PlayStation Portal - DF Tech Review - Decent Hardware But Does Remote Play Cut It?

[Powerofthecloud]

PlayStation Portal - DF Tech Review - Decent Hardware But Does Remote Play Cut It?

Sony combines a tablet LCD display with actual DualSense hardware to create a unique remote player for detaching PlayStation 5 gameplay from your main displa...

www.youtube.com

YMMV the review.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

YMMV the review.

Click to shrink...

This has always been the chief issue with the Portal as a piece of hardware. Remote Play, like any kind of streaming thing, is EXTREMELY subjective and has an extremely variable experience tied to it based on so many different factors. It's probably great if you just want to beam one of your games to another room in your own house without moving your PS5 using your own wi-fi, but in any other situation it's just...not gonna give you the same kind of results.

And considering you can already DO the primary use case with your laptop and a DualShock/DualSense, a $350 piece of dedicated hardware, with zero other features, made to facilitate something you can already do with your own computer just feels like a "this is only for the hardest of the hardcore Playstation fans with money to light on fire" kind of product.

 

[Jinfash]

This has always been the chief issue with the Portal as a piece of hardware. Remote Play, like any kind of streaming thing, is EXTREMELY subjective and has an extremely variable experience tied to it based on so many different factors. It's probably great if you just want to beam one of your games to another room in your own house without moving your PS5 using your own wi-fi, but in any other situation it's just...not gonna give you the same kind of results.

And considering you can already DO the primary use case with your laptop and a DualShock/DualSense, a $350 piece of dedicated hardware, with zero other features, made to facilitate something you can already do with your own computer just feels like a "this is only for the hardest of the hardcore Playstation fans with money to light on fire" kind of product.

Click to shrink...

Does the Portal have any proprietary tech that makes it better than the Remote Play app or Chiaki?

 

[xeroborn55]

This has always been the chief issue with the Portal as a piece of hardware. Remote Play, like any kind of streaming thing, is EXTREMELY subjective and has an extremely variable experience tied to it based on so many different factors. It's probably great if you just want to beam one of your games to another room in your own house without moving your PS5 using your own wi-fi, but in any other situation it's just...not gonna give you the same kind of results.

And considering you can already DO the primary use case with your laptop and a DualShock/DualSense, a $350 piece of dedicated hardware, with zero other features, made to facilitate something you can already do with your own computer just feels like a "this is only for the hardest of the hardcore Playstation fans with money to light on fire" kind of product.

Click to shrink...

It's only $200

And I would have bought one if I didn't already have a steam deck that streams ps5.

With kids and a family being able to stream games around the house is great.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

Does the Portal have any proprietary tech that makes it better than the Remote Play app or Chiaki?

Click to shrink...

Doesn't appear like it, based on the video. It's Remote Play, warts and all.

It's only $200

And I would have bought one if I didn't already have a steam deck that streams ps5.

With kids and a family being able to stream games around the house is great.

Click to shrink...

Right, and like I said, you can already do that with a laptop. Or, as you mentioned, your Steam Deck. That's the problem - this device doesn't really have a a key consumer because its functionality is replicable with little to no difference on hardware everyone already has, or hardware that has more functionality AND can do Remote Play.

 

[Iwao]

a $350 piece of dedicated hardware

Click to shrink...

 

[Ada]

What happens to the device when the sticks start to drift?

 

[vivftp]

As he says some folks have had a great experience with their Portals and I'm one of 'em. I can be 2 floors up from my PS5 and router, while my PS5 is downloading games and I can stream perfectly with no issues. So far I've tested Spider-Man 2, Destiny 2, Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart, Gran Turismo 7, Sniper Elite 5 and Days Gone. All have played exceptionally well.

I have the Pulse Explores coming in early December so I'm curious to hear how well the PS Link with its low latency audio performs over such a setup.

As it is, I'm very happy with it, and it's likely to get even better. It doesn't seem that Sony has integrated any of the tech from their iSize acquisition into remote play yet, but they very well may have done so with the new PS5 cloud streaming feature that launched last month. That could mean that remote play will see some additional enhancements to bring it up to the level of the cloud streaming option. And we know Sony are looking into cloud streaming on the Portal, and I think it's only a matter of time. That'll further enhance its use cases.

