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PlayStation 5's first beta firmware update rolling out (Full changelog in OP)

Outrunner

Member
Full changelog
Main Features Updated in this System Software Beta Program Version

  • You can now insert an M.2 SSD to your PS5’s expansion slot and use M.2 SSD storage. Just like your PS5’s console storage, you can install PS5 and PS4 games in M2 SSD storage and play them directly from there. (Read more here.)
    • You can use PCle 4.0 M.2 SSDS with a capacity of 250 GB minimum and 4 TB maximum.
    • To safely insert or remove your M.2 SSD, make sure your PS5 is turned off and that the AC power cord is unplugged.
    • To use M.2 SSD storage, insert your M2 SSD in your PS5’s expansion slot while your PS5 is turned off. When you turn on your PS5, you’ll format your M.2 SSD so that it’s ready to use.
    • To move a PS5 or PS4 game that’s installed in console storage or USB extended storage to M2 SSD storage, go to your game library, press the options button and then select [Move Games and Apps]. Then select the game you want to move, and then select[Move].
  • You can now enjoy 3D audio through your TV speakers.
    • To enable 3D audio for your TV speakers, go to [Settings] > [Sound] > [Audio Output], and then turn on [Enable 3D Audio for TV Speakers].
    • You can also measure the acoustics of your room using the microphone on your DualSense wireless controller to apply the 3D audio setting that’s optimised for your room.
  • In your games home screen, we’ve updated the following:
    • If you have different platform versions of the same game installed, they’ll now appear separately on your home screen.
    • Different versions of a game are now easier to spot. Icons are displayed to indicate the specific platform, such as PS5 or PS4.
  • In (Library), we’ve updated the following:
    • The [Installed] tab is now the first tab you’ll see, making it easier to find games that aren’t on your home screen, as well as offering quicker access to your media gallery.
    • Under the [Installed] tab, each game’s tile now clearly indicates its platform (such as PS5 or PS4). Also, just as in your games home screen, different platform versions of a game will now appear separately.
    • Under the [Your Collection] tab, you’ll now see that game tiles display the number of versions available to you when you’re entitled to multiple versions of a game.
    • You can now hide games much more quickly.
  • In Game Base, we’ve updated the following:
    • From the Game Base control menu, you can now do the following:
      • You can now access party text chats and send messages from the Game Base control menu in the control center.
      • If you’re the owner of a party, you can now delete it. From the Game Base control menu, select the party you want to delete and then select [Delete Party] from the (more) menu. If you delete a party, it will be deleted for all members.
    • You can now see how many of your friends are online, busy or offline under the [Friends] tab.
    • You can now accept, decline or cancel multiple friend requests at the same time. To do so, under the [Friend Requests] tab, select [Received Requests] or [Sent Requests] from the (Select Multiple) menu.
  • In (Trophies), we’ve updated the following:
    • You can now track up to five trophies per game in the control center using the trophy tracker.
      • To start tracking a trophy, select a trophy and then select [Start Tracking].
      • When you’re playing a game, you can easily access information about the trophies you’ve added to your trophy tracker.
      • You can also view your trophy tracker in pin-to-side mode to see information about the trophies during gameplay.
    • When viewing the trophy lists of games, the trophies will now be displayed vertically instead of horizontally. You’ll now be able to see more information for each trophy without selecting it.
  • In the control center, we’ve updated the following:
    • You can now customize your control center more freely. All the controls at the bottom of the screen can be rearranged.
    • The first time you open the control center, you’ll see a quick introduction to some of its key features.
  • When you enable the screen reader, you can now use the following features:
    • You can now pause the screen reader by pressing the PlayStation button and Triangle at the same time. To resume, press the PlayStation button and Triangle again.
    • You can now make the screen reader repeat anything it reads. To do so, press PlayStation button and R1 and at the same time.
Other Updated Features

