Input lag? Final Fantasy XV: No 4K, HDR or PS4 Pro, but the next best thing

[esprade]

Title: Will this induce input lag?

So this whole experience around FFXV has been a bit of a nightmare for me, I bought my PS4 two weeks before they announced the PS4 Pro and then Square Enix announce that they will hadve support and visual enhancements, which was a huge disappointment to me.

When I first got FFXV to be honest I wasn't that impressed, the colours looked dull, the contrast was terrible, it was riddled with jaggies, I instantly got the thought that this game from a visual point of view just didn't stand up to its expectations. So naturally I tried to go into the TV settings but found that because of the HDMI connection the options menu was locked, probably to prevent changes interfering with the picture.

So I was kind of bumbed out, game didn't look as good as I wanted, couldn't adjust the TV, it wasn't my happiest moment. But then I found a button on my TV... It's a Sony Bravia TV which already uses HDMI link communication, I found a button called Sync Menu which I gave a try and I was over whelmed at the fact that it had "TV Control with the TV Remote." So I gave it a try and bingo it unlocked the options menu and allowed me to configure the Bravia to the PS4 with astounding results.

I don't have a UHDTV, I don't have HDR, I don't have a PS4 Pro, but my TV has done a hell of good job of clearing up the jaggy picture and making the colours pop. You have your usual settings, colour, brightness, contrast, hue etc, but here is a list of some of the advanced options I was able to use to get this game looking stunning.

Smooth Gradation
Black Corrector
Advanced Contrast Enhancer
Clear White
Live Colour
Detail Enhancer
Edge Enhancer

All of these filters probably induce a bit of input lag, how much I'm not sure, this TV only has 16ms input lag anyway so whatever is added by the filters probably makes it closer to competitions like Panasonic, Samsung or LG for example that have up to 45-60ms lag. But by heck do these settings do a good job of simulating what the PS4 Pro and HDR are supposed to do on a 1080p TV, I've set most of them to medium to bring out the colours, improve the contrast and increase the details on foliage, I've also dropped the sharpness a little bit to get rid of the jaggies.

So as of right now I'm over the moon, I don't feel bad about missing out on the PS4 Pro, I don't feel bad about not having HDR or a lack of an UHDTV, I'm just happy playing this game in a way that rivals what these other options were supposed to do. So if any of you have a Sony Bravia TV do as I've done and have a mess around with the options because the results are well worth it.

 

[filippi]

Thanks for letting us know

 

[esprade]

You're welcome! I was amazed, the options can smooth textures, correct off white colours, improve contrast, turn the sky from a dull grey-blue to a popping crystal sunny blue sky, the foliage increases in clarity (not density) even at long distances; with edge enhancer mixed with basic settings like sharpness which I reduced from 60-50, it looks rich and crisp, well beyond the base games internal graphical option of just "brightness."

It seems that when using the PS4 on a compatible Bravia TV the PS4 syncs with the TV and they both share information with one other. For example under the Sync Menu the TV knew I was Player 1 highlighting so in the corner, so it seems the HDMI communication between console and screen works well to bring the best out of the system and best out of your games.

Still no idea how much lag this might induce, it comes under 2 options, Game-Current which is my custom presets, and Game-Original which I assume is the basic core game mode. But I honestly feel hardly any difference, I know my TV has 16ms input lag, if it is inducing more it can't be more than what you'd get from another branded TV like 30-60ms. It is still technically "game mode" so there must be some work going on to keep the lag down, but it looks so much better, the TV did what I expected the PS4 Pro to do, provide dynamic colours, improve textures, get rid of jaggies, it did everything besides turn the graphical detail up, like a 1080p HDR if you will.

Perhaps tomorrow I'll post some comparison pics.