 

[Ovvv]

Doesn't appear like it, based on the video. It's Remote Play, warts and all.



Right, and like I said, you can already do that with a laptop. Or, as you mentioned, your Steam Deck. That's the problem - this device doesn't really have a a key consumer because its functionality is replicable with little to no difference on hardware everyone already has, or hardware that has more functionality AND can do Remote Play.

Click to shrink...

Why get a Steam Deck when you already have a laptop?

Same type of thinking for this thing imo

 

[Lant_War]

What happens to the device when the sticks start to drift?

Click to shrink...

You're kinda screwed. It's not very well designed to be opened up iirc

 

[bes.gen]

Right, and like I said, you can already do that with a laptop. Or, as you mentioned, your Steam Deck. That's the problem - this device doesn't really have a a key consumer because its functionality is replicable with little to no difference on hardware everyone already has, or hardware that has more functionality AND can do Remote Play.

Click to shrink...

i have zero use for this and wouldnt touch it,
but it looks much more couch comfy for the specific niche
than a laptop or even steamdeck.

 

[Iwao]

Why get a Steam Deck when you already have a laptop?

Same type of thinking for this thing imo

Click to shrink...

Pretty much. But ya know…

 

[Alexandros]

Doesn't appear like it, based on the video. It's Remote Play, warts and all.



Right, and like I said, you can already do that with a laptop. Or, as you mentioned, your Steam Deck. That's the problem - this device doesn't really have a a key consumer because its functionality is replicable with little to no difference on hardware everyone already has, or hardware that has more functionality AND can do Remote Play.

Click to shrink...

All of this is true and it makes the Portal a rather situational device but Sony may be perfectly fine with that. I would imagine that they don't expect this thing to sell as well as a Switch or anything.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

All of this is true and it makes the Portal a rather situational device but Sony may be perfectly fine with that. I would imagine that they don't expect this thing to sell as well as a Switch or anything.

Click to shrink...

I'm sure they're not delusional enough to think it's going to be a runaway success or even sell as much as a console. But it is still a very puzzling device and makes me wonder if the original idea was some kind of attempt at a new PSP that they abandoned and just decided to shove some streaming guts into.

Why get a Steam Deck when you already have a laptop?

Same type of thinking for this thing imo

Click to shrink...

The Steam Deck isn't reliant on two different internet connections to be usable. You can play it in the car or on the train, for example. I WOULDN'T, personally, I'd never bring my Steam Deck anywhere where it might get stolen, but that's me. It has a lot more use cases than the Portal.

 

[CloseTalker]

Why get a Steam Deck when you already have a laptop?

Same type of thinking for this thing imo

Click to shrink...

I mean, you can download games to a steam deck and play them anywhere.

 

[neptunez]

I thought it would have some ad-hoc WiFi mode that bypassed your router and connected straight to your PS5.

 

[LightKiosk]

What happens to the device when the sticks start to drift?

Click to shrink...

Easier to open up than a DualSense and the analog stick modules are screwed in rather than soldered so replacements are doable with basic tools.

 

[Alexandros]

I'm sure they're not delusional enough to think it's going to be a runaway success or even sell as much as a console. But it is still a very puzzling device and makes me wonder if the original idea was some kind of attempt at a new PSP that they abandoned and just decided to shove some streaming guts into.

Click to shrink...

My theory is that they saw all the excitement around portable gaming and they wanted to have a product in that space without actually making a separate platform.

 

[Ovvv]

I mean, you can download games to a steam deck and play them anywhere.

Click to shrink...

Can do the same with a laptop, though.

I'm sure they're not delusional enough to think it's going to be a runaway success or even sell as much as a console. But it is still a very puzzling device and makes me wonder if the original idea was some kind of attempt at a new PSP that they abandoned and just decided to shove some streaming guts into.







The Steam Deck isn't reliant on two different internet connections to be usable. You can play it in the car or on the train, for example. I WOULDN'T, personally, I'd never bring my Steam Deck anywhere where it might get stolen, but that's me. It has a lot more use cases than the Portal.