  • There’s a new accolade type: Leader. This is for a player who crafts the plan, strategizes, and inspires others. You can give accolades like “Leader” to players after online matches, when you want to encourage positive behavior. All of a player’s accolades, including this new type, appear on their profile.
  • In (PlayStation Now), we’ve updated the following:
    • The streaming connection test lets you identify and fix problems with your connection.
    • You can now choose your maximum streaming resolution to optimize your game performance.
    • Now you’ll see directly in the game hub if and when a PlayStation Now game is scheduled to be removed, so you can make sure you try new games or play your favorites while they’re still available.
  • When you’re competing in challenges for a better time or a higher score and you set new personal best, we’ll automatically take a video clip of the action for you.
    • You can share the video clip directly from the challenge card in the control center, or you can share it later from your media gallery. • To adjust this setting, go to [Settings] > [Captures and Broadcasts] > [Auto- Captures] > (Challenges).
  • You see suggestions in your control center when a friend is playing a game you can join.
    • Previously, it would take about one day before these suggestions would appear for a friend you just added. They can now appear much more quickly.
    • Suggestions will also now appear even if your friend is playing a streamed PlayStation Now game.
  • We’ve made the following improvements to parental controls:
    • Now when a child requests to play a game or use communication features in a specific game, their parent or guardian will receive a notification on the PS5 and PlayStation App.
    • The child will also receive a notification when their parent or guardian accepts or denies a request, or stops allowing the child to play a game or use communication features.
  • In (Media Gallery), we’ve added new fonts for the text you can add to your screenshots.
  • For the features available from the Create menu, we’ve updated the following:
    • When you’re manually recording a video clip, the elapsed time counter will now automatically disappear after three seconds and reappear when needed.
    • We’ve added more video lengths for you to choose from when saving recent gameplay.
    • You can now choose whether to display save confirmation notifications for screenshots. To adjust this setting, go to [Settings] > [Captures and Broadcasts] > [Shortcuts for Create Button], and then enable or disable [Display Save Confirmation for Screenshots].
  • You can now select whether you’d like to receive notifications on your PS5 or via email about new products and special offers. To do so, go to [Settings] > [Users Accounts] > [Account] > [Communication Preferences].
  • In (Notifications), we’ve updated the following:
    • When you receive pop-up notifications with videos in them, you can now start the videos directly from the pop-ups or from your notifications list.
    • You can now turn off the sound your notifications make. Go to [Settings] > [Notifications] and then turn off [Play Sound].
  • When you log in to the PS5, and an accessory with a microphone is connected, the mute status of the microphone is now displayed.
  • We’ve simplified the process of connecting, disconnecting and setting up your internet connection, making these tasks easier.
  • When adjusting your 3D audio profile for headphones, you can now move the sample sound to your left or right, allowing you to select a more optimized 3D audio profile. Go to [Settings] > [Sound] > [Audio Output] and then select [Adjust 3D Audio Profile].
  • We’ve improved the game audio quality of some games when 3D audio for headphones is enabled.
  • If you have a PULSE 3D wireless headset, you can now access an audio EQ feature in (Sound) in the control center, with different presets to choose from.
  • Now when you block someone, you can choose to also leave the party that only you and they are in at the same time. You won’t leave parties that include other players.
  • You now have two separate controls for including your mic’s audio and party audio in your broadcasts. There are two more controls for doing the same with video clips.
  • We’ve updated the DualSense wireless controller device software to improve stability. • You can now update your DualSense wireless controller device software from settings. To check if an update is available, go to [Settings] > [Accessories] > [Controllers] and then select [Wireless Controller Device Software].








 
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Kuranghi

Member
*checks whole video for folder support or at the bare minimum being able to rearrange tiles*

Christmas Eve Waiting GIF


Baws! Well I'm at least happy to see what 3D audio does with 5.1, its just a soundbar (ZF9) with rears but I don't know if theres going to be a significant difference between that and a proper speaker setup, outside of the current differences. It always sounded tinnny to me on a pair of 1000XM3s, so heres hoping its better on a surround sound setup with a subwoofer.

