Did you know that the Xbox Series X has better HDMI 2.1 bandwidth than the PS5? You might know that, because it was tested a few years ago by a YouTuber named Vincent Teoh, and he's returned to test the PS5 Pro recently as well.
As it turns out, the PS5 Pro features the same spec as the PS5 in this area, specifically including 32Gbps of HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, whereas the Xbox Series X comes in higher at 40Gbps. Here's a quick look at Vincent's recent test:
We're not tech wizards here at Pure Xbox, so even we've been a bit stumped about what this actually means - but basically, it seems that for games that can achieve 4K, 120FPS on the PS5 Pro, the image quality is slightly reduced in order to cope with the lesser bandwidth, whereas on the Xbox Series X this isn't necessary. This assumes you're using a display that supports the appropriate visual settings on Series X through HDMI 2.1 as well.
It should be made clear that for the majority of people, the difference between the two would be small and the PS5 Pro is still a very competent console even without 40Gbps of HDMI 2.1 bandwidth. That said, considering it's an expensive "Pro" console targeted at tech fanatics, it's surprising to see it hasn't caught up with the Series X in this area.
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know down in the comments section below.
Comments 58
So can someone clear up if the Series X can actually use this extra then?
The article talks about 4k 120fps as if that's standard across any of the consoles, so if that's the standard it is used for it is effectively pointless anyway...
@Medic_alert In reality in the vast majority of use cases it will make no difference as to exceed the 32Gbps bandwidth you have to be using 4K + 120fps + VRR + HDR at RGB/444. Very few games do that.
In the few cases where you are running the game at 4K + 120fps etc. there might be some additional artifacting from the chroma subsampling, though as games already have artifacts from DRS (Dynamic resolution scaling) and other upscaling technologies and games are usually in motion you have to have a trained eye / be VERY finicky to pick up on this. I suspect most users wouldn't even notice.
It is an advantage on paper, but in reality won't make much of a difference. But it is still strange the PS5 Pro didn't ship with a full 40Gbps HDMI 2.1 port as there is slightly more chance for the games to be hitting that on the Pro model.
Meh, it's not like there's an abundance of 4k 120 games out there. Even then I'm not sure how much of a diffence it even makes. Seen some people say YUV is better for the human eye. TBH I was surprised to find that COD Cold War looks better on the PS5 Pro than black ops 6 does on the series X.
I honestly don't own either console. If their games were all 1080p/60fps I would be happy with that. I don't care about ray tracing, ai garbage, or the like.
We're at the point where we have hundreds and hundreds of titles available and we'll never actually play all the titles we purchase.
The Xbox Series X stands out for prioritizing key features that matter to consumers. While PlayStation made cuts like removing CD playback and lacking UHD Blu-ray support on the PS4 and PS5, Xbox has maintained its focus on versatility, offering full disc drive compatibility and UHD Blu-ray support. The Xbox One S and X also set the standard for UHD support, while Sony lagged behind. Microsoft’s commitment to future-proofing their consoles shows they’re thinking ahead, offering lasting value for gamers who want more than just the basics.
Hell, The Series S, for all that it seems weaker, it's powerful enough to run games categorically designed for the Series X with no major signs it's a weaker system.
Sony release a more expensive console and begin migrating games over to it, with there being no 'other option' for budget gaming. Microsoft baked into the last two generations a way for people to get a decent system that ran everything the main system could run... at a fraction of the price.
Yeah, this really is one for the nerds! I suspect that it’s basically saying the PS5 is limited to 4:2:2 chroma sampling, whereas the Series X can go full 4:4:4, but you’d never really notice the difference unless you were zooming into a freeze-frame. Interesting to know though, I guess.
@themightyant thanks, that's pretty much what I thought.
I imagine the Pro doesn't have it is purely due to already having available parts and not wanting to upgrade them for marginal gains. A few pence on every console becomes pretty significant over millions of consoles.
It really goes to show that the Series X hardware is top notch and imo the best built console this generation, I have a PS5 Pro and while some games do look better the build quality is noticeably worse as I have loud coil whine as my day one PS5 also had, whereas the Series X is ALWAYS dead silent.
@bazchillin ummmm I have plenty of uhd blurays that play just fine on the PS5.
@Weebleman I think @bazchillin was talking about certain 4K UHD Blurays which are incompatible with PS5. Though I 100% disagree with him that this is a "key feature that matter to consumers", it's a niche use case for a small minority at best.
