Topic: PS4: a late owner's HDMI troubles and account questions

So... here I am, the usual user from NintendoLife, creeping into the PS forums. How about that? Turns out, a dear friend of mine gave me and my girlfriend his old PS4 (a Pro model, no less), after upgrading to PS5. Given my most recent home PlayStation was a (now malfunctioning) PS2, I have a few things to catch up on. So I'm asking two questions here.

1) My HDMI output is kinda screwy. So my TV has two HDMI gates for input, them being one for my two SD systems (a PS1 and a GameCube, in case) and one for all the HD systems I own. Thing is, the HDMI1 channel I'm referring to is quite nested - I have a channel selector with three HDMI gates (one for Switch, one for the occasional SNES Mini Classic/PS Mini Classic, and one for the other channel selector), and another for the big three: a Wii U, an Xbox One and, of course, my PS4. Here's the thing: Xbox One and Wii U work just fine, while PS4... er, sorry, it doesn't. Basically, it tends to have severe hiccups in output, which given I have just two very much pause-less games at the moment (Dark Souls and Fortnite), can cause quite a few problems. Has this ever occurred to anyone else? I circumvented the problem by switching to the Switch signal, turning on the hybrid console just to get the HDMI output of the PS4 to work properly, but it's not a feasible solution for future games - especially considering it strangely happens most often when I boot newly downloaded games. I tinkered with the video output settings of the console, so if there are "safe" and stable ones you can suggest, I'm all ears.

2) The reason I pointed out PS2 was my most recent HOME console is because I actually own two PSPs (mostly for PSOne Classics, in case you were wondering). And proudly so! However, turns out I can't access my old account anymore. For now, my girlfriend is the only one playing, but I'll get to play soon enough - as soon as I know what to do with the system. Thing is, my PSN account harkens back to the PSP days, and given PSOne Classics ownership is now something linked to PS Plus membership, I need to know if getting my old account to work (basically, either e-mail or password is wrong, and I don't remember how to access the old mail I used on PSP anymore) is worth the trouble. I don't even remember if I took advantage of the "Welcome back" offer for PS3 games, back when the whole 2012 shutdown happened (totally, totally took advantage of the PSP offer, though).

So here's my mouthful of a double request for help. Feel free to say hi!

@AlexSora89 do you have any issues connecting the PS4 Pro directly to the TV using the HDMI cable it came with, without the HDMI switch?

I had a very similar set up when I got an Xbox One X (comparable mid gen upgrade). It turned out that the bells and whistles of the mid gen upgrade needed a higher spec HDMI cable (provided with the console). This spec wasn't supported by my HDMI switch which caused numerous issues. I am guessing the PS4 Pro is fairly similar.

If you test it without the switch but using the higher spec HDMI cable your PS4 Pro hopefully came with and it works with no issues, then I would suggest leaving the PS4 Pro connected like that and daisy chaining your HDMI switches for the rest of your devices. This is the set up I had for a long time and it worked fine for me.

My monitor had two HDMI ports. One had the One X directly into it. The second port had a 5 port HDMI switch that had the rest of the "big 3" and some extras - Switch, Wii U, PS4, PS3 with the final port being used to daisy chain a second 5 port HDMI switch that had the SNES Classic, NES Classic, Mega Drive Mini, PlayStation Classic and a PSTV

Edit: Re-reading your post and I think I understand that you have 3x 3 port HDMI Switches. I'd daisy chain them all and just have the PS4 Pro going direct. Signal degradation should be so minimal that you won't notice it but I would put the devices where signal quality matters least on the switches further down the chain depending on your preference.

So either:

TV --> Switch 1 (Switch, Xbox One) --> Switch 2 (Mini Consoles) --> Switch 3 (GCN, PS1)

Or

TV --> Switch 1 (Switch, Xbox One) --> Switch 2 (GCN, PS1) --> Switch 3 (Mini Consoles)

Edit 2: just seen you have a Wii U as well, just chuck that on your preferred level of the daisy chain and demote something else further down the line!

@ralphdibny
I have yet to try the direct approach, but the HDMI functionality is wonky in either plane of the switch hierarchy. The HDMI cable is the original one, but then again I doubt official-versus-bootleg can do much about the issue at this point. Still, I have to give you my thanks for your insight, I'll try to shake things up tomorrow morning. Let me know your two cents about what I should do with the PSN account as well, if you can!

@AlexSora89 no worries mate. Yeah, definitely try going direct from PS4 Pro to TV. If you still have issues then you know the problem is either the PS4, the cable or the TV and then you can start troubleshooting from there. If your issue is resolved then happy days, you can proceed to daisy chain the rest of your HDMI switches!

Sorry, boring specifics of HDMIs to follow. Please ignore if too long to read: 😂

HDMI cables aren't official or bootleg either, they just have different versions. I think the lowest level HDMI cable I have is HDMI 1.4 which I think is fine for everything up to base PS4, Wii U, Switch and base Xbox One. (Not sure if 3D PS3 games will work with it though)

My Xbox One X (and I guess the PS4 Pro) needs a more recent version of HDMi cable which it came with. I can't remember which version it is but I suspect it's HDMI 2.0 or HDMI 2.1. I don't have the One X in my set up any more as I have a Series X and I am pretty sure that's a HDMI 2.1.

