Sony Details PlayStation VR's Cinematic Mode with Uncharted 4's Help

Sony Japan has provided more details on PlayStation VR's cinematic mode with the help of recent PS4 hit, Uncharted 4: Among Thieves.

[stalepie]

"We’d love to see Sony add other features in the future; wouldn’t it be great if developers built virtual theaters for their non-VR games for us to immerse ourselves in?"

Great idea. I wonder if Sony plans to offer that as a feature (like dynamic themes).

[freshslicepizza]

if you could use your ps4 with psvr and not have to connect it to a tv that would be a cool feature.

[amiga-man]

Moldy it doesn't need to be connected to your tv.

[leoms]

You do not require tv,

[freshslicepizza]

That's good

[TFJWM]

Moldy A try hard isn't bad in a game but it is for a hater...

[darthv72]

If it's just you... you don't need the TV but obviously if others are playing a game or watching a movie then they use the TV while you get to wear the headgear.

[_-EDMIX-_]

I mean.....maybe you better actually READ what the device is.

[lastking95]

I thought the headsets do that automatically.

[stalepie]

I thought he meant it could be themed. Like playing Uncharted would put you in a jungle setting around the game screen, or Journey would add a desert environment around you (but the game screen floating in front).

[Nitrowolf2]

It does but with presets that Sony created. Expect this to happen though, most likely charge for it as well, which I be fine with mor3 so than fees on static themes

[Goldby]

@Nitrowolf2

Probably if anything will be pre-order bonuses for 1st party games. probably some generic themes as well,

[dennigo]

they have already said this isn't possible at the moment, because the ps4 doesn't have any reserve power, to do the rendering of the "theater".
Now i can already here the flamers coming, the ps4 is powerful enough, it just means some games use all the graphical rendering power of ps4 which means it does not have any left at that moment to render an additional virtual scene.
i'll be happy enough playing my games on a 226 inches screen.

[Errorist76]

A 226 inch screen with a 1080*960 resolution but still...

[dennigo]

in the olden days resolution in cinemas was way lower than todays, people still went just for the big screen

[discobastard]

Not sure about this idea myself. Would it not reduce the impact or level of immersion and be distracting. One reason I hate going to the cinema is the other people! :)

[stalepie]

that's a good point.

Maybe the theater experience for movies could be more realistic if you look around and see virtual other people eating popcorn and checking their phones ;)

[Timesplitter14]

This theater mode strikes me as the kind of feature that people will initially try out of curiosity, but will never actually use in the long run. Kinda like PS3's photo viewer thing where you see your pictures falling on the floor as virtual photos. It's fun the first time, and then you stop using it. And then there's the resolution problem. The resolution of VR headsets is awful right now, even for the Vive which has the best display of the three. Watching a movie/game with this would be a painful experience. It'll be at least 2 years until VR resolution reaches an "acceptable minimum" for an affordable price. That's why I'm waiting for the second generation of headsets before buying one. Right now I use VR frequently at work and I just don't think it's worth it yet

Also, "Like most PlayStation fans, we dream of playing an Uncharted game within virtual reality in the future". It really baffles me that people, in 2016, still think this would be a good idea... I guess these people never really tried VR, or never spent enough time with it to understand what works and what doesn't. A game like Uncharted would never feel right in VR. For it to actually work, it would have to be a first-person spinoff where you character doesn't move around. It would be completely different. Basically the same thing Until Dawn and DOOM did for their VR versions

[nitus10]

There is a huge difference between what an application does and the device it displays too. The best way to look at PSVR is it is a display device which has many of the features of a TV or monitor except that the device coupled with the PS4 and camera can also track your head movement.

Head movement tracking is only useful if the software (ie. game or movie) supports that otherwise the PSVR just becomes a virtual private TV (ie. cinema mode) and it is this feature that will be the most common for many people. Of course, there will be many people that will use the PSVR for VR games and/or movies (VR movies will also be available) as well.

Just what will be the mix of VR mode compared to cinema mode? I think the answer to that can only be given by the user but there will be some mix with the extremes being 100% in either direction. I do think a "decent" survey at least six months to a year from now should produce some interesting trends.

[Timesplitter14]

Unless by "VR movies" you mean movies in which your head is tracked and you can look around 360 degrees at any and all times, VR movies are doomed from the start.

Back in 2014 there were movies coming out for the Oculus, and they were unbelievably uncomfortable. The very principle of having a screen that encompasses your entire field of view but not being able to move on your own is just terrible. It will never work, and it's the reason Oculus and Sony are doing "theater modes" instead of just straight-up using the PSVR as a screen

[GNCFLYER]

Very nice..

Cant wait for October.

