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from the finally-enough-room-for-my-battlefield-videos dept.
Until now, expanding the storage space on your PS4 from the standard 500GB to 1TB built into the system involved opening up the system and sliding in a new internal drive. That process won't be necessary for much longer, as the PS4's upcoming Version 4.5 firmware will add support for USB 3.0 hard drives up to 8TB.
Just before the PS4 launched in 2013, Sony noted that PS4 games had to be "cached to the hard drive to ensure a smooth gaming experience." If streaming all that game data to the system over a USB connection was a bottleneck at launch, it's apparently no longer a concern for Sony (at least for drives that support USB 3.0's faster data transfer rates). Games, saved data, and captures screenshots and videos will all be storable on external drives, and that data will show up on the main system menu without the need to shuffle them to the internal storage.
The announcement of the external HD support comes as the beta of firmware version 4.5 rolls out to selected PS4 users today. That firmware also brings the ability to use in-game screenshots as home screen wallpapers, streamlined interface improvements, and new support for stereoscopic 3D Blu-Ray discs.
Source:
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/02/ps4-will-soon-support-external-usb-hard-drives/
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 06 2017, @03:48PM
Nintendo Switch won't support external hard drives at launch.
https://www.vg247.com/2017/01/20/nintendo-switch-wont-support-netflix-other-media-apps-or-backwards-compatiblity-at-launch/ [vg247.com]
It also doesn't support USB 3.0 at launch, that will be added with an update.
(Score: 2) by damnbunni on Monday February 06 2017, @04:26PM
The Nintendo Switch will probably never support external hard drives.
It would make using it out of the docking station a right royal pain in the ass.
(Score: 2) by Pino P on Monday February 06 2017, @04:46PM
Wii OS 4.0 solved this by copying the WiiWare or VC game currently being played from the SD card to a cache area on the internal NAND flash before running it. If Nintendo were to apply this same principle to Nintendo Switch, a purchased game stored on an external hard drive plugged into a Switch Dock would be copied to the main unit before it runs.
(Score: 2) by damnbunni on Tuesday February 07 2017, @12:07AM
That might work okay for a virtual console title - they're small.
Copying a 13 - 20 gig full game from an external hard drive to internal microSDXC would take 20 to 30 minutes.
(Score: 2) by EvilSS on Monday February 06 2017, @05:49PM
(Score: 2) by Pino P on Monday February 06 2017, @06:55PM
One of the requirements for the SDXC logo is to use Microsoft's patented exFAT file system. This is how Microsoft is making money from the competing consoles.
(Score: 2) by EvilSS on Monday February 06 2017, @09:20PM
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday February 06 2017, @11:23PM
That's one of the pluses of the Nintendo Switch. Oddly enough it has a slot for proprietary cartridge NAND *AND* a slot for standard microSD cards, which will reach 2 TB in a couple of years.
That's one thing that bugged me about the last revision (February 2016) of the SDXC spec. It continues to define a limit of 2 TB for all sizes, but we are already up to 256 GB for microSD and 1 TB for SD. 3D NAND has blown limitations out of the water and each new generation of 3D NAND typically boosts density/capacity by 50-100%. It is conceivable that a 2 TB SD card will be announced within a year. Demand for even higher capacities should be strong because of video recording using phones, cameras, drones, and even 360° camera balls.
Back to the Switch. Its inclusion of a microSD slot should make the thing very easy and downright convenient to crack and run homebrew on. The downside is the device's fairly low battery life in handheld mode. A homebrew OS will probably drain the battery even more.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by damnbunni on Monday February 06 2017, @11:59PM
People keep harping on the Switch's battery life in handheld mode, but it's the same as the original 3DS.
People complained about the battery life on that too, but it doesn't seem to have hurt sales much.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday February 07 2017, @02:13AM
We should compare it to something that came out over 12 years ago? I don't think so.
Sure, the Switch handheld has a lot more CPU/GPU power than predecessors, but the power consumption of other components should have improved over time, especially given all the work that has been put into making smartphones last longer.
Nah, it should be compared to current 3DS XL, which I understand has a half hour longer minimum battery life.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]