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UPDATE: For those of you who are having issues when you first boot up your PS4 Pro, you can watch my included video.
You can also view the original HD video on my YouTube at youtu.be/1vgNuq-xOMA
or try this solution: Make sure the console is off. Boot up into safe mode by holding down the power button for about 7 seconds. It should beep once for the power, then another time after the 7th second to notify you that it is entering safe mode. Once there, select the change HDCP mode from Automatic to HDCP 1.4. You should now see a 1080p image. Restart your PS4 Pro, and now it should boot up fine and work as usual. Then go into the settings menu, select Sound & Screen, then Video Output Settings. Now change it to 4K resolution and see if that works for you. To check if you are indeed displaying 4K resolution, go to the Video Output Information option.
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Also, if you would like to find out how to replace your PS4 Pro hard drive, you can view my YouTube video: youtu.be/876Yb1cMf4g
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Original Review:
For those who are on the fence about the PS4 Pro, those who are wondering what are the differences between this and the PS4 Slim, and if/why you should get the PS4 Pro, hopefully my review helps you to understand it better.
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First, here are the specs and facts:
Contents of packaging:
PS4 Pro system
DualShock 4 controller
Monaural headset
Power cord; HDMI cable; USB cable
PS4 Pro specs:
Main processor: Custom-chip single processor
CPU: x86-64 AMD “Jaguar” with 8 cores
GPU: 4.2 TFLOPS; AMD Radeon-based graphics engine
Memory: GDDR5 8GB
Storage: 1TB hard-disk drive
Dimensions: 295mm X 55mm X 327mm; Mass: 3.3Kg
Optical drive: Blu-ray 6-speed, DVD 8-speed
HDMI output; Optical digital output
3 USB 3.1 ports; 1 Aux port
Ethernet port
IEEE 802.11 A/B/G/N/Ac Wi-Fi
Bluetooth 4.0
Power supply: AC 100V, 50/60Hz
Max power consumption: 310W
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In terms of raw power and tera FLOPS, the PS4 Pro is about 2.3x stronger than the original PS4 and PS4 Slim(which is at 1.84 TFLOPS). The original Xbox One came in at 1.31 TFLOPS, while the One S is around 1.4 TFLOPS.
Let's discuss some more technicalities. The elephant in the room is why did Sony not include a 4K Blu-ray player?? It is for that reason that I took away one star, as those who wish to do so would need to buy a separate player, which costs over $200. Before you rationalize that it would cost the console too much extra had Sony include it, the Xbox One S system - one which costs $100 LESS - has a 4K Blu-ray player! What is more head-scratching is that Blu-ray is a technology Sony has championed from the early beginning, and is one of the major reasons it won over the HD-DVD technology which Microsoft backed with its Xbox 360(as an additional add-on, which people had to pay $200 extra for). If Microsoft can learn from its mistake, then why did Sony not take that next step forward? 4K streaming might be the future, but because of its compression nature, it will never be as good as a physical 4K Blu-ray. You can compare it yourself - take any regular Blu-ray movie, such as Avatar or Mad Max Fury Road, and watch its digital version, and you will clearly realize the difference.
Although the PS4 Pro is not a huge improvement as a future PS5 console would be, there are significant improvements that make it worthwhile. Many people are quick to point out that the PS4 Pro cannot output in native 4K, and that is just not true. The ability to output resolutions has nothing to do with the specific nature of the console, it is about the power inside the console to display it or not. Meaning, even the Wii U can display a 4K image if it wanted to, like a 4K photo. However, when it comes to an actual game, you have a lot more going on, needing a lot more power, so the original PS4, while technically being able to output a 4K game, would only be able to do so for a cartoony image, and not anything with 3D elements required in today's games. Also, perhaps the original PS4 is still on the HDMI 1.4 version, which only allows 4K output at 30 fps, while the PS4 Pro undoubtedly has HDMI 2.0 for 4K resolutions at 60 fps. Already, many patches of old games, and info on new games, have shown that the PS4 will indeed output 4K in certain games. That may be a native output for less power-intensive games, or a "checkerboard" approach, a technology of using resolutions just below 4K(as high as 1800p) with added 4K elements.
