PS5’s HDMI 2.1 Bandwidth Seems to Be Capped at 32 Gbps, Meaning No 4:4:4 HDR at 4K/120 Hz

[Tsing]

Image: Sony



HDTVTest’s Vincent Teoh has shared a video that suggests the PlayStation 5’s HDMI 2.1 chipset is limited to 32 Gbps. That could be a problem for PS5 gamers who wish to play games in 4K/120 Hz at the highest possible quality, as a greater bandwidth is required for HDR/10-bit color output and 4:4:4 (uncompressed) chroma at that resolution and refresh rate.



Teoh used an LG CX OLED, Denon HDMI 2.1 receiver, and Capcom’s Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition for the test, which includes 4K and 120 FPS support. Sadly, the PS5 was only able to output a compressed 4:2:2 image with chroma subsampling instead of 4:4:4.



It isn’t clear whether Sony will be able to address this problem through a software patch. The PS5 leverages Panasonic Semiconductor Solutions...

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[GunShot]

Wow! Nice find from HDTVTest’s Vincent Teoh.

How did Eurogamer miss(?) this PS5 flaw?

 

[Grimlakin]

Considering I've used my ps4 as a glorified blue ray player.. I'm fully meh over this.

 

[Peter_Brosdahl]

Somewhat par for the course when it comes to consoles. I am a little surprised though. I would've thought that this being Sony's 2nd aim at 4K gaming they would've set sights closer to the bullseye instead of off to the side again. Seems like MS is going for the truer 4K console experience this time around. I've got a feeling Sony is waiting for a refresh model to pull out all the stops.

 

[Burticus]

Games decide the winner, not specs

 

[GunShot]

Apparently not. It's the devs favorite (who paid them the most) platform to code to that decides the ultimate winner as we have learned from shady D5, Godfall, AC: Valhalla, etc.

 

[Stoly]

For the vast majority of buyers, that won't be an issue.

The PS5 is not powerfull enough to drives games that can take advantage of 4K 120hz anyway.

 

[Brian_B]

devs favorite (who paid them the most) platform

Devs ultimately follow the numbers. Sure, you can buy them off for an exlusive or two every now and then, but that's an expensive proposition that isn't sustainable.

Player numbers and their willingness to spend, though - that's the metric they will follow.

 

[Ready4Droid]

For the vast majority of buyers, that won't be an issue.

The PS5 is not powerfull enough to drives games that can take advantage of 4K 120hz anyway.

This is what I was going to say... the PS5 can't even run AAA games at 4k 60hz... what exactly are you missing by not having a 120hz bandwidth? If you want to run 120hz you most likely have to turn down resolution anyways. Maybe there will be some really low poly/low detail game that can actually hit this, but is that really something that needs it? I mean, it'd be cool if it was included, but I don't really see this affecting many people; if anyone.

 

[DrezKill]

Oh great, just what the world of video cables and ports needed, USB3.x-style bullsh1t. Sony shouldn't be allowed to say it's an HDMI 2.1 port if it can't deliver the full 48Gbps. The XBSX's HDMI port only does 40Gbps? That doesn't seem like full spec either. Am I missing something here? Maybe full bandwidth is only available with HDMI 2.1c Gen 3?

 

[Armenius]

Considering I've used my ps4 as a glorified blue ray player.. I'm fully meh over this.

All Blu-ray video including UHD are compressed to 4:2:0 chroma output, anyway.

Oh great, just what the world of video cables and ports needed, USB3.x-style bullsh1t. Sony shouldn't be allowed to say it's an HDMI 2.1 port if it can't deliver the full 48Gbps. The XBSX's HDMI port only does 40Gbps? That doesn't seem like full spec either. Am I missing something here? Maybe full bandwidth is only available with HDMI 2.1c Gen 3?

The HDMI 2.1 specification states that the maximum data rate is 42.6̅ Gbps. Doesn't mean that manufacturers are required to use it all. That is why even when HDMI 2.0 came out you had to specifically look for 4k/60Hz support on your display and output device even if the specifications stated the inclusion of at least one HDMI 2.0 port.