PlayStation To Add An Important Graphic Function In New Update
Playstation is making an update which will include a new graphic function. This is a pretty big move from the company
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PlayStation just announced that their newest console, PlayStation 5, will support the variable refresh rate, a feature that was conspicuously missing since the console’s launch. The new feature is expected to arrive with an upcoming update, delivering stronger visual performance to video gaming titles played on compatible displays. This is fantastic news for the PS5 owners, who never stopped wondering why their aristocratic console has no such feature, but the commoners’ Xbox Series X console came equipped with VRR. The answer is simple — we’re dealing with the French Revolution of the gaming world.
All jokes aside, Sony never bothered to explain the absence of the variable refresh rate feature from their newest gaming hardware to its customers. However, according to Polygon, the VRR is finally making an entrance that would help PlayStation deliver even more stunning graphics and better overall performance. For those that aren’t acquainted with the term “variable refresh rate,” it refers to functionality that allows the console to synchronize its graphical output to the refresh rate of an HDMI 2.1-compatible TV or monitor.
This is a very important feature, as the lack of sync between the console’s refresh rate and that of a TV can cause several graphical issues, like tearing and visual artifacts and even flickering in lower-quality screen panels. Allowing the console to sync with the screen refresh rate will help avoid, if not eliminate, image tearing and frame pacing issues while also reducing input lag over standard Vertical Sync. Polygon’s report states that PlayStation 5 owners will be able to apply VRR even to those titles that don’t officially support it.
However, it’s more than likely for PlayStation 5 games to receive patches that would allow them to take full advantage of the VRR feature. Those games that don’t receive patches will also be able to use VRR, though at risk of incurring graphical issues. An extensive list of games that support the VRR will be released as we’re nearing the System Update that’s scheduled to deploy. When is that going to happen? Well, nobody knows yet, since the solid release date for this feature hasn’t been disclosed.
PlayStation Blog announced the feature stating that it would launch in the coming months, which could mean at any time between now, and the end of December 2022. Unfortunately, the blog also mentions a VRR update for PlayStation 5 and completely neglects PS4, which is still in active production, due to PS5 shortages. It’s worth noting that, despite marginally lower graphical capabilities, the Series X has supported VRR since launch.
For example, both consoles couldn’t maintain a constant 60fps performance on Elden Ring, which now has interesting mods, so Xbox recommended Series X gamers to lock their screen refresh rate to 60Hz, and use VRR to smooth out performance drops. PS5 already has a slight advantage in the graphics department, especially when it comes to overall frame rate, but without VRR enabled, the v-sync judder is pretty noticeable.
We just hope Sony doesn’t mess this up. The last update gave users more quality-of-life upgrades but managed to accidentally elbow their server’s connection of the counter, and shattered it for games like Elden Ring, Call of Duty: Vanguard, and GTA Online, all of which were having connection errors related to PS Plus subscriptions.