EDIT: though there are pros and cons to each system as a Blu-ray player. Both What Hi-fi and Forbes did a comparison if you want to read more. Spoiler: neither are great but they think PS5 edges it.
@themightyant well you learn something new every day. I've never come across an issue on it (or my series x) but I guess they're out there.
@Weebleman Much like this HDMI bandwidth 'problem' it's a niche issue with things like 3D discs that will only affect a tiny subset of an already tiny proportion of users. Not a big deal imo, but it all adds up.
everyone should have your console set to output at 4k 120hz its just that only series X does 4:4:4 subsampling at 4k120hz
and by the way output to your tv is different to what the game does
Series X is just literally the best console as a piece of hardware. Thats coming from Ps5 PRO owner.
Such a shame its not properly supported and MS doesnt care anymore.
Anyways, enjoying my time with series X while GP lasts. Maybe will keep it and extend GP until this gen is supported with new games, so good 3-5 years (inclduing cross gen when prime launches). But then for me a big question if even bother with xbox hardware anymore.
@bazchillin CDs! There's a blast from the past. Think the last time I put it in a CD into a console was the original Xbox.
That's all well and good but at least there's actual games to play on the PS5. I bought my Series X last April and I've only bought 3 games since then. No point bragging about a consoles capabilities if there's no software to take advantage of those capabilities 🤦♂️🤦♂️
@Weebleman excuse my wording in my earlier statement. But what I’ve found is that the PS4 Pro doesn’t play UHD Blu-ray discs, even though Sony is a platform holder for Blu-ray. This is surprising, especially since Microsoft’s Xbox One S and Xbox One X included UHD Blu-ray playback at a lower price point. It seems Sony prioritized streaming services like Netflix over physical media, but this decision disappointed users who value the superior quality of UHD Blu-rays.
Additionally, both the PS4 and PS5 don’t support audio CDs, which I think is just silly. Earlier PlayStation models like the PS1, PS2, and PS3 supported audio CDs, so this omission feels like a step backward. While CDs may seem outdated, they’re still important to some users, and including this feature would have been a small yet appreciated bonus.
Why cut costs on such small features that could actually enhance the user experience? Decisions like these prioritize modern trends but come at the expense of versatility and backward compatibility, which is frustrating for loyal consumers.
Removed - unconstructive; user is banned
@Millionski How is the Xbox not supported ? It has multiple AAA First Party games releasing yearly for it now which are also included with Gamepass Day One at No extra cost.
Whereas the PS5 gets just One single AAA First Party exclusive title a year for years now and you have to pay for that even if you have PS Premium.
One AAA First Party exclusive game a year and relying on paying 3rd party's to give them any little claim to exclusivity! sounds more like Sony are not supporting the PS5 much better than they have PSVR.
@IOI wait the pro has coil whine too? I know it's a very first world problem but damn, I didn't expect that.
Series X from a hardware POV is definitely my favourite console to date, I barely even clean it and it never makes a peep
@bazchillin Maybe if ur a big Blu-ray fan, you would have a proper Blu-ray player. Since none of the consoles are rated pretty highly. I'd say ur key features for consoles are just nice to have.
@Coletrain thankfully my Pro doesn't. Both the normal PS5 and PS5 Pro have been super quiet compared to the PS4 Pro. The one X and series X have always been quiet.
@bazchillin “While PlayStation made cuts like removing CD playback and lacking UHD Blu-ray support on the PS4 and PS5”
Erm. You do know the PS5 is a fully functional 4k bluray player, right? Every PS5 with a disc drive is a 4k bluray player. That said, I invested in a separate 4k player to spare my PS5 and Series X’s optical drives some wear and tear.
As for the cd part…a few years ago I was surprised to learn that the PS4 didn’t have the ability to play cds…and then I remembered that I ripped all my CDs years ago and have never used my game console to play music since the PS2. Genuinely surprised that the series X can play them. I learned something new today, and I hope you did as well with the PS5 and 4k movie playing!
@Nexozi that's good to hear, although a Boeing 747 is quieter than a PS4 pro if memory serves 🤣
So weird how some ps5s were fine and others not. My mate has one and it is audible when you're playing games, but nothing like the PS4 days
I thought this was known, guess not officially via foundational testing.
@Coletrain Oh yes! The PS4 Pro was truly terrible. Set it beside the one X to try and shame it into being quiet. 😂
@Millionski People often claim that the Xbox Series X is superior to the PS5. While the Series X does boast more raw power on paper, the PS5 frequently outperforms it in terms of framerates—about 90% of the time, in fact. This is because the PS5’s architecture, including the internal connections between the GPU and CPU, is more efficient. Sony has optimized the interplay between components to reduce bottlenecks, allowing games to run smoother despite the console having slightly less powerful hardware.
