Topic: PS5 Is A Poor Media Streamer Anecdotal

So I’ve been using my PS4 and now PS5 as a streaming device for Prime, Hulu, whatever. Seemed ok as my TV wasn’t very good at streaming. Went to watch the new Avatar on Disney and it was not looking very good. Was thinking is this really streaming in HD? So tried it on my TV app and it looked marginally better. Really got me to thinking. Was I missing out on better viewing quality by using my PS5. So picked up an Apple TV 4K 128GB today. All I have to say is wow. The difference is night and day between PS5 and Apple TV 4K. Just a heads up if you are using your PS5 as your main streamer. Might want to compare. Was thinking of getting a new TV. My TV looks much, much better coming off the Apple TV. Going to have to rewatch the Expanse now..

I watched Avatar: Way of the Water on my PS5 and it was perfectly fine?

@ChadR That's weird to me. I actually watch streaming services on my PS5 because it is able to handle blacks better than the apps on my tv. Also very anecdotal.

It's weird to think of an explanation for your case, though!

I watch Crunchyroll on my PS5 but when I stream anime on my laptop, the quality difference is very noticeable and it's a shame.

@ChadR This is not the first time I've heard this, but I've got no real experiences with alternatives like Apple TV 4K, so I can't speak to it personally.

I have had a lot of trouble with the Plex app buffering like crazy in some instances and when googling for solutions for that, the community claimed that Sony's ecosystem tied the hands of the app developers somewhat and that the problem would remain. I didn't have the inclination to dive into the details (I'm now running Plex directly from my PC) so I have absolutely no idea if these limitations would apply to "regular" streaming apps. My gut says that they probably don't, but thought I'd mention it nonetheless

Tbh you shouldn’t really be running ps5/Xbox to stream if your tv can handle it. Just an extra device you have turned on and wasting your ££ on it.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner Well, the PlayStation apps crash way less often than my TV's counterparts. Performance wise the PS apps are so much snappier.

I personally watch all my stuff on my xbox because I prefer the fact they have Dolby digital and I can genuinely notice a difference between the two consoles in Quality

When I can buy PS5 machine, I will use it to play my PS4 & PS5 games.

@Anti-Matter This is the way.

I didn’t bring this up to denigrate the PS5 but to make people aware that it might not be the best streaming tool. I’ve been streaming on PlayStations for years now and just realized I’ve been cheating myself out of better watching quality. I was astounded at how bad Avatar Way of Water looked on PS5. Figured it was an incredibly poor job by James Cameron. Then figured out it was the PS5 that was incredibly poor at streaming it.