Click to shrink...

I'm saying why get a Deck when you have a laptop, not why get a Deck over a Portal.

The answer is that people like dedicated devices tbh

 

[Abdiel]

I finished up phantom liberty last night on my portal and my house mate was really impressed by how good it was looking and running through it.

I'll be using it to play persona 5 tactica at night now too. It's just way more comfortable than having to use my laptop and is really smooth. No problems at all.

 

[It’s Time To Go]

Here's my summary of it from the early access of the video yesterday

DF review for the portal is up in early access!

- Tricky review because the user experience can drastically vary, with lots of contrast of user experience online. All those experiences are valid
- Sony cannot guarantee everyone will get the same experience from it, which is problematic
- Not a console or handheld, but a streaming device
- depending on the Wi-Fi connection, how your console is connected to the router, how close the portal is to the router, Wi-Fi traffic, you can have very different hard ware experiences.
- PS5 should be hardwired for the best experience, portal should be as close to the router as possible. If you can't do these things, the portal experience will degrade.
- Cool for playing PlayStation, but has to be in same room as console and router
- You can try and use it in other places, such as 5G, but the further away you get from your console in real and internet space, the worse the experience is going to be.
- To see if you'll have a good experience, try it with the PlayStation remote play app first. Seems certain it uses the same protocols as any remote play client.
- Poor manual and instructions in the box to set up the portal most effectively.
- Nice piece of hardware, get the full dual sense experience. Larger screen than most remote play experiences, with a bright vibrant screen, weak blacks aside.
- USB C socket for charging only.
- You can expect to 5 hours of play from a 2.5 hour charge, subject to what you play, volume, brightness, haptics.
- Inside the portal Is a snap dragon 680 processor. Decent enough 6nam mainstream mobile SOC, which means there's plenty of horsepower for the basic interface plus support for HC video decoding at 1080p At 60 frames per second.
- Portal has potential beyond streaming, but that's all it can do right now.
- Missed opportunities for the portal, such as cloud streaming, or as standard dual sense controller.
- By DF's standards, remote play isn't great, and the portal gives a poor first impression, this was with their portal right next to the router.
- Measuring lag metrics, they have their PS5 hooked up by Ethernet with the portal 1 metre away.
- Measuring it using an on screen timer with the PS5 on screen
- There is a four to five frame difference between the portal and the PS5 on the tv screen, which is 66 to 83 milliseconds of lag on the portal compared to a tv.
- They also checked it on the PC remote play app, similar results.
- Lag feels different to everyone, so you might not notice it.
- If you dont have game mode on your tv, you might not notice the difference.
- The frame differential is equivalent or a touch higher to the response difference between a 30fps game and 60 fps one
- Always use performance mode on portal where possible
- Better experience with Wii U game pad than on the portal regarding latency
- Obvious macro blocking and banding on the PS5 front end
- portal should be giving the user more information on the quality of the experience

Click to shrink...

 

[Anddo]

Easier to open up than a DualSense and the analog stick modules are screwed in rather than soldered so replacements are doable with basic tools.

Click to shrink...

This.. there are already YT videos on the process.
So no, you are not screwed.

 

[vivftp]

I'm sure they're not delusional enough to think it's going to be a runaway success or even sell as much as a console. But it is still a very puzzling device and makes me wonder if the original idea was some kind of attempt at a new PSP that they abandoned and just decided to shove some streaming guts into.

Click to shrink...

It's not all that complex. They've got over a decade of data on customer remote play habits and we know as of 2019 there were over 5 million people using remote play. It's an additional device meant to help get folks to play their PS5 more frequently, Sony's flat out said that. Whether the TV with the PS5 is being used by someone else, or if you're in another room and want to game or if you're away from home, these are all opportunities for someone to engage with their PS5 more. The more people engage with their PS5, the more likely they are to spend money on a game or DLC or MTX.