Yes, the Series X might be more expensive to produce due to its specs, but that doesn't necessarily translate to better overall performance. The PS5's smart design demonstrates that raw power isn’t everything when it comes to real-world gaming performance. The differences are often small, but they highlight how well-engineered the PS5 truly is.
@FuzzieGinge88
Wait, what!? There's no games on the Series X?
4 upvotes for that comment? Absolute PS fanboy nonsense.
Of course there are games. Just because you only bought 3 games doesn't mean there aren't others.
Did the PS5 Pro address the lower VRR limit of 48 frames that the standard PS5 has?
@Nexozi, I only put my CDs into my PS3 one time each
to save to the hard drive. Then I transfered what I wanted to a thumb drive and can play it on my PS4 and during a game if I wish.
Also PS4 game screen shots and video can be transfered to a thumb drive and then play better on my PS3 after I download to play from the hard drive. Scrolling through screen shots is faster and the image can be quickly cropped. Video has playback speed options including near frame by frame.
I don't have PS5 so I am not sure what I can do other than I know I can't copy game saves to a thumb drive like can be done on the PS4 and 3. Also like the PS4 the 5 does not have a Cd player and can not play music CDs and PS1 game discs like a PS3 can.
I was envious of the original Xbox back in my PS2 days. I could play music CDs, but not while playing GTA.
@dskatter yeah I do know the PS5 is capable of UHD blu-rays. I just worded it wrong in the first comment.
@Nexozi I still buy CDs since I don't like paying monthly for music. Also still have a CD player in the car. I downloaded the Media Player app through Edge by going to the Microsoft Store. It downloaded kn Xbox and I can play CDs while playing my games. It is still my go to medium for music except for on my mobile. But since I can just rip the CDs and deploy them anywhere it gives me a lot of flexibility. Also my 3 year old son loves putting in CDs and dance to it.
@BossBE It has a sleek design with great cooling system and better specs. The reason it underperforms is because devs care more about the PS due to market share. And thats exactly we all whine in this chat.
When devs actually care, SX shines. Look at Space Marine 2 for example.
@Rog-X i said not PROPERLY supported so people do not accuse me like you did
Yes when you miss goty nominee like the wukong just because your platform is not popular => that tells a lot.
And 1st party support - how many games were high-quality and great on a release in first 4 years of series gen?
@FuzzieGinge88 guessing those were sony exclusives? if you play multiplat I would say the biggest miss was wukong. Aside of that, xbox + GP is pretty decent combo.
A victory anywhere you can get it I suppose 🤣
@Coletrain Yup, much louder than the Slim or the late fat models, in some 120 FPS it’s even worse than my day one PS5 which is very disappointing.
BossBE wrote:
LOL
I remember fanboys used to say crap like this all the time, and then John Lindemann tweeted a list of results from XSX PS5 head to heads on DF and the XSX won the vast majority. Haven't heard from you guys too much in the years since.
Not beating in sales ,and that what counts. Bandwidth ,come on get real.Can just see a thirteenth year old saying ,no i want a Xbox X because it has better bandwidth.😂😂😂
I have always preferred the Xbox over the Playstation when it comes to action oriented games.
@Jenkinss LOL. I always watch DF. They even talked intensive about this. It's not an open secret PS5 is build more efficiently. But series x is build with more quality. It's even so that intern Microsoft did meetings why PS5 outperformed Xbox series x in a lot of cases. This is all known...But whatever. I got both, love both.
@bazchillin hey man, no worries. It was actually somethings I wasn't aware of (apart from the audio cd thing, which always felt odd).
Xbox needs all the wins it can get so hooray!
This might be the most meaningless difference in the history of video game consoles... It's theoretical extra bandwidth that is not ever used.
If anything, cutting that down for the sake of cost management would be a sign of lead architect maturity and proper optimization approach.
This a whole lot of nothing lol. Who cares
Of course. Xbox series x is a superior hardware. Definitely stronger than the base PS5 and looks that now that the parity in the industry that sony forced, according to DF (devs shouldn't be allowed to make a better version of their game on Xbox) and that PS5 Pro is out, most devs take more advantage of XSX' s raw power. Although PS5 Pro has some better stats, it uses a new beta technology PSSR that most devs don't know yet and it produces abiguous results on the games. Without a disk drive and a base and of course without first party games in line, it doesn't justify its price. In addition, the plastics and the materials on the PS5 slim and Pro look very cheap and it's like a cheap manufactured product. Whoever has an Xbox series X or even an S console knows that the material used are of a better quality and in general looks like a premium product at least in comparison to PS5 Slim and PS5 Pro. (The first model was better i think, after this sony went cheap)
They should have picked on the VRR being better on the series x with a better VRR range and LFC built into the console.
