Sony’s PlayStation 5 game console is still relatively new, yet it already offers some incredible gaming experiences. Together with wider, better use of high dynamic range and Sony’s excellent new 3D Audio sound system, the move to more consistent genuine 4K graphics at 60Hz and, remarkably, 120Hz is making gaming worlds more immersive and attractive than ever.
But making the most of this next-generation platform requires more than just connecting the PS5 to your TV and hoping for the best. In actuality, getting the most out of your new system is anything but simple, between the backup equipment you might require and a few PS5 setup tips you should be aware of.
In light of this, we’ve put together an exhaustive list of everything you need to do to ensure that you’re getting the most out of Sony’s latest gaming monster. Let’s start with what could be the priciest…
Get the right television
The single biggest source of trouble when it comes to the PS5’s new graphics capabilities is the currently messy television market – or, more precisely, the confusing world of HDMI connections.
Getting the best picture quality (4K resolution at 120Hz refresh rates with HDR and VRR) out of the PS5 requires a TV’s HDMI ports to support data rates of at least 32Mbps, and that’s something that many current TVs cannot do.
What’s more, there’s currently no easy labeling system to help you spot TVs that might be compatible with all of the latest gaming features. Even if a TV claims to be compatible with the latest 2.1 version of the HDMI input, that doesn’t guarantee 4K/120Hz or VRR compatibility. All you can do is try and trawl through a TV’s small print or detailed specs to see if 4K/120 and VRR are included.
We can get the ball rolling, though, with some sets we already know support all the latest gaming features. For starters, all of LG’s OLED B2, C2, G2 and Z2 (plus older C- and G-series models) feature HDMI sockets (two in the case of the B2, four for all of the others) with full PS5 compatibility. Samsung’s QLED models from 2020 and QLED and Neo QLED TVs for 2021 all have at least one or two HDMI ports that support all the PS5 features, while 2021 models from the Q95A series upwards and many more 2022 models (including the Q90A) carrying four PS5-friendly HDMIsÂ
Having been disappointingly slow out of the blocks, a number of Sony’s 2021 and 2022 TVs, most notably the A80K, A90K and A95K OLEDs, do now support all of the PS5’s best features via two HDMI ports.
Philips and Panasonic have also been selling TVs featuring two PS5-friendly HDMI sockets since 2021. Philips’s OLED807 and Panasonic’s LZ980 are both excellent options.
Make sure you use the right input on your TV
As noted in the previous section, on some TVs only one or two HDMIs have enough bandwidth to support all of the PS5’s graphics features. So make sure you have your PS5 connected to one that does.
Some TVs help with this by labeling the relevant HDMI(s) as Game or 4K/120, but otherwise, you will need to refer to your TV’s manual.
Use the provided PS5 HDMI cable (or pick a replacement carefully)
It’s not just HDMI sockets that need to be able to handle enough data to unlock all of the PS5’s features. HDMI cables also vary in how much data they can carry. So you should stick with the HDMI cable provided with the PS5 where possible, as this is designed to carry all the data the console needs for its maximum performance.
If you really must use a different cable – because the official cable isn’t long enough, for example – look for one that carries the official Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable certification that you can see in the image above.
Make sure your TV HDMI port is set up for high data rates
Most TVs now automatically switch their HDMI ports to so-called ‘enhanced’ modes for high data rates when a 4K HDR source is detected. There are still some budget brands, though (Hisense, for instance) where you need to manually switch HDMIs from Standard to Enhanced in the TV’s menus. It’s certainly worth checking the settings on your TV for the HDMI that your PS5 is connected to.
Set your TV to Game mode
Almost all TVs have a special Game mode setting that reduces the time a TV takes to produce its images. This can make as much as 100ms of difference, which could be a lifetime, literally, in gaming terms. Your TV might automatically switch into Game mode when the PS5 is detected, but if response times matter with the game you’re playing, you should check that it has.
Read Also: How do I Stop my PS5 From Glitching?
Note that Game mode settings can reduce some aspects of picture quality with some TVs. So if you’re playing a less reaction-based title, such as an RPG, you may prefer the overall picture quality with Game mode turned off.
Check your PS5’s Video Output screen
In the System Software section of the PS5’s System menu, there’s an option called Video Output Information. This brings up a screen telling you what graphics capabilities the console thinks your TV is capable of handling, based on its ‘handshake’ with your TV’s HDMI port. This screen is handy for checking that your console and TV are talking to each other as you’d expect.
This Video Output Info can be particularly useful if you’re trying to feed your PS5 through an intermediary audio device, such as a soundbar or an AV receiver, and on from that to your TV. Many people forget that the PS5 will read the capabilities of the intermediary device’s HDMIs and determine supported graphics output based on that, rather than reading what your TV is capable of. So unless your audio device has full HDMI 2.1 4K/120/VRR pass-through support (which is currently very rare), it could limit the graphics you experience.
