PS4 Firmware Updates

Option to sign up for firmware beta 5.0 is active, report had a stipulation you need a ps now subscription but I didn't see it when I signed up so might not be mandatory.

http://beta.software.eu.playstation.com/en-gb/ps4beta

 

If you were selected to be a beta tester for the next major PlayStation 4 system software update 5.00 (codenamed NOBUNAGA), today’s the day you can get your hands on the new features. If you were chosen, you’ll receive an email with instructions on how to download the update and get started.

Whether you’re in the beta programme or not, we wanted to give a first look at the features included in this update. We’re introducing Family Accounts, making it easier to manage your friends, and adding a variety of new features for broadcast, notifications, messages and much more.

Families on PlayStation Network

Spoiler

The existing master/sub-account system is being redesigned to be more family friendly. This new “family on PSN” system will offer a more flexible experience, make it easier to set up PSN accounts for children, and customize parental control settings for each family user. Below are the new features that will be introduced with update 5.00:

• Family Manager, parents/guardians and child accounts

Each family on PSN will now have a Family Manager. In turn, the Family Manager can promote any other adult in the family to be a parent or guardian.

From there, each parent or guardian can customise the parental control levels of each child account, such as restricting certain age ratings or online access.

• Individual parental controls

Before this update, the same parental controls were applied to all users on the same console, including adults. But with 5.00, all controls (including game age ratings) can be individually controlled for each child account.

Friend list management

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In place of the current ‘Favourite Groups’ tab, we’re adding a new ‘Custom Lists’ tab on the ‘Friends’ screen.

This will allow you to create and edit custom lists of your friends and arrange them into specific groups, based on the games you play, or groups of friends you like to hang out with online. For example, you can create a custom list of your Destiny teammates and easily send them raid invites.

Broadcast feature updates

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• Communities

If you’ve set up a community on your PS4, you can now link your community to your live gameplay broadcast. When a broadcast is linked to a community, the community button appears on the ‘Live from PlayStation’ spectator screen, allowing any spectator to jump directly into your community page to check out the details or join.

• PlayStation VR

We’ve added a new setting in PlayStation VR: ‘Display Message to Spectators and Spectators’ Comments’. Once this is enabled, spectator comments sent during a broadcast are displayed not only in cinematic mode, but also in VR mode – so you’ll be able to read comments and interact with spectators from within your PS VR headset.

• PlayStation 4 Pro

Good news for Twitch users: with this update, PS4 Pro will support 1080p 60fps streaming on Twitch.

Message improvements

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You’ve already been able to share your favourite music to Twitter and Facebook via Spotify and PlayStation Music, but now you’ll also be able to share individual tracks by sending a message on PS4.

Your friends will be able to listen to the track directly from the message you send, and if they’re on their mobile device, they can jump directly to their Spotify app from the PS Messages app to check out the song and add it to their own playlist.

Notifications updates

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We’ve added a new setting that allows you to disable pop-up notifications while you’re watching a movie or TV show on your PS4. This setting is set to ‘off’ by default, so go to Settings > Notifications to enable it.






Furthermore, you now have the option to turn off message previews on your pop-up notifications. If you turn this setting off, the pop-up notification will hide the message senders’ online ID and will display a generic user icon and message instead.

Lastly, you’ll have the option to change the colour of your pop-up notifications to either white (default) or black.

Quick Menu updates

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If you want to keep an eye out on what’s happening in your Notifications tab – like game download progress or new invitations – you can now access this directly from the Quick Menu without leaving your game.






Also, we’ve added a ‘Leave Party’ option in the Quick Menu, so you can easily exit a party and go right back to playing your game.

Virtual surround sound on PS VR

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PlayStation VR now supports 5.1ch and 7.1ch virtual surround sound through your headphones when watching Blu-rays and DVDs in Cinematic Mode, making for an even more immersive viewing experience.

Improved tournaments bracket viewer

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We’ve added a new ‘bracket viewer’ that shows full tournament brackets for Single Elimination and Double Elimination tournaments on PS4, making it easier for you to see the current tournament standings.

