We recently informed about further limitations of the Sony PlayStation 5. It has long been known that the device has an HDMI 2.1 port, although the console does not use all its functionalities. Currently, support is lacking primarily for Variable Refresh Rate, which significantly improves video synchronization in games. These are not some of the console’s shortcomings, because there is also a problem with transferring game saves from PS5 games to an external flash drive, no support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos in VOD applications or a temporarily blocked M.2 port, which currently prevents the expansion of the memory subsystem. It turns out that PlayStation 5 has more problems with HDMI 2.1, because the bandwidth of the connector has been noticeably lowered.

According to Vincent Teoh from HDTVTest, the Sony PlayStation 5 console does not use the full port bandwidth HDMI 2.1. Instead of 48 Gbps, as indicated by the official specification, the bandwidth is up to 32 Gbps.

Review of Sony PlayStation 5 and Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Ultimately, the HDMI 2.1 port has bandwidth 48 Gbps, which allows you to transfer content in 4K resolution at up to 120 frames per second. Higher bandwidth allows to obtain 4: 4: 4 chrominance when sending video signal in the resolution mentioned above. Vincent Teoh from the HDTVTest channel confirmed, however, that the Japanese console does not use the full potential of HDMI 2.1. This is due to a significant reduction in bandwidth, down to 32 Gbps. In this situation, the chrominance resolution is reduced to 4: 2: 2 in 120 FPS and 4K mode. However, this limitation will mainly affect games that will run in 4K mode, 120 FPS and with active HDR. In the case of Ultra HD movies with HDR quality, we should not expect image deterioration due to the fact that movies often use 4: 2: 2 or 4: 2: 0 chrominance, while productions supporting 4: 4: 4 mode run at speed 24 FPS, so the lower HDMI 2.1 bandwidth here won’t really be a problem.

Sony PlayStation 5 – interface, multimedia applications and UHD drive

Xbox Series X is better off, whose HDMI 2.1 port has maximum bandwidth 40 Gbps. Although the Microsoft console also does not use the full bandwidth, but large enough to maintain 4: 4: 4 chrominance in 4K mode 120 FPS with HDR. On this console, games can therefore look better (of course, we are talking about multiplatform titles, where you can compare the appearance with the PS5). Currently, we do not know if the bandwidth limitation in PlayStation 5 is only software and whether it is possible to unlock the full potential with a software update. This is not the only problem with PS5, as I recently discovered a problem with games running from Ultra HD Blu-ray discs. In the case of Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, the first time you insert the disc, the console obviously copies the data and downloads the rest of the necessary files and updates from the network. However, after removing the media and reinserting it into the drive … the system copies the files again and downloads the rest from the network. The process is now a loop, and works the same every time the disc is removed from the carrier and then reinserted. This problem must also be fixed in one of the next software updates.

Source: Notebookcheck, PurePC