cheddascrambla
Banned
We might as well hand back our PS4s until a few years from now when they go through millions of people bitching over stuff that isn't really all that important.
-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
PS4 is currently an inferior media machine
- Thread starter Tabris
- Start date
We might as well hand back our PS4s until a few years from now when they go through millions of people bitching over stuff that isn't really all that important.
cantona222
Member
I have a PS4, but my PS3 is my youtube & blu ray machine. Especially that I already invested on the PS3 remote control.
When I buy a new iPhone I don't have to wait for old iPhone features to be patched in.
Not yet.
You've clearly no idea about software development.
cheddascrambla
Banned
Same here. Got a gazillion devices at home that can play media.
ArkkAngel007
Member
Eh, Xbox One, for all its faults, would probably be superior as it seems to do just about everything the Wii U does better and more, except off-screen functionality.
That is except for nearly everything being behind a pay wall.
Basileus777
Member
And no one complained about that one, not at all.
ShineALight
Member
Is it that egregious to expect, or at least hope for, full retention of software features across a generational transition of consoles? They have years to work on this stuff.
Windows 8 has been criticized to hell and back and deservedly so.
PS4 is not immune from criticism just because its competitor has fucked up even worse.
I care about them quite a bit.
Personally, I don't care about media functions of PS4. Like at all.
My PS3 is 90% media and 10% games.
polyh3dron
Banned
Yeah I use the XBOne for most of my media playback stuff.
The voice commands plus the smartglass controls on my phone make it convenient as hell. I mean shit, there's a fucking timeline on my phone that I can scrub, volume controls that control my receiver.. In many ways, it's light years ahead of the PS4 from a media/entertainment standpoint. When it comes to playback of MKV files and such though, it's HDMI straight from the Mac. It doesn't get better than that.
The voice commands plus the smartglass controls on my phone make it convenient as hell. I mean shit, there's a fucking timeline on my phone that I can scrub, volume controls that control my receiver.. In many ways, it's light years ahead of the PS4 from a media/entertainment standpoint. When it comes to playback of MKV files and such though, it's HDMI straight from the Mac. It doesn't get better than that.
xValentine
Member
1/10.
Basileus777
Member
The difficulties of software development in the rush to launch a console are a good explanation for these missing features. I'm not sure the consumer should really care, but it makes sense. Nonsense using Sony's marketing about gamers has nothing to do with this.
There's very little connection. It's just showing how effective Sony's marketing has been with a certain audience.
That's exactly what PS4 is...it was designed as a gaming machine in mind first & foremost.
PS3 was the exact opposite, as it was made as a entertainment media hub in mind first, thanks to Blu-Ray, etc.
You said it! Gaming comes first; media second.
Preach!
It doesn't take a software engineer level of competency to realize how complex the task of making an operating system from the ground up is. This entire thing that people expected PS3 parity is ludicrous. It's based off an entirely different architecture and most likely a different code base too! It's not like they have pre-made chunks of code they just insert into the OS and beepity boop it works! Every piece of code needs to be tested, and iterated, and tested, and fixed, and tested again under any and every conceivable circumstance. This is literally the first console generation after one that had a functional user interface that allowed you to do anything more than watch DVDs and play games.
At this point I'd hope they fix the memory leak that occurs when I look at my screenshots. Y'know things that stop my system from crashing. At this point in the life cycle stability updates are top priority.
CamHostage
Member
Yeah, I'm OK with being patient if they were to promise the machine would eventually ramp up into the multimedia machine it's supposed to be (although yes, of course, the games, the games, the games...) but the fact that it's this much worse than its predecessor as an entertainment device and there's no plan for the ramp-up or info on what will and will not be addressed is frustrating.
Youtube.tv works flawlessly in the browser, ive been using it as my go to youtube veiwer on my tv since launch.
first time in history...
psx was the best cd player available on market back then(some say, that the first model is still the best???)
ps2 introduced the dvd
ps3 introduced blu-ray
ps4... a gaming machine... BY SONY!?!?
Basileus777
Member
This is a poor comparison because the launch PS3 wasn't a better media device than the launch PS4. They just had years to add functionality to it, something the PS4 has not had yet. I'm not sure there is any evidence that Sony's OS team is placing a smaller priority on media functionality.
awesomebro
Member
I don't understand statements like these. Is it not the same Sony that made the ps3? Why can't there be progression? Why should they start from the scratch when the ps3 can serve as a template? It's like buying a 2014 luxury Mercedes Benz with no ac or heating while a later variant of the 2006 model had it. It boggles the mind.
Do you live in a world where the PS4 OS is not missing features that are in the PS3 OS? Or in a universe where including media capabilities makes it worse at games?
You must realize that development can be a bit harder than that, especially since there are other, more critical, problems to solve.
Media server is critical.