The Portal is the most convenient and user friendly access point into remote play, but it's not meant to replace all other options. Sony are perfectly happy if someone wants to use their phone or tablet or laptop to remote play. The Portal just gives you a convenient, ergonomic option if that's what you're looking for. Its use case scenarios will only increase once cloud streaming is eventually added to it, as many speculate it will be, and since Sony has indicated they're looking into it.

 

[Shoe]

It's too bad there's no way for a direct connection between console and handheld without the router as a middleman, like the Wii U had, but that would have required hardware built into the PS5, which Sony clearly wasn't thinking of the Portal when they designed it. A 10+ year advancement on the tech that Wii U used might've allowed for basically latency free in the whole house. Oh well.

 

[Iwao]

I'm sure they're not delusional enough to think it's going to be a runaway success or even sell as much as a console. But it is still a very puzzling device and makes me wonder if the original idea was some kind of attempt at a new PSP that they abandoned and just decided to shove some streaming guts into.

Click to shrink...

Remote Play has been around since the PS3 era. They have all the telemetry they need to know how popular the feature is, and truth is that it's not going away. This kind of device is inevitable, and considering it gets people to understand more about home networking which is a future none of us will be escaping from, it's only a good thing.

 

[Yerffej]

Can do the same with a laptop, though.


I'm saying why get a Deck when you have a laptop, not why get a Deck over a Portal.

The answer is that people like dedicated devices tbh

Click to shrink...

If the Portal had the simple capability of having your games on the device, it would be a valid comparison. It's a crapshoot as to what your experience will be like on the Portal. It's the same experience every time for the games you have on the Deck. The Deck is all in one. A laptop isn't. Neither is the Portal.

 

[grmlin]

I will probably buy one when someone jailbreaks it. Not interested in a device that only streams from a PS5 that's running in my home.
I don't worry too much about the streaming quality. I use GeForce Now and that does not even run in my home and feels like a local machine to me

 

[TaySan]

If there's no proprietary tech i see no benefit of buying this over using your phone/tablet or Steam Deck. Shame

 

[vivftp]

It's too bad there's no way for a direct connection between console and handheld without the router as a middleman, like the Wii U had, but that would have required hardware built into the PS5, which Sony clearly wasn't thinking of the Portal when they designed it. A 10+ year advancement on the tech that Wii U used might've allowed for basically latency free in the whole house. Oh well.

Click to shrink...

I'm curious, how exactly do folks think the Portal would do a direct connection to the PS5? Over Wifi 6? Well if the Portal is connected via wifi to the PS5 then how would the PS5 connect to the internet if you weren't hard wired? Wouldn't the PS5 have to have a second wifi chip so it could connect both to the internet and the Portal? Or is there some other way to make that work?

 

[Toiletduck]

Happy the device is a success and it exists. Even for a small market. There is a place for single-use, purposed devices like the Portal. It's like the Kindle. Sure the iPad can do a lot more, but if I'm reading a book, I'd rather use my Kindle.

Same for remote play: I'd rather use my Logitech G Cloud over my iPhone/iPad.

 

[sephghast]

This thing is a godsend for parents like me. It links up faster to the PS5 than any remote play device. I'm up and at 'em in like 20 seconds. I beat MGS1 on it on weekends while my kids were using the TV.

 

[Shoe]

I'm curious, how exactly do folks think the Portal would do a direct connection to the PS5? Over Wifi 6? Well if the Portal is connected via wifi to the PS5 then how would the PS5 connect to the internet if you weren't hard wired? Wouldn't the PS5 have to have a second wifi chip so it could connect both to the internet and the Portal? Or is there some other way to make that work?

Click to shrink...

Yes, Wii U had a separate wifi chip used solely for the gamepad streaming

 

[CloseTalker]

This is an interesting video, in that I think it will scare off a lot of people who would otherwise be totally fine with the experience. I consider myself as hardcore a gamer as you can get, and I have played some Spider-Man 2 on Remote Play vis an ipad mini and my dualsense, and I thought the experience was pretty great. I'm not gonna go to bat saying it's perfect, but I was playing the game and having fun the same way I play the game and have fun on my PS5.

