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[phosphor112]

Really the best thing to hope for is they let us dim it. I do not think they will let us turn it off.

Since they use it as controller indicators, I can see this happening as opposed to turning it off completely.

Example:
Game uses light bar (uses camera). Bright room = Bright
Game uses light bar (uses camera). Dark room = Dim
Game doesn't use light bar = Dim

 

[dripdripsplash]

What was the point of the LED again ?

 

[GravityMan]

This is gaf and we can at least garner a response from @YOSP if we come together and unify to make our voices heard. OP Please add #DS4LEDLIGHTOFF and see what happens. I'm willing to create an account and tweet this because I don't actually have a twitter account. Lets get behind this.

Good grief dude...we don't need a campaign for this. This isn't that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things, so calm down.

Chances are, it's already on Sony's future OS/firmware update roadmap to eventually allow users to turn the lightbar off, or dim it, or make the light more "intelligent" so that it only lights up bright when necessary - for example have it bright while first booting up the PS4 or taking it off standby, or having it bright while navigating the PS4 UI, and/or having it dim or off while actively playing a game or watching a movie.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

This is exactly why I conducted the test. When I'm playing CoD:G alone with the lights down the LED reflects in my TV and breaks immersion for me. The light serves no purpose for CoD:G other than identifying that my DS4 is controller 1 with a bright blue LED. I love the DS4 but the light is mildly annoying and so is the battery life. I just wanted to see if both of my annoyances were connected in any way in order to bolster the case for an option to turn off the LED. Which is possible.. @yosp confirmed that developers have the ability to turn off the DS4 LED, if Sony exposes API controls to the DS4 LED's there is no reason why the PS4 OS cannot give us this option.

Good deal. I'm more annoyed with the battery life than the light but I think I already stated a few times that I want options to turn it off if possible.

 

[Alej]

This test seems flawed. Of course the light is going to draw much more on an idle controller, however, that draw might not make much difference while in active gameplay where it's power usage might be a small percentage of the overall usage.

That said, I want an option to turn the thing off.

Exactly this.

When idle (no buttons pressed and everything) "no LED" DS4 should be using negligible power... and then the "LED" DS4 could be using 5-6x more (or even 10x-100x more) power when idle.
But when you are actually playing, it could be a totally different scenario (with next to no difference, as it should be).

 

[Fracas]

There really, really needs to be an option to turn it off.

When I'm gaming at night, I usually only have the TV on - that LED is basically a small flashlight. Sad to see it drains the battery significantly, too.

 

[synce]

This kind of design makes me think the Eye was originally going to be mandatory, then everything changed when they saw the backlash MS got for Kinect

 

[TimFL]

They'll never give you the option to turn it off because it is used as a controller indicator (player 1-4). At most they'll give you the option to internally set the color for every player or maybe dim the light a bit.

 

[Steel]

I typically game for an hour or two each evening. On open days I may play 6. I haven't had a low battery warning yet. When it hits 1 bar I plug it in overnight. Still, a stronger battery would be nice.

Personally I find the battery life to be a bit annoying because I forget to plug my controller in when my ps4's off most of the time. With other controllers I could get away with this and get a lot of gaming sessions, but with this one I do not. Still, I can see why someone wouldn't have any issue if they're better at plugging in regularly. Also, we don't yet know precisely how significant an effect the LED's have when the controller is in use, but it's an ongoing test worth looking at.

 

[RoboPlato]

Wow, much more of a drain than I expected.

 

[eot]

A test of controllers actively in use would probably be more meaningful. I imagine that a light is going to dominate over most idle processes, but not necessarily over the sum of audio, rumble and all the input data transfer.

 

[Thrillers]

Good grief dude...we don't need a campaign for this. This isn't that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things, so calm down.

I have been waiting to play BF4 for many months. The day I get MY ps4 and BF4 I want the ability to play for a day straight with my clan. The fact that we'll be limited to 7 hours is something I find annoying. Yes I can buy another DS4 but I'm already paying £350 for the console more for the game etc. I guess I'm just passionate and because I have no use for the camera, find the led an unnecessary hindrance to the day 1 plans of me and my compadres. So "let's tweet YOSP until we get a response" doesn't seem like to drastic a measure. We just need to get his attention.

Perhaps the word "campaign" was a little too strong for some but we definitely need to bring this to his attention in my humble opinion good sir!

 

[Alej]

A test of controllers actively in use would probably be more meaningful. I imagine that a light is going to dominate over most idle processes, but not necessarily over the sum of audio, rumble and all the input data transfer.

