Are ps4s compatible with older tvs?

[Togath]

By older, I mean ones without hdmi connectors.
Google results seem mixed, and overly flooded with people screaming at other people for not having an hdmi compatible tv, so I thought I'd ask here so I could get an actual answer.:smallsmile:

[GloatingSwine]

The PS4 only has an HDMI output for video.

You may be able to get a HDMI to something else converter, but it is not guaranteed to work.

[Hunter Noventa]

Even with a converter of some kind, should it exist, the games will be nigh-on unplayable. I remember getting my PS3 before I got an HDTV, and the text was completely unreadable in the games I tried out.

However, you could probably get a PC monitor with HDMI input and built-in speakers cheaper than an actual HDTV.

[Togath]

Even with a converter of some kind, should it exist, the games will be nigh-on unplayable. I remember getting my PS3 before I got an HDTV, and the text was completely unreadable in the games I tried out.

However, you could probably get a PC monitor with HDMI input and built-in speakers cheaper than an actual HDTV.

But... Ps3s do work just fine on a non-hd-tv ^_^;(from my understanding, the text fuzz is caused by screen size on non-hd-tvs, rather than if it's hd or not).

Still, I can believe that ps4s might not be compatible with non hd-tvs. Though if it turns out there is a way and/or that they are compatible by default that would be a plus(just including this in case it turns out there's some obscur-ish model that's av compatible or that it actually does have a slot for av cords, but just doesn't come with them by default, like a newer ps3 or a wiiU).

Regardless, the pc monitor part is good to know. I've suspected that they probably would work, and they do seem to be much cheaper(marketing is... odd. :3 Call it a tv, and suddenly it's worth more~).

[Hunter Noventa]

But... Ps3s do work just fine on a non-hd-tv ^_^;(from my understanding, the text fuzz is caused by screen size on non-hd-tvs, rather than if it's hd or not).

Still, I can believe that ps4s might not be compatible with non hd-tvs. Though if it turns out there is a way and/or that they are compatible by default that would be a plus(just including this in case it turns out there's some obscur-ish model that's av compatible or that it actually does have a slot for av cords, but just doesn't come with them by default, like a newer ps3 or a wiiU).

Regardless, the pc monitor part is good to know. I've suspected that they probably would work, and they do seem to be much cheaper(marketing is... odd. :3 Call it a tv, and suddenly it's worth more~).

Might have been that it was relatively small tv I had, it still looked terrible.

And TVs cost more because they have cable and antennae channel tuning equipment built in, and generally a lot more options baked into the built-in firmware. Take a look at how much a TV Tuner card costs for a PC, and you'll see why TVs cost more than monitors.

[Tvtyrant]

But... Ps3s do work just fine on a non-hd-tv ^_^;(from my understanding, the text fuzz is caused by screen size on non-hd-tvs, rather than if it's hd or not).

Still, I can believe that ps4s might not be compatible with non hd-tvs. Though if it turns out there is a way and/or that they are compatible by default that would be a plus(just including this in case it turns out there's some obscur-ish model that's av compatible or that it actually does have a slot for av cords, but just doesn't come with them by default, like a newer ps3 or a wiiU).

Regardless, the pc monitor part is good to know. I've suspected that they probably would work, and they do seem to be much cheaper(marketing is... odd. :3 Call it a tv, and suddenly it's worth more~).

I had a gigantic old style TV (of the 400 pound sort) that had too low of resolution for modern game text, so I can back up that fact.

[GloatingSwine]

But... Ps3s do work just fine on a non-hd-tv ^_^;(from my understanding, the text fuzz is caused by screen size on non-hd-tvs, rather than if it's hd or not).


Games made for modern consoles assume that the player has a HDTV, they may therefore make the text fiddly and small which means a non-HD set would annihilate it.

On the other hand, TVs are getting cheap as well.

You can get an entry level 4K set for barely more than the price of a PS4.

[Togath]

But my wiiU* and ps3* do work just fine on a normal(non-hd) tv, which is what I'm trying to explain.
*As do their games.

