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HDTVTest: PS5 vs Xbox Series X 4K Blu-ray Player Comparison

digitalrelic

digitalrelic

Weight Loss Champion 2018: Biggest Change
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  • Higher chroma bandwidth on PS5. Chroma channels appear to roll off on Series X
  • PS5 renders gradations in a smoother manner than Xbox Series X
  • PS5 outputs 12bit YCBCR444, Series X outputs 10bit RGB
  • 4K playback is not bit-perfect on either player
  • Series X skips a frame or two when skippng ahead or behind in a film
  • Series X mishandles pure 24fps blu-rays, resulting in a stutter/frame skip every ~42 seconds
  • Important to note that neither player supports Dolby Vision playback

Looks like the PS5 is clearly the superior choice for 4K UHD blu-ray playback.
 
Last edited:
bert muscle

bert muscle

Member
Aug 15, 2018
230
If it adds to the discussion, my Series X makes a loud grinding noise exclusively when trying to playback UHD disks.
 
Jeffram

Jeffram

Member
Oct 29, 2017
3,924
PS5 just needs that Dolby Vision. Only thing that has me considering buying a new stand alone player.
 
Euler007

Euler007

Member
Jan 10, 2018
5,040
Just need to add in Dolby Vision support and the PS5 will be good enough for everyone save some extreme videophile.
 
Glimlocker

Glimlocker

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Mar 7, 2019
3,575
Empire of the Inland Realm, USA
No surprise.
Sony had been an electronics company long before it got into gaming.

And they obviously still have tons of expertise with A/V electronics, as they still actually produce equipment.

Microsoft does not produce any(?) A/V equipment, so I wouldn't expect them to outperform a company that does.
 
dlauv

dlauv

Prophet of Truth - One Winged Slayer
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Oct 27, 2017
11,509
Is this something that could be fixed with firmware updates?
 
OP
OP
digitalrelic

digitalrelic

Weight Loss Champion 2018: Biggest Change
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
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dlauv said:
Is this something that could be fixed with firmware updates?
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Yes. It's not a hardware issue. Honestly though I doubt MS would bother to put the resources into fixing such minimal problems for such a niche audience.

In the end, neither player is bit-perfect and neither player supports Dolby Vision, so neither of these are good choices for videophiles. Still, now I know I'll be using my PS5 for disc playback rather than my Series X.
 
Teiresias

Teiresias

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,211
I'm not quite clear why any player wouldn't be bit perfect. Now, messing with the metadata in the case of the Panasonic optimizer players, sure, but what's the reason neither doesn't pass the bitstream completely right (outside colorspace conversions that the Xbox is doing to RGB I guess)? I can't watch the video right now.
 
bert muscle

bert muscle

Member
Aug 15, 2018
230
CloseTalker said:
I had that too. Turning the system horizontal helped a lot
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Shocked at how common the issue was when I looked it up. Sorry to hear yours does it too. I tried horizontal and although quieter, my Series X still sounds like it is chewing the disk. Luckily I only have a few UHD films so I wasn't too fussed. Buying the same films off AppleTV was cheap and worked well enough. Would be devastated if I had a massive physical library though!
 
B.O.O.M.

B.O.O.M.

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,756
Very happy so far with PS5 as a 4k player. As mentioned, DV support would make it perfect for me
 
Lkr

Lkr

Member
Oct 28, 2017
9,506
my ps5 disc drive is too loud before even getting into dolby vision
i'm looking to get a shield pro to play back ISOs ripped to my nas
 
Skel1ingt0n

Skel1ingt0n

Member
Oct 28, 2017
8,717
I had a bajillion issues with the included and aftermarket HDMI 2.1 cables with my GX OLED and the Series X. All kinds of artifacting. Weird audio glitches. When using earc and an atmos track.

finally found a cable that works and has helped a bunch, but I'm surprised people aren't making a bigger stink about this. Maybe I'm alone.
 
Sunfyre

Sunfyre

Member
Jan 15, 2020
584
The integrated 4K Blu-ray player was a reason why I bought an Series X day 1 despite the console having zero games to show for it that I wouldn't get on my old Xbox. Now I am starting to feel more and more like a fucking clown 🤡
 

Shoeless

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,978
Euler007 said:
Just need to add in Dolby Vision support and the PS5 will be good enough for everyone save some extreme videophile.
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I keep wondering if this is something that Sony might eventually patch in for every PS5, or if it's a matter of economics, offer a license that PS5 owners can purchase at additional cost to themselves if they want to add Dolby Vision to their PS5 with drive, since such an added feature means nothing to the digital owners.
 