Exactly. People think this test shows something, but as we don't know the order of magnitude of the LED light above the rest, it means next to nothing.

LED idle controller could be using 100x more power than no LED idle controller, but only 1.01x more in actual gameplay.

 

[EL CUCO]

The lightbar melted my DS4

 

[Steel]

A test of controllers actively in use would probably be more meaningful. I imagine that a light is going to dominate over most idle processes, but not necessarily over the sum of audio, rumble and all the input data transfer.

Here's a counter point to that: The average life of the controller in use is 8 hours. Both controllers are currently idle and after 13 hours one is at 1 bar the other at 3. If you compare the test to the baseline amount of time an active controller with an LED on lasts it still holds weight.

 

[Tagyhag]

Exactly. People think this test shows something, but as we don't know the order of magnitude of the LED light above the rest, it means next to nothing.

LED idle controller could be using 100x more power than no LED idle controller, but only 1.01x more in actual gameplay.

I agree that the test should be done like that.

But I HIGHLY doubt it's going to be 1.01x.

 

[jwk94]

You can't speak for everyone in regards to what "actual real problems" are. For me, this is a huge annoyance, and it is for others.

With my DualShock 3, I'd play for hours in a day, put it away, come back to it later, and play again for hours. I didn't have to continually babysit it and hope it had enough power to last a full gaming session. With my off/on playing of the PS3, I think I recharged my main controller once a month, maybe twice. I realize that part of it is the nature of having a brand new console and using it a lot in the excitement, but I've had to constantly think about plugging my DS4 in and making sure it's recharging.

Maybe that's not a big deal to you. It's a big deal to me. Also, the argument about "buy a long USB cord" are kind of ridiculous. I'm thankful we're now past the era of controllers having cords, and I don't want to have my DS4 continually tethered. I do have a long USB cord, which I use for my DS3, but I'd break it out when the controller was getting low, play using it for a couple of hours, and then put it back away again for weeks.

Why not put your PS4 in standby and charge the DS4 while you're not using it?

 

[Speevy]

Oh, just plug the freaking thing in.

Y'all got used to the PSP's battery and loading times, the 3DS' battery, the Xbox 360's need for AAs, the Wii's battery-munching motion sensor.

It's not a big deal, especially since charging is free.

 

[xn0]

A test of controllers actively in use would probably be more meaningful. I imagine that a light is going to dominate over most idle processes, but not necessarily over the sum of audio, rumble and all the input data transfer.

The only problem I see with that is that the rumble is going to be the main power draw, and with the rumble enabled its based on game interactions which are highly variable. The test could definitely be conducted with the rumble turned off though.

 

[tokyo slim]

Things to note:

He didn't JUST disconnect the lights. He unplugged the lights AND the USB controller board. While I'm not sure what kind of draw the USB board has during idle, it's not 0.

xn0 - is there any way for you to see or test what the ratings are on the actual LEDs themselves?

 

[infiniteheteroskdasticity]

While not a deal breaker the poor battery life of the ds4 is definitely an issue. I've gotten around that by plugging it into the USB on my laptop to charge it while playing. I hope Sony gives people an option to disable the led lights.

 

[xn0]

Things to note:

He didn't JUST disconnect the lights. He unplugged the lights AND the USB controller board. While I'm not sure what kind of draw the USB board has during idle, it's not 0.

xn0 - is there any way for you to see or test what the ratings are on the actual LEDs themselves?

I tried but unfortunately there is not with the equipment I have. The LED's are wave soldered to the board and the only way I could get underneath the LED array would be by connecting needles to the ends of my multimeter, however that would likely break the LED array off of the board by the looks of it if I tried to get anything underneath it. That being said I would likely only get a reading of how much power is being sent to the LED's not necessarily how much power the LED array is using at that time.

 

[Cragvis]

That led is the dumbest design decision in the PS4.

I can't wait till we get the option to turn it off.

Is there even a reason to have it other than to change colors based on your characters health or something?

The ps camera doesnt need it, does it?

 

[tokyo slim]

I've been getting a pretty consistent 8 hours or so with rumble and LED's on. And I sit close enough to the PS4 to plug it in and continue to play. And I always plug it in when I'm done playing. I know that isn't helping some of you, I just wanted to share my experience.

