• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Force PS4 Pro 4K Downsampling on a 1080p Screen Using Linker 4K60

S

SumptuousLemur

Banned
Digital Foundry touched on this neat piece of tech in their new look at The Last of Us Remastered on PS4 Pro due to downsampling being removed for 1080p display users from the game with this latest 1.08 patch.

Here is the link to the Digital Foundry article and some quoted details:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/d...-us-remastered-patch-108-for-ps4-pro-analysed

Some players with 1080p displays have asked if there is any way to access PS4 Pro game modes only available on 4K screens - specifically down-sampling modes like those stripped from TLOUR. Yes there is, we've tested it and it works - but it is somewhat expensive. You'll need a device known as the HD Linker. It's designed to enable UHD functionality on 1080p screens but that's just one of its many functions.

Users connect the HD Linker between the Pro and a 1080p display and it's powered via USB. The Pro sees that it's attached to an HDCP 2.2-compliant display and the Linker effectively downscales the Pro's 4K output to full HD. We've tested it on a Pro attached to a Panasonic VT20 plasma display and it works just fine - 4K functionality is accessible from the video output settings menu as per normal, even though a full HD screen is attached.

As the Pro believes it is attached to an HDCP 2.2-compliant screen, you can also access non-gaming features too - such as the ultra HD encodes on Netflix, giving an almost Blu-ray-like presentation. At $199, it's effectively half the cost of the console itself so we mean it when we say that it's expensive - but it does do the job.
Click to expand...

The HD Linker can be purchased here for $199:
https://www.hdfury.com/shop/videoprocessors/linker-4k60-444-600mhz/

If this trend of 4K downsampling not being an option for 1080p users continues I might be looking into this. Although I believe Sony should integrate an option in the system OS to allow users to turn it off and on for all games.

So far these are the games that don't downsample 4K to 1080p (please let me know if there are others)
-Dishonored 2
-The Last Guardian
-The Last of Us Remastered (Patch 1.08)

If you're a Pro owner with a 1080p display and like downsampling, I would recommend turning off Automatic Updates so you don't end up stuck with a patched version of the game that removed downsampling like The Last of Us has.
 
V

Vuze

Member
SumptuousLemur said:
If this trend of 4K downsampling not being an option for 1080p users continues I might be looking into this. Although I believe Sony should integrate an option in the system OS to allow users to turn it off and on for all games.
Click to expand...
Yep. It's quite the mess currently, especially with all the variable performance etc you should simply be able to select anything you want in the game settings (Base PS4 mode, 1080p, 4K* and whatever else the developer wants to offer). I don't know why they didn't mandate a standard for this.

Also spending 200$ on this just to benefit from downsampling seems a little silly. Might as well put it aside and pick up a nice 4K HDR set next year or so.
 
K

Kenzodielocke

Banned
Vuze said:
Yep. It's quite the mess currently, especially with all the variable performance etc you should simply be able to select anything you want in the game settings (Base PS4 mode, 1080p, 4K* and whatever else the developer wants to offer). I don't know why they didn't mandate a standard for this.

Also spending 200$ on this just to benefit from downsampling seems a little silly. Might as well put it aside and pick up a nice 4K HDR set next year or so.
Click to expand...

I don't know why Dishonered 2 and TLG do not downsample automatically.

TLoU is a curious case, because on both, 4k and 1800p, it is now running better than base PS4 on the PS4 Pro.
 
I

Izuna

Banned
Goodness...

Actually, do you guys think next gen 1080p TVs will just have downscaling capabilities? Like how x768 TVs accepted 1080p signals?
 
C

CHC

Member
Why are these games removing downsampling?

And yeah lol @ $199 - just put that towards a 4k TV / monitor at that point, Christ.
 
H

Horp

Member
You realize why the ps4 pro doesnt downsample for you right?
The whole 4k and HDR push is about selling new TVs.
 
F

fronn

Member
Vuze said:
Yep. It's quite the mess currently, especially with all the variable performance etc you should simply be able to select anything you want in the game settings (Base PS4 mode, 1080p, 4K* and whatever else the developer wants to offer). I don't know why they didn't mandate a standard for this.

