Dualshock 4 battery lasts twice as long with Playstation TV

[deadofnight]

After three game sessions it seemed like I was playing on the Playstation TV longer than I had been able to on the Playstation 4, so I decided to keep track of how long I could play on a single charge. I got a low battery message at 15 hours, and the controller shut off at 16.5 hours. On the Playstation 4 the dualshock4 would last 7 to 8 hours.

Persona 4 Golden doesn't use rumble, but I doubt that doubled the life of the charge. I've seen people say the touch pad is main culprit for the Dualshock 4's short charge life. I don't think the Playstation TV uses the touch pad. I think it only emulates the touch pad with the analogue sticks. Maybe the controller lasts longer because the Playstation TV can keep the touch pad off.

 

[GBAstar]

Does the PS TV use the speaker built into the DS4? The light bar? the rumble? I'm sure the combination of those three things is the biggest reason why the battery life lasts so much longer

 

[deadofnight]

The light bar is always on. Rumble can work, but Persona 4 Golden never made use of it. So it didn't become a battery drain. I haven't heard about the speaker being available for PS TV, but since Persona doesn't use it the speaker wouldn't have been a battery drain.

It would be pretty easy to recreate those three on the PS4. The light bar is always on, turn off rumble, and use the Gold headset to turn off the speaker sound. I haven't tried that, but I would be amazed if that adds seven hours to the battery life.

In some games I rarely use the mic or rumble anyway. Unless, those features are always powered on, so even you aren't actively using them they are still a power drain. And also, if the PS TV has a way to not turn those features on. Rumble is patched in to certain PS One games, so maybe rumble isn't turned on unless you play one of those games.

 

[kilik64]

I have played a lot of the ptv lately and have really noticed that the controller battery lasts longer. Played quite a few hours of RP with Destiny, seemed to last about as long as normal.

Side note, the RP after latest FW to both ptv and ps4 works even better than before for me. wired connection, but I notice barely any lag on it. Need to try FIFA 15 on it, but works great on Destiny.