While it's not DS3 level great, the DS3 was a much simpler controller with much lower power needs (not even talking about the LEDs) In 1998, my Nokia phone's battery lasted about 1.5 weeks. My current HTC ONE battery lasts about 9 hours. While it's not THAT dramatic of a difference between the current controller and the previous one, it just illustrates that you can't really compare the battery life between the DS4 and DS3 without noting that the newer version's got a touchpad, and audio processing, and a speaker, and bigger rumble motors, and all kinds of other crap draining the battery that the DS3 didn't have. Personally, I think the DS4 is a far superior controller, and the battery life is the logical tradeoff.

 

[Steel]

Is there even a reason to have it other than to change colors based on your characters health or something?

The ps camera doesnt need it, does it?

The ps camera uses it. Not sure if need, but probably.

 

[tokyo slim]

The ps camera doesnt need it, does it?

Yeah. It's essentially the PS Move controller built into the regular controller.

 

[Dragon]

I have been waiting to play BF4 for many months. The day I get MY ps4 and BF4 I want the ability to play for a day straight with my clan. The fact that we'll be limited to 7 hours is something I find annoying. Yes I can buy another DS4 but I'm already paying £350 for the console more for the game etc. I guess I'm just passionate and because I have no use for the camera, find the led an unnecessary hindrance to the day 1 plans of me and my compadres. So "let's tweet YOSP until we get a response" doesn't seem like to drastic a measure. We just need to get his attention.

Perhaps the word "campaign" was a little too strong for some but we definitely need to bring this to his attention in my humble opinion good sir!

Sounds like Sony is doing you a favor. Playing any game for a day straight is not good for your health. Extra life bedamned!

 

[ced]

I have not been following this light thing, but if it's just something used with the camera, why is there not an option to turn it off?

Is it something that is just not built into the controller to allow the OS to turn off the LED?

 

[mollipen]

Why not put your PS4 in standby and charge the DS4 while you're not using it?

I really hate the idea of having controllers and cables just sitting out and around when they're not in use. Plus, really, I love the fact that, with the DS3, I don't have to think about it. That's what bugs me, even if it's a very small thing to other people.

It's kind of like the DS versus the 3DS. I never had to think about the DS. I'd play it, put it away, get it out, play it, and I knew every now and then I'd have to recharge it. With the 3DS, I have to remember it every day or two, and make sure it's back in its cradle, or the next time I pull it out it'll be dead.

I'd like to know what about the DS4 is eating up so much battery versus the DS3, and if it'd be possible to let users turn certain things off or on to help fix the difference. I also want better battery technology. *heh*

 

[tokyo slim]

I have not been following this light thing, but if it's just something used with the camera, why is there not an option to turn it off?

Is it something that is just not built into the controller to allow the OS to turn off the LED?

It's not "just" for the camera. It's also the indication that it's "on" and/or that it's charging, and/or which controller you are using in local multiplayer, and/or an ambient light device for games that utilize it like Flower, Sound Shapes, Killzone, and etc.

 

[FlyinJ]

I found the solution to our battery woes. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A5MT7WA/?tag=neogaf0e-20

For the past 6 years, every time I need to charge my DS3 while playing a game I thought "I need to get a longer USB cable". And then forgot... until the next time.

Same thing has been happening to me with the DS4. But, thanks to your link, I remembered and now have a 9 foot usb cable coming my way!

 

[tokyo slim]

I'd like to know what about the DS4 is eating up so much battery versus the DS3, and if it'd be possible to let users turn certain things off or on to help fix the difference. I also want better battery technology. *heh*

BT audio stack, bigger rumble motors, gyroscope, touchpad. I'd look at all these things before I'd look at the LED's. Maybe the LED's are an actual problem - but from what I know about LED's, I kind of doubt it.

 

[joecanada]

Wait so the moral of the story is that if I put tape over the light I will get longer battery life right?

 

[Steel]

Wait so the moral of the story is that if I put tape over the light I will get longer battery life right?

Not sure if serious....

 

[borghe]

The only problem I see with that is that the rumble is going to be the main power draw, and with the rumble enabled its based on game interactions which are highly variable. The test could definitely be conducted with the rumble turned off though.

not true. each button press closes a circuit. well I mean rumble WILL be the main draw, but just massive amounts of button presses combined with BT transmission of events will affect battery life.

aka 4 hours of playing a fighting game will affect a controller's battery much differently than 4 hours of an RPG.

honestly the only A/B comparison that can be made are two controllers, one with it disabled and one with it enabled, over a period of time playing the same game in a similar playstyle. Unfortunately short of actually measuring power draw of the LED only over a period of time, that's about the best info we're probably going to get.

 

[alatif113]

Wait so the moral of the story is that if I put tape over the light I will get longer battery life right?

