pits, that's what it is.

 

[London Geezer]

It's a piss-poor differentiator, 99+% of the time all it does is glow and look flashy and run down the battery. Or a lot of you guys are playing with the wittle robots in the fking showroom app all the time?

...No, I didn't think so either. There aren't even any decent camera titles yet for chrissakes and that damn thing's glowing all the time? It's the pits, that's what it is.

Sony usually comes to their senses with these things eventually, so I'm hopeful they'll do something about it. If we can turn the little speaker off, even the rumble feature, both of which actually do have a function, then surely we should be able to turn a light off if it means we get double battery life on controllers.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Yoshi when was asked about the possibility of adding the option to turn it off he said that this wouldnt happen but perhaps they might add the option to dim it. Perhaps they have something in mind or want devs to use the lightbar as creatively as possible and people would experience it as a feature of differentiation rather than ignore it

That might be their thinking, but the lightbar doesn't actually do much. As mentioned, for user feedback it's shite, designed counter to principles of good design (you can't actually see it ). Sony need to backtrack on this and not look like stubborn chumps. Accept that idea was a bad one and give users what they want, showing they listen and respect their audience (rather than cynically burning out powerpacks twice as fast as a means to shift more controllers...).

 

[Nesh]

That might be their thinking, but the lightbar doesn't actually do much. As mentioned, for user feedback it's shite, designed counter to principles of good design (you can't actually see it ). Sony need to backtrack on this and not look like stubborn chumps. Accept that idea was a bad one and give users what they want, showing they listen and respect their audience (rather than cynically burning out powerpacks twice as fast as a means to shift more controllers...).

I get what you are saying. We will see. I suspect the camera will eventually become standard and want it to track players and controller at all times.

Just out of curiosity btw. Most people play their games on well lid rooms or with lights on. I usually play with lights off during the night. Can the controller emit enough light to spread so it can become visible? I can imagine that it could add some immersion

 

[stofcri]

If you open DS4 you are not losing warranty, there is no warranty sticker or anything.

Nope,the self tapping screws are here for that.When you begin to unscrew them ,you can feel some resistance,and then a "clac",that means you just broke the tap and then the warranty.So,SONY is able to know that you dismounted your DS4...

 

[novcze]

Nope,the self tapping screws are here for that.When you begin to unscrew them ,you can feel some resistance,and then a "clac",that means you just broke the tap and then the warranty.So,SONY is able to know that you dismounted your DS4...

I am not sure if I experienced some "clac" when unscrewing, but good to know for those who are fond of their controller warranty.

 

[novcze]

Just note about DS4. I really dislike placement of the USB connector, which is meant mainly for charging. It's placed on separate board and than signal and supply volatge goes through two connectors and flat cable. Even if they use more wires for supply voltage and ground on the flat cable, it is not good solution. And folding of the flat cable ... not nice.

 

[Lalaland]

Just note about DS4. I really dislike placement of the USB connector, which is meant mainly for charging. It's placed on separate board and than signal and supply volatge goes through two connectors and flat cable. Even if they use more wires for supply voltage and ground on the flat cable, it is not good solution. And folding of the flat cable ... not nice.

Wow that does seem....obtuse, definitely not touching the insides of my DS4 now. Pretty sure I'd wind up pressing L1 for X and X for O by the time I'd reassembled everything!

 

[Grall]

that means you just broke the tap and then the warranty.So,SONY is able to know that you dismounted your DS4...

No way. That's not any kind of reliable indicator of anything. I take lots of stuff apart (for my own amusement usually) and RARELY is there any initial screw resistance that could resemble any kind of "seal", particularly with tiny screws like in a controller. Manufacturing tolerances make this kind of 'warranty seal' completely unreliable and worthless. If you want a seal, you put on a sticker. Short of hot air guns and razor blades or things of that nature, it's the only reasonably dependable way to do it.

Even if they use more wires for supply voltage and ground on the flat cable, it is not good solution.

Whuh.

That's the most random complaint I ever heard, I think. It obviously works quite well, so who the hell cares the connector is on a separate board, or that the flat cable is folded? Flat cables are MEANT to be foldable, that's why they're designed that way.

 

[DieH@rd]

The option need only be "Disable controller light when no Playstation Camera detected".

No, it needs to be "reduce intensity of the light by 80%". That way light will be still visible, and LED would be easier on the battery.

Ok, I just disabled LED array on my DS4, I looked for easiest and reversable way to disable it.

If I go by pin numbering used on this picture, I insulated pins 13, 12, 11 right on the flat cable. I used very thin insulation tape and insulated flat cable on the other side than is showed on the picture (better access).

Can you report any changes in battery life?

 

[novcze]

Whuh.

That's the most random complaint I ever heard, I think. It obviously works quite well, so who the hell cares the connector is on a separate board, or that the flat cable is folded? Flat cables are MEANT to be foldable, that's why they're designed that way.

I didn't say that it doesn't work, they obviously had other design priorities than charging connector placed on the main board.

Flat cables can be folded and I also saw cracked ones, last time in Sony car audio
When I saw how randomly is flat cable in my DS4 folded I wasn't happy about it,

Can you report any changes in battery life?

My play time is quite random, but read this http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=723148&page=6

 

[Grall]

I didn't say that it doesn't work

Yeah, so what's the problem?

The controller works - so you complain?! WTF!

they obviously had other design priorities than charging connector placed on the main board.

Yeah, like making sure the USB charging cable doesn't hang down across the lightbar, partially obstructing it!

The main PCB doesn't fit down at the very base of the controller, due to the shape of the plastic shell. Hence, the secondary PCB.

Flat cables can be folded and I also saw cracked ones, last time in Sony car audio

...Yeah? And...? Car stereo example = anecdotal and irrelevant.

When I saw how randomly is flat cable in my DS4 folded I wasn't happy about it,

It's not "randomly" folded, and the solution works, so again, what are you complaining about?