Also spending 200$ on this just to benefit from downsampling seems a little silly. Might as well put it aside and pick up a nice 4K HDR set next year or so.
Click to expand...

The fact that this wasn't there at launch is pretty baffling. Such a half-baked system right now - thankfully they have time to polish it still, but this is pretty inexcusable now and one of the bigger missteps they've made this generation (possibly the biggest one - they've done such a good job overall this gen, so this is extra disappointing).

User's should have some control and know the value they are getting whether they have 1080p or 4k TV. Frankly, if you have a 4k tv you should still be able to choose a 1080p mode if you really want. This should be required either as a setting in patched games or as a system setting on a per game or at very least global basis.
 
C

Cartman86

Banned
So if I have two displays. One 4K and one 1080p. Would this be a way to not have to ever fiddle with settings and leave the source as 4K for the 4KTV and still get the 1080 display to display at the same time? With an Elgato even? Right now my Receiver (with 2 HDMI outputs) will force 1080 when it detects a 1080 display connected. Would this device get in the way and report 4K to the receiver?
 
D

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
Cartman86 said:
So if I have two displays. One 4K and one 1080p. Would this be a way to not have to ever fiddle with settings and leave the source as 4K for the 4KTV and still get the 1080 display to display at the same time? With an Elgato even?
Click to expand...
Yep. That's exactly right.
 
M

meerak

Member
Fascinating this can be done. Outside my price range right now but if there is a case to be made for it in the future I will remember this. Thanks DF! :)
 
A

Always-honest

Banned
Fuck no. Games should have downsampling on the Pro.
Why the fuck would i spend another 200$ on what was advertised for the Pro? I feel like smashing the fucking thing against a wall if certain other games weren't so awesome downsampled on my Pro.

The Pro is a great 1080p machine. A far better 1080p machine then it is a 4K machine. Use it. And no, i'm not buying a silly 4K screen.

Not buying a single game that doesn't downsample.
 
K

kjacobson

Neo Member
Occam said:
This.

Besides, lag.
Click to expand...

Is there any sort of input latency from this device? It just seems like a switch really. I haven't watched the video though, I feel like they would have covered that as a talking point if they did and haven't seen anything on it. Genuinely curious because I'm considering it.

Also - can this device output two different resolutions? Like say I want to output 4k downscaled to 1080p to my Elgato, but native 4k to my TV.
 
dmix90

dmix90

Member
This is a terrible hardware to promote. It should be a simple software fix provided by sony or game developers.
 
C

Christos

Member
Piggus said:
Hm, I didn't notice any problems with shadows while playing Left Behind.

Oh well. Hopefully they fix it.
Click to expand...

He's being sarcastic, the high quality shadows are actually forced on 1080p users with the new update and they can sometimes not even show up.
 
R

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
LOL

I 'm not dropping $200 to fix the issue. I'm just going to contact the devs and hope it gets patched.
 
B

BradleyLove

Member
Horp said:
You realize why the ps4 pro doesnt downsample for you right?
The whole 4k and HDR push is about selling new TVs.
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm sure there's thousands of folks flocking to buy a Sony 4K TV just because The Last of Us no longer supersamples...
 
Miggytronz

Miggytronz

Member
Ok so there are 3 different HD Fury Linkers on Amazon.

Regular HD Fury 4K
HD Fury 4K UHD/PRO
HD Fury 4K UHD/PRO Integral

What does each do? What's the difference. I'm not tech savvy.
 
J

jaypah

Member
BradleyLove said:
Yes, I'm sure there's thousands of folks flocking to buy a Sony 4K TV just because The Last of Us no longer supersamples...
Click to expand...

Well if you're going to tin-foil the situation you have to start somewhere. What if that one game becomes thirty games?
 
S

SURGEdude

Member
This whole Pro thing is annoying. I've decided to hold out on 4K for at least another year hoping OLED prices come down a bit. It's frustrating that devs aren't providing users more choice.
 
S

Sword Of Doom

Member
SURGEdude said:
This whole Pro thing is annoying. I've decided to hold out on 4K for at least another year hoping OLED prices come down a bit. It's frustrating that devs aren't providing users more choice.
Click to expand...

