Playstation NOW

zaphod79 · **Joined:** 16th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 14512

Streaming service coming to the US this summer

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2014/01/ ... is-summer/

Quote:

PlayStation Now Streaming Game Service Coming this Summer

Today, at CES 2014 in Las Vegas, we announced that PlayStation Now (PS Now), our new streaming game service, will be available in the US this summer. With PlayStation Now, you will be able to stream popular hits and classic games from the PS3 library, first on PS4 and PS3 systems, followed by PS Vita.

In addition to PlayStation platforms, most 2014 US models of Sony’s BRAVIA TV lineup will support PS Now. Eventually the service will expand beyond PlayStation platforms and Sony devices, allowing you to stream PlayStation games across a broad range of Internet-connected devices.

Leveraging Gaikai’s advanced cloud-based technology, PlayStation Now will allow you to:

Play video games instantly across multiple devices, similar to the way you might stream TV, movies, and music.
Stream full games to all of your compatible PlayStation devices including PS4, PS3, and PlayStation Vita as well as non-PlayStation devices, beginning with 2014 BRAVIA TV models and expanding to numerous other Internet-connected devices.
Always play the most updated version of your game. With games hosted in the cloud, you can take your game with you – just log in with your Sony Entertainment Network account on a compatible device and your games and saved progress will be easily available.

We want to offer you choice when it comes to how you want to access content on PS Now, so you will be able to rent by title for specific games you are interested in. We’ll also offer a subscription that will enable you to explore a range of titles.

PS Now will begin a Beta program in the US at the end of January with an expected full roll-out in the US this summer. Be sure to check the PlayStation.Blog regularly for more updates on the PS Now service.

Basically Gaikai but not just for Playstation devices - play your games with Bravia TV's and other internet connected devices (Tablets and Smartphones are specifically mentioned)

myp · **Posted:** Tue Jan 07, 2014 22:10

I wouldn't get excited. It's slated for summer 2014 in the US - so probably means sometime in 2015 for Europe. At the very earliest.

Cras · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 49237

Not a shock at all, but welcomed.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32624

As I said when OnLive appeared -- I reckon this is the future. OnLive was ahead of its time, but sooner or later domestic connections will get fast enough to make this feasible for everyone who wants it. When that happens, this becomes very attractive I think.

markg · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 16610

Yeah, I'm sure that at some unspecified time in the future this sort of thing will work quite well for most people.

zaphod79 · **Joined:** 16th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 14512

The CES "demo's" are obviously systems connected across a LAN with very very little chance of latency but are being reported by various places to be working very well

Destructiod : http://www.destructoid.com/playstation- ... 8582.phtml
IGN : http://uk.ign.com/articles/2014/01/08/c ... mpressions

lasermink · **Joined:** 31st Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 1883

There is already so much input lag on modern consoles what with wireless controllers, HDMI, TV-postprocessing as well as developers giving sparklies higher priority. Add internet lag on top of that (which will always be there no matter how fast your connection is) and I just don't see how this can ever be good. Prove me wrong, technology wizards! but I remain skeptical.

zaphod79 · **Joined:** 16th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 14512

lasermink wrote:

There is already so much input lag on modern consoles what with wireless controllers, HDMI, TV-postprocessing as well as developers giving sparklies higher priority. Add internet lag on top of that (which will always be there no matter how fast your connection is) and I just don't see how this can ever be good. Prove me wrong, technology wizards! but I remain skeptical.

Try using your Vita to play your PS4 with Remote Play - it will either convince you that this works or it wont :-)

lasermink · **Joined:** 31st Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 1883

zaphod79 wrote:

lasermink wrote:

There is already so much input lag on modern consoles what with wireless controllers, HDMI, TV-postprocessing as well as developers giving sparklies higher priority. Add internet lag on top of that (which will always be there no matter how fast your connection is) and I just don't see how this can ever be good. Prove me wrong, technology wizards! but I remain skeptical.

Try using your Vita to play your PS4 with Remote Play - it will either convince you that this works or it wont :-)

Good point, I'd like too see first hand what that's like over an internet connection. But I own neither device, and none of my friends or workmates own both (yet).

Grim... · **Posted:** Wed Jan 08, 2014 17:36

Try OnLive for free - they give you a "demo" of 15 minutes on each of their games.
http://www.onlive.co.uk/

It's obviously not the same company but they might well convince you that they can do some pretty impressive stuff.

myp · **Posted:** Wed Jan 08, 2014 20:17

The Last of Us streamed to a Sony Bravia TV and PS Vita.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32624

lasermink wrote:

There is already so much input lag on modern consoles what with wireless controllers, HDMI, TV-postprocessing as well as developers giving sparklies higher priority. Add internet lag on top of that (which will always be there no matter how fast your connection is) and I just don't see how this can ever be good. Prove me wrong, technology wizards! but I remain skeptical.