This 4.4.4 vs 4.2.2 at 4K 120hz is really not noticeable being honest and is in super nerd analysis territory.
Ive also remembered as well as better VRR
On series x, also quick resume which is a great feature for me.
Easy to add more memory slot in card
Does not require feet or a stand to sit on a shelf vertically or horizontally.
The PS5 really should not be as successful as it is and with less single player games from Sony AAA studios due to bad GAAS decisions.
This really should have been the time for Xbox to strike for some good ole console war, then moving more into next generation in a better fighting position.
@OldGamer999 now VRR, that is a real difference and a measurable win for Team Green. I am currently playing FF16, and that game is rough on PS5 performance mode. Might get to shine on XSX, although it's tough to justify developers expecting users to have VRR displays to make the game playable.
@BaltiPie
That is why Sony get the sales, great marketing and PR when they want to do it and creating brand momentum and showing off the right games at the right time.
As we know Xbox console and game marketing has been almost zero.
It’s is definitely the weirdest and hardest Xbox generation I have ever known.
@bazchillin I don't have a PS5 so I can't attest to it's UHD playback, but the Series X is not a good 4K player. I've got several movies in my collection that won't play in my Xbox. It seems that if you have a BD-100 disc there's a good chance it won't work in an Xbox. It's not just my machine as lots of people seem to have this issue, and BD-100 discs are getting more common now.
I've bought a stand alone 4K player (which isn't cheap) so I can watch my 4K discs.
@FuzzieGinge88 Check out the store mates hundreds of not thousands of games on there should sort out your problem 🤷
Xbox is the best console in terms of efficiency, noise, features and built quality, last generation and this generation. Some features are not used by everyone, but it makes the machine more versatile and valuable, e.g. playing CDs in the background with Windows Media Player. Most owners of CDs aren't throwing them away.
PS4 and PS5 don't play CDs and PS5 Pro doesn't have a disc drive. Perhaps, next Xbox won't have a disc drive either. That's what make me appreciate Series X even more. It's like Wii U, that plays Wii and Wii U games, GC games unofficially, supports GC, Wii and Wii U controllers and has the Virtual Console that allows you to play those games offline and without renting 30-year-old roms, unlike Switch. I have a Switch, but it has never replaced my Wii U.
The PS5 doesn't support 3D either on Blu ray or PS4 games that had it enabled; apparently the 3D chip was not included in the console. I found this out after trying some of the Rebellion titles that played in 3D on the PS4, but did not on the PS5 - and I would suspect the PS5 Pro is the same
I don’t know if it’s related, but I have been saying for awhile now that my PS5 and PS5 Pro (yes I have both) do not play back 4K Ultra HD Blu Ray as well as my Xbox Series X. Currently the Pro and my Series X are connected to a LG 4K OLED 120hz TV, both using the high speed HDMI inputs, and both using factory HDMI cables. The Xbox video and audio seems better when playing back the same discs.
Despite the fact that I have PS+ (essential) subscription until December 2030, I am so happy that I did not waste any money for "PS5" or "PS5 Pro"... Maybe I'll consider PS6 after it is released.
Until than, I'll continue to reduce my backlog on Xbox One S, PS4 and PC.
No need to rush.
4:4:4 is the standard for color on computer/PC monitors.
4:2:2 is a standard popular on TV screens.
The biggest difference you'll notice in everyday use is 4:4:4 renders small text much more sharply when viewed up close. This is important when you're working with text documents on a PC, some might say very important. It's much less important when playing a video game, but it is a noticeable difference.
Irregardless of what the tests or specifications say I have noticed subtle differences in various games on the Xbox and Playstation consoles. The Playstation does look better when it's playing cinematic cut scenes or were there is not a lot of movement on screen like platformer type games. I personally find the Xbox better when there is a lot of action on screen or action oriented games. I enjoyed The Witcher 3 on my Xbox but didn't really enjoy it on my ps4. Sonic Manic and Astria Ascending don't look the best on the Xbox but look better on the ps4. Games that are fully optimized for the Playstation like Spider Man look fine, but the file size is huge at around 80 - 100 GB.
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