M+E Connections

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) unveiled a PlayStation 4 Pro version of its video game console that supports high dynamic range (HDR) and 4K video playback via streaming — but surprisingly not Ultra High-Def (UHD) Blu-ray — at a New York City news briefing Sept. 7. The new console will ship Nov. 10 in the U.S. at $399, Europe at €399, U.K. at £349 and Japan at ¥44,980.

The company also took the wraps off a slimmer version of the PS4 that will ship Sept. 15 at $299. Both new versions of the console were expected for several months, although the PS4 Pro’s expected name was previously PS4 Neo.

It had been expected by some that the PS4 Pro/Neo would support UHD Blu-ray. After all, Microsoft already introduced a slimmer version of its competing console, the Xbox One S, at E3 in June, that supports UHD Blu-ray and HDR. Sony is also a member of the Blu-ray Disc Association and UHD Alliance.

But, while Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has already started releasing movies in UHD Blu-ray, Sony Electronics surprisingly didn’t announce any specific plans at the Consumer Electronics Show in January to ship a UHD Blu-ray player, and hadn’t disclosed any such plans as of Sept. 7. Sony Electronics recently declined to provide an update on its UHD Blu-ray hardware plans.

SIE’s PS4 Pro news release made no mention of UHD Blu-ray, saying only that the console “supports 4K video playback to deliver 4K streaming video services such as Netflix and YouTube.” SIE executives at the news briefing also made no mention of UHD Blu-ray, despite extolling the virtues of 4K and HDR.

SIE didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on UHD Blu-ray support. But Sid Shuman, director of SIE America social media, disclosed at the PlayStation Blog that the PS4 Pro’s internal Blu-ray drive “does not support” UHD Blu-ray, without giving a reason for the decision. He also said the Blu-ray Disc Player application will support “high-quality upscaling” of DVD and Blu-ray Disc content. Shuman also revealed that there are “currently no plans to support” Dolby Vision HDR, but didn’t give a reason.

The news comes at a time when UHD Blu-ray supporters are still trying to increase consumer awareness for the format. There have been promising early signs for it, including relatively strong sales reported by DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group, which said in August that more than 45 UHD Blu-ray title releases were available in the first half of the year and about 288,000 units were sold in that time frame. But Disney remains on the UHD Blu-ray sidelines and many U.S. retailers haven’t fully embraced the format yet. Aside from Amazon and Best Buy, retail support is still relatively weak among other national retailers, including Sears, Target and Walmart.

It would seem that by not including UHD Blu-ray support in the PS4, Sony may also risk losing at least some of the market share lead it has over Microsoft in the current console cycle. For one thing, Microsoft can now more easily target its Xbox One S at consumers who aren’t necessarily core gamers by pointing out that its console also plays UHD Blu-ray movies and the console is, for now anyway, even cheaper than Samsung’s UHD Blu-ray player. In comparison, it could be tougher for Sony to expand PS4’s audience much beyond core gamers, although the PS4 Pro, like other PS4s, plays Blu-ray discs.

Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter on Sept. 8 downplayed the significance of the PS4 Pro’s lack of UHD Blu-ray support. “They are embracing streaming video,” he said of Sony’s decision. “The truth is that 4K [Blu-ray] players add a layer of cost that probably adds a feature which appeals only to a small percentage of users” — 4K TV owners who buy or rent 4K discs, he told MESA, adding: “I think it is smart to keep cost low, and think it helps more than hurts.”

Agreeing with him, DFC Intelligence CEO David Cole said “I think Sony is just fine assuming that adding such support would have added to the cost of the system and they were going for the best mass price possible.”

But Cole said Sony’s decision “does of course hurt” the UHD Blu-ray format because “a lot more consumers will buy PS4s than Xbox One systems with the support.” At the end of the day, the “upgrade to 4K is simply not that exciting for the bulk of consumers,” he guessed, saying it is “not a revolutionary jump like standard to HD was” and questioning whether it’s a feature that many consumers truly want.

Sony could also, down the road, conceivably add a new PS4 Pro SKU adding UHD Blu-ray support or take the route that Microsoft used with the Xbox 360 during the format war between Blu-ray and HD DVD, when it shipped a separate HD DVD drive that could be used with its console.

With the PS4 until now, “we’re pretty much maxing out what 1080 TVs can do with most games,” Andrew House, SIE president and global CEO, told reporters at the news briefing. Therefore, SIE decided it was time for the PS4 to take advantage of display advancements, he said. “Display technology offers so much potential if there is content to leverage what’s now possible regarding visual acuity, precision and high-resolution imagery,” he said, adding 4K “can deliver a level of detail and visual precision that’s unprecedented.” HDR, meanwhile, “contributes to enhancements in visual clarity, color and luminance,” making scenes “far more realistic and truer to the way your eye sees and experiences the real world,” he said. “Games are a natural” for 4K and HDMI, he said.

The PS4 Pro will deliver 1080p resolution for all PS4 games and “higher or more stable frame rates for some supported titles,” SIE said in its news release. “Users with 4K TVs will be able to enjoy all PS4 titles in higher quality, such as 4K quality resolution and faster or more stable frame rates,” it said, pointing out that will be accomplished via graphic rendering or upscaling.

For now, however, it’s not clear how many game developers will take advantage of the PS4 Pro’s video enhancements. But SIE is “asking our publishing and development partners to consider how they can best support PS4 Pro on 4K TVs and also on HDTVs on each and every title,” House said. All PS4 consoles will be able to support HDR via a software update, he also said.

The PS4 Pro will, like other PS4s, support Netflix streaming and a new app for that service will be available at the console’s launch, he told reporters. By the end of this year, 600 hours of 4K content will be available to stream from Netflix, he said. YouTube is also developing an app for the PS4 Pro that will support 4K content, he said, pointing out YouTube is “among the largest sources for 4K content anywhere.”