[thejigisup]

My body is ready.... My wallet is not

[yeahright2]

from the lead in: "Uncharted 4: Among Thieves" heh.

This is actually my most anticipated feature outside of the games. From the article, it sounds like they got a couple kinks to work out, but it could be real nice.

[shuvam09]

What if Uncharted 4: Among Thieves is a thing :O

[yeahright2]

mgb

[S2Killinit]

Cool stuff

[SP4CE_C4PT4IN]

Pirate King and the Last Treasure- Ha! Nice.

[bloop]

It's like they couldn't be arsed figuring out the true translation and just named it after someone gave them a general run down of the plot. I love it.

[SP4CE_C4PT4IN]

"So there's this really good thief and he may be on his final adventure"

-Got it! Pirate King and the Last Treasure! haha

[Kurisu]

It sounds more like an Indiana Jones subtitle!

[mogwaii]

I havent tried psvr but i did use there personal theatre headset quite a few years ago and that was quite impressive both the scale and fidelity of the screen so considering that is old tech i have no doubt psvr is going to surpass my expectations as far as screen quality goes.

[boing1]

They are saying the screen door effect is visible. Well, we have a PSVR devkit here and to be honest SE is almost non existant. It's way worse on Vive and Rift.

[rainslacker]

I've seen several reports that it's hardly noticeable, or completely non-existent. Vive and OR may be better sets in terms of resolution, but Sony did at least go with some high quality displays. In any case, the screen door effect is more about how the pixels are arranged on the screen, and in PSVR's case, they actually arrange them to minimize or alleviate this effect.

Had a chance to use a demo unit, and can say I noticed none at all....although my use of it wasn't for an extended period of time. It certainly wasn't in any way pronounced. I have seen some on the OR dev kit we have, but sometimes it's a matter of the content itself for that device.

[boing1]

Spot on. RGB layout ready does help a lot. Even though it's 'just' 1080p, thanks to linear layout the matrix is almost invisible. Quality is great and it's easier on the eyes.

[Grilla]

Resolution matters, but a good pixel fill-rate can go a long way to reduce sde.

Anyone notice how the lcd projectors have hardly any sde. Because they have excellent pixel fill-rate.

[yeahokwhatever]

Im going to primarily be using PSVR as a normal screen. Going to be great for any game.

[thejigisup]

I am hoping that this will get support for 3d movies as well. My 3d panasonic plasma is great and all but my active shutter glasses have broken and i don't want to buy new ones.

[King_Lothric]

Nice stuff, can't wait. Is going to be cool to watch netflix lay down in my bed and play games without the TV. That's awesome. Also, I love 360 videos and pictures. I am glad is going to be available.

[RegorL]

Virtual concerts and sports... (spear video, directional sound or HiFi)

Pretty sure this WILL be a thing!

[cd1]

I will defo be using this feature to watch movies. One sentence in the article i dont quite understand is "Apparently the screen didn’t even fit in the player’s entire field of vision at first and they had to move so that it did". Eh?, with it being strapped to your head surely its in the same place no matter where you move to?

[boing1]

Well, I'm guessing you hadn't try VR yet? The effect is like sitting in front row at imax. Literally.

[cd1]

So in movie mode the picture isn't dead set in front of you, no matter what way you face? It actually uses the head tracking so you can look either side of the picture...at nothing? Whats the point in that? Can anybody confirm if this is correct? Not that i don't trust you dude but there are some right f*cking nuggets on here that only speak fluent r'tard.

I was hoping i could lay down on the sofa looking straight up, like the screen was on the ceiling - ultimate lazy!

[Errorist76]

Exactly.

[Goldby]

@CD1

I Think the tracking is for the Large screen, plus if you have the camera set up. if you choose not to set up the camera and go medium i believe you will be able to lie down and enjoy it, thats what im planning on doing at least :) btw, have you watched Stranger Things yet form Netflix?

[cd1]

@goldby. Cheers for the info, far more constructive than the disagrees i received...to a question?... It just so happens i started Stranger things last night - bloody brilliant! Its so '80s it makes me want to get up early on a saturday to watch MASK :)

[Roronoa0411]

Anyone interested in Gravity Rush 2… here is new gameplay in a new area… Looks amazing! Would be awesome if there was a VR mode where you could just walk around the world.
https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[nitus10]

In Gravity Rush Remastered you can switch instantly between first and third-person perspective, which could result in nausea for some when wearing the PSVR headset. The basic flying (actually falling) is fine when you have longer view distances but some of those challenges require very rapid panning which may result in nausea for a small number of people.

[_LarZen_]

I have tried the equivalent of cinema mode for the PSVR on my HTC Vive and it's not an good experience. I had dreamt about playing some PS4 games in cinema mode but with lower resolution then the Vive it's not an good option at all.