Updated language support

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The PS4 user interface now supports Czech, Hungarian, Romanian, Greek, Thai, Indonesian and Vietnamese languages.

 

I have two codes for anyone who would like it @Registered

 

PM sent

I have one more left

 

PM sent

 

Pretty sure it's all notifications so it would cover trophies also.

 

Important information for Beta Trial testers

It forced the download of 4.74 twice on my pro didn't have any choice to download or not, I've downloaded quite a few games past couple of weeks so hopefully they work fine I really don't want to dl games again with my broadband.

 

Source playstation blog

The PlayStation 4 system software update rolling out with a host of new features for your console.

Some of you may have already got hands-on with system software 5.00 in our recent beta test and tried out a few of the features, such as the new family management setup and improvements to the Quick Menu and friends list, and we’ve been fine-tuning these based on your feedback. But there are a few additional features that will go live shortly; take a look at what’s coming your way:

Team Tournaments

Spoiler

The 5.00 update brings a new dimension to eSports on PS4, with the launch of ESL Team Tournaments.

An extension of the PS4 Events tab, you’ll now find the option to join or create a team of players to squad up and play together online in selected team-based multiplayer games. You can register your team for any upcoming tournaments in the Events schedule, see what upcoming matches you can compete in, then show off your results on your team page (if you want to).

Each team can have up to 100 members, and you can join up to 60 different teams at once, each with a unique name, logo and profile. There’s a team chat function so you can discuss tactics before jumping into battle, and you can recruit (or remove) members as you go – so before long you could be part of an all-conquering crew.

Supported games at launch are Uncharted 4 and Mantis Burn Racing, with more to follow.

Parental control improvements for families on PSN

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One major feature that was included with the 5.00 update beta trial was a brand new family on PSN , replacing the previous master/sub accounts.






With this new family system, each PS4 user can be managed individually, meaning parents can stay in control of what younger children play, watch, and their online access, while older kids and adults are free to play games or watch movies suitable to their age group. And because the controls are applied individually to each PSN account (rather than just to your home console), they’ll apply to whichever PS4 a family member signs in on.

Family management

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Now, with the full launch of system software 5.00, families on PSN can now be managed from a dedicated web portal, meaning parents and guardians can easily adjust their parental controls from their smartphone and PC.

These new Family Management settings are now available in the PS4 settings menu, and are ready to set up now. If you’ve already set up your family on PSN and want to try out the web portal, you can find it HERE.

Follow Anyone

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You can now follow any PSN account to see what they’re playing and sharing on PS4, without needing to be friends with them – so if there’s a player who’s a master of your favourite game and shares inspiring videos and screenshots, you can follow them to see their latest updates in your What’s New feed.

App updates

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As well as the on-console improvements, we’re making some updates to our smartphone apps too:

• PlayStation Communities:
  The app will now flip into landscape mode when you rotate your phone, and you’re also now able to post animated GIFs on community walls. Additionally, the Communities app is now available in Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Romanian, Thai and Vietnamese.
• PlayStation Messages:
  Similarly to the PS4 console messaging improvements, the PlayStation Messages app will now display a preview of a website if you’re sent a URL within a message. And, along with the Communities app, the Messages app is now available in Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Romanian, Thai and Vietnamese. In addition, there are new stickers available.

Just in case you missed our beta trial announcement post a few weeks ago, here’s a quick run-down of the features that beta testers will have been using already – or read about them in more detail HERE:

• Friend list management
• Twitch 1080p broadcasting
• Message improvements
• Notifications updates
• Quick Menu updates
• Music player improvements
• Virtual surround sound for PS VR when watching DVDs and Blu-Rays
• Updated language support

 

Sign up for next ps4 beta no listing of what it will give as yet

https://beta.software.eu.playstation.com/en-gb/ps4beta

 

5.50 invites is being sent out to those lucky to get into the closed beta here is what you will get to try:

The beta for the PlayStation 4 systems next major system software update 5.50 (codenamed KEIJI) starts today. If you signed up and were selected for the beta program, you’ll receive an email with instructions on how to download and get started.