Vertical Surround is alright on my ZF9 (seems like its an adjacent technology) but only really shined with an actual Atmos or DTS:X soundtrack that already contained object based audio and height data, so didnt really live up to the "Upscales from 2.1 up to 7.1.2!" marketing pish.

Do any PS5 games support Atmos or DTS:X? I know RE2/3R did on PC but not sure about Village on PC or otherwise.


Soon, Riky.

psycho alfred hitchcock GIF
 
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Shmunter

Member
*checks whole video for folder support or at the bare minimum being able to rearrange tiles*

Christmas Eve Waiting GIF


Baws! Well I'm at least happy to see what 3D audio does with 5.1, its just a soundbar (ZF9) with rears but I don't know if theres going to be a significant difference between that and a proper speaker setup, outside of the current differences. It always sounded tinnny to me on a pair of 1000XM3s, so heres hoping its better on a surround sound setup with a subwoofer.

Vertical Surround is alright on my ZF9 (seems like its an adjacent technology) but only really shined with an actual Atmos or DTS:X soundtrack that already contained object based audio and height data, so didnt really live up to the "Upscales from 2.1 up to 7.1.2!" marketing pish.

Do any PS5 games support Atmos or DTS:X? I know RE2/3R did on PC but not sure about Village on PC or otherwise.



Soon, Riky.

psycho alfred hitchcock GIF
No need for proprietary formats like Atmos or DTX, the console will calculate the sound data and send raw channels so any setup will produce 3D audio.
 

Kuranghi

Member
Fuck, finally 3d audio out through HDMI, and you use the Dualsense mic to measure your soundstage for accurate reproduction! Expected as such. Great news, now I wish I signed up for the beta.

I have some Atmos and DTS:X encoded video files we could maybe try playing on the PS5 media player via USB to see what true Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks would sound like with the 3D audio until the add some games with those soundtracks, although I'm not sure if it will apply to only games output maybe 🤔
 

Shmunter

Member
I have some Atmos and DTS:X encoded video files we could maybe try playing on the PS5 media player via USB to see what true Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks would sound like with the 3D audio until the add some games with those soundtracks, although I'm not sure if it will apply to only games output maybe 🤔
All Sony 1st party games already have the 3D processing as standard. Some 3rd party like Ubisoft also from memory. Wonder if there is a list.
 
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j0hnnix

Member
3D Audio , nice surprise can't wait! Finally don't have to worry about deleting games and be lazy again.

The dualsense sound measurements is a nifty touch.
 
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Kuranghi

Member
No need for proprietary formats like Atmos or DTX, the console will calculate the sound data and send raw channels so any setup will produce 3D audio.

Yeah but as I wrote in my post in many tests I've done with Vertical Surround from Sony, it sounds quite naff unless the height data is there to begin with. I tried it on an XF9000, ZF9 and the ST5000.

XF9000 is 2.1, the ZF9 is 5.1 with the optional rears and the ST5000 is 7.1.2 but the height channels are upfiring speakers ofc and the "rears" arent separate from the bar. I tested in a place where the upfiring speakers were uselesss due to distance to ceiling. The ST5000 definitely sounded best with the Vertical Surround for everything except stuff behind you (prob because it has no speakers behind you) but as I said it really needed actual object based sound sources with height data to sound impressive. Otherwise it was just more like how modern mobile phones use psychoacoustics to make it sound like the stereo channels are right at your ears and give a fake surround sound effect.

I'm sure it will be great for those with less than 5.1 systems but I'd recommend sitting straight on to the bar as the effect was heavily diminished for me off axis.

All Sony 1st party games already have the 3D processing as standard

Okay cheers, I've not read up on the PS5 3D audio much so I'm not really sure what that means vs. traditional audio from previous gen games. Like how Uncharteds can output with DTS or Dolby encoding in a specific channel arrangement.
 
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Bartski

Gold Member
E
Explain…
You can't hide the HD Cam while streaming. So you're either broadcasting without the camera or you're looking at your own mug taking screen space on your TV.
I got the cam as a present and wouldn't mind streaming with it sometimes, but who would ever want to play games like that? Beats me. Yet somehow this is how it works.
 