It's hard to tell to be honest, unless the version is printed on the cable itself. They all have the same connector on the end!

Regardless of version, HDMI cables can vary massively in quality too, just like micro USB cables. I don't really subscribe to the "more expensive is better" philosophy but I know that any HDMI that comes with a device, be it a monitor, console or whatever should definitely work. The cable itself can be a point of failure so it is worth considering when troubleshooting.

Likewise, the HDMI switch can be a point of failure so it's worth considering that when troubleshooting as well. So can adapters, which I assume you are using for your GameCube and PS1 - these vary massively in quality.

I am also pretty sure that length of cable and breaks in the chain (like a switch) can also affect quality. 10 meter cables need to be a higher quality than 1 meter cables because the signal degrades the further it has to travel. It's the same with Network leads, Cat5e, Cat 6 etc all guarantee a stable network connection and bandwidth up to a certain distance but breaks in that distance from either a switch or a connector will drop that distance down.

In terms of your old account, I think it's worth getting back. If only so you can keep your old purchases for the sake of your PSP and Vita. The PS1 games you bought also work on PS3 should you ever decide to get one of those.

I have heard that if one of the PS1 games you own from the PS3/P/Vita eras gets released on PS4 as part of PS Plus, then you will get access to it regardless of whether you are subscribed or not. Unfortunately none of the ones I own have been released again so I have been unable to confirm this first hand!

@ralphdibny

Thanks for the time you took to answer my boring request. I understand it's a lot to unravel, the same it will be today when I pull back the drawer I have all systems, TV and whatnot on (unraveling cables, that is). As for my old account, the thing I understood from Sony platforms is that backwards compatibility goes straight down the drain unless it's the previous one. And I don't own a PS3, nor a Vita. Just PS1, PS2 and PSP. Given I can't even recall if I took advantage of the PS3 offer back in 2012, I guess it'd be safe to make a straight-up new account.

I'll see what I can do about my old one, though.

Okay, so: I logged in successfully to my old account but it's kinda sorta confirmed that my old purchases on PSP aren't worth squat. Not exactly the "welcome back home" committee I thought I'd get, but I guess that's the same for every user who comes back after such a long time.

Now, the username reads AlexPSN89, which I recall was my old nickname, confirming this is indeed my old account. I guess after every generation kissed the previous one goodbye, simply put, some of my old games are just gone for good.

Oh well, time to build a new library, I guess...

@AlexSora89 Not necessarily, log into that account on your PS4 and check your Library. Some games were "cross-buy" between PS3/P/4/Vita or some combination of the above.

PS1 games were at the very least, cross buy between 3/P/Vita. They will either be in your Library on PS4 or you may have to claim them again on the PS4 store. They will show up as "Claim", "Download" or "Free" I think.

I just had a look at the store to see if any of my PS1 games had been added yet and no luck. There's not a lot of PS1 games available unfortunately. But if you continue to use your old account then games you bought might get added to PS4 at some point and be available for you to play.

I wouldn't trust their website tbh, it was overhauled a few years back and doesn't have the same functionality it once had so it might not show your legacy purchases. I think the only way to see what games you bought back then is to log in on a PS3 or a Vita and look at the Download List. I don't know if you can do it on PSP still, might be worth a try.

Despite Sony's fluctuating reputation, there was a surprising amount of cross compatibility at different times, especially with the PS3/P/Vita/4. There are still alot that are stuck on PS3 but a lot of smaller games had this "cross buy" thing going.

No worries about the cabling answer! I actually kind of enjoy that sort of thing 😅

Sorry I can't have more of an answer on the accounts thing. I just dont own a PS1 game from the PS3 era that's available on PS4 now so I can't give you a first hand answer as to whether it works.

I do know that saying backwards compatibility going down the drain isn't strictly accurate. It is a mixed bag and is really on a case-by-case basis.

PS2 can play most PS1 games.

PS3 can play most PS1 games (disc or digital) and certain models could also play physical PS2 games. I think digital PS2 games were available for sale too.

PSP can play digital PS1 games bought on PS3 or PSP or Vita.

Vita can play Digital PS1 games bought on PS3/P/Vita. As well as cross-buy games that were available on either PS3, PS4 or both.

PS4 can play cross-buy games that were bought on PS3, PS4, Vita or some combination of the above. There was also a handful of PS2 games that are available digitally

@ralphdibny
Sorry for my short reply to your own longer-winded and actually very insightful answers, but I've tinkered with the account a bit today and it turned out my 4,77(-ish)€ were still there after all these years. So I guess that I really owned only games that nowadays are borderline useless (I.E. the PSOne Classics, as in their PS3/PSP format, which I guess is a no-show on PS4). So I used my balance to snag One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 as a "test purchase", and then I went all-in with Dissidia Final Fantasy NT. I'm a sucker for Square, damn me.

So yeah, I guess I'm almost all set! I'll see if there's more to redeem. As for the cables, it seems mostly stable now, but I'll see what the future holds for the newest addition to my gaming space. I'll obviously keep watching this topic, too. You've been ultra helpful, so kudos for that!

@AlexSora89 cheers and no worries mate, happy gaming!!