Whether you’re taking part in the beta programme or not, we wanted to give you a first look at some of the features you can expect in this update. In 5.50, we’re introducing Play Time Management, Library plus Quick Menu updates and much more.

Play Time management
In system software update 5.00 we introduced a range of parental control enhancements. These allowed assigned Family Managers to easily control what each individual child plays, watches and views online.

Play Time Management builds on this, giving Family Managers (and adult family members who are set as guardian), the ability to set limits on when and for how long each individual child can play for. Managing Playtime is easy; go to Settings > Family Management on your PS4, or sign in to PlayStation Network account as a family manager or guardian on your web browser from your PC or smartphone, to check and manage your child’s playtime each day.






Notifications will be sent to children during gameplay so that they know when they should save and quit. The family managers/guardians can also set the PS4 to log out once the playtime session is over, and increase or decrease game time on the go, via the web portal.






Import custom wallpapers via USB
By popular demand, you can now import your own images via USB stick to use as custom wallpapers on PS4. Once imported, you can even zoom, crop and preview them in-situ to help get the perfect look on your dashboard. Note that the picture files on a USB stick need to be located in a folder named “IMAGES” for the PS4 to recognize them. Just go to Settings > Themes > Select Theme > Custom > Select Image > USB Storage Device.

Following the 5.50 update, you’ll also be able to customize your Tournaments team page with your own team logo or background that you can import from a USB stick. To set your logo and background, head over to Events > Teams > select your team > Edit Team Profile.


Library UI improvements

• ‘This PS4’ and Name/Avatar tab

Two new tabs are being added to Library to make it easier for you to see which apps you’ve installed and purchased. The ‘This PS4’ tab lists all the applications that are installed on the PS4 system, and the tab with your name/avatar lists all the apps that you purchased with your PSN ID. This feature also makes it easy to search and find games you’ve already purchased but have not yet installed.

• PS Plus tab

This update also adds a new PS Plus tab to the Library, which clarifies what games you own from PS Plus’ Monthly Free Games. If your PS Plus membership is expired, a PS Plus icon with a lock will appear next to your game so you know which games you can play if you re-subscribe.

• Hide apps

As requested, we’re adding a function that will allow you to hide certain applications under the ‘Purchased’ tab in the Library. In ‘Options,’ you can hide content including betas, trials or demos of games that you may not be going back to.

Quick Menu enhancements
With the launch of 5.50, you’ll be able to access custom friends’ lists directly from the Quick Menu. This will make it easier to see who’s online, and then send them messages or invitations – especially when you’re in the middle of game.






Whenever you’re listening to music on PS4, you’ll be able to access certain shortcuts from the Quick Menu. If you’re using Spotify on PlayStation Music, the ‘square’ button will serve as the shortcut for volume control. And when you’re on the Media Player or the USB Music Player, ‘triangle’ will work as the shortcut for play or pause, and the ‘square’ button as the volume control.



Notifications update
Users will be able to permanently remove old notifications from their PS4 – for better organisation and management. Just go to Notifications and press the ‘triangle’ or “OPTIONS” button to open up a menu that will allow you to select a single or multiple notifications you’d like to delete.






Background music on PlayStation Now
With Background Music on PS Now, you’ll be able to listen to your favorite tracks while streaming a game on PS Now. Just be aware, similar to when playing a game on disc or via digital download on PS4, background music may not always be available.

Supersampling mode on PS4 Pro
PS4 Pro users taking part in the beta will see a new ‘supersampling mode’ under Settings, which enables those with HDTVs (i.e., 1080p or less) to enjoy an enhanced visual experience when playing some PS4 games.

With supersampling mode, some games will render at a higher resolution and then be downscaled to match the HDTV – allowing PS4 Pro owners to leverage the benefits of an image clarity boost even if their PS4 Pro is not connected to a 4K TV. Please note performance will vary, as games are optimised differently to take advantage of the power of PS4 Pro.






Let us know which features you’re most excited about, and remember it’s not too late to join the beta. You can still sign up here for a chance to participate.

Stay tuned for further details about more features and improvements are coming with system software update 5.50.

source playstation blog