FinalStageBoss
Banned
You make way too much sense.
zeopower6
Member
That's a bit selfish, isn't it?
Dark Octave
Banned
I'm probably going to get a Roku Friday.
I'm not burning up my PS4 on non-gaming stuff like Netflix.
I'm not burning up my PS4 on non-gaming stuff like Netflix.
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
I assumed it would play games... thanks.
Yes. It is. It really really is. And no, they don't have "years to work on this stuff". They have from the time the hardware starts getting set in stone, February, up until launch, and then until the system no longer needs support.
Software development is similar to science. Putting more scientist on the same project stops yielding improvements very very quickly. Why? Because each scientist has to go through the same experiments and scientific method to come to a conclusion. More people doing the same thing doesn't help. They can't "hurry up", or "put more people on it" because it's literally, a thing that can't be done much faster than it already is. They have a checklist, and they're going down it as fast as they can.
The only thing we can do is tell them where to order it.
ShineALight
Member
Consoles stopped being designed and marketed as solely game players long ago, it's a perfectly valid viewpoint. "It only does everything", right?
Avid Reading Horse
Member
Bah, game systems as media machines have been downhill since the original Xbox (with mod of course)
Do you now know the definition of focus? You can't focus on everything. That word has denotations.
And yes, them focusing on media playback (this time using the word how it's meant to be used) absolutely is detrimental to it being a games console.
Where is actual game improving stuff like suspend/resume? Fuck media playback which any device can do. You're on GAF, be informed. Don't buy stuff that you think sucks or lacks the features you want.
FeiRR
Banned
Windows 8 is an operating system and it fails at that core function because ergonomics of the UI are fucked up to an unimaginable extend. Some people at Microsoft should lose their jobs for inventing the whole tile interface and I mean it. Their ideas cause a drastic drop in productivity of people who have to struggle with overlapping buttons and interface inconsistency every day at work. This means losses in real money and a lot of frustration. Entertainment devices will never come close to that.
Of course not. I'd like to have game recorder to be fixed, download management and several dozen of other improvements. But I also understand it takes time to develop. The state of PS4 OS at launch was quite satisfactory for early adopters. I thought it'd be worse, to be honest. The core functionality is there. I was promised a gamer's device and I got what I paid for.
Then you should keep your PS3 or get a dedicated media player. Dedicated devices are usually better as far as their functionality goes and using a 100+ Watt device just to play media is a total waste of energy. You're not eco-friendly and you waste money. Also, nothing beats a customized PC if you want all formats, all functions and any GUI you can imagine.
Always-honest
Banned
Although i don't miss any of it, i think it's reasonable for people to expect most of these things.
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
I can see the PS4 being a better media player, if only due to the UI design language.
It was never very much fun to browse media with the XMB.
It was never very much fun to browse media with the XMB.
BadAss2961
Member
This has nothing to do with it though. The PS3 was already a great media machine and a very open platform.
The problem is that media functionality across the board has been purposely nerfed to get people to buy more digital content directly through Sony/MS this gen.
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
I could definitely see that factoring into priorities... but MP3 support is forthcoming, Yoshida said he was looking into DLNA - there is no reason to believe YET that the PS4 will permanently be nerfed for media playback.
You can hope but it's pretty optimistic to expect it. Hardware specs were finalized 12 to 18 months ago and they decided to work on gaming features first.
LOL, okay mate. I don't think they should have released it if it wasn't ready, they felt they had to, fine. But I'm, not going to cut them any slack for that. If it isn't ready, it isn't ready. Why would I pay money for an unfinished product? And then be happy about it?
Simple fact is, media capabilities are pretty fundamental to almost all consumer electronics now.
FinalStageBoss
Banned
True, there's lots of other things that need to be addressed. I want suspend/resume, better game management(the current library system sucks ass), hell we can't even pause downloads right now.
It's not actively bothering me, but yeah, totally. Shit is ridiculously barebones and it's hard to ignore that when I'm not exactly overwhelmed with games to put in the damn thing.
Again, it's not actively bothering me, but once I booted up my PS3 again a couple weeks ago to - wait for it - watch some WMV format films a friend gave me, the fact once again sunk in that, despite the garbage OS, the PS3 is a pretty damn good media center. Shit has the PS4 lookin' like amateur hour.
Again, it's not actively bothering me, but once I booted up my PS3 again a couple weeks ago to - wait for it - watch some WMV format films a friend gave me, the fact once again sunk in that, despite the garbage OS, the PS3 is a pretty damn good media center. Shit has the PS4 lookin' like amateur hour.
Who said you have to pay money? What the hell is going on?
Don't buy it. Don't buy anything you have doubts about. Take the reigns of your own life.
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Think back to PS3 launch though. Better at media than PS4 launch, I'd say, but not the same media experience you're having on it in 2014.