So yes, in many games, you will notice a big visual upgrade over the PS4.
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So, let's get to some important points. First, why should you get a PS4 Pro? This question has a few different aspects: First, to those first-time buyers who doesn't have a PS4 system yet(either the original, Slim, or Pro); second, for those who already have the original PS4; and third, for someone who has another gaming system - Nintendo, Xbox, PC, etc.
So for those who doesn't have a PS4 yet, it would have been easy if the Slim by itself sells for $300 without any games, and the Pro $400. But for now, you can get a PS4 Slim with Uncharted and usually another free game, for $300. Also, with Thanksgiving just around the corner, there have already been leaks that sales will make it only $250 with those two free games. Meanwhile, there has been no word on any sales or bundles with the PS4 Pro yet. Basically, if you are buying a PS4 Pro, you are a loyal Sony fanboy/early adopter, or have already researched and convinced yourself to buy it. For the majority though, it is more complicated. Although I am a Sony fan, my objective and reasonable side would say to the casual gamer who will not buy a PS VR system down the line(I will expound more on this later), who has a budget, or who want the best deal, to wait until the Black Friday deals and get a PS4 Slim bundle with free games for $250. When you think about it, the value of that bundle would be $400($300 for the system, $100 for the two games), so you are saving $150, so you can get another controller and more games.
A few things to note is that the PS4 Slim out right now has a 500GB hard drive, while the PS4 Pro has a 1TB hard drive, but both systems have a setting to turn on High Dynamic Range(HDR), which greatly increases peak brightness and contrast levels, so you can see details and differences in details between elements of varying hues and brightness. In a nutshell, it makes for a more colorful and detailed visual fidelity.
For those who already has a PS4, my questions would be, can you sell it and use that money to buy a PS4 Pro? Do you have the money to buy another $400 system, but are wondering if it's worth it? Well, there is a very tangible difference between the regular PS4 and the Pro versions, whether Sony tries to tell you otherwise or not. Although this is a not a full-on PS5-caliber upgrade, you can definitely tell the difference in-game. Old games are coming out with (free)patches to upgrade the visual fidelity for the PS4 Pro, and new games will include PC-like settings to set your visual options. So, let's say the visuals of the PS4 regular version of the game is one option(usually 1080p or lower resolution, or dynamic resolutions - resolutions that change on the fly - at 30 frames per second). With the PS4 Pro, many if not most games will also include options for: 1080p resolution at 60 fps, 4K(or near 4K) resolution at 30 fps, and sometimes an enhanced dynamic option such as varying resolutions with 4K elements and dynamic FPS at up to 60.
The second aspect, and perhaps the most important aspect to current PS4 owners, is that it makes the PS VR so much better. With the original PS4, the PS VR games look grainy and pixelated, like PS2 games. With the PS4 Pro, the games now with an upgraded visual fidelity look a lot better through the PS VR. The resolution of the PS VR itself is fixed at 960x1080, so the resolution itself will not increase. But now the games will look more smooth and more detailed. Text, especially, is now a lot easier to read because of the better anti-aliasing.
For those who already owns another system and are wondering what all the fuss is about, one of the main reasons I have adopted the Sony ecosystem as my foremost, is because of the exclusive games. Many arguments can be made, but just from my perspective, I very much enjoy all the extra Final Fantasy games Sony gets, those Konami games, all the unique and wacky games from Japan, especially the JRPGs such as Persona and Disgaea, and such gems as Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us.
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I hope some of my points help you make a more informed purchase decision. This is not a perfect console by any means, but it does have the most potential of all the current consoles, and is the only console right now to make best use of your lovely 4K TV. Overall, it is a great deal at $400, because if you think about it, the original PS4 was $400, and was still at $350 just earlier this year, and the Xbox Scorpio will most likely debut at $500, and a PC with a 4K-capable graphics card would run you about at least $700 total. Certainly, the PS4 Pro's lack of a free game and different bundles will hurt its sale in the beginning, so even with that aspect, you might even want to wait until Christmas, as I'm faily certain by then there will be a free game included. But ultimately, if you had $400 to spend on the best gaming experience out there right now, it is easily the PS4 Pro.