You can get TV latency down to 20 ms or so by turning on game mode, which many people (IME at least) either don't know about or don't use. Older TVs like my 2010-era Samsung can add 80 ms or more if you don't turn that on. I contend that a) this suggests people aren't sensitive to 80 ms of lag (in addition to unavoidable lag like the game's input loop) and b) newer TVs have more efficient post-processing engines that reduce that 80 ms.

Hence in the future, it is not unbelievable that TVs might get fast enough that even with the added lag of game streaming plus post-processing is no slower than a few-years-old TV is today doing post-processing of local content. And even today, switching your TV to game mode then adding on the extra latency of game streaming is still faster than running your TV in post-processing mode, and yet many people do the latter without complaint.

Sony has an advantage here: if it's smart, the Bravia TVs with built-in Playstation Now will turn off post-processing automatically when using the service.

It's never going to be as good as local connections, of course, but I think it could very easily be Good Enough for most folk in time (but, I concede, probably not today). Particularly with the added convenience of instant access to a wide library of games (probably, IMO, for a combination of a Netflix-style all-you-can-eat sub for older stuff and per-title purchasing or renting for premium games).

lasermink · **Joined:** 31st Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 1883

Oh, I'm sure "many people" will be content, but I won't, personally. For some types of games it doesn't matter of course, but having grown up with games with zero lag, I wouldn't want to play a game like Resogun with 8 frames of latency, for example.

myp · **Posted:** Thu Jan 09, 2014 0:56

There's no such thing as zero lag.

lasermink · **Joined:** 31st Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 1883

British Nervoso wrote:

There's no such thing as zero lag.

Of course, but it would never be more than about 1 frame using wired joysticks and CRT displays on, say, a Commodore 64 or an SNES in a properly coded 2D action game.

lasermink · **Joined:** 31st Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 1883

As if you didn't already know what I meant.

Doctor Glyndwr · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 32624

What screen and settings do you use win your consoles?

zaphod79 · **Joined:** 16th Apr, 2008 **Posts:** 14512

Registration now open to join the Beta (US only)

http://us.playstation.com/playstationnow/

lasermink · **Joined:** 31st Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 1883

Doctor Glyndwr wrote:

What screen and settings do you use win your consoles?

I use game mode on my TV (an older Bravia), obviously. And I don't have a problem as such currently, except with a few games where the developers are clearly to blame, such as the Need For Speed games, for example.

I just imagine the added lag of an internet return trip on top of what we have currently, and all I'm saying is I want to see before I believe.

TVs don't get rid of all lag in game mode, although it differs a lot between makes and models. Check this list from CNET, where it seems to vary from 1 to 8 frames.

markg · **Joined:** 30th Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 16610

That's quite a good article really, especially the test with the actual human. I can play games with some input lag but I much prefer the feel when it's lower. When there's perceptible lag it can create a slightly disconnected feeling in games that seek to convey the impression that you are actually directly manipulating some physical object, like a car or whatnot, demanding a constant stream of tiny, unconscious corrections. Which is why I think that even surprisingly small amounts of delay can be significant. Too much lag and it feels like there's a third party passing along your instructions. I've had the same experience with flying RC stuff too, some radio gear has a poorer response time than others and a few hundredths of a second delay makes for a completely different and worse feel.

I probably shouldn't have read that article because I'll probably end up wanting a new telly now :facepalm:

lasermink · **Joined:** 31st Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 1883

lasermink wrote:

Doctor Glyndwr wrote:

What screen and settings do you use win your consoles?

TVs don't get rid of all lag in game mode, although it differs a lot between makes and models. Check this list from CNET, where it seems to vary from 1 to 8 frames.

BTW, I know that no TV could be expected to have less than 16.7 ms latency (1 frame) in any kind of test, so it's actually pretty impressive that the Sony TV on the list manages that.

Zio · **Joined:** 31st Mar, 2008 **Posts:** 6093

As someone who's used the Remote Play function on the PS4 -> PS Vita, I can see this working pretty well. It does depend a lot on the game, of course. Assassins Creed IV works brilliantly over Remote Play, but Resogun is not so great. Still perfectly playable, but the lag is enough that there's no way I can attain as good a score playing it that was as I can playing it directly on my PS4.

I can't see it working great with rhythm games either. I ended up getting Rocksmith 2014 for my Mac in the finish, as playing the original on my PS3 with all the lag between the console, AV receiver and telly made it unplayable.

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Playstation NOW
Coming to the US this summer

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Be Excellent To Each Other

Playstation NOW Coming to the US this summer

Who is online

Playstation NOW
Coming to the US this summer