This isn't Digital Foundry's fault, because it's their job to do rigorous testing and inform, but I think their videos can set off that thing in peoples brains where if it isn't perfect, it isn't good enough. Similarly to when they compare a game on different consoles, it's easy to think "Aw man, the PS5 hits an average of 3-5fps lower than Xbox hits, I knew I should have got it on Xbox", when they never would have noticed that themselves.

My main takeaway from this video is that this thing is super easy for people to test themselves. You can try remote play right now on yor phone, laptop, or tablet, and connect a Dualsense to it. Try that and if you feel like you can play games and enjoy the experience, that's your answer.

 

[vivftp]

Yes, Wii U had a wifi chip used solely for the gamepad streaming

Click to shrink...

Well then that's the answer to the question of why the Portal doesn't do a direct connection to the PS5. That'd be an entire shitstorm in itself if the PS5 lost its ability to connect to the internet via wifi whenever someone wanted to connect their Portal to it.

 

[Powerofthecloud]

This thing is a godsend for parents like me. It links up faster to the PS5 than any remote play device. I'm up and at 'em in like 20 seconds. I beat MGS1 on it on weekends while my kids were using the TV.

Click to shrink...

Agreed, I think the ease of use is the big reason why this exist as its is built into the ecosystem.

 

[Shoe]

Well then that's the answer to the question of why the Portal doesn't do a direct connection to the PS5. That'd be an entire shitstorm in itself if the PS5 lost its ability to connect to the internet via wifi whenever someone wanted to connect their Portal to it.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, which is why is was saying that this would be really neat if Sony planned for this in advance with a way for a direct connection by including the hardware in the PS5, but they didn't so there's no way to do it.

 

[Alienous]

A device like this only starts to make sense to me if it can function over your local network, like Steam Link. It should really be versatile in all the options - local network, WiFi and Cloud.

Edit: It apparently does function like that.

 

[CloseTalker]

It's too bad there's no way for a direct connection between console and handheld without the router as a middleman, like the Wii U had, but that would have required hardware built into the PS5, which Sony clearly wasn't thinking of the Portal when they designed it. A 10+ year advancement on the tech that Wii U used might've allowed for basically latency free in the whole house. Oh well.

Click to shrink...

Man, it would be fucking awesome if Sony revealed they had thrown a cheap separate wi-fi chip in the PS5 for this purpose. If the WiiU did it over a decade ago, I can't imagine it would have been the most costly thing to do now. Alas

 

[Powerofthecloud]

This is an interesting video, in that I think it will scare off a lot of people who would otherwise be totally fine with the experience. I consider myself as hardcore a gamer as you can get, and I have played some Spider-Man 2 on Remote Play vis an ipad mini and my dualsense, and I thought the experience was pretty great. I'm not gonna go to bat saying it's perfect, but I was playing the game and having fun the same way I play the game and have fun on my PS5.

This isn't Digital Foundry's fault, because it's their job to do rigorous testing and inform, but I think their videos can set off that thing in peoples brains where if it isn't perfect, it isn't good enough. Similarly to when they compare a game on different consoles, it's easy to think "Aw man, the PS5 hits an average of 3-5fps lower than Xbox hits, I knew I should have got it on Xbox", when they never would have noticed that themselves.

My main takeaway from this video is that this thing is super easy for people to test themselves. You can try remote play right now on yor phone, laptop, or tablet, and connect a Dualsense to it. Try that and if you feel like you can play games and enjoy the experience, that's your answer.

Click to shrink...

I think they painted a pretty fair picture of what it is and its pros and cons. I mean as you stated they even gave a reasonable way to test it to see how it would work beforehand.

 

[Powerofthecloud]

Man, it would be fucking awesome if Sony revealed they had thrown a cheap separate wi-fi chip in the PS5 for this purpose. If the WiiU did it over a decade ago, I can't imagine it would have been the most costly thing to do now. Alas

Click to shrink...

It seems like the PS5 PRO would be the version to include this that would make sense, but would also require another portal version as well.

 

[vivftp]

Yeah, which is why is was saying that this would be really neat if Sony planned for this in advance with a way for a direct connection by including the hardware in the PS5, but they didn't so there's no way to do it.