Moral of the story is people are complaining about LED's are drastically draining the battery when in reality there are way more heavier consumers inside the DS4 that just seem to get overlooked. Rumble, Mic, Gyroscope....all consume a hell of a lot more battery than simple LED's.

This test proves that LEDs off have less battery consumption than LEDs on which anyone could have guessed. Its how much the difference is compared to the other greater factors that matters here. If you're going to get 8.5 hours with the LEDs off and 8 with them on then I'd rather take the extra ambient immersion over the 0.5 hours of battery life.

All in all, just like rumble, i think its up to the devs to add the feature, and not sony. There is no OS option to turn rumble off and no one complained about that when rumble drains a hell of a lot of more battery.

EDIT: or a bigger battery to solve all the problems.

 

[tokyo slim]

For the past 6 years, every time I need to charge my DS3 while playing a game I thought "I need to get a longer USB cable". And then forgot... until the next time.

Same thing has been happening to me with the DS4. But, thanks to your link, I remembered and now have a 9 foot usb cable coming my way!

For what it's worth Monoprice is like 1/2 the price if you can wait 3-4 days shipping instead of prime. Wouldn't want you to break the bank.

 

[FlyinJ]

For what it's worth Monoprice is like 1/2 the price if you can wait 3-4 days shipping instead of prime. Wouldn't want you to break the bank.

I can't wait 3-4 days with the rate the DS4 loses charge.

 

[gryz]

this is the biggest non issue of all time

 

[tokyo slim]

I can't wait 3-4 days with the rate the DS4 loses charge.

Somehow, I knew that would be the case. (Monoprice is an extra foot longer and has GOLD PLATED CONNEXXXTORz though!)

 

[IAmRandom31]

this is the biggest non issue of all time

Agreed

Battery life is also perfect for even a long playing session.

What this also does not take into effect is the bigger size, the touchpad, the speaker coming from the controller and various other things within the controller.

But as above, a non-issue. I have my controller set to turn off after 10 minutes of non-use and that takes the light with it. So, it does not " distract " during movies and such.

 

[GYNGA]

#DS4NoLED campaign incoming?

 

[iammeiam]

All in all, just like rumble, i think its up to the devs to add the feature, and not sony. There is no OS option to turn rumble off and no one complained about that when rumble drains a hell of a lot of more battery.

The rumble comparison kind of falls apart because the default is not for the controller to rumble constantly while powered on. A Dev has to actually choose to make the controller rumble, as opposed to the light which is always there. Since the constant LED usage is the console's fault, and not something the devs are necessarily choosing to do, it should be on Sony to address on an OS level first. Even just letting me set the light to default to off unless the game has a specific use for it would be nice, then the devs can add options to opt out of their specific usage.

 

[MavFan619]

Woah the outrage I like the light and have no issue with charging my controller when I need to and still playing.

 

[Sword Of Doom]

Testing with the bars is not very scientific. Those bars are not very accurate. In my experience the controller sometimes will show 1 bar and it'll work for another couple of hours.

 

[coolasj19]

Yeah seriously. I want an uber long battery life. The DS3 on a 10 minute turn off, lasts me close to 4 days to a week. Recharging it is an inconvenience. Recharging the DS4 is a routine. Wait, did I just make the DS4 life seem better? I think I did. I have more Micro-USB cords than Mini-USB cords than I ever have. And there's 3 places within a meter of my sitting spot to plug into. I do think I'm gonna get a 2nd controller for hot swapping. Though I shouldn't need to.

Has anyone replaced the DS4 battery with some other generic lithium-ion?

 

[Diablohead]

Woah the outrage I like the light and have no issue with charging my controller when I need to and still playing.

nor do I but a next gen controller with only 8 hours of juice compared to say my 360 controller with 20+ hours from two rechargeable batteries is big enough to want an option to disable the lights.

 

[Steel]

Testing with the bars is not very scientific. Those bars are not very accurate. In my experience the controller sometimes will show 1 bar and it'll work for another couple of hours.

The test is still in progress, when they run out of battery's completely we'll have better info. By the way xn0, how are you keeping track of the controllers? Do you have some way to know exactly when they run out of batteries like a camera?

 

[Wolfgunblood Garopa]

This kind of design makes me think the Eye was originally going to be mandatory, then everything changed when they saw the backlash MS got for Kinect

True Videogame Stories: $399

 

[Cday]

Maybe they should have put in less useless gimmick crap like the light, touch pad and speaker and put a decent battery in instead. While they're at it how about make the controller $50.