Shmunter

Member
Yeah but as I wrote in my post in many tests I've done with Vertical Surround from Sony, it sounds quite naff unless the height data is there to begin with. I tried it on an XF9000, ZF9 and the ST5000.

XF9000 is 2.1, the ZF9 is 5.1 with the optional rears and the ST5000 is 7.1.2 but the height channels are upfiring speakers ofc. I tested in a place where the upfiring speakers were uselesss due to distance to ceiling. The ST5000 definitely sounded best with the Vertical Surround but as I said it really needed actual object based sound sources with height data.



Okay cheers, I've not read up on the PS5 3D audio much so I'm not really sure what that means vs. traditional audio from previous gen games. Like how Uncharteds can output with DTS or Dolby encoding in a specific channel arrangement.
It’s all about calibration at the end of the day I would speculate. With Atmos your receiver or sound bar’s electronics are responsible for distributing the appropriate frequencies to the speakers you have to achieve the best possible 3D effect.

Now that function is shifted to the console to manage. The receiver/soundbar processing is no longer relevant outside of powering speakers. Comparisons will be interesting, and results will obviously vary depending on the individual’s equipment.
 

CyberChulo

Member
*checks whole video for folder support or at the bare minimum being able to rearrange tiles*

Christmas Eve Waiting GIF


Baws! Well I'm at least happy to see what 3D audio does with 5.1, its just a soundbar (ZF9) with rears but I don't know if theres going to be a significant difference between that and a proper speaker setup, outside of the current differences. It always sounded tinnny to me on a pair of 1000XM3s, so heres hoping its better on a surround sound setup with a subwoofer.

Vertical Surround is alright on my ZF9 (seems like its an adjacent technology) but only really shined with an actual Atmos or DTS:X soundtrack that already contained object based audio and height data, so didnt really live up to the "Upscales from 2.1 up to 7.1.2!" marketing pish.

Do any PS5 games support Atmos or DTS:X? I know RE2/3R did on PC but not sure about Village on PC or otherwise.



Soon, Riky.

psycho alfred hitchcock GIF
I use a USB bluetooth device on the PS5 to pair with my wf-1000xm3 and the 3D audio is amazing!
 

Hakiroto

Member
Sounds good. That said, at ~9 months after the console release, all I want from a future software update is the addition of the promised VRR.
 

Perfo

Thirteen flew over the cuckoo's nest
Just to understand, so now both calibration of the speakers and a calibration from ps5 for the speakers is needed to set up correctly a 5.1 to 3d audio? Two separate working calibrations?
 

Shmunter

Member
You can't hide the HD Cam while streaming. So you're either broadcasting without the camera or you're looking at your own mug taking screen space on your TV.
I got the cam as a present and wouldn't mind streaming with it sometimes, but who would ever want to play games like that? Beats me. Yet somehow this is how it works.
Who would ever want to watch games with someone’s mug in the first place? Lol, I kid, I kid, I get it.
 

Kuranghi

Member
Just to understand, so now both calibration of the speakers and a calibration from ps5 for the speakers is needed to set up correctly a 5.1 to 3d audio? Two separate working calibrations?

No, you don't need to do anything except set the audio device correctly in the PS5 settings in the first place, so it knows what you have. Ie stereo speakers on a TV, a soundbar with up to 7.1 or a receiver with more channels than 7.1. Although I've never been able to connect a receiver with height channels to a PS5 so I don't know if it even references them or just lets the receiver deal with it.

There was never any calibration needed before this or now. What sound setup to do you have?
 

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Just to understand, so now both calibration of the speakers and a calibration from ps5 for the speakers is needed to set up correctly a 5.1 to 3d audio? Two separate working calibrations?
That sounds correct, although you probably already setup the speaker distance calibration so it'll just be the 3D audio
But I miss the part when it said it works through Home Cinema system, I only saw TV speakers in the video.🤔

Kuranghi Kuranghi
You can setup Speaker positions in the Audio settings, been there since launch.
 
