PS5: What is the VRR, already available on Xbox, which makes games more beautiful and fluid?

News hardware PS5: What is the VRR, already available on Xbox, which makes games more beautiful and fluid?

Published on 04/26/2022 at 17:35

While you always have to watch for restocking to have your next-generation console, the PS5 continues to improve discreetly, to the delight of fans who already own a copy. This time, it’s time for PlayStation to welcome VRR, technology that makes games smoother and smoother. How does it work exactly? In what condition is it compatible with your gear?

In the world of video games, we sometimes get lost in acronyms. The VRR, what is this ultra-modern thing again? So no, it’s not an iteration of virtual reality – VR – but the “variable refresh rate”, a technology used to obtain a sharper and more fluid image on your favorite video games. We’re telling you about it because it’s coming to PS5 this week (no specific date). Sony has just formalized the news on his site. A very good thing for owners of the latest PlayStation, which is actually only catching up on the Xbox Series, where VRR has been available for a long time. And this is even more the case on PC, with Nvidia’s G-sync and AMD’s Freesync which have largely proven themselves in this area.

On PS5, the variable refresh rate will make its debut through an update, becoming an option to be activated or deactivated in the video settings. So even though PlayStation has already unveiled a list of 14 jeux which will support VRR in “the next few weeks” thanks to a patch, it will be possible to leave the technology active regardless of the current title. Everything can have beneficial effects on apps that are not immediately officially compatible. “If you see any display issues, you can disable the option at any time” therefore warns Sony, stating that your TV, the active title or the visual mode in full play can vary the result on the screen. Regardless, the list released by PlayStation plans to grow, with even games taking advantage of VRR in the future “as soon as they’re released.” We’re not going to say no!

PS5 games that will be officially compatible with VRR in “the next few weeks”:

Astro’s Playroom
Call of Duty: Vanguard
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Destiny 2
Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition
DIRT 5
Godfall
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Resident Evil Village
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
Tribes of Midgard

VRR, what is it exactly?

On its site, PlayStation describes VRR as a technology that “dynamically synchronizes the refresh rate of the display to the console’s video output.” If you don’t understand, don’t panic. Basically, the VRR adapts the refresh rate of your screen with the number of frames per second broadcast in game. More clearly, if your game is running at 60 fps, then a TV will display a refresh rate of 60 hz thanks to VRR. The interest? Above all, to avoid image tearing, otherwise known as “tearing”, which sometimes happens in dynamic games (Call of Duty for example) when turning the camera quickly. The fault: the speed of the screen and that of the software which are not synchronized. The effect is more or less the same when you disable the “Vsync” option – vertical synchronization – on a PC title. What lead to this kind of result:

Example of image tearing, or “tearing” (Source: Medium)

“The visual performance of games will therefore be increased thanks to the reduction or elimination of visual artifacts (…) Many PS5 games will be more fluid, with a more homogeneous rendering of scenes, sharper graphics and reduced latency” Explain as well as PlayStation, on its official website. Depending on the case, the VRR can therefore significantly improve the quality of the image and the comfort of play. But we should not hope for radical changes. The main interest of the technology remains to remove the tearing of the image. And you will need in any case a compatible screen to enjoy it. On to our last point.

Is my screen compatible with VRR?

Because the variable refresh rate is above all reserved for owners screen with an HDMI 2.1, usually indicated by the mention “Freesync” or “Gsync”, even if it is also the case on rare HDMI 2.0 monitors (on the PlayStation Blog, Sony only mentions version 2.1 anyway). A port also more than cut for the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series, since capable of reaching 120 frames per second in 4K. As we explained to you in a article last year, we find in this range the LG OLED C1, the LG OLED C2 or the NEO QLED TVs. And even for PS5 games that will host a VRR patch, Sony says “results may vary depending on game, visual mode set, and your TV.” We are waiting for the update!