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PS4 Revealed? Sony Event Feb. 20

post #1 of 18
2/1/13 at 6:08am
Thread Starter 
Update - The Wall Street Journal is joining the chorus calling this the PS4 launch date, while also predicting availability of the actual console in 2013. Via Engadget...
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The Wall Street Journal has added more rumors to the mix, citing its always helpful "people familiar with the matter" who claim that not only will Sony debut its next gen console at the event, but that it will be released later this year. Additionally, it claims that Sony will integrate more social features into the console this time around (Home 2.0 anyone?), as well as changes in "how users interact with the machine."

Here's what arrived in my mailbox last night. I've been tracking the PS4 rumors, and this looks like this could be the big one... February 20, 6 p.m.



The consensus is that we're looking at the date and time of the PS4 reveal...
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Holy crap. Sony has just released a video for the 2013 PlayStation Meeting, with the teaser “See the Future”. At the last PlayStation Meeting, Sony unveiled the Vita, but this one seems more geared for the PS4
http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2013/01/31/see-the-future-playstation-meeting-2013-video-screams-ps4-reveal-february-20th/

Edited by imagic - 2/1/13 at 9:21am
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post #2 of 18
2/1/13 at 10:47am
It won't have support for 4k media discs since there has been no movement on that front. That is, unless the BDA is pulling a surprise announcement of a UHD medium and using the PS4 as a launch platform like with Blu-ray and the PS3.

The PS4 might support highly compressed, downloadable H.265 UHD files of Sony movies, but that doesn't sound appealing to me (convenience over quality, just like iTunes, Netflix, etc.). That would be very close to the studios' dreams of DIVX PPV, which makes me shudder. They could even shut off access to the movies you paid for (or change their catalog lineup in the cloud)... for whatever reason without notice since the files would be proprietary. And what happens if your storage device gets full... will it act like a DVR, where you have to start deleting files?
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post #3 of 18
2/1/13 at 10:51am
Don't forget that blu-ray can be quad-layered. Maybe they will announce a quad-layer blu-ray player. I'm anxious to see what will be announced.

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Originally Posted by Dan Hitchman View Post

It won't have support for 4k media discs since there has been no movement on that front. That is, unless the BDA is pulling a surprise announcement of a UHD medium and using the PS4 as a launch platform like with Blu-ray and the PS3.

The PS4 might support highly compressed, downloadable H.265 UHD files of Sony movies, but that doesn't sound appealing to me (convenience over quality, just like iTunes, Netflix, etc.). That would be very close to the studios' dreams of DIVX PPV, which makes me shudder. They could even shut off access to the movies you paid for (or change their catalog lineup in the cloud)... for whatever reason without notice since the files would be proprietary. And what happens if your storage device gets full... will it act like a DVR, where you have to start deleting files?
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post #4 of 18
2/1/13 at 11:14am
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Originally Posted by VinnyS View Post

Don't forget that blu-ray can be quad-layered. Maybe they will announce a quad-layer blu-ray player. I'm anxious to see what will be announced.

Yes, there are 250 GB Blu-ray discs now being manufactured, but they're recordable data discs currently, not stampable blanks. And the entire BDA would have to approve them (all studios and manufacturers) and ratify a UHD standard (bitrates, video bit depth, color gamut, frame rates supported, audio formats including number of channels and resolutions... would they allow for object-oriented soundtracks like Dolby Atmos?, 3D encoding, copy protection, menu system software standard, etc. etc.).

All indicators point towards the fact they're nowhere near that stage of ratification yet... or if the studios will balk at a physical disc yet again (this time their precious movies would be in the hands of "evil, pirating-loving" consumers at almost 35mm quality). They do this every time with every upgrade in A/V technology. There may not be any movement until 2014/2015... long after the PS4 is launched.
Edited by Dan Hitchman - 2/1/13 at 1:03pm
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post #5 of 18
2/1/13 at 11:24am
Very exciting news. Looking forward to another generation of the best in gaming!
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post #6 of 18
2/3/13 at 5:51am
marked my calender.....be very interesting to see what they announce.
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post #7 of 18
2/3/13 at 6:14am
Its to early to launch PS4. No 4K player. Big disappointment. Why upgrade my PS3 confused.gif
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post #8 of 18
2/3/13 at 5:36pm
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Originally Posted by 8mile13 View Post

Its to early to launch PS4. No 4K player. Big disappointment. Why upgrade my PS3 confused.gif

Sony thinks people are suckers, especially young, impressionable gamers. Unfortunately, many are.
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post #9 of 18
2/4/13 at 1:06pm
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Originally Posted by Dan Hitchman View Post

Sony thinks people are suckers, especially young, impressionable gamers. Unfortunately, many are.