The best way around this is to connect your PS5 directly to your TV, and then use your TV’s ARC/eARC HDMI jack to output digital sound from the TV to your audio equipment.
Setting up your PS5
The PS5 is proactive about HDR, prompting you to run through a trio of simple HDR set-up screens whenever you attach it to a new TV. The way the screens work, though, is rather questionable.
Before going through this HDR setup, it’s worth checking whether your TV has a menu option called HGIG (LG and Samsung TVs often do but most others do not) – if so, turn it on. This will make sure that your TV doesn’t try and apply its own automatic HDR optimization (dynamic tone mapping) processes to pictures that you have already optimized via the PS5’s HDR set-up system.
Once done, you can crack on with the console’s calibration, but you shouldn’t do exactly as you’re told. Two of the screens ask you to increase the console’s brightness/peak light levels to a point where you can only just see a relatively dark symbol against a white background. The other one asks you to adjust the console’s black level to a point where a lighter symbol against a dark background remains only just visible. In fact, you should adjust each of these screens to the point where the visible symbol just disappears. In other words, the points at which the first square goes completely white and the second completely black is where you want to set the console.
Even then, not all games are designed to work with the PS5 console’s HDR set-up system, preferring instead to use their own internal HDR calibration screens. Examples of these titles include Dirt 5 and Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. You should absolutely go through these game-specific calibration processes and it’s worth checking in these cases whether your TV’s HGIG setting (if it has one) is better switched on or off.
Another key aspect of gaming performance that requires care is frame rates. As with HDR, the PS5’s process for adjusting the frame rate a game uses varies from title to title. So with Dirt 5, the game’s own internal graphics options allow you to select whether you prefer to prioritize resolution or frame rates (there’s always a graphical trade-off associated with switching from 60Hz to 120Hz). With Call Of Duty: Black Ops – Cold War, however, you have to choose in the console’s menus whether you want to prioritize ‘Resolution’ or ‘Performance’ (frame rates) before booting the game if you want to get 120Hz.
This ‘Performance Mode or Resolution Mode’ option, confusingly, is found in the Game Presets section of the Saved Data and Game/App Settings submenu of the PS5 itself.
Finally, the PS5 also has a VRR option. To enable it, go to your PS5’s Settings menu, then Screen and Video, then Video Output. Here you’ll find the VRR option, which (if your TV supports it) can be toggled from Off to Automatic.
Choose the right audio options
We’ll discuss the PS5’s 3D Audio gaming system shortly. First, though, we should note the mess concerning the PS5’s Dolby Atmos activation options. Specifically, the fact that there are two of them: one for streaming apps, and a separate one for the built-in Blu-ray/4K Blu-ray player. The PS5 does not support Dolby Atmos for games.
The first Dolby Atmos option appears in the System/Sound menu, under Audio output. Scroll right to the bottom of this page and you’ll see an Audio Format (Priority) option, that will be set to Linear PCM by default. There’s an option to choose Bitstream (Dolby) or Bitstream (DTS) if you prefer that.
However, when you try and play a 4K or HD Blu-ray disc with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, the console still does not output Dolby Atmos. To make it work you need to press the Options button on your PS5 joystick while playing a film disc, then click the ‘three dots’ icon and choose the Bitstream option under Audio Format.
Unlike Microsoft with its latest Xbox consoles, Sony has decided not to use Dolby Atmos for its premium game audio experience. Instead, it has developed its own new ‘Tempest’ 3D Audio system. It’s up to individual developers whether and how they deploy 3D Audio, but notable titles to use ‘full-on’ versions of it include Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Demons Souls.
To try out 3D Audio with headphones, first, make sure that you have the Enable 3D Audio option in the Audio Output part of the Sound menu activated. Also, when you first use headphones with the PS5, be sure to check out the Adjust 3D Audio Profile option. This plays a ‘babbling brook’ test signal and asks you to pick which of the five settings makes the sound feel most at ear level.
You don’t need special headphones to experience the 3D Audio effect – any wired pair will do the job once connected to the DualSense controller – but the quality of the headphones you use certainly impacts how effective 3D Audio sounds.
As you might expect, Sony’s own Pulse 3D wireless gaming headset, which has been designed for the PS5, is particularly effective, and actually much better than the vast majority of headsets that cost significantly more.
For starters, it’s able to deliver the 3D audio effect wirelessly; you don’t need to be tethered to the DualSense controller. It also carries nifty high-sensitivity microphones complete with noise-canceling technology built into the main headset, rather than in the usual mic ‘arm’, as well as providing buttons for mixing the game sound and chat sound, and for monitoring your own voice.
The Pulse 3D is lightweight and reasonably comfortable, and it does an excellent job of getting both a precise and strikingly large sense of space from the 3D Audio system.
It might be rather daunting to consider all of the items you might need to buy in order to fully utilize the potential of your PS5. But don’t worry—Sony’s new system can more than provide you with truly next-generation thrills in exchange for your time and money. After you’ve fully experienced it, you’ll question how you managed to exist without it.