Improved screens and video sharing coming with the next PS4 update

sincity · March 19, 2014

Sony announced it's next PS4 software update will bring some much needed improvements for gamers wanting to share their screenshots and video clips.

The company detailed that the update will allow users to off load their screenshots and saved clips to a USB drive. Thus far, the only way users have been able to upload their screenshots through Twitter and Facebook.

Video gameplay footage sharing, meanwhile, was limited to the built-in sharing options including Facebook videos, and livestreaming options such as Twitch or Ustream. The update also brings a more robust video editor allowing users to further cut and edit their gameplay clips.

A streamers dream

Personal video recorder owners and capture card owners will be glad to know the upcoming update will bring a new option to switch off the HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) restriction on the PS4's HDMI connection.

By turning off the built-in digital rights management protection, users will finally be able to record their gaming sessions using a separate device again. In the blog post Sony wrote, "[w]e recognize that some gamers want to record and share longer clips of their gameplay sessions, and we're excited to deliver this option with PS4."

Sony didn't say when the update will come but it teased that there would be "a lot more coming in this update," so this perhaps leaves room for the company's new Project Morpheus VR headset.

As part of a separate system software update for the future, Sony is working with Twitch and Ustream to add higher resolution 720p livestream broadcasting capabilities.

Twitch's Vice President of Marketing reached out to TechRadar and said, "Twitch is a front and center feature on both consoles, so you can expect a lengthy roadmap of broadcasting and viewing refinements and new functions. These are still the very early days, and the Twitch footprint on next-gen consoles will get better and better."