I'm not asking "how good would a ps4 look on a generic tv"
I'm asking; "are they at all physically compatible"(not visually, functionally).

[thracian]

You can get an entry level 4K set for barely more than the price of a PS4.

Or you can get a fairly good 1080p60 TV for the price of a 4K TV with a poor panel. Honestly not a huge point going for a 4K TV right now unless you know you'll be able to take advantage of 4K content. Most 4K benefits right now are in the PC space, although as always you can connect a 4K TV to a PC. Most TVs won't support 4K at 60fps due to limitations of HDMI 1.4, however.

Regarding PS4, from personal experience it seems to look fine on a 720 or 1080 resolution screen, either large or small. Unable to test with a lower resolution screen though. I have only used with HDMI and it does not natively support other types of cable. I have not tested any HDMI-to-analog adapters with the PS4 because I have no need, but historically those have been a little sketchy. Again, only native support is HDMI.

[Togath]

The native support thing is the thing I've been trying to find out all along. ^_^;
Also I don't care about fps* or pixels or "4k" or whatever. I was just curious if ps4s were compatible with my tvs(and if I do upgrade, I'd go for the cheapest thing, because I really do not care at all about the specifications of things). A computer-ish tv is also a negative. I want an image displaying device that's cheap. Not something that can do anything else other than display an image. Just something that shows an image when I plug in a wire.:smallsmile:
*like, I expect like, 24 fps when i watch something. show, movie, or game. 60fps is unnecessary for me, and not something I want(I've had pc games run at high fps, and it makes me nauseous if the rate gets too high).

[Erloas]

The native support thing is the damn thing I've been trying to find out all along. ^_^;
Also I don't care about fps* or pixels or "4k" or whatever. I was just curious if ps4s were compatible with my tvs(and if I do upgrade, I'd go for the cheapest thing, because I really really really truly do not care at all about the specifications of things). A computer-ish tv is also a massive negative. I want an image displaying device that's cheap. Not something that can do anything else other than display an image. Just something that shows an image when I plug in a wire.:smallsmile:
*like, I expect 24 fps when i watch something. show, movie, or game. 60fps is utterly unnecessary for me, and not something I want(I've had pc games run at high fps, and it makes me nauseous if the rate gets too high).

Not to be pedantic, but high framerates can't possibly make you nauseous. Although it is very possibly that something else, which is indirectly affected by framerates makes you nauseous. For instance "screen tearing" is very common when you're framerates get close to the refresh rate of the display, that is where the screen signal changes half way through the screen being refreshed. It is why most computer games have a V-Sync option, and I think all consoles have it on by default (and likely can't be turned off).

And in many cases it can get really bad if the framerate is too low because things move weird and jump around, though that should be less of an issue on console games because they have a set hardware standard.

In most cases have a faster and smoother framerate will be easier on you even if you can't actually tell it is faster. Not that I would go out and buy a 120Hz screen if you don't have the money to spend.

As for not having an HD tv... do you not even have a 720p display? Those have been around forever.
If you can link to the specific type of TV you have, or at least tell us which inputs types it has, we can see about finding an adapter that might work. If you have DVI or component video it should be easy, if you just have coax and composite than it could be a lot harder/impossible.

If not, it might be worth looking into a new TV, you can easily get a decent 1080p TV for the cost of a few PS4 games.
If you don't watch TV, at least through cable/antenna, you can do a computer monitor, as mentioned above. A 22" 1080p monitor with HDMI inputs is about $120.

[Togath]

Yellow, white, and red sockets. Component/av.

[Erloas]

Yellow, white, and red sockets. Component/av.

Did a quick edit on the last post, last line.

Yellow, white, red is composite. Red and white are audio and the yellow is composite A/V.

A quick check on Amazon shows quite a few HDMI to composite adapter boxes. They should all work but I couldn't say for sure if any specific one is any good.

This one has reviewers saying for sure it will work with a PS4. (http://www.amazon.com/Tendak-Composite-Converter-Adapter-Supporting/dp/B00KBQZC4M)