Informations about PS NOW -- Console fun on PC -- Streaming net

PC Gaming is by far vastly superior to playing on a console, but exclusive titles can not give computer enthusiasts the full range of great gameplay. So why not use the modern Internet infrastructure with fiber and new compression algorithms to overcome this shortcoming? With Sony's recently launched streaming service PS Now, this is finally reality. The new service, which has been running for three years in the US, has been launched into the market premiere of Gamescom 2017 from the beta phase and is waiting with over 400 titles from the current and last generation of consoles.

Playstation Now: Cloud gaming is not necessarily new
In order to enjoy the streaming service from Sony, you first need a PSN account and must download the client to his computer. A prerequisite for this is the possession of a credit card, because Sony makes it unnecessarily complicated to use the free test week of the service without deposited plastic money. In addition, a minimum data rate of 5 Mbit / s must be available and should be owned by a controller, since the games can not be operated with mouse and keyboard. According to Sony, the service can even be used with a moderately equipped laptop, which is only equipped with an Intel i3 CPU with a clock rate of 2.0 GHz and two gigabytes of RAM.

So far, there are already several providers for cloud gaming on the market, including the possibility to play Sony exclusive titles. The vermouth drops here however over the money bag: Paid there for each game or even partly per hour used. This can end in horrendous amounts, one thinks of a 30 hours game of Fallout 4 or GTA 5. Nvidias Shield offers an subscription service with a price-included selection of games - quasi a gaming Netflix - the offered PC titles but remain manageable and additional play material is in turn costs.

Playstation Now: How does the streaming service work?
To measure the latency of the new cloud gaming offer from Sony, the colleagues from Digital Foundry have already carried out a detailed analysis with a 20 Mbps ADSL line and a test kit by Nigel Woodall. The result: Since the information must first be sent over the network and subjected to a compression process in order to then be able to be displayed at the monitor at home, a total of four frames latency occur. In other words, 66 ms of additional Lag will affect the response time. This is, of course, much too much time to be able to compete in competitive online multiplayer games on the same level. After a brief adaptation phase and motor adjustment, the additional latency in single-player games is hardly noticeable at all. Movements can be carried out smoothly, and even in a game like Ultra Street Fighter 4, there is no discernment in the lag. But what about image quality? Somewhere must be finally compromised, if the Streaming service with squeaky 5 Mbit / s get along.

Playstation Now: Savings on the picture

As soon as you start a game, you notice immediately that the displayed image is blurred and blurred compared to the original on a local console. As seen in the PS3 title Red Dead Redemption, there is a grave veil on the picture, caused by the compression process of the streamed video. As a result, the displayed image of the graphics quality is much worse than it actually is, because details are lost. The faded and blurred textures could sometimes even come directly from an oil painting. In the picture with the rider John Marston to his first mission is to complain about, for example, a lack of the patron belt and the pistol on the right hip. The hat is also missing the black cloth and the already average texture of the road loses by the compression to structure, respectively the shadows of the horses are no longer discernible. Although the graphics performance of the PS3 can by far not deliver crystal-hard HD textures, the view into the pixel shows that the effect of the blurred object structures become stronger. In the second picture, for example, one can no longer make differentiated structures in the grass tufts, but must be satisfied with a strongly compressed image.

Also with PS4 titles the austerity measures in the picture quality noticeable. Although the compression algorithm of the streaming service is really good work with very good edge smoothing and interpolation of missing image information, however, the high-resolution textures from a Playstation 4 title are more detailed and muddy. The vehicle in the Dead Nation comparison shows an example of this circumstance on the rims, the blinkers and the car roof, all of which are not badly portrayed, but in direct comparison with the original can not keep up. This is clearer in the structures on the tank and the fire in the rear area: here is completely the rough surface of the metal, the broken armor rims are hardly recognizable and the fire burns very detailarm. In addition, compression artefacts are used, which are recognizable and audible in both sound and image. In Ultra Street Fighter 4 these pixel blocks could be observed, since very fast movements are the order of the day. Another criticism is the PS3 titles sometimes spongy control, but here it can not be conclusively clarified whether it is at the age of the game or the stream itself

Playstation Now: Good stream, high price

Sony's new streaming service Playstation Now convinces despite some drawbacks. Picture and sound are consistently acceptable to good, but can not get to the original of a local console. Too strong the information has been compressed, so that the streamed image is washed out and detail-poor. Added to this are shrill sound artifacts, which are unpleasant, but appear less often than thought. The streaming technology that Sony bought with Gaikai some years ago makes even with a 5 Mbit / s line a good figure, if it was not the price: the price of 16.99 euros per month, the service is not suitable for continuous use , an annual offer like in the USA is missing and some titles were taken from the Sonys range (Resogun, Superstar Dust). Nevertheless the idea is, console exclusive titles and old gaming pearls to play on the PC, simply brilliant and interested should at least once the free test week try out.

For more information, see PS Now. Is this service something for you or have you already had experience with cloud gaming? Let me know in the comments!