What makes people suckers? Buying consoles that play games they love to play and movies they enjoy watching on the high quality blu-ray format? If so, I'm a sucker in my 30's smile.gif

As for 4k, I really don't care if the PS3 includes it or not but I doubt it would add that much to the cost to make 4k output an option.
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post #10 of 18
2/4/13 at 1:31pm
I think Sony is only pushing out a system because they're feeling the pressure to do so. Consumers (us) seem to be pushing for next gen systems now. Microsoft seems to be in need of an upgrade right now so perhaps Sony is trying not to fall behind.

Remember, it's not about having the ultimate system with every feature imaginable. It's all about being better than the other guy.

Also, who is really the "impressionable" ones here? The people who want a more powerful, next gen system to be released at the end of this year(regardless of whether it has a 4k player)? Or the people who are upset that the PS4 may not have a 4k player at launch? (When 4k itself is considered to be gimicky by most well aware tech enthusiasts. When the media itself is barely gaining traction and the cost to even enter into the "Red-Ray" arena is greater than the vast majority of consumers are able/willing to spend.)
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post #11 of 18
2/4/13 at 6:06pm
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Originally Posted by freemeat View Post

What makes people suckers? Buying consoles that play games they love to play and movies they enjoy watching on the high quality blu-ray format? If so, I'm a sucker in my 30's smile.gif

As for 4k, I really don't care if the PS3 includes it or not but I doubt it would add that much to the cost to make 4k output an option.

It's an intermediate step just like most every Apple product. Most people aren't savvy and experienced (and jaded) like a lot of folks on forums such as these. Younger people tend not to have the wisdom of said experience. They're hooked on the flash of the next new thing in order to be trendy. The PS4 is just a step to the PS5 and so on. The PS5 will probably be more 4k friendly anyway.
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post #12 of 18
2/4/13 at 10:03pm
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Originally Posted by Dan Hitchman View Post

It's an intermediate step just like most every Apple product. Most people aren't savvy and experienced (and jaded) like a lot of folks on forums such as these. Younger people tend not to have the wisdom of said experience. They're hooked on the flash of the next new thing in order to be trendy. The PS4 is just a step to the PS5 and so on. The PS5 will probably be more 4k friendly anyway.

I feel releasing 2 models of iPhones every year is quite a bit different than releasing a gaming console every 5 to 10 years. I do agree the PS5 will probably be more 4k friendly if a physical media standard ever makes it as big as blu-ray. If the the PS4 indeed comes out this year, pretty much zero chance of a format that supports it other than coming from download to play off the HDD.
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post #13 of 18
2/5/13 at 6:03am
It's a bit silly to compare consoles to phones, especially the iPhone. Consoles come out every 6 or so years, whereas a new iPhone comes out twice a year. People (or sheeple) stand in line for hours just to trade in their 7 month old iPhones for new shiny ones with white backplates. Is a PS4 really similar to the iPhone 5S?

While I agree with you that the majority of consumers are uninformed and simply buy products based on looks and price(higher price equates to more bragging rights), I don't agree that the PS4 is simply a stepping stone towards the real next gen system.
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post #14 of 18
2/5/13 at 11:36am
As for 4K video (not just games) support with the PS4. Sony has announced a 4K movie download network/player to go online mid-2013 and it's certainly possible the PS4, which may not ship until 4th quarter 2013, will support this service. The Blu-ray Disc Associate created a task force in Oct. 2012 to investigate the feasibility of several technical upgrades to Blu-ray, including support for 4K discs. Even if the task force recommendations, whenever they come out, say that 4K is technical feasible the BDA would need to agree to go ahead and develop the the standards for 4K discs. We are probably looking at 2014, at the very earliest to have such standards complete. There were BD related standards, completed in 2010, for BD-XL which defines the format for 3 and 4 layer BD-R and BD-RW. I suspect that if a BD-ROM drive is designed to play back BD-R discs that have been recorded with 4 layers as per the BD-XL spec. then they will probably also be able to play back future 4-layer commercial BD recordings. If Sony is able to get a BD-ROM drive into the PS4 that can handle future 4 layer discs then it is possible there will be an upgrade path (via firmware) to add support for Blu-ray 4K discs if and when they become available. Even if there is no support in the PS4 for 4 layer discs, it may be possible to get high quality 4K video on the current 50 MB dual layer discs. Redray is doing 4K video at a average data rate claimed to be 20 Mbps which is less than many 1080p Blu-ray titles today. Any discussion of getting 4K video support with the PS4 assumes it does already come with some basic 4K hardware support including the HDMI interface chipset and the graphics processor.
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post #15 of 18
2/5/13 at 7:31pm
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Originally Posted by Ron Jones View Post

