This does affect me. A lot of the PS4 games are singleplayer so if I watch my brother play and he turns to talk to me, I always remind him to keep the controller pointed the other way. There is also a definite glare in the screen albeit it can be hard to see. Once you do find it though, it is difficult to not see it.
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Dual Shock 4 Light Bars - turn them off, please
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MightyHedgehog
Member
You do what people did before indicator lights became the norm and test the inputs until you work out who has what. No big deal, really. Anyway, not like there's a lot of games that employ local multiplayer beyond two. The point is that it should be a user-driven option.
same here, never notice it, but if they added a feature to turn it off for more battery life maybe that would be cool.
If anything is causing short battery life, LED's would be the last thing to blame.
Drake Dagan
Banned
Wouldn't turning off this light via some firmware update help battery life?
CaptainZombie
Member
The light doesn't bother me, but I think if they found a way to turn it off as an option it would help a lot with battery life. I am charging my DS4's every other day they drain so fast and I don't even play that many hours.
Oh I definitely think you're being generous. Unless the battery in mine is just faulty, the life works out to be precisely piss-poor hours.
BruiserBear
Banned
Unfortunately Sony made the poor choice that the lightbar is the only indicator on the entire controller that it is on, so I fear they're going to think it's always got to be on to tell you which controller is on.
I think it was a poor design choice that should have never happened. I have a very reflective TV and it is certainly an irritation I'd prefer to not have to deal with.
I think it was a poor design choice that should have never happened. I have a very reflective TV and it is certainly an irritation I'd prefer to not have to deal with.
Khalifa Jayy
Banned
I honestly forget that it has a light until I plug it in to charge it at night. Weird. Sorry to hear it's apparently very bothersome for hours. My screen isn't very reflective, either, so I'm assuming that helps.
Qwell
Member
It doesn't bother me at all, I can notice it in certain situations when I look for it, but for the most part I don't care.
I could see an intrepid entrepreneur type possibly come up with some cheap alternative like real triggers that would attach with some type of clasp or rubberband type mechanism for those that are really bothered by it. Of course since it could be solved with software if Sony so chose, it may not be the best idea.
I could see an intrepid entrepreneur type possibly come up with some cheap alternative like real triggers that would attach with some type of clasp or rubberband type mechanism for those that are really bothered by it. Of course since it could be solved with software if Sony so chose, it may not be the best idea.
ThatStupidLion
Member
something that has bothered me since day 1 when they announced the controller.
NekoFever
Member
Show the light when on the system menus but not in-game. Or just let it be turned off for solo play but force it for local multiplayer.
Junior Mint
Member
Stupid design choice. To be fair though, I only notice it if I actively look for it. When I'm actually focusing on the game, I never even realize it's there. But still, it's kind of unnecessary.
boredandlazy
Member
DJ Lushious
Member
Kuro Elite plasma owner here and that lightbar sure does reflect off my panel! However, I do love the idea of the lightbar. I like the use in KillZone and I like the potential it holds as devs really start to use it. I also play in a dark room and the lightbar faintly lights up the room. 
My wife asked me why the controller was green the other day as I hadn't played Killzone much, so I had to explain it to her. Last night she walked into the living room, saw my controller flashing orangy yellow and yelled "you're dying!". She's never been more concerned.
If my TV is fully dark I can actually see the light reflecting, but I could see the red dot of the DS3 when the TV is dark too so it's not a factor. I don't have a very glossy panel so it's no surprise, but I do wonder what it'd be like if I had a glossier TV. I'm looking at some nicer 55' sets and so many of the nicer ones have very glossy glass. Which would be a problem for me more in that my apartment gets a lot of sun in the summer so I think reflections in general might bother me if I had a 900A or something.
I don't keep my TV near my crotch so definitely not the way you think it works! Also see the part about off screen distractions since you seem to have missed it. Maybe that bothers me more than other people, but giving players incentive to pay attention to anything other than what's going on in the game seems counterintuitive.
No.
TheCanisDirus
Member
What... how... that's impossible. It will reflect... and you do notice. It might not matter to you but if you don't see the reflection something is wrong.
That being said... i see the fuck out of it on my Panny plasma... and i love what it does to my pitch black room at night playing Killzone single player.
Neuromancer
Member
I don't read so good today lol
Beer Monkey
Member
All 4 of my HDTV's are wall mounted higher than I sit. I'd have to hang from the ceiling for a light in my hands to be noticeable.
Ergonomics says the center of the screen should be at or below eye level. I feel sorry for your neck.
Makes sense since the XBO controller light is aimed at your face.
But it makes for a good nightlight.
I get this reference!
xn0
Member
I ended up getting 3 DS4's for my PS4 and I find the light really annoying. Especially since I do not have the camera nor do I ever play coop or need a second player. I'm also a bit annoyed at the battery life of the DS4. Therefore I'm going to stage an experiment with my 3 DS4's
Experiment:
See how much power could be saved by powering off the light on the DS4.
I am going to fully charge 3 DS4's.
I am going to disable the light on 1 DS4 by desoldering it from the board.
I am then going to turn them all on and play some games with a 4th controller plugged into USB.
The idea is to use the 2 unmodified (light emitting) DS4's as the control and measure if disabling the light decreases battery utilization and if so by how much.
I would much rather have increased battery life than an annoying light I cannot use, and hopefully this test will prove I'm not alone.
I did find the Xbox 360 controller light annoying too actually, especially when it was low on batteries and flashing. But the DS4 is a whole different type of bad. Is the Xbox one's light worse than the 360's?
Edit:
Make it a thread, I'm curious. Though Tbh I don't actually think it'll make much difference, they're led.
Jeronimo Jones
Member
I'm all for more user options, but the DS4 lights haven't affected me at all, even with the room lights low.
If this turned out to be one of the biggest gripes most PS4 owners have, it seems like an easy fix. I'm not so sure it will be since the camera was originally intended to be included with every system though.
If this turned out to be one of the biggest gripes most PS4 owners have, it seems like an easy fix. I'm not so sure it will be since the camera was originally intended to be included with every system though.
It does that? I didn't even know, I can't see the damned thing while I'm playing.
Considering it reflects off my walls in the dark, I definitely noticed my wall turning orange and then red.
AnAngryPillock
Neo Member
It hasn't bothered me, but I do want to see if shutting it off increases the battery life.