Euler007

Euler007

Member
Jan 10, 2018
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Shoeless said:
I keep wondering if this is something that Sony might eventually patch in for every PS5, or if it's a matter of economics, offer a license that PS5 owners can purchase at additional cost to themselves if they want to add Dolby Vision to their PS5 with drive, since such an added feature means nothing to the digital owners.
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I wouldn't mind paying a one time 20-40$ license fee. Cheaper than getting a separate UHD BR player. Just make a deluxe edition of the player software.
 
| TrusT |

| TrusT |

Member
Apr 19, 2020
1,898
What's the point of outputting in 12bit YCBCR444 when the panels on 4K TV's are all 10bit?
 

Shoeless

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,978
Euler007 said:
I wouldn't mind paying a one time 20-40$ license fee. Cheaper than getting a separate UHD BR player. Just make a deluxe edition of the player software.
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Yeah, exactly. We know this is just a software issue being gated by Sony not wanting to pay for the DV license. But it's a compromise I'm willing to make if they decide, "We'll pass the expense to YOU if you want it."
 
Dany

Dany

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Oct 29, 2017
4,063
seattle
I've watched 2-3 UHD blu-rays on the PS5 and it looks fantastic. Including Tenet. THe only time I would hear a noise is from pausing/playing and its so minor. Is there another noise y'all keep complaining about that I don't have?
 

Shoeless

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,978
My PS5 makes a fair amount of noise after disc insert, when it's loading up the content. But once the actual movie gets going, it's pretty quiet.

Though I'm also watching on a surround sound set up, so it could just be I'm not hearing the disc whirring and such anymore.
 
Poutine

Poutine

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
928
Sony has experience in blu-ray players, not really surprising. At the same time,. the real videophiles won't use game consoles for movie playback but probably a dedicated blu-ray player instead, the Oppo brand comes to mind.
 
mikehaggar

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Oct 26, 2017
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Harrisburg, Pa
digitalrelic said:
Yes. It's not a hardware issue. Honestly though I doubt MS would bother to put the resources into fixing such minimal problems for such a niche audience.

In the end, neither player is bit-perfect and neither player supports Dolby Vision, so neither of these are good choices for videophiles. Still, now I know I'll be using my PS5 for disc playback rather than my Series X.
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Does the Series X only support DV for games? If so, that's a bummer.
 
Glimlocker

Glimlocker

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Mar 7, 2019
3,575
Empire of the Inland Realm, USA
albz74 said:
It's all matter of money. Not MSs focus apparently. They prefer to invest on better GPU
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I mean, Sony has decades of experience with producing all types of A/V equipment, so I'd be inclined to think the sheer amount of engineering knowledge can outperform just throwing money at it.

I'm sure if you threw enough money at it, things would even out, but I don't think that's one of Microsoft's main priorities.

If they plan on their systems to become an all-in-one media center, though, I think they should definitely devote more time and development into it.
 
jokkir

jokkir

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,169
digitalrelic said:
Yes. It's not a hardware issue. Honestly though I doubt MS would bother to put the resources into fixing such minimal problems for such a niche audience.

In the end, neither player is bit-perfect and neither player supports Dolby Vision, so neither of these are good choices for videophiles. Still, now I know I'll be using my PS5 for disc playback rather than my Series X.
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They fixed that raised black levels on XSX when playing blurays so there's still hope they could fix it. Though where in the priority list these issues would be is another question
 
HonestAbe

HonestAbe

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May 19, 2020
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Lets be honest, if you're using either one as 4k disk players, you probably don't care about any of this and probably didn't even know.
 
nexus

nexus

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Oct 25, 2017
3,644
I just upgraded my system so I was getting back into the physical media a bit to really test it so I was wondering this. Looks like ps5 it is, just wish they would add Dolby vision.
I gotta get one of those ps5 media remotes though.
 

TitanicFall

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Nov 12, 2017
8,263
It's not that surprising seeing the results. Sony sells their own Blu-ray players so should be better at this than Microsoft.
 
Naythan

Naythan

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Oct 25, 2017
611
ATL
Good to know the difference but I currently have a dedicated 4K player due to the much maligned lack of dolby vision for discs in both consoles.
 
jokkir

jokkir

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Oct 25, 2017
8,169
HonestAbe said:
Only apps..games and video soon.
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Were physical discs/bluray videos confirmed getting Dolby Vision? I know games were but not physical discs.

And just watched the video. I doubt the average viewer will notice much but hoping Microsoft fixes the issues and doesn't take them too long
 
dlauv

dlauv

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Oct 27, 2017
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You know the PS3 output DVDs better than the 360 - like, noticeably better. It also seems the PS5 outputs DVDs better than the XSX from what I saw of some guy comparing his animes on both consoles.

On my XSX I am seeing an option in the video modes for "Allow YCC 4:2:2." Does that matter at all with the YCBCETC?
 
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