As for 4K video (not just games) support with the PS4. Sony has announced a 4K movie download network/player to go online mid-2013 and it's certainly possible the PS4, which may not ship until 4th quarter 2013, will support this service. The Blu-ray Disc Associate created a task force in Oct. 2012 to investigate the feasibility of several technical upgrades to Blu-ray, including support for 4K discs. Even if the task force recommendations, whenever they come out, say that 4K is technical feasible the BDA would need to agree to go ahead and develop the the standards for 4K discs. We are probably looking at 2014, at the very earliest to have such standards complete. There were BD related standards, completed in 2010, for BD-XL which defines the format for 3 and 4 layer BD-R and BD-RW. I suspect that if a BD-ROM drive is designed to play back BD-R discs that have been recorded with 4 layers as per the BD-XL spec. then they will probably also be able to play back future 4-layer commercial BD recordings. If Sony is able to get a BD-ROM drive into the PS4 that can handle future 4 layer discs then it is possible there will be an upgrade path (via firmware) to add support for Blu-ray 4K discs if and when they become available. Even if there is no support in the PS4 for 4 layer discs, it may be possible to get high quality 4K video on the current 50 MB dual layer discs. Redray is doing 4K video at a average data rate claimed to be 20 Mbps which is less than many 1080p Blu-ray titles today. Any discussion of getting 4K video support with the PS4 assumes it does already come with some basic 4K hardware support including the HDMI interface chipset and the graphics processor.

I don't feel comfortable with the claims of 4k, 10 bit video, blah blah blah at only 20 Mbps. It's just marketing techno babble. That's probably just "average" quality for smallish screens. Like a lot of people looking forward to UHD, I don't want "average." We all know (or should know) that Blu-ray currently can use all the video bits it can get to look its best (and this is only at 8 bit) and normally doesn't get it (for various reasons). You want less filtering of the master and DNR scrubbing, not more. Even Sony had to use 56 GB for the video, using H.265, on The Amazing Spider-Man at UHD rez., and that's before you add space for menus, lossless soundtracks, and other do-dads on the disc. I doubt if that was even 10 bit video. 8 bit is the past, not the future.

Netflix makes outrageous claims all the time about how great their HD streaming is at very low bitrates. House of Cards, their in-house baby, is shot at 4k on the RED and mastered as if it was going on the big-screen, and the video quality is sh!t even with a high speed connection because their outbound server bitrates are capped so low. Watch it on a big enough screen and the compression artifacts such as banding, and mosquito noise are through the roof. And their audio is plain ol' Dolby Digital lossy.

They're going to have to better than a 50 GB disc, that's for damn sure.
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post #16 of 18
2/6/13 at 6:05am
If the reports are true then I am glad I held off buying a PS3 because I will buy the PS4 and start getting into gameing big time.


biggrin.gif
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post #17 of 18
2/6/13 at 7:03am
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Originally Posted by steve1971 
If the reports are true then I am glad I held off buying a PS3 because I will buy the PS4 and start getting into gameing big time.

e]biggrin.gif

You probably won't be able to play PS2/P3 games on the PS4 so you can start ''getting into gameing big time'' with two games, a race game and a fresh Guerrilla Game smile.gif

http://www.stfuandplay.com/story/content/sony-and-microsofts-next-generation-racers-leaked#.URIQQKU02Sq
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post #18 of 18
2/7/13 at 5:49am
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Originally Posted by 8mile13 View Post

You probably won't be able to play PS2/P3 games on the PS4 so you can start ''getting into gameing big time'' with two games, a race game and a fresh Guerrilla Game smile.gif

http://www.stfuandplay.com/story/content/sony-and-microsofts-next-generation-racers-leaked#.URIQQKU02Sq


Oh well I will still grab it! wink.gif
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