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Verdict on the DS4 "Light Dim" option.

Ape

Banned
Now the firmware has been out for a little bit, how do you guys like the dim option on the DS4? Do you guys use it or just opt for the regular brightness?
 
I think the dimness is fine, could be better I guess but its not glaring off my screen. I'm more curious as to whether anyone has tested if it has effected battery longevity. I fee like its increased the battery length time between charges but I could be imagining it.
 
I use it and it seems to work great at reducing glare on shiny surfaces. I was never really bothered by the light anyway.

Could have been even dimmer though, but I do want something lit as an indicator that te controller is on, so this'll suffice. I wouldn't choose to turn it off entirely.
 
I saw this for the first time two days ago at a friend's place. The dim option is only a few hundred suns bright, compared to the blinding standard setting.
 
I dim it, just to save the battery (anyone know if it helps at all?). I still don't see the point of it being on all the time, it's angled anyway so you don't even see it.
 
When I get my PS4 the way that I sit right now it's going to shine right at my glass tv. I hope that it isn't a problem when playing in the dark on dim.
 
I dim it, just to save the battery (anyone know if it helps at all?). I still don't see the point of it being on all the time, it's angled anyway so you don't even see it.

Battery life doesn't improve to me.

EDIT- What kind of TV are people using to get a reflection during gameplay? I sit pretty close to my TV and don't see a reflection unless my TV is on a black screen.
 
I haven't played the game that really showed me it was an issue: that game was Thief with its white light that lit up the whole room on that bar. I hated that so much I could not keep playing. So I have it on dim and also wish we could turn it off.
 
I never understood why people had a problem with the light. You cant even see it when playing.

I could see it reflect off my screen when playing, especially when the screen was showing darker colours (Like Infamous at night, Ground Zeroes at night etc). It can get pretty distracting seeing a glowing shape on the screen that shouldn't be there. It's the reason I stuck a piece of black card on the light to block it.
 
Never bothered me much. Battery on an LED shouldn't be significant compared to the constant wireless radio and rumble motors.
 
I bought a PS4 yesterday and after a few hours with it, this is my exact takeaway:

I dim it and wish I could turn it off completely.

It's also pretty stupid to not have an option to turn it off when the console is in standby mode with a controller charging.
 
I'm disappointed by how bright the lowest setting still is. It barely helps getting rid of the reflections on my VT60.
If I wanted a flashlight I would have purchased a flashlight not a DS4, Sony!

Still hoping that one day Sony will come to its senses and allows us to turn it off completely, as it has zero positive effects for me. Till that day duc-tape is my friend >.
 
I never understood why people had a problem with the light. You cant even see it when playing.

Yeah I sit at my desk when I play and I always have my hands and the controller below the desk so the light never hit the TV anyway. But since they added the option, I do keep it on dim.
 
I never understood why people had a problem with the light. You cant even see it when playing.

Any sort of light can be obnoxious depending on your setup. I have an external HD that I position behind my monitor simply because the little blue "ON" light drove me nuts. Sort of similar with this. If can cause annoying glare, and it's too bright for dark room playing / movie watching at times.

Was really glad when the PC software out there added options to mess with the lightbar since I like to keep my DS4 plugged in on my computer.
 
I dim it, just to save the battery (anyone know if it helps at all?). I still don't see the point of it being on all the time, it's angled anyway so you don't even see it.

you get about an extra hour of battery when its set to dim. apparently as of the 1.7 update the track pad is always checking for input so that's also continuously draining the battery.

sony should allow the light to be turned off, it serves no use without the camera and tests show it doubles battery life when off. with an aftermarket battery and no light the controller would last 30+ hours per charge which would be acceptable by many.
 
I dim it, yet I'd rather have the option to turn it off completely. It's stupid and holds no value. I'm sorry but I don't care if it changes color when my health depletes. Why would I sit there and look down at my controller, tilt it up to my eyes to check to see my health and take my eyes off the screen. I don't know how that even made it past the drawing board. Who is holding their controllers to where you can see the lightbar without moving it completely upside down almost?!
 
So, does anybody know why is the light there in the first place?
Is Sony planning something for this light, like camera tracking or something?
 
Not
dim_niou.jpg
enough
 
Not nearly dim enough. A couple days after the patch I just put a piece of tape over the light.
 
Pretty much useless, just like the lightbar itself IMO. They should really allow us to turn it off, maybe adding a "Lightbar must be turned on" prompt for camera-related apps. That being said, I believe the touchpad is the real battery hogger here.
 
I've had black tape over it for months so I don't even know what it looks like dimmed. The reflection on my TV is just unacceptable.
 
The reason Sony doesn't want us to turn it off is probably because of some functionality thing I'm guessing, such as with the PS Eye.

But I don't see why they can't just give developers the option to prohibit disabled light bars, if the content relies on them for some reason.
 
Let me turn off the damn light i'm covering up with a sticker.

For a controller with poor battery life as is, it's foolish for them to not figure it out
 
Don't get why they can't add an option that turns it on if the active game needs it, but off the rest of the time.
 
Still doesn't mean there shouldn't be an option for it to be off entirely.
The issue with that is there is no other way to indicate that the controller is on, since that's literally the only led. You could always open the controller up and disconnect the power ribbion. But I think those stickers people place over them is the best alternative.
 
I dim it, just to save the battery (anyone know if it helps at all?). I still don't see the point of it being on all the time, it's angled anyway so you don't even see it.

If it uses an led which I think it does dimming won't give you a noticeable increase in battery life.
 
My screen isn't reflective (unlike some I've seen posted) and no discernible effect on the battery life as far as I've noted.
 
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