We go hands on with PlayStation Remote Play to see if the feature is all that it’s cracked up to be. At launch, the system offered a single quality setting for streaming, and it has since been patched to include “High” and “Normal”.  PC users will note that this does little to indicate what sort of resolution one can expect with each setting. My first impression of remote play was not a good one. However, I have tried it a few times since and have found gameplay to be acceptable. More on that after the jump.

While playing Dragon Age: Inquisition I have only experienced rare signal degradation; beyond that, the feature works as promised. I noticed no input lag of any kind – even while engaged in combat. I was even able to use the PS4’s share functionality and upload screenshots and video to YouTube. The only feature not available while in remote play is broadcasting. Perhaps in the future that functionality will be possible, but it’s not critical. Another feature which would be nice would be to use the PS4’s share functionality to upload footage from the PlayStation TV. The PlayStation TV is HDCP locked so it can’t be turned off as needed like you can with the PS4. There are ways to capture footage from the PlayStation TV, though they’re not necessarily legal.

I’ve also stress tested my home network. At home I use a dual band Cisco systems 2.4/5GHZ wireless router provided by my ISP. While one user played on the PS3 Hardline Beta, another streamed videos on Netflix on their laptop, while I remote-played single player Dragon Age: Inquisition. The PS3 user noticed increased lag as the play session went on. On my end, I noticed increased signal degradation, but game input remained consistent. The video streaming user reported a drop in resolution and increased buffering times. Besides Dragon Age: Inquisition, I have played Saints Row IV: Gat out of Hell and have found gameplay to again be acceptable.

The verdict? When it works, it works great, and you almost forget that you are playing remotely. However, when it doesn’t you are painfully reminded of the fact through interruptions caused by signal loss.

Discuss:

Have you tried to use Remote Play yet? What other features would you like to see added to the PlayStation TV?