Sony conducted its PlayStation Meeting yesterday to talk about its refreshed products. The company has finally launched the PlayStation 4 Slim which is simply a toned-down version of the original console for $299. It also launched the PS4 Pro which brings more power as well as 4K and HDR support. Sony has confirmed that all existing PlayStation 4 consoles will get HDR support through a firmware update that’s going to be released in the near future.
This is true for the original PlayStation 4 console which came out nearly three years ago as well as the Slim which was announced just yesterday and will start shipping soon. Both versions of the PlayStation 4 will become HDR-compatible through a firmware update.
HDR video basically creates better dynamic range which can be simply described as the difference between the darkest dark and the lightest light in a video. HDR thus creates brighter, detailed images which can truly be appreciated on a TV that supports High Dynamic Range content.
This support for existing consoles will be good for both HDR gaming and video streaming. You won’t get much use out of it if your TV does not support High Dynamic Range content, though.
Sony hasn’t confirmed as yet whether it’s going to be supporting HDR10 or Dolby Vision standards for High Dynamic Range on the PlayStation 4. The company did say that this firmware update is going to be rolled out for the PlayStation 4 next week.