I'm just saying so that people can down adjust their expectations a bit. But so have no doubt VR is going to be amazing with the PSVR. Hopefully it's more comfortable then my Vive.

[rainslacker]

I'll be equivalent to a 1080 display that is simply appears larger due to one's perspective. Can't speak for the cinema mode on PSVR, as I've yet to try it, but the display itself is pretty good, and the biggest factor is the so called screen door effect which kind of detracts from the quality of the image. The PSVR doesn't have that, or at least it's not really noticeable like it is in the Vive and OR. The actual screen quality on PSVR is fine though. It's bright and generally pretty sharp depending on the content.

I'd say the image may not be quite as good as a high quality Samsung, LG, or Sony TV, but it is up there with at least a mid-range TV from any other manufacturer.

[_LarZen_]

Of course the PSVR has the screendoor effect. The lower the resolution the more prominent the pixels are. But the PSVR's panel is full RGB. So the screendoor effect even with lower resolution won't be much if any worse then the Vive.

But the problem will be details. Playing a traditional PS4 game with allot of details will be lost when playing in cinema mode. Just like on the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

It's not an good option at all. But this is something those of you that will buy a PSVR in October will find out for yourself.

[Errorist76]

That's where you are wrong. The screen resolution is half of that...1080*960. I agree on the better screen quality though but it's not a FullHD image.

[rainslacker]

@Larzen

The SDE is caused more by the layout of the pixels than the resolution. Sony's unit lays them out differently than the other units, which is why it has it less pronounced, or not at all. All reports suggest that it's either significantly less than the other units, or not noticeable at all.

Personally, I"ve used it already, and noticed no SDE, so don't really need to wait. Can't speak on cinema mode though, but can't see why it'd have a SDE when other content doesn't. On OR, which I've used more extensively, It's pronounced sometimes, and other times it's not.

@Error

The resolution per eye is half that. However, when added together, it makes a complete full HD image. Not sure it it accounts for the entire horizontal resolution since there would be overlap in normal circumstances and it wouldn't be just a split image down the middle to make a whole, but from my experience with PSVR, it's not blurry at all. Any lack of quality came more from the actual content than the displays themselves.

[Errorist76]

True that...people forget the resolution is essentially locked at 1080*960 which sure makes it an inferior experience compared to a FullHD screen. It's totally sufficient for good VR though. We're just starting development.

[NohansenBoy]

wut

[REDGUM]

Here's a question or 2. Will the clarity/screen quality be better if using the smaller screen version compared to the monster screen setup?
What do they mean by trophy support and not sure how they'd work? Wouldn't it be exactly the same?

I ask coz i dont know not being sarcastic!!

[Errorist76]

You need to understand that the actual possible resolution can't be higher than 1080*960, for this gen of PSVR at least. A smaller 'virtual' screen will just enhance the pixelation problem accordingly.

[nitus10]

Have you even tried the PSVR? I haven't myself, however, I do know that screen resolution is not the only factor to take into account. In fact, the main factor at least with regard to pixelization is the actually how the human eye perceives images and for normal vision 300dpi is the limit. If you work it out the PSVR screen is around 380dpi and with a pixel density like that I very much doubt you could see it.

[Errorist76]

@Nitus

8K per eye is around the resolution of the human eye. We are far from that.

[ITPython]

Cinema mode is one of the biggest draws for me, and any 3D stuff is a bonus.

I just hope the screen door effect is very minimal and hopefully not noticabible. Cause when experimenting with Google cardboard and my phone, it was pretty bad and made for a poor experience. Thankfully the psvr has screens FAR better than my phone.

[Errorist76]

Screen door won't be the problem with Sony's screen. Resolution will be.

[ITPython]

I'm curious though, are the screens in the psvr 16:9 widescreens or more 4:3 (or 3:4) sized? Cause if they aren't wide screen then the resolution of 960x1080 (or whatever it is for each screen) shouldn't degrade the sharpness of the original picture since the screens will simply see a cropped version of the 1920x1080 resolution (if you know what I mean). Much how the shortened vertical resolution in the order wasn't as bad as it sounded, as it was a cropped resolution instead.

[Errorist76]

Of course they aren't widescreen. They are almost square. The pixels are square pixels. You have never tried a VR system yet it seems. It's gonna take a few more years and generations to get to widescreen VR.

You seem to totally misunderstand the concept. Both screens in a VR headset show the same picture just slightly different for perspective!

[Doja]

Hope they have a feature in the future that allows you to put netflix on your "big" tv and play a game using the headset off one ps4.

[SaveMeJebus]

I cant believe PSVR2 is coming out in 2 years

[fllysurfer]

Now they just need to do this for web browsing…