It's my big issue with the Pro at a 1080p tv owner and why I'm going to return it
 
S

scitek

Member
Really, if you're just interested in the resolution and not the HDR/wide-color gamut stuff, I'd encourage you to just spend a few hundred more and get a 4KTV instead.
 
L

Lord Error

Insane For Sony
Adry9 said:
$199? Might as well save some money and upgrade your TV.
Click to expand...
gdt said:
Just buy the new tv if you are seriously considering this.
Click to expand...
To upgrade my TV to an equivalent class 4K model I'd need a hell of a lot more than $200, or a couple of hundred beyond that. I also don't think it's a good time to buy a 4K HDR TV anyway to be honest. This however seems just out of the price range I find reasonable for something that should be a freaking no brainer option in every game.
 
H

Horp

Member
BradleyLove said:
Yes, I'm sure there's thousands of folks flocking to buy a Sony 4K TV just because The Last of Us no longer supersamples...
Click to expand...
You dont get it. Its about sending a message, not only with the ps4pro of course, that you need a new tv. Getting people to switch to hd took some time but wasnt hard. 4k and HDR has a LOT less traction, simply because it doesn't look THAT much better at normal TV viewing distances. The industry really needs to push 4k all the ways they can.
 
S

SumptuousLemur

Banned
SG-17 said:
I haven't even bought a 1080p set yet, still rocking a 768p set that downsamples 1080p signals.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what we want with out 1080p sets. And I have the VT20 Panasonic they tested and DO NOT want to get rid of one of the best TVs ever made.

I would pay $200 to preserve that TV with the best signal it can get. The video (UHD, Streaming etc) are a positive as well.
 
B

BradleyLove

Member
Horp said:
You dont get it. Its about sending a message, not only with the ps4pro of course, that you need a new tv. Getting people to switch to hd took some time but wasnt hard. 4k and HDR has a LOT less traction, simply because it doesn't look THAT much better at normal TV viewing distances. The industry really needs to push 4k all the ways they can.
Click to expand...

And you think they're going to do that by restricting one or two games to 1080p on 1080p sets? How about we wait and see what happens before getting our knickers jammed up our arses?
 
L

Liabe Brave

Member
Horp said:
You dont get it. Its about sending a message, not only with the ps4pro of course, that you need a new tv. Getting people to switch to hd took some time but wasnt hard. 4k and HDR has a LOT less traction, simply because it doesn't look THAT much better at normal TV viewing distances. The industry really needs to push 4k all the ways they can.
Click to expand...
It would've been entirely trivial for Sony to mandate only 1080p output when a Pro is connected to a 1080p display. Instead of doing that, they've let developers create ~40 games that downsample, and 3 that don't. And this is indicative that not downsampling is a strategic move by Sony?

How does that make any sense?
 
Z

Zaph

Member
Would the Blackmagic Intensity Pro 4K capture card achieve the same thing for PCs? By using Durante's live preview tool you should be able to scale the checkboard '4K' image down to whatever size in the window?
 
G

Geneijin

Member
If you're just buying the HD Linker for the PS4 Pro, I can understand if you think it's a waste of money, but it's the only known method to get an HDCP 2.2 device to comply with non-HDCP 2.2 devices without upgrading or replacing good equipment. The HD Fury Integral (a different device from the same company) is also the only known reputable HDMI splitter for 4K HDR too unless I'm mistaken.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

The Last of Us Part II Remastered Announced + Trailer. Release Slated for January 2024
21 22 23 24 25
1K
80K
Thick Thighs Save Lives replied
DF: Genshin Impact: PS5 vs PS4 Pro - A 60FPS Upgrade Worth Waiting For?
Analysis
29
3K
Fake replied
When we will see most of PS4 first-party games running at 4k 60fps in PS5? Maybe never
42
4K
D.Final replied
DF - Crysis Remastered PS4/PRO/Xbox One/X review
Analysis Review
34
3K
iceatcs replied
PS4 Pro/Xbox One X outputting to 4K on 1080p monitor. Why?
14
3K
01011001 replied
Top Bottom