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Shmunter

Member
Just to understand, so now both calibration of the speakers and a calibration from ps5 for the speakers is needed to set up correctly a 5.1 to 3d audio? Two separate working calibrations?
Logically PS5 will just compensate over the device calibration to achieve its desired calibration.

Anyway, we don’t know how complete any of this is at this stage.
 

Kuranghi

Member
I use a USB bluetooth device on the PS5 to pair with my wf-1000xm3 and the 3D audio is amazing!

I had to plug mine straight into the Dualsense so maybe thats why it was so disappointing, now you've made me think it might have activated that horrible "headset mode" you get on PC if you don't use the right source in the audio settings by doing this.

Can I ask how was the experience wired into the controller for you? If you could test it and compare to the USB dongle I'd be really grateful. Oh and which dongle did you buy?
 

Kuranghi

Member
It’s all about calibration at the end of the day I would speculate. With Atmos your receiver or sound bar’s electronics are responsible for distributing the appropriate frequencies to the speakers you have to achieve the best possible 3D effect.

Now that function is shifted to the console to manage. The receiver/soundbar processing is no longer relevant outside of powering speakers. Comparisons will be interesting, and results will obviously vary depending on the individual’s equipment.

The console can't know what channels your sound system has though I don't think, I still believe it has to know how many channels to send out, but in this case with this 3D processing applied. I'll rewatch the Cerny thing to see what I can glean from it.
 
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Shmunter

Member
That sounds correct, although you probably already setup the speaker distance calibration so it'll just be the 3D audio
But I miss the part when it said it works through Home Cinema system, I only saw TV speakers in the video.🤔

Kuranghi Kuranghi
You can setup Speaker positions in the Audio settings, been there since launch.
If it’s only 2 channels, which it may be….then it’s got a way to go.

Personally not effected as I use high end headphones plugged into the tv so 2ch is what I’m primarily after.
 

Kuranghi

Member
If it’s only 2 channels, which it may be….then it’s got a way to go.

Personally not effected as I use high end headphones plugged into the tv so 2ch is what I’m primarily after.

Yeah headphones are way better at simulating extra channels and object based sound, I'd presume since they know exactly where your head and ears are in relation to the drivers. Don't need to worry about optimal seating position.
 

kyliethicc

Member
"Sony is also addressing some of the confusing aspects of PS4 or PS5 versions of games. Different versions will now appear separately in the home screen and game library, and each game’s title will also now include whether it’s PS4 or PS5."

"The Control Center interface will now include more personalization options for rearranging or choosing controls, and PS5 users will be able to view and write messages to friends and parties from the Game Base in the Control Center."

"This new PS5 beta will also include a trophy tracker that lets players quickly access up to five trophies per game through the Control Center."


- better UI
- M.2 SSD storage
- 3D audio on TVs

Good update. Beta test now should mean its coming full for all by September-October.
 
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rofif

Can’t Git Gud
isnt 5500mb slower than internal?
wouldnt that mean ratchet stutter?

btw - the 3d audio sounds fantastic on pulse 3d. Better than it did to dualsense connected headphones but that's probably because of headphones quality.
I am skeptical how it will work on speakers
 
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Kuranghi

Member
I think that would require system level support, and that would mean Sony paying license fees to Dolby. Does that answer your question?

It does support DTS:X and Atmos when playing blurays so it must be able to decode them in regards to video/audio playback at least, not sure how that factors into games though.
 
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nowhat

Member
It does support DTS:X and Atmos when playing blurays so it must be able to decode them in regards to video/audio playback at least, not sure how that factors into games though.
Does it really decode them though or just pass them through HDMI? And when it comes to games, the console should be able to encode to Atmos.
 