Click to shrink...

Adding an extra cost to the PS5 BOM back in 2020 for an accessory that might or might not have seen the light of day 3 years later honestly wouldn't have made much sense. Sure it could have been useful to a certain degree in hindsight, but the remote play experience is robust enough to provide a solid experience (speaking to my experience and many others who have reported a solid experience). The issue of course is that there're so many possible variations of networks out here in peoples homes, so experiences will vary.

Now that they've dipped their toe into a dedicated remote play device, its success could be a factor in how they design the PS6. Maybe that could have the second wifi chip to allow a direct connection. Or maybe the remote play experience will be further improved over the next few years so it won't really need direct connection. Who knows. 🤷‍♂️

 

[CloseTalker]

I think they painted a pretty fair picture of what it is and its pros and cons. I mean as you stated they even gave a reasonable way to test it to see how it would work beforehand.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I'm not saying DF did anything to sway people one way or the other. I'm just saying the way people think, I have a feeling many will watch it and go "Eh, that's a lot of bullshit I don't want to deal with, no thanks". Which is fair, but there's a solid chance the experience could be great for you too

 

[SCUMMbag]

It's a device for hardcore PlayStation fans and teenagers.

Luckily for Sony, there's plenty of both so they'll be fine.

 

[giallo]

Why get a Steam Deck when you already have a laptop?

Same type of thinking for this thing imo

Click to shrink...

This is where I'm at.

If the Portal is more of a home device, then I've got a bigger screen with my laptop. I use remote play in bed every so often, and it's pretty good. I just stay away from anything competitive.

 

[vivftp]

It seems like the PS5 PRO would be the version to include this that would make sense, but would also require another portal version as well.

Click to shrink...

In a hypothetical scenario where the PS5 Pro did include a second wifi chip, I'm guessing a firmware update would suffice to let the Portal connect to the console directly. Not sure why a Portal revision would be needed. Just like if/when they add cloud support that can be done via a firmware update.

 

[Deleted member 14089]

Personally, I would've liked for Sony to commit to a more proprietary protocol to ensure low latency and high bitrate for the overall streaming experience. Even if it had to fall back to some dongle set-up.
The device's purpose is as simplistic as it is, but for me to be interested in it, it has to be better than what I'm using now (iPad + dualsense) for the remote play experience as so far that has been sufficient. Although, I do still get some streaming compression drops, so maybe there's still some QoS optimization to be looked at from me, but I wouldn't expect it that same level of troubleshooting to get an optimal experience for the portal also.

I think DF's review is still on point, it's still a bit disappointing and there was some lingering hope of a magic sauce, but for a dedicated streaming product it can do the job.

Also, not being able to use it as a separate controller is also odd, but I guess no Bluetooth puts a damper on that. For its price it's not too much given the pricing of products in the current market (I expected it to be more expensive heh), so I guess that's the silver lining of it all.

Yes, having dualsense controls work natively is an advantage, but in my eyes its still a sub-par experience for the explicit use it's made for. Moreover, even if it works perfectly and seamless in your house and network set-up, I can't be in your house to enjoy it can I ;p. The issues are still make it a big no-go for me tho, but given how it sells in some market I guess that's a non-issue heh 😂.
The convenience factor is a big aspect of the appeal.

Also, still unsure about the Snapdragon 680 claim 🤔 .

 

[Radec]

It's a device for hardcore PlayStation fans and teenagers.

Luckily for Sony, there's plenty of both so they'll be fine.

Click to shrink...

You'll be surprised there are tons of Dads/Moms out there who own this than teenagers.

 

[Deleted member 14089]

Here's my summary of it from the early access of the video yesterday

Click to shrink...

Thanks for the summary :D, although I don't think it's wise to do summaries/sharing info from early access vids :p

 

[Xeonidus]

Great review as always. I'm set on getting one at this point. Remoteplay works really well for me but I want a dedicated device for it. The hard part is actually getting one. Sold out here and every drop is quickly taken!

 

[Lakeside]

It seems like a pretty simple device to understand at this point.