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MaKTaiL

Member
isnt 5500mb slower than internal?
wouldnt that mean ratchet stutter?

btw - the 3d audio sounds fantastic on pulse 3d. Better than it did to dualsense connected headphones but that's probably because of headphones quality.
I am skeptical how it will work on speakers
There is currently a bug where phones connected into the Dualsense will produce a muffled audio on unsupported games if you have 3D Audio enabled. Hopefully this new update fixes that.
 

kyliethicc

Member
It does support DTS:X and Atmos when playing blurays so it must be able to decode them in regards to video/audio playback at least, not sure how that factors into games though.
PS5 doesn't support DTS:X / Atmos for games. Just the 3D audio / PCM.

Its not like any games have lossless DTS:HD MA compression anyways. DTS/Dolby only matter for films via BDs.
 

Kuranghi

Member
Does it really decode them though or just pass them through HDMI?

Well the PS5 can be connected directly to a TV with internal speakers and internal processing that probably doesn't support DTS:X or Atmos decoding so I'd presume it has to decode it. Maybe its just falling back on the compressed core though, not sure how you'd tell except by connecting something that analyzes the HDMI signal coming from the PS5 before it gets to the TV.
 

Perfo

Thirteen flew over the cuckoo's nest
Logically PS5 will just compensate over the device calibration to achieve its desired calibration.

Anyway, we don’t know how complete any of this is at this stage.
Ok, this is what I expected. Thanks to the other ones too.
 

Topher

Gold Member
I use a USB bluetooth device on the PS5 to pair with my wf-1000xm3 and the 3D audio is amazing!

Exactly what I am doing. Nice to have the option to use whatever headphones I want rather than being forced to buy officially licensed stuff that is, frankly, subpar.
 
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Kuranghi

Member
PS5 doesn't support DTS:X / Atmos for games. Just the 3D audio / PCM.

Its not like any games have lossless DTS:HD MA compression anyways. DTS/Dolby only matter for films via BDs.

Yeah I get that the compression wouldn't matter and I've always not really understood DTS/Dolby output (whether its compressed, uncompressed or the newer object-based codecs) in games anyway, it doesn't seem to make any sense to me since you aren't listening to a fixed soundtrack but rather something thats different depending on where you are/face in a game.
 

Kuranghi

Member
Does it really decode them though or just pass them through HDMI?

Well the PS5 can be connected directly to a TV with internal speakers and internal processing that probably doesn't support DTS:X or Atmos decoding so I'd presume it has to decode it. Maybe its just falling back on the DTS/Dolby compressed core though.
 

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
The console can't know what channels your sound system has though I don't think, I still believe it has to know how many channels to send out, but in this case with this 3D processing applied. I'll rewatch the Cerny thing to see what I can glean from it.
Unless I'm misunderstanding you, you can choose a channel output from the settings.
Be it 2.0/5.1/7.1 and so forth.
those settings appear when connected to a AV Receiver
 
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kyliethicc

Member
Yeah I get that the compression wouldn't matter and I've always not really understood DTS/Dolby output (whether its compressed, uncompressed or the newer object-based codecs) in games anyway, it doesn't seem to make any sense to me since you aren't listening to a fixed soundtrack but rather something thats different depending on where you are/face in a game.
Yeah its all just pointless DTS/Dolby encoding by the console on a system level. Has nothing to do with the game.

My understanding of it this:

Console can send the game audio out as PCM or as DTS / Dolby.
PCM means no work for TV/AVR... Done, simple.
Using DTS/Dolby means the TV/AVR has to decode that signal... Why bother?

Kinda a waste of time given the source content wasn't mastered in either one. We'd basically just be asking the console to say, encode a DTS signal for the receiver to then decode again. Kinda pointless double work for no real gain. I just use PCM for games on my PS4. Sounds great. Only downside is my AVR's little blue light doesn't light up (since its not decoding.) Oh well lol.
 

Shmunter

Member
isnt 5500mb slower than internal?
wouldnt that mean ratchet stutter?

btw - the 3d audio sounds fantastic on pulse 3d. Better than it did to dualsense connected headphones but that's probably because of headphones quality.
I am skeptical how it will work on speakers
I mentioned it in the other thread, but I’m raising an eyebrow to the 5.5gig. The concern being Sony lowering their high watermark for throughput. And it